pass the mantle

A reference to a mantle worn as a symbol of office or authority.

pass the mantle (third-person singular simple present passes the mantle, present participle passing the mantle, simple past and past participle passed the mantle)

1. To transfer authority to the next in line; pass the torch.
   • 2002, Robert V. Kemper, Anya Peterson Royce, Chronicling Cultures: Long-term Field Research in Anthropology:

     In contrast, there are a few noteworthy examples of intentional multigenerational projects, in which the senior ethnographers pass the mantle, as it were, to new researchers who then take responsibility to sustain the project into the future.

   • 2014, Gwen Tarbox, The Clubwomen's Daughters:

     The young girls who came of age during the Progressive era were reaping the benefits of a century of struggle waged by their mothers and grandmothers — the clubwomen had negotiated an entrance into public life, and they now hoped to pass the mantle on to the next generation.

   • 2015, Caitlyn McFarland, Shadow of Flame:

     Then, for unknown reasons, the last Lung king didn't pass the mantle to a son or daughter, but to the chieftain of the Wonambi.