Hair, Sign of Rank

The Parthians and ancient Persians of high rank wore long flowing hair. Homer speaks of “the long-haired Greeks” by way of honorable distinction. Subsequently the A then i an cavalry wore long hair, and all Lacedæmonian soldiers did the same. The Gauls considered long hair a notable honor, for which reason Julius Cæsar obliged them to cut off their hair in token of submi ion. The Franks and ancient Germans considered long hair a mark of noble birth. Hence Clodion, the Frank, was called “The Long-Haired,” and his succe ors are spoken of as les rois chevelures . The Goths looked on long hair as a mark of honor, and short hair as a mark of thraldom. For many centuries long hair was in France the distinctive mark of kings and nobles.