the hair of the head and beard has been held, more or less, in a sort of mystical respect in most nations. It may be traced in our own country, perhaps, in the reputed use of the human hair in spells and incantations. To this day, the Arabs and other Orientals, treat the hair which falls or is taken from them, with a degree of care which indicates the superstitious feelings which they connect with it. They bury it very carefully, that no one may see it, or employ it to their prejudice."*

From the passage in Numbers, it is therefore evident that the hair was worn long by men earlier than B. c. 1490. In the year B. c. 1027, we also find that Absalom, the king's son, wore his hair very long; and that "when he polled his head (for it was at every year's end that he polled it, because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight." (2 Samuel xiv. 26). There cannot be a doubt that Absalom wore his hair unusually long, because we afterwards find (2 Samuel xviii. 9), that as he was riding a mule, and passing under the thick boughs of an oak, that "his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away." When we remember that it was the custom at that time to anoint the head with ointments, and then to sprinkle the hair with gold dust, so that it might look handsome, we may almost account for the great weight of Absalom's hair; and in this we are somewhat assisted by the passage "after the king's weight," which refers to the lesser shekel in use among the Hebrews at that time. The suspension of Absalom by his hair is a remarkable proof of the strength of hair (§ 30, p. 201, vol. 2, of the New Series), and calculating at the rate of 10 grains as the weight sustained by every hair, and the number of hairs as 648 to the square inch of his head, we shall find that Absalom's hair was quite capable of sustaining the weight of his body (see § 21). 62. In the New Testament we are told "that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him; but if a woman have

long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering (1 Cor. xi. 14, 15).

63. The ancient Egyptian ladies wore their hair long, and plaited. The back part was made to consist of a number of strings of hair, reaching to the bottom of the shoulder-blades; and on each side other strings, of the same length, descended over the breast. The hair was plaited in the triple plait, the ends being left loose; or, more usually, two or three plaits were fastened together at the extremity, by woollen strings of corresponding colour. Around the head was bound an ornamental fillet, with a lotus bud, by way of feronière, falling over the forehead; and the strings of hair at the sides were separated and secured with a comb, or a band, ornamented in various ways according to the fancy of the wearer, and occasionally a round stud or pin was thrust into them at the front.

The short hair at the side of the face, which the ingenuity of ancient Romans,* and modern European ladies has, by the aid of gum, compelled to lie in an immovable curve upon the cheek, was interwoven with several of its longer neighbours; and these, being bound together at the end with string, fell down before the ear-ring, which they partially concealed. Many of the mummies of women have been found with the hair perfectly preserved, plaited in the manner I have mentioned; the only alteration in its appearance being the change of its black hue, which became reddened by exposure to great heat, during the process of embalming.+

64, Sir G. Wilkinson also tells us tha slaves or servants dressed their hair differ ent to the ladies. "They generaliy bound it at the back part of the head, into a sort of loop, or ranged it in one or more long plaits at the back, and eight or nine similar ones were suffered to hang down at either side of the neck and face." Several woodcuts are given to illustrate the various methods of dressing the hair,

Vol. i., note at p. 393.

edition, vol. iii. pp. 369, 370.

both by the ancient Egyptian ladies, and their slaves or servants; and in one of them, we observe that the side hair is confined by a comb, and falls in six plaits down the side of the neck, while the short hair before it is arranged in three separate plaits on the cheek.

65. The custom of plaiting the hair is referred to in the Bible (1 Peter iii. 3), and we learn from Josephus and other historians, that certain of the Jewish women gained a living by adorning and plaiting the hair of the women of that period. It was not an ordinary mode of plaiting the hair, as we may easily see from the statues in the British Museum, but required great skill and taste.

66. The Etruscan ladies, if we may judge from paintings and statues, wore their hair in plaits down the back, with two long tresses on either side of the face and partly resting upon the bosom, which are, as Mr. Dennis remarks in his work upon the Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, (vol. i. p. 422), "just such as are cherished now-a-days by misses in their teens." The plaits, to the number of ten or twelve, were tied together near the end, so that when viewed from behind, this style presented a very singular appearance.

