Charel Bodé Hey there! As a bearded history student Im often terrified by the historical informations about beards; they are sometimes very wrong and make my eyes bleed. During my studies I discovered this article about Beards in the Byzantine Empire: Beard: In late antiquity the norm for men was to be clean-shaven, and imperial portraits of the 4th-6th century present predominantly beardless rulers; after that date bearded images on coins came to symbolize imperial power or imperial seniority, although some exceptions can be found, such as Constantine V. On coins, a beard and moustache are often not portrait elements but to distinguish a senior from a junior emperor. Later images of Constantine I., who was historically clean-shaven, show him with a beard, the shape of which was often changed to conform to the type worn by the current emperor. The huge beard of Constans II, added as an afterthought to the dies of his coins, gave rise to his nickname, Pogonatos. The defense of beard originated not only within Christian circles, but also among pagan “philosophers” who saw, as Julian did, in the shaggy beard a symbolic rejection of effeminacy and a return to classical fashion; Julians satiric treatise Misopogon is addressed to those who criticized his beard. Beards served in the Byzantine view as an indication of manliness, contrasted with beardless eunuchs; the deprivation of ones beard was considered a severe punishment. Monks were normally bearded. After the schism of 1054 the beard became a symbol of national pride that differentiated Byzantium from clean-shaven Latins. The cult of the beard was ridiculed, however, by satirists such as Theodore Prodronos. On the other hand, many 12th-century authors (esp. Zonaras) relate that youths preferred to shave off their beard, following the Latin style; the same fashion was mentioned by a 14th-century historian. Social prejudices against the beardless are reflected, to some extent, in proverbs and satire texts, such as Spanos. Touching the beard was an important element of body language. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford, 1991. P.S.: The Byzantine Empire is what became the Eastern Roman Empire after its division in 395. During the Middle Ages it stretches mainly about what is today the southern Balkans (Greece, Macedonia, Albania) and Anatolia (Turkey). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire --> has a lot of good references at the end if you want to read about a fascinating culture P.P.S.: Here a coin with Constans II. and his nice beard (even if he maybe didnt wear one...)
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 16:34:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015