Haircut time for monks

Every time I venture into the town I pass a new barber shop. In 2019 we seem to be obsessed with having our hair cut. Women spend a fortune, quaffing  wine while having highlights added ; men go for that little tidy up so often....St Albans is full of barbers just like any town today. It wasn't like that in the Midde Ages. Hair was long, except for  those in religious orders or for felons as a punishment.

In those films we used to see jolly Friar Tuck always had a bald head save for that circle for hair round the edge. That was what we expected. I had never really thought about it until last week. Why did they have this haircut and how did they get it?

By our period it had been established that monks had their hair cut short. Generally when they became a novice their hair was cut drastically with shears. These were the medieval scissors - two oppoing baldes connected by a flat metal bow which acted as a spring to hold them togther.

When they made their prpfession and formally became a monk the top of the head was shaved leaving a bare patch surrounded by a ring of hair. This symbolised the crown of thorns put on the head of Christ before the Crucifixion. This was called receiving the tonsure. It was performed using a knife called a rasorium or novacular. (very much like what we call a cut throat razor). I told my barber this yesterday as he trimmed my sideburns - he didnt seem impressed....

Lay brothers did not have the tonsure. Cistercian houses had large numbers of lay brothers (conversi) to help the daily running of the monastery.They were formal members of the Order and took vows of obedience but their main focus was on manual labour.

Medieval shaving

The cutting of hair and shaving was usually done in the cloister, where there would be a source of water and plenty of light. There were no mirrors so light would be advantageous.No soap and hot water likely only for softening the beard. It must have been pretty unpleasant. It was often done just before a big Feast day like Easter, Christmas etc. as a preparation for the holy celebrations. Cistercian monks were thereby shaved 7 times a year in the 12th century. In the later Middle Ages more frequent shaving was likely : perhaps fortnightly in summer and every 3 weeks in winter. Shaving was sometimes done in pairs or one "expert" monk could perform it.