A Passion for Beards

This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard... It is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness. -St. Clement of Alexandria, 271 AD A PASSION FOR BEARDS Today, the average man is clean-shaven, and we have, to some measure, lost the honor and nobility of the beard, and with it, the history of that noble facial feature, the memories of men of glorious facial ornament. There are a number of fascinating facts in this long history, for example: In many ancient cultures a shaved face was a sign of dishonor. The Spartans used to partially shave condemned cowards, cowardness In Homer, the beard was almost sacred - a common form of entreaty: to touch the beard of the king. Alexander the Great was the first man to make clean shaving popular - he ordered his soldiers to go clean shaven, apparently to make sure enemies could not grab hold of their beards in battle. being a crime in Spartan society. FIVE ELEMENTS OF FACIAL HAIR: Facial hair has taken many forms over the years, but variations tend to utilize the same basic elements: Moustache: Chin curtain: Sideburns: Goatee: The Soul Patch: While other hairstyles are known as goatees, the goatee is techni- cally only the lower beard - as named after the male goat's long The middle of a moustache covers the "hiltrum." Without a moustache, the beard is known as a “chin curtain." Named after Ameri- Named for the soul can Civil War general "Ambrose Burnside" and jazz musicians who sported it in the 1950s and 60s.' who wore them bushy with a moustache. First recorded Famous curtainers: appearance: 300 BC, a Persian horse- man painted on felt. Abraham Lincoln, Prince Philip once called it a "poor frus- trated beard,"and said, "If you are going to grow a beard, grow a beard." Brigham Young, Solid Snake in Metal chin hair. Popular in 19th century Europe, disappeared the early 20th century, with the appearance of gas masks in warfare. Gear Solid 2, married Goatee quote: "Don't point that beard at me, it might go off!"" - Groucho Marx Amish men. Famous practitioners of moustachery: Burt Reyolds, Tom Sell- eck, Bill Clement. Famous sideburners: Martin Van Buren, Richard Wagner, Elvis Presley, Isaac Asimov. Famous goats: Egyptian Pharaohs, Easter Island statues. Famous Soul Patches: Ray Charles, Howie Mandel. OUT OF THESE BASIC ELEMENTS, NUMEROUS VARIATIONS HAVE SPRUNG UP, EACH WITH ITS OWN HISTORY AND CHARACTER. Famous Van Dykians: Anthony Van Dyke, General Custer, Colonel Evil Science Fiction Sanders, Uncle Sam. Famously tusked by: Friedrich Nietzsche, Grover Cleveland, Teddy Roosevelt, Jamie Hyneman. Barred the lips of: Iron Age Celts, Wyatt Earp, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Famous Goatee Strapped on by: Henry David Thoreau. wearers: Brad Pitt, Characters . Usually achieved by wax - but some handle- bar moustaches grow completely naturally. Commonly known as a goatee. Named after Flem- Fashionable mish painter Anthony Van Dyck. through the 18th and 19th centuries. "Long whiskers cannot take the place of brains. - Russian proverb A moustache, worn with a goatee and/or soul patch, when they are unconnected. A goatee connected to A chin curtain that does a moustache, with or without a soul patch. A full, bushy mous- tache. Named after the "ibrissae"of a walrus. A long moustache, curled up, to resemble handlebars. not cover the chin, but only the neck. The "Van Dyke" The Circle Beard Chin Strap The "Walrus" Handlebars Pencil Moustache The Horseshoe Fu Manchu: The Toothbrush Salvador Dali A moustche extending A long, draping mous- tache, with a shaved A moustache covering only a square above the middle of the lips. Entirely unique pencil-handlebar mix: Salvador Dali, who A thin line above the lips. down the sides of the mouth to the jawline. philtrum. dedicated a whole book to his mous- Occasionally seen on: Errol Flynn, Alec Guinness, David Niven. Lucky For: Hulk Hogan, Chuck Liddell. Made acceptable by Charlie Chaplin. Named for its first tache. famous wearer, the fic- tional evil mastermind, Fu Manchu. Made unwearable by Adolf Hitler. In the Germany of Hitler's time, the tooth- brush moustache was a popular working-class response to the flam- boyant facial hair of the upper class. Full Beard At long last, there is of course the full beard. It needs no introduction. It was worn by Charles Darwin, Ernest Hem- mingway, Chuck Norris, Kimbo Slice, ZZ Top, Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels. Throughout history it has been a sign of virility with age and wisdom. To anyone who has found a new love for beards, one note is left - beards are not things of momentary style - they are signs of dedication, for as a wise man said: One cannot grow a beard in a moment of passion. G.K. Chesterton UnlineSchools www.OnlineSchools.org Sources: http://artofmanliness.com/2008/11/02/20-manliest-mustaches-and-beards-from-facial-hair-history/ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/527083/growing_a_beard_the_history_and_philosophies.html http://brooklynrail.org/2007/11/streets/beards