Clean face, clean fight.
In 345 A.D., Alexander the Great forbade his soldiers from having beards, preventing enemies from pulling them to gain an advantage in battle.
The beard tax. In 1698, Peter the Great instituted a beard tax in Russia in an attempt to modernize societal norms. Bearded taxpayers were given a medallion that served as a license to wear a beard, and to double the “slap-in-the-face” efforts of the tax, the medallions were inscribed with the phrase, “The beard is a useless burden.”
“Place your right hand on your beard…” Otto the Great, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire until 973, would swear by his beard whenever he made an important declaration.
“Place your right hand on your beard…” Otto the Great, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire until 973, would swear by his beard whenever he made an important declaration.
“I challenge you to a beard-off!” In the Middle Ages, touching another man’s beard was considered highly offensive. In fact, if someone touched your beard, it was seen as a threat and you could challenge them to a duel. (FYI, this is not the format of our Beard Boss competitions.)
The power beard. In ancient Egypt, high-ranking officials often dyed their beards and wove gold thread through them.