Origins of the papal tiara
Darius I with the typical Persian cap.
The origins of the papal tiara remain somewhat nebulous and clouded in mystery, first appearing in the camelaucum which was similar in shape to papal tiaras, was part of court dress in Byzantium; it was also inspired by the Phrygian cap, or frigium. Given that other rituals associated with the papal coronation, notably the use of the sedia gestatoria , were copied from Byzantine and eastern imperial ceremonial, it is likely that the tiara is also of Byzantine origin.
OriginPope Gregory the Great wearing the camelaucum.A form of papal crown is first mentioned in the vita of Gregory the Great (died 604) shows such a cap. Coins of Pope Sergius III (904–11) and Pope Benedict VII (974–983) depict these popes wearing such a helmet-like-cap augmented at the base with a single coronet -like fillet.
It subsequently was mentioned (using the word phrygium) in the supposed decretals in the early 9th century:
The first use of the word tiara to indicate the papal headgear is in the life of Paschal II in the Liber Pontificalis and dates to the 12th century.[1][2] Early tiara Popes since ancient times had worn some sort of head covering. By the 9th century it would appear that this took the form of a helmet-shaped white head-cap. Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590–604) is shown in contemporary artwork wearing such a headpiece. When exactly it developed its first lower tiara is unclear, though the Catholic Encyclopaedia speculates that it was in or around the 10th century, perhaps to distinguish the ceremonial papal head covering from the ecclesiastical one, the mitre, which appeared around this era. The first explicit mention of the word tiara associated with the papacy appears in the account of the life of Pope Paschal II (r. 1099–1118) in the Liber Pontificalis.
A decorated circlet or ornamental band which may be the origins of the first tier of the tiara, is shown on coins of Pope Sergius III (r. 904–911) and Pope Benedict VII (r. 974–983). The Extultet Barberini, dated around 1087, shows an early version of the tiara, with lower band and a crosshatch pattern on the conical tiara.[3][4] A similar tiara is shown on Innocent III in a fresco at Sacro Speco from about 1219 and on a mosaic from Old Saint Peter's, now in the Museo di Roma.[5] A similar tiara, conical and with only one crown at the base, is seen worn by pope Clement IV in frescoes from the 13th century in Pernes-les-Fontaines, France and at his tomb in Viterbo. Also in Viterbo is the tomb of Hadrian V by Arnolfo di Cambio, with a similar tiara. The tomb of Honorius IV in Santa Maria in Ara Coeli also presents the tiara with one crown with gems at the bottom and topped with a large gem.[6] The tomb of Gregory X (1271–1276) shows him wearing a similar tiara, with the base a full crown and a textured and decorated conical body.[4][7] A fresco by Buffalmacco in the Arezzo cathedral depicts Gregory X wearing a similar tiara with black lappets.
Second tier temporal and spiritual power, the two tiers in the papal crown contrasting with the single tier of standard monarchical crowns.
 Third tierPius X (1903–1914) in a three-tiered tiara The first notice of three crowns appears in an inventory of the papal treasures of the year 1315 or 1316. An effigy of Pope Benedict XII, which is on display in Avignon shows him wearing a two-tiered tiara. The tomb of Clement VI, built 1342–1346, shows his tiara with three tiers.[4] The lappets (two decorated strips of cloth which hang at the back of a tiara) are shown in paintings from the 13th century but may well have existed before then. Notes
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