On Friday, Nov. 27, Matthew Soper was conferred with the degree of master of laws (LL.M.), international law, at the University of Edinburgh’s winter graduation ceremony. .jpg)
The ceremony followed the time honored traditions which can be traced back to the founding of the University of Edinburgh in 1583.
The Senatus Academicus met immediately prior to the ceremony to recommend the degrees to be awarded. Following this meeting, the academic procession gathered and proceeded into McEwan Hall. The procession was led by the staff bearer followed by members of the academic staff, including the rector and members of the university court. They were followed by the bedellus carrying the university mace and leading the vice chancellor.
Prior to the School of Law’s confirmation, the University Choir sang “Where’er you walk” and “O Gin I Were Where Gadie Rins,” both in their original Latin verse.
The names of the graduands were announced by the head of the School of Law, Professor Douglas Brodie, and the vice chancellor, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea (the university’s principal), acting on behalf of the chancellor, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, conferred the degree by touching the head of the graduand with the graduation cap.
Popular legend has it that the cap was originally made using the cloth from the breeches of John Knox, although other rumors attribute those breeches to the famous Scottish scholar George Buchanan.
Matt Soper now joins the alumni of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law, which includes John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush (signatories of the U.S. Declaration of Independence), author/lawyer Robert Louis Stevenson and Alexander McCall Smith, along with countless diplomats, advocates, solicitors, and government officials, including current U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
See: The Scotsman
