The Globe-republican., 1910-01-06
CENTURIES OF WAR
CAN be TRACED TO DISPUTE OVER
LONG on SHORT TREssEs
French Kings Obedience to Edlct Of
the Church Led to BIoodshed 20.
tween That Country and Eng
land--Cxar Taxed Boards.

More than once a difference In the
| fashion Of wearing the hair has de-
noted division of factions. We have
the well-known examples Of the round
heads and the cavaliers. TO the Tor
mer, long, curly hair was an abomina-
tion, they hated the flowing locks OF
the gay cavaliers, and they regarded
such tresses as a symbol Of ungodli-
ness.
On the other hand, the cavaliers re-
garded the closely-cropped hair OF the
stern-visaged roundheads as SYMBOL
Of narrow-mindedness, bigotry and
cant.
AT the time Of the conquest the
English wore their hair long both
upon the head and the upper lip,
while the chin was kept bare. The
Normans, on the contrary, wore their
hair very short, so that Harolds
spies reported to the king: "The host
did almost seem to be priests, because
they had all their face and both lips
shaven."
After the invasion the difference IN
appearance Of the victors and van
quished was accentuated by the tyran-
ny which compelled the Saxons to
grow all their hair. In later days the
Saxons, so far as regarding 1t as a
sign of severity, took good care to let
their hair grow on purpose, effectual-
ly to distinguish themselves from the
Normans.
The fashion Of wearing long hair
spread, and caused almost endless
bother between the people and the
clergy, who based their objection upon
st. Paul's declaration "that long hair
was a shame unto a man"
The pope decreed that long-haired
people should be accommodated
when living, and should not be prayed
for when dead. From nearly every
pulpit the evil Of long hair was pub
lished, and the wearers were cursed.
All this was in vain, fashion laughed
at It, and king and subject wore ring
lets in defiance Of the shorn priests.
This war between the long-haired
and the cropped soon had serious con.
sequences. There were all kinds Of
tumult, some of which had far-reach.
ing results, but It was In France
where the question Of the length Of
the hair altered history.
Louis VII, unlike the disobedient
English, obeyed the injunctions Of the
church and cut OF all his flowing
curls, until he resembled a monk In.
stead Of king.
This caused the greatest consterna
tion at the court, and the lively Flea
nor of Guienne dM nothing but make
fun of her lord to the courts gallants.
In fact, she lost all affection for the
shorn sovereign, whom she looked
upon, with contempt.
Then came all manner OF differ.
ences, terminating in divorce and the
loss of Guinne and Poitou to the
French sovereigns The tickle Flea
nor married the long-haired Henry,
who afterward reigned as Henry IL
Of England, and she bestowed upon
him those rich provinces Of France
Had Louis VII not cut off his hair the
history Of the world would have been
quite different.
Peter the Great was q monarch who
decided that the Russians should be
shaven, under penalty of a heavy tax
for such as preferred to grow boards,
The receipt which was given for this
tax consisted of copper token beaY.
ing hairy face on the one side and
the date on the other. No man wear.
ing beard could enter town unless
he produced one of these "borodovala,'
which had to be renewed each year.
Pearson's Weekly.