From courtroom standoffs to tense encounters with highway robbers, hats in early modern England carried far more meaning than simple fashion. New research reveals that what people wore on their heads could signal loyalty, rebellion, status, and even personal safety. Today, choosing whether to wear a hat is a personal decision. But about 400 years ago, strict social rules governed "hatiquette," and removing a hat was expected as a sign of respect. According to a study published in The Historical Journal (Cambridge University Press), refusing to doff ("do off") a hat could serve as a deliberate and highly visible act of protest. One striking example comes from 1630, when an outspoken oatmeal maker was brought before England's highest church court. After being told that some of the judges were also privy councillors, he briefly removed his hat in acknowledgment. But he quickly put it back on, declaring, 'as you are privy councillors ... I put off my hat; but as ye [bishops] are rags of the Beast, lo!…