Charlemagne’s Mustache

Paul Dutton tackles the neglected, but fascinating, history of hair, mustaches and beards in this article expanded from his plenary talk for CSM in 2000. He argues that the Germanic kings used hair – glorious, curly locks and full, manly beards – to distinguish themselves from their clean-shaven Roman predecessors. The article goes on to explore the intricacies of hair under the Merovingians, with laws and practices determining precise lengths and styles for different ranks and classes. The Carolingians, by contrast, were strikingly short-haired, mustaches replaced long hair as semiotic signifiers of power.