I've just finished watching the excellent BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall and I was struck by the manner in which almost all the men doffed their hats, by pulling them up from the back. Is this what they did in the 16th century? How do we know? Are there any documents which describe the doffing process?
I understand that doffing your cap happened, I was more curious about the particular manner in which it was done as portrayed in the series.
Doffing your cap comes from the time where people would go "cap in hand" (a euphemism for begging). Lower classes including almost all disabled would wear caps, where higher classes would wear hats. Doffing (taking it off to someone senior) was how a beggar asked for money. The only term you will hear is "disabled", as saying "handicapped" implies unable to work and begging to your 'betters".