67. The ancient Greek women braided the hair, and frequently passed a band of the hair, thus braided, across the top of the head.

68. The ancient Greek and the Phrygian women frequently used network to confine the hair.

69. The ancient Grecian men wore their hair somewhat long, trimly curled, and falling in clusters over the ears.

66

70. The Panathenaic full dress of the women was completed by the headdress, which consisted of three braids of hair, falling behind each ear on the shoulders; a fillet or band round the forehead; at the back of the head, an edifice of curls; and lastly, a thick braid of hair falling loosely, and invariably powdered with the sacred barley-flour."+

71. We regard the examination of the mutations, that the mode of wearing the hair among the inhabitants of England

*This proves that side-combs are very anc'ent.

Hare's "Ancient Greeks." 1836. p 310.

has undergone, to be exceedingly interesting, and have, therefore, traced the various changes from the earliest period to the present time.

72. It appears that Boadicea, Queen of the Iceni, allowed her light hair to fall down her shoulders unrestrained by plaiting, and unconfined by band or diadem.

73. The Druids and early Britons dyed their hair with herbs, and applied grease to it pretty freely.

74. From the year A. D. 78 to 400, or, as it is called, the Roman British period, the hair of both sexes was cut and dressed in the same style as the Romans.

75. From the eighth to the tenth century, or during the Anglo-Saxon period, "long hair was the distinguishing characteristic of the Teutonic tribes. It was a mark of the highest rank amongst the Franks, none of whom but the first nobility and princes of the blood, were permitted to wear it in flowing ringlets, an express law commanding the people to cut their hair close round the middle of the forehead.

Amongst the Anglo-Saxons the law made no invidious distinctions; but the clergy preached for centuries against the sinfulness of long hair, which seems most perversely to have grown the faster for the prohibition. In the illuminations, it appears not ungracefully worn, being parted on the forehead, and suffered to fall naturally down the shoulders."*

76. The Anglo-Saxon females of the same period (§ 75) paid great attention to their hair. The wife described by Adhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, who wrote in the eigh century, is particularly mentioned as having her twisted locks delicately curled by the iron of those adorning her; and in the Anglo-Saxon poem of "Judith," the heroine is called "The maid of the Creator with twisted locks."+

77. During the Anglo-Danish period (from A. D. 1016 to 1041) the men prided themselves upon their long hair. "Harold Harfagre, that is, Fair locks, who derived his name from the length and beauty of

"A complete History of the Dress of the Inhabitants of the British Islands," by J. R. Planché, Esq. 1846. p. 27. A work to which we are greatly indebted for much information. † Ibid, p. 36.

his hair, which is said to have flowed in thick ringlets to his girdle, and to have been like golden or silken threads, made a vow to his mistress to neglect his precious curls till he had completed the conquest of Norway for her love. And a young Danish warrior, going to be beheaded, begged of his executioner that his hair might not be touched by a slave or stained with his blood. In the AngloSaxon poem on Beowolf, mention is made

of

"The long-hair'd one, illustrious in battle, The bright lord of the Danes."

On their arrival in England we still find them attentive to these flowing locks, combing them once a day; but a few years afterwards the fashion of cropping was imported from France.*

78. During the reigns of Edward the Confessor and Harold II. (from A. D. 1042 to 1066) the hair was worn cut quite short.

79. In the reign of William the Conqueror (from A. D. 1066 to 1087) the Normans adopted the Aquitanian fashion of shaving the back of the head and cropping the hair in front quite close, which occasioned the spies of Harold to report that they had seen no soldiers, but an army of priests. The Saxons, however, continued to wear the hair long and flowing; so that when William returned to Normandy after his coronation, attended by some of his Saxon subjects, the courtiers of the Regent of France were astonished at the beauty of the long-haired English.+

80. The Anglo-Norman ladies wore the hair long and flowing; but sometimes it was plaited in two or more divisions, after the Gothic fashion.

