Julius II., who ascended the Papal throne in 1503, was the first Pope to
allow his beard to grow, "in order," as he said, "to inspire the
greater respect among the faithful." A curious custom of the Middle Ages
was that of imbedding three hairs from the king's beard in the wax of
the seal, in order to give greater solemnity to the document. Another
instance of the value placed on this adornment of nature by some nations
comes to us in the story of the Eastern potentate to whom the King of
England had sent a man without a beard as his ambassador. The Eastern
monarch flew into a passion when the beardless visitor was presented.
"Had my master measured wisdom by the beard," was the ready retort, "he
would have sent a goat."
It is said that beards came into fashion in England in the thirteenth
century, but by the nineteenth century they seem to have been given up
by those holding leading positions in the land. Traces of beards do not
appear on monumental brasses. A revival of the practice of wearing the
beard occurred in the reign of Henry VIII.
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