When men decided to enter the community, the first haircut they got wasn't the tonsure — it was just an incredibly short haircut done with scissors.
The tonsure was reserved for marking the occasion of the novice taking his vows to become an actual monk, and monasteries had barbers who were responsible for maintaining the look.
Straightforward enough, but if there's anything that's guaranteed about history and religion, it's that nothing is ever straightforward. The tonsure that gets featured in all kinds of movies is actually one of three different styles. The one that everyone knows is called the Roman or St. Peter's tonsure, while some monks — particularly devotees of St. Paul — chose to shave their entire heads in what's called an eastern style. Then, there was a Celtic or Simon Magus tonsure.
Like the name suggests, it was common in the British Isles and Ireland, but its exact characteristics are debated. Some say Celtic monks would shave the fronts of their heads from ear-to-ear while leaving the rest long, while McCarthy's research suggests heads were shaved to include a fringe across the front.
About the Author: Karen Carr. Related Posts. Impeachment and the Epic of Gilgamesh. September 26th, 0 Comments. Neptune discovered — on this day. September 22nd, 0 Comments. Climate strike today. September 20th, 0 Comments. Racism and Anglo-Saxonists. September 19th, 0 Comments. Scarcity and the Iliad. Brother David April 1, at pm - Reply. Yes, hair. The idea of No-Shave November is claimed to have started as early as the time of Plato — refraining from shaving as a sign of man-hood.
Others claim it to be a tactic of survival — growing facial hair to warm the face during the colder months. In fact, St. Francis is kind of famous for it. No one can ignore the acclaimed friar haircut when looking at a depiction of St. Peter and known as the Roman tonsure.
A third style, called the Celtic or transverse tonsure or tonsure of St. John evolved in the British Isles. Celtic monks shaved the front part of their head from ear to ear but left the hair in the back hanging longer. Some Celtic monks pulled that hair around to form a semi-circle from one ear to the other. Reference: Sherrow, Victoria.
Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History. Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Ask Question. Asked 8 years, 9 months ago. Active 6 years, 1 month ago.
0コメント