81. In the reign of William II. (1087) the hair was allowed to grow to a great length; in fact, the people appeared to think that it could not be too long, thus running into the opposite extreme of the fashion in the time of William I., so that we find William of Malmsbury exclaiming against the inordinate length of the hair as much as he did against the cropping system, and we also learn that a decree

* Planché, on British Costume, p. 45. + Ibid, p. 57. Ibid, p. 63.

was passed in 1095 by the council of Rouen against the fashion of wearing the hair long, but that it failed to produce the desired effect.

82. During the reign of Henry I., the fashion of wearing long hair still prevailed, so that the practice was denounced by various preachers. Among others, Serlo d'Abon, preaching before Henry I. on Easter day 1105, against the sinfulness of beards and long hair, put forth such an eloquent discourse that he moved the monarch and his courtiers to tears, and taking advantage of the effect he had produced, he coolly drew a large pair of scissors from his pocket, after the sermon, and went from seat to seat mercilessly cropping the king and the whole congregation.*

83. In the reign of Stephen, the long hair again became the prevailing fashion until 1139, when it received a sudden check from an exceedingly trifling circumstance. A young soldier, whose chief pride lay in the beauty of his locks, which hung down almost to his knees, dreamed one night that a person came to him, and strangled him with his own luxuriant ringlets. This dream had such an effect upon him that he forthwith trimmed them to a rational length. His companions followed his example, and superstition spreading the alarm, cropping became again the order of the day. But this reformation was of very short duration; scarcely had a year elapsed before the people returned to their former follies, and such, especially, as would be thought courtiers, permitted their hair to grow to such a shameful length, that they resembled women rather than men; those whom nature had denied the abundance of hair supplying the deficiency by artificial means. Wigs, therefore, may date in England from the time of Stephen.

84. From 1087 to 1154, the Norman ladies not only plaited their hair, but also encased the plaits in silk, or bound them round with ribbon.

85. From 1154 to 1216, or during the reigns of Henry Il., Richard I., and John, there was little change in the fashion of wearing the hair among gentlemen,

* "An Introduction to English Antiquities," by James Eccleston, B.A. 1847. p. 126.

until the latter part of the reign of John, when the hair was curled with crispingirons, and bound with fillets or ribbons. This fashion was considered such an improvement, that we find it recorded that the beaux of that period walked about the streets, and even in the country without caps, so that the beauty of their curls might be admired.

86. During the reign of Henry III. (from 1216 to 1272), the hair of the men was worn in flowing curls, but not very long.

87. The ladies of the reign of Henry III. dressed their hair nearly in the same style as the present day, the hair being confined by a net attached to a circlet or garland, and, therefore, the fashion was completely altered, for the plaited tails were unbound, and the hair turned up behind to be enclosed in a network of gold, silver, or silk thread.

"A fret of golde she had next her here."

CHAUCER-Legend of Good Women.

Sometimes a chaplet of roses or other flowers was worn over the hair alone, or over the network of gold; thus, we find the following lines in the Roman de la Rose, by William de Lorris and John de

Meun :

"Un chappel de roses tout frais

Eut dessus le chappel d'Orfrays."

And Chaucer mentions it in the "The Flowre and the Leaf:"

"And every lady had a chapelet

On her head of branches fair and green," &c.

88. In the reign of Edward I. (from 1272 to 1307), the hair of the gentlemen was curled with crisping-irons, the same as in the reign of John (§ 85.)

89. The hair of the ladies of the time of Edward I. continued to be dressed much in the same style as during the preceding reign, with this exception, that a distinction was made between that worn by married and single, the former enclosing theirs in a caul of golden network, while the latter had flowing ringlets, bound by a ribbon, or fillets of gold or silk, or by the elegant chaplet of natural flowers.

90. In the reign of Edward II. (from 1307 to 1327), the hair of the men was cut short upon the forehead or parted in

the centre, and allowed to fall in curls below the ears, a fashion that continued during the reign of Edward III.

91. The ladies continued to enclose the hair in network, but they also kept it back from the forehead with a peculiar kind of fretwork which passed across the head and covered the ears with sloping lappets, so as to leave the back and upper part of the head exposed. The back hair was brought to the sides and concealed by the fretwork. The fashion of enclosing the hair in a network of gold, silver, or silk, continued throughout the reign of Edward III. (from 1327 to 1377.)

