About the University

About the Ceremony

The Mace

The mace, as used today, derives from the original mace which was used as a weapon. A ceremonial mace is a highly ornamented staff of metal or wood, carried by a mace-bearer, which represent the authority of a sovereign or major institution in a civic ceremony or the conduct of legislative or executive business. The University mace follows that tradition and is made of brass and chrome.

Academic Dress

You will see a variety of academic dress in today’s ceremony.

The academic dress of the University of Glamorgan follows the tradition established in the Middle Ages, when the original universities of the Western world adapted the clothing of the day to distinguish their scholars. The gown is based on the roba, a robe worn under cappa clausa, a garment resembling a long black cape. In early medieval times, all students at the universities were at least required to wear the cappa or other clerical dress, and restricted to clothes of black or other dark colour.

Both BA and MA gowns are traditionally made of black cloth, and have the material at the back of the gown gathered into a yoke. The BA gown has bell-shaped sleeves, while the MA gown has long sleeves closed at the end, with the arm passing through a slit above the elbow. In the Commonwealth, gowns are worn open, while in the United States it has become common for gowns to close at the front.

The academic cap or square, often known as the mortarboard, has come to be symbolic of academia. In many universities, holders of doctorates wear a soft rounded headpiece known as a Tudor bonnet or tam. The hood, which also identifies the degree or university to which the graduate belongs, is at Glamorgan in the University colours of blue and gold.

The full-dress robes of a Doctoral degree are traditionally made of bright silk-like cloth, and represent the university and degree to which the wearer belongs. The senior officers of British universities generally wear distinctive and more elaborate dress. At Glamorgan, The Chancellor and The Vice-Chancellor wear a damask lay type gown trimmed with gold lace and frogs. They wear a velvet mortarboard, similarly trimmed with gold braid and tassel.

The Glamorgan Crest

The University of Glamorgan crest has been developed to closely reflect both the University’s past and its future.

The design is called the Achievement of Arms, the most important of which is the shield. In heraldry, the surface of a shield is known as the field, which is green in the Glamorgan crest to represent both the location of the University and the environmental disciplines studied here.

A symbolic depiction of Pontypridd’s historic bridge appears in the centre of the shield, while the three books bear the words “Cofia Ddysgu Byw”. These are the words of Rhondda miner and poet Ben Bowen (1872-1902) and are translated as “remember to learn to live”. This was the motto of the Glamorgan College of Education in Barry, which was incorporated into this institution in 1975.

Above the shield is the helm, which is associated with corporate bodies. On top of the helm, within the torse of twisted silk silver and green, is the crest. The crest features the Welsh dragon with outstretched wings holding a gold computer ferrite memory store matrix, representing the technological aspects of the University and the marriage of old and new.

Each of the dragon’s wings is charged with a gold chevron – this refers to Iestyn ap Gwrgan, the last King of Glamorgan, and to the mediaeval family of De Clare, Lords of Glamorgan. From the helm hangs the mantle in red and silver, the livery colours attributed to Iestyn ap Gwrgan.

Supporting the shield are two dragons representing Wales and the Orient, reflecting the international nature of the University. The pickaxe and cogwheel symbolise not only the heavy industries which fuelled the development of the Welsh economy, but also the vocational nature of many of the courses offered at Glamorgan.

The granting of Ensigns Armorial to the crest is an exercise of the Royal Prerogative and, as such, is testament to the esteem in which the University of Glamorgan is held.