Birretum
A New Law Dictionary and Glossary · Alexander M. Burrill · 1850
A New Law Dictionary and Glossary
Birretus.
L. Lat. In old English practice. The cap or coif of a judge or serjeant at law.
Spelman.
A cap of linen or silk fitting close to the head, {forma ipsius cranii,) mentioned by Fortescue as always worn by the justices while sitting in the king's court, being the first and principal badge of distinction with which Serjeants at law were decorated at their creation. It was never laid aside, either by the justices or Serjeants, so as entirely to uncover the head, even in the presence of royalty itself. Fortesc. de laud.
LL.
Angl. c.
60.