92. During the reign of Richard II. (from 1377 to 1399), the hair of the men was worn long, and curled with great care, so that the courtiers prided themselves upon their curly locks, taking pattern by the king, who was the greatest fop of the day.

93. The ladies of this period still adhered to the fashion of confining the hair in a caul of network: "And everich on her head

A rich fret of golde, which, withouten drede, Was full of stately net-stones set."

"

94. During the reign of Henry IV. (from 1399 to 1411), the ladies continued to confine the hair in a network; but its arrangement was different to that of the preceding reign, the hair being brought more from the back to supply the side of the head, so that the outline resembled the half of a French roll affixed to the ears. The hair is said to have been dressed square, horned, or in a net.

95. The men of the same period (§ 94), wore their hair cropped close round above the ears, the same as in the following reign (§ 96.)

96. From 1411 to 1422, or the period during which Henry V. reigned, the hair was worn by the men the same as during the reign of Henry IV.

97. The ladies of the reign of Henry V. wore the hair confined by the network used in preceding reigns, and they were also distinguished for the heart-shaped, and horned head-dress.

98. In the reign of Henry VI. (from 1420 to 1461), the men wore the hair the same as in the former reign, and the ladies also adhered to the same frightful fashions.

99. During the reign of Edward IV. (from 1461 to 1483), the men wore their hair so long, and in such masses, that it came into their eyes.

100. The ladies of the time of Edward IV. allowed their hair to fall down over their backs, after it had been parted in the middle; but it was generally combed off the forehead and made up into a knot, which was concealed under the steeple head-dresses of that period.

101. In the reigns of Edward V. and Richard III. (from 1483 to 1485) the men wore the hair very bushy at the sides and back, the same as in the reign of Edward III. (§ 99). But the ladies arranged the hair on the extreme back of the head, and enclosed it within a caul of gold net, which projected horizontally from the back of the head.

102. In the reign of Henry VII. (from 1485 to 1509), the men wore their hair enormously long, so as to reach to their shoulders. The ladies of the same reign used the cauls of network for their hair; but it was sometimes allowed to fall down far below the waist, from underneath the network.

103. During the reign of Henry VIII. (from 1509 to 1547), the men were obliged to cut their hair short, by order of the king. The hair of the ladies was worn plain off the face and gathered up at the back of the head.

104. There is not anything remarkable to record during the reigns of Edward VI. (from 1547 to 1553) and Mary (from 1553 to 1558), respecting the mode of wearing

the hair.

105. In the reign of Elizabeth (from 1558 to 1603), the men wore their hair moderately long, and neatly curled and

trimmed.

106. The ladies of the reign of Queen Elizabeth wore their hair, according to Stubbs, "curled, frizzled, crisped, and laid out in wreathes and borders from one ear to the other," so that the head-dress was a mass of countless curls.

107. During the reign of James I. (from 1603 to 1625), the fashion of dressing the hair either by the gentlemen or ladies did not differ much from that of the preceding reign.

108. In the reign of Charles I. and the Commonwealth (from 1625 to 1660) the

men wore their hair long, and sometimes it was powdered.

109. The ladies of the above period wore their hair in ringlets on each side, and several short curls hanging over the brow; the back hair was worn like that of the present day.

110. The men of the reign of Charles II. (from 1660 to 1685) wore their hair very long, or else perukes, a fashion said to have been introduced from France. Nearly every person is familiar with the portrait of Charles II., with the long curls falling upon his shoulders. The hair of the ladies of this period was a mixture of false and real ringlets.

111. In the reign of James II. the periwig was worn very large indeed, so as to fall over the shoulders, and half way down the back, and the beaux of that period used to comb out their perukes publicly with large ornamented combs, which they carried about with them.

112. The ladies of the period of James II. wore their hair brushed off the forehead and arranged in four tiers of curls on each side, while a curl was allowed to escape from underneath and to fall somewhat negligently over the shoulders.