Casque and Gauntlet (also known as C&G and the Casque and Gauntler Senior Society) is the second-oldest senior society at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.[1][2] The mission statement of the organization is: "to unite in fellowship men and women of strong character and high ideals; to promote their mutual welfare and happiness; to render loyal service to Dartmouth College, and to aid and encourage one another in performing their duties to God and their fellow man."[3]
History
Casque and Gauntlet was founded in March 1886 by students at Dartmouth College.[1][4] Albert J. Thomas had the idea of creating a senior society like those at Yale University and recruited Fordyce P. Cleaves and Wilder D. Quint.[5] From those three, other potential members were recruited.[5] The founders decided to was to limit the society's membership or annual delegation to nineteen seniors.[5] The first delegation and founding fathers of Casque and Gauntlet were:[3]
Cleaves, Thomas, and especially Quint were inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Idylls of the King" and the other members agreed on this concept.[5][6][7] They selected the organization's name to represent "truth, fidelity, and loyalty to each other".[5] Its president was called Arthur, The Pendragon, after King Arthur, and the members took the names of the various Knights of the Round Table.[6][7] Its ritual was written by Quint, with the Holy Grail as "the focal point of their fraternal life".[6] Wentworth designed the society's pin.[6] The group also develops its emblem, the profile of a knights helmet or casque with a glove or gauntlet.[5] Its alumni association began publishing a newsletter and directories in the 1890s.[7]
The Castle on the Corner, pre-1915
Initially, the group lacked a regular meeting place.[5] At one point, they had four rooms above Cobb's Store but also used a cemetery and a barn on Stump Lane.[5][7] C&G moved into a house at 1 South Main Street in the fall of 1894.[8][4][9] The society dubbed their new residence "the Castle on the Corner".[9] The house was built in 1823 by Dr. Samuel Alden who lived there until he died in 1842; Joseph Emerson lived there until 1888 when it became a boarding house for students owned by Susan Brown.[9] The Castle was rented from Brown under a long-term lease.[9][7]
Originally, membership in C&G ended upon graduation.[10] In 1895, an Alumni Association was incorporated in Boston.[10] Initially, the main activity of the association was organizing an annual dinner for alumni.[10] However, the Alumni Association purchased the Castle in 1901.[9][7] The house was transferred to the newly formed Trustees of Casque and Gauntlet in 1904.[7] The alumni launched a campaign in 1911 to raise funds to improve the house, including selling stock to alumni.[7] In 1915, the society installed a rear addition designed by architect Fred Wesley Wentworth, a founding member.
A group adopted a new constitution and by-laws in 1923 and its collegiate group and Alumni Association merged into a single organization called The Casque and Gauntlet, giving all of its initiates a lifetime membership.[8][7][10] In 1924, C&G published a songbook and began publishing its Bulletin.[8][7] During World War II, the society stopped its activities and leased the house to the university.[8] The university gave the Castle back to the society in July 1946.[11] However, C&G struggled to rebuild its membership after the war and was financially depleted.[11]
Once Dartmouth allowed female students C&G was criticized as a single-sex organization, especially after it voted to remain all-male in 1977-78.[12][11] The 1979 delegation also voted to admit women after the encouragement of the university's board of trustees.[11] Its first female King Arthur was elected in 1986.[11]
In August 2020, the society leased its house to the university as graduate student housing for three years.[13] This was done because its use as an undergraduate residence was no longer financially sustainable.[13]
Symbols and traditions
The badge of Casque and Gauntlet is "the Bonnie Gold Pin."[14] It was designed by founding member Wentworth.[6] A sword called Excalibur, after the legendary sword of King Arthur, is laid on the shoulder of each new member as they are "knighted".[15] Members of Casque and Gauntlet are called knights and ladies.[16] Its emblem is a casque on top of a gauntlet.[5]
Membership
Members of C&G nominate and select tappees as a group. Tapping takes place at a time the College coordinates with the other senior societies, usually around Winter Carnival. In the 1950s, the society discontinued its practice of blackballing, instead relying on a system of prospects receiving a 75% vote to be tapped.[11] It also experimented with allowing each member to select their own replacement.[11] Following coeducation at Dartmouth in 1972, the class of 1979 delegation voted unanimously to nominate women for membership.[11] Members are selected based on achievement, character, and service to Dartmouth.[7]
C&G is co-ed.[1] The first six women members of C&G joined the class of 1980 delegation.[8]
While C&G's membership is not secret, some elements of the society are kept secret, as one might expect from a sorority or fraternity. Society meetings, held — like all Dartmouth senior societies — on Monday nights, are closed; the initiation ceremony and other details are also kept secret.
^ abcdefghiCushman, Henry O. (1987). "The Beginnings". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., ed. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 4. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^ abcdefghijkDaniell, Jere. (1987). "Casque and Gauntlet: History". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., editor. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 56-57. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^ abcdeMarden, Philip S. (1987). "The House". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., ed. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 4. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^ abcdKilmarx, Robert D. (1987). "C&G's Governance and Mission—Past, Present, and Future". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., editor. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 74. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^ abcdefghDaniell, Jere. (1987). "Casque and Gauntlet: History". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., editor. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 58-59. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^Daniell, Jere. (1987). "Casque and Gauntlet: History". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., editor. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 59. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
^Gregory, Warren Fenno. (1987). "The Founding of Casque and Gauntlet". Casque and Gauntlet 1887 - 1987: One Hundred Years at the Corner (PDF). Faulkner, Robert K., editor. Casque and Gauntlet / Dartmouth Printing Company. p. 6. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
