Beards in the Viking Culture and Religion
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 มิ.ย. 2024
- Sources Below
Are beards required in Norse paganism/Heathenry? The short answer is yes. This has led many people in the armed forces in various countries to get a religious exemption to be allowed to grow a beard.
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Sources
Anglo-Saxon bishop, Alcuin's letter to King Aethelred I of Northumbria
Rigsthula, Atlakvida (Poetic Edda)
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Ibn Fadlan
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Pliny the Elder Historia Naturalis
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Volsunga saga
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Gotalagen
Njáls saga
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Kristni saga
Hrólfs saga kraka
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00:00- Intro
02:04- Foreign Sources
05:00- Norse Sources
10:50- Archaeology
13:15- Beard Styles
In the norse beliefs, we dont have a clear bible like religious texts telling us this........like the sikh religion has for example...........but there are plenty of sources mentioning how important a beard was for all males to have in the pre christian norse beliefs.
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The beard doesn't grow as heavily on indigenous American men (hence the "Amazon women lining that big river" who were likely hairless male warriors), but the length of hair is very important & meaningful to every tribal culture I'm aware of. Short hair also has specific meaning (for example, it might mean mourning bec in some traditions, you cut your hair at the death of a close loved one).
After the boarding school era forcing haircuts, the US government began to acknowledge the importance of hair length, culturally & religiously. I was about 6-7 when a family friend was celebrating the military decision to allow him to grow his hair out.
Hair - facial, head or body, has meaning to most people. I won't even broach the historic importance to women & what it signified, or maps & messages literally braided into slave hair. It's a really fascinating aspect of human history. In the middle east you get stories like Sampson.
European men happen to naturally grow beards more than the rest of the world. Maybe it's the weather. It makes sense that it would become culturall meaningful.
‘When your dad doesn’t have a beard, you have two moms!’
Even in Brennu Njáls Saga, Njal, who couldn’t grow a beard for all his wisdom and fame, was mocked for that as you mentioned. A beard is a sign of masculinity and adulthood and therefor dignity. Grow it with pride bit earn your beard as well!
Mums! Not moms… it’s an Aussie band!
Two beardless Mums😂
Haha love this!
Comments are full of cringe neckbeards ofc, to be shaven is to represent reason, civilization and the top the humanity and their souls has to offer
@@olgagaming5544 You like women? 😂😂
As a Norse Pagan DRGL with the Army, this has been a great source of info. Thank you for continuing to put videos out such as this.
Absolutely agree
I gotta ask, what's the "DRGL" break down to?
@Adrian distinctive religious group leader.
To sum this up:
Ultimately it is not law to wear a beard, but it’s very traditional and heavily respected. However you wear, or perhaps don’t wear it, it is still up to each person how they live their lives. A fulfilling, righteous, and honourable one. My point is, a beard doesn’t determine a man. The man is determined by their virtues and actions.
Stay safe out there brothers and sisters! Skäl!
I'm a veteran and I'm actually friends with the first Staff Sgt to be able to have a beard due to our beliefs. Unfortunately when I was in it wasn't possible. I definitely keep one now.
Same. First thing I did when I got out lol
@Diogenes more or less same for me, as well. Went back to ye old goatee originally, and the fiance wanted to see it all fleshed out. That was 12 years ago, and still kicking it.
Looking down seeing it's been drawn through your bowl of soup (food in general), getting caught in packing tape, wrapped around twigs, tied in knots by the wind...
I love my beard!
And don't forget having to move it out of the way to look down, especially if you're looking at your own body.
Never had a full beard until covid when I turned 30 but now I haven't shaven for almost 3 years and love it!
Btw...I think the whole shaving thing came from the Romans, mainly the Roman military. Christians adopted that from Romans just like they adopted virtually everything else from other cultures and beliefs
Christianity is the greatest fraud that has been imposed on Man based on blood, slavery and oppression for centuries both by the Roman Church and later by the Christian Church.
The Celts was said apparently by the Roman to shave all there body hair but just left moustaches
They also soaked there hair in lime so it made it thick and corse and blond
The romans plucked all there body hair
I presume as crack and sack lol
@@Hadrada. Lol!! 😆😆
Did not know about the Celts, but generally I don't know much about them beyond the most general stuff...and it's apparently even harder to find sources than for our old ways.
how did your covid mask protect you if you had a beard?
@@davidoftheforest3822 wtf are u on right now?
Answer: Yes. Yes, we need beards.
We women also need them…on our men😁
Moustache all the way.
Yes yes yes…we all need beards. The more beards the better, the bigger the beards the better, beards…beards…beards.
A lion needs his mane.
