We are told that they were greatly ashamed, and David sent
out to meet them, saying, "Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown,
and then return." To shave off the beard was considered by the Jews as a
mark of the deepest grief.
[Illustration: Bayeux Tapestry.
The above picture, showing two soldiers of William the Conqueror's army,
is taken from the celebrated Bayeux tapestry.]
To turn to the annals of our own land, we find that the ancient Britons
did not cultivate the beard. The Saxons wore the hair of the head long,
and upon the upper lip, but the chin was clean shaven. Harold, in his
progress towards the fateful field of Hastings, sent spies in advance to
obtain an idea as to the strength of the enemy. On their return they
stated among other things that "the host did almost seem to be priests,
because they had all their face and both their lips shaven," a statement
borne out by the representations of the Norman soldiers in the Bayeux
tapestry. It is recorded that when the haughty victors had divided the
broad lands of England among themselves, and when the Englishmen had
been made to feel that they were a subdued and broken nation, the
conquered people still kept up the old fashion of growing their hair
long, so that they might resemble as little as possible their cropped
and shaven masters.
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