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Monday, March 30, 2009

A Pogonology Lesson

The Greeks had a saying: "There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless — boys and women — and I am neither one."


Well, I am today.


If you've followed these posts since the beginning of the year you have seen the progression of my first beard in decades.



(Photo From: Monday, March 16, 2009 2 Knights, 2 Beards and 2 Walks )


I had promised that I'd keep the facial hair only through the winter. Yesterday, I brought out the trimmer, scissors, and razor.


In my youth, my beard was oddly red -- even though I had brown hair. I was, back then, following an ancient course of history: men with facial hair had been ascribed various attributes such as wisdom and knowledge, sexual virility, or high social status (I proved all that wrong).


Today, my beard grows in a nice Santa white (more proof that I'm not only over the hill, I'm near the bottom) and I feared my snow-white facial hair projected more of a crudeness, or an eccentric disposition, such as in the case of a tramp or hobo.


I was seeing it more as in association with nature and outdoorsmen. (Though I realize that a beard does not a true outdoorsman make).


There is a very fascinating history of beards. In fact, I've learned that there is a word for the study of beards: Pogonology.



If you think about it, at one point all men (and probably most women) sported beards.

According to Daniel Lew, a beard historian and author of the article The Troubled History of Beards (edited for length):


Archaeologists have found evidence that men started to shave off their beards as early as 100,000 BC. The first razors discovered by archaeologists date back to 30,000 BC, and were made of flint. Thus, before then shaving was a painful ordeal. One who wanted a bare face would use two sea shells to grip their hair, then pull.


Beards were in the vogue in Greek society, where a healthy beard was a sign of wisdom and knowledge. But then Alexander the Great came along and changed all that, for the sake of the military. He forced his soldiers to shave for fear that an enemy could use a man's beard to his disadvantage in close combat. He thought that the enemy would grab it during hand-to-hand struggles, though I would be more worried about the pain of someone ripping my beard off. In contrast, the slaves, who were normally made to shave, were then ordered to grow out their stubble.


The beard eventually came back into fashion, but a few rulers objected to their presence. In 1698, Peter I of Russia commanded his courtiers and officials to cut off their beards. To add insult to injury, he would sometimes personally shave the beards of his noblemen. Those wishing to keep their beards had to pay a tax - 100 rubles each year - as well as carry around a medal proclaiming that "beards are a ridiculous ornament." A similar taxation was passed by England's Henry VIII in 1535 - who, hypocritically, continued to grow a beard of his own. It's good to be the king (end).


The first time I grew my beard (aged 20) both my grandmothers were horrified. Why? They grew up in a time when beards were virtually nonexistent in mainstream America. The few men who wore the beard or portions of the beard during this period were either old, Central Europeans, members of a religious sect that required it, in academia, or part of the counterculture, such as the "beatniks".


It was only after the Vietnam War that beards exploded in popularity. In the mid-late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, beards were worn by hippies and businessmen alike. Popular rock, soul and folk musicians like The Beatles, Barry White and the male members of Peter, Paul, and Mary wore full beards.


Today, there is still one segment of American society where facial hair is virtually nonexistent: government and politics. The last President of the United States to wear any type of facial hair was William Howard Taft, who was in office from 1909 till 1913.


So, there you have it. A very brief history of the beard. Besides spring and warm weather, there was one more important reason to have shaved off my beard: The powers that be at Guinness say that a pint of beer is lifted about ten times, and each time about 0.56 ml is lost in a beer drinker’s facial hair. That’s a lot of wasted beer!


Sir Bowie "hair today; gone tomorrow - except the moustache" of Greenbriar



9 comments:

  1. Ah the age old joy of men seeing their beard in the basin.. and the freezing cold wind round their shorn face...

    Good lesson there Bowster.. youre right about politics...... no fussy beards in ours either..

    Long time since i had a beard... used to grow one to look older....now you keep it off to be younger...

    I do remember my half cut years...in the eighties...with the Miami Vice / George Micheal Stubble look... LOL... them's were the days... Linen jackets and no socks.. :))

    I'd get a Doctor to look at that Blue face you have there DK


    Sir D.. ( the shaved Monkey 0 of Oxford

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  2. I have a couple of weeks to go before I shave mine off. I did shave off the center, so now I have a nice rounded hairy circle on my face, which I prefer to call a beard, but some my say it resembles the ass of a baboon!

    I too will not shave off the mustache. I am thinking about keeping a FuManChu looking one however?!

    Sir Hook Who's Having Way Too Much Fun with Hair of Warrick

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  3. By the way, I still wear Linen jackets and no socks!

    Sir Hook the Vice Squad of Warrick

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  4. still getting used to seeing Sir B without the fuzzy face - and very glad he kept the 'stache - after all these years it would feel like kissing a stranger without it!

    don't know what made the pictures blue - though our bath walls are Jamacian Aqua (imagining Sir Hook saying Jamacian mahhhhhn here...)

    we did have some Guinness at RiRas's Irish Pub on Sunday - took the future son-in-law who just turned 21 for a few - did you know they have 16 oz. PBR there??

    Lady Suzanne of Greenbriar

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  5. Suz as i just remarked to the Bowster....how do you know what it feels like to kiss a Stranger???

    tell us more !! LOL


    Sir D

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  6. it would be a non-existent story from my end - nothing to tell

    after 29 years of only one man - too long ago to remember any others - and they were mere boys!

    Lady Suzanne of Greenbriar

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  7. Godd polititians (sic)answer..Suz...

    so if Bowster took off the moustache....it wouldn't really feel like kissing a stranger, cos you don't know what kissing a stranger feels like... you never know...might be quite nice LOL...

    Sir D ( teasing Suz ) of oxfordshire LOL

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  8. changing the subject here...

    I'm thinking we have some OLD pictures of a couple of knights during the Miami Vice years when they both worked at a NBC station and we had a Miami Vice night --

    someday I'll look those up, sure they are around here someplace!

    Lady S

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  9. yeah look em out..lol...that would be soo funny..

    I was doing my Don Johnson thing in the heat of PA which was okay there...but back over in an English Summer where people were trying to do it too... it wasn't so good... great in the club's but freezing otherwise...

    Thought i looked cool tho...what were we thinking!!! LOL...

    remember to pack a rain coat LOl...

    DO

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