It is said this custom is still
in continuance. When Clovis was visited by the Bishop of Toulouse
he gave him a hair from his beard and was imitated by his
followers. In the Arthurian legends we find "Then went Arthur to
Caerleon; and thither came messages from King Ryons who said,
'even kings have done me homage, and with their beards I have
trimmed a mantle. Send me now thy beard, for there lacks yet one
to the finishing of the mantle.' " The association between short
hair and slavery arose from the custom of taking hair from the
slain. It existed among the Greeks and Romans, and was well known
among the indigenous tribes of this continent. Among the
Shoshones he who took the most scalps gained the most glory.
In speaking of the prisoners of the Chicimecs Bancroft says they
were often scalped while yet alive, and the bloody trophies
placed on the heads of their tormentors. In this manner we
readily see that long hair among the indigenous tribes and
various Orientals, Ottomans, Greeks, Franks, Goths, etc., was
considered a sign of respect and honor. The respect and
preservation of the Chinese queue is well known in the present
day. Wishing to divide their brother's kingdom, Clothair and
Childebert consulted whether to cut off the hair of their
nephews, the rightful successors, so as to reduce them to the
rank of subjects, or to kill them.
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