Papal tiara Papal tiara The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20th. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. The name "tiara" refers to the entire headpiece, no matter how many crowns, circlets or diadems have adorned it through the ages, while the three-tiered form that it took in the 14th century is also called the triregnum, triple tiara, or triple crown. From 1143 to 1963, the papal tiara was solemnly placed on the
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? The question "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?" (alternatively ""How many angels can stand on the "point" of a pin?"") is a reductio ad absurdum of medieval scholasticism in general, and its angelology in particular, as represented by figures such as Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas. It is first recorded in the 17th century, in the context of Protestant apologetics. The question has also been linked to the fall of Constantinople, with the imagery of scholars debating about minutiae while the Turks besieged the