Mines to itchy I go half beard lately but it helps my psoriasis is horrible with facial hair it’s sad
Its a pretty standard indo european thing. Even for Orthodox Christians beards & long hair have been encouraged since the days of Christ & still are.
This has helped a lot in my future endeavours. I'm about to argue the case for beards in the British Army for Pagans. Most people have this idea from what they've seen in Vikings or similar films / tv shows. Here's a chance now to show that there's actually historical evidence to support beards.
Mate I'm having the same argument with my CO.
DPN doesn't support beard's so if your CO asks them expect bad news I'm afraid but there's signal regts infantry regts and some RA regts that support it but good luck 👍 I'm having none so far.
the old Celtic style was to have just a moustache, it's interesting to see how culture plays into that stuff =)
Finally! We've reach the most important topic of all 🧔🏻
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Like always, very thorough and fluidly explained in a captivating way.
Ty for continuing these great videos my friend I hope life is treating you well 😊 ✌️ ❤️
Never even thought about this topic! But awesome to know about it. Thank you so much for your videos, as always.
Great timing releasing this video, and starting to carry beard products. No shade, it's actually a compliment.
I am a new Old Norse (Pagan) Been searching Spiritually for years and I feel I have found a soul mate with Paganism. Part of me at times when I, Hear/Learn/Discover all the ways Christianity has smothered and in many cases taken over pagan beliefs to adopt as their own. I get angry want shove the reality in the face of christians everywhere. Then I remember I have always been the live and let live type. I can't and wont hate christians, I would like to scream at them with the voice of every pagan thru all time.
Yes beards,..Hey man! At 45 I just started my pagan journey after a lot of difficulties and a bunch of negative lifechoices, found your videos for about 1.5 years back and started to be more and deeper interested in paganism, i did a lot off online investigating and use you as a big source. I have both "eddas" on their way and want some more reading and online sources. I always been atheist from birth so it would not be difficult to see the gods lose from the Christian God i guess haha. Further on, i have relatives in Friesland, so i'm interested in a gene test to see for how far back it goes, so thats a later step i'd like to take. Been to Norway and lost my hart to your country man. Planning to go again this year..
Keep up the good work and greetings from the Netherlands
Hoi, ik herken mijzelf in jouw verhaal, leuk om te lezen dat er nog meer Nederlandse mannen van mid 40 zijn die geïnteresseerd raken door het Noorse pad.
Heil en geluk!
while basically everyone had facial hair there are a lot of examples with just a mustache too, id wager that when talking about beards it can be interpreted as a mustache as well as a full beard or similar.
I was gonna ask about maustaches because the saxons were known for them but not sure if that were a Christian implementation
@@hb2k273 don't think so, the celts where famous for them too and there are runestones with just a mustache too
Enjoyed your video. I'm happy about finding your channel.
Make a video about Viking hairstyles
Long hair and beard, i have seen some research of the subject that compares long hair and beard vs short hair and clean shave in warriors and hunters, wich shows the addition of hair and beard increases your senses like the whiskers does in other animal species. And the long haired had more success in tracking the pray of hunt, and was more likely to survive on the run. The research was made with native american Vietnam veterans.
Shaved head with a beard is the most masculine style to rock.
Bald cope
the soy boy look
@@zekun4741 Men sre meant to wear beards. Baby face is the soy boy look.
@@mondaysinsanity8193 long head hair is for women.
@@cavemanmeat8321 lol way to confirm the cope.
The legendary femininity of spartans, vikings, samurai and celts
I don't know if we have to wear beards but I feel much better for having one.
I left the previous company i worked for because they said they were going to make everyone shave their face clean for a more "professional" look. I stood up in the middle of the meeting right after the boss said that, and I said if you do that, I will leave. He said well its going to happen whether you like it or not." I said well then here is my tablet, keys, and fuel card." I'll get my tools and have someone come pick me up. I quit on the spot.
Recently I watched "The Norseman" from 1978. The main hero of this flic looks of course like a man was supposed to look when it was made. I have no doubt you were right when you said a similar thing about Vikings being depicted beardless by medieval artists.
Haven't trimmed mine going on three years. Used to trim it inadvertently by holding a lit cigarette in me mouth while working about.....gave that up for the sake of health and beard a year ago.
...after having to cut my own back completely I am definitely looking forward to having my beard back.
Thanks for the post of the subject, always appreciated.
Beards (and long hair) were extremely common back in the day, but lice were so prevalent in the trenches of W.W. I, short hair and clean shaven faces were maintained to reduce the little critters ability to cling to the soldiers that they had infested. The tradition caught on, and you really didn't see long hair or beards come back into fashion until men started joining the counter culture of the mid to late 60s. It was a protest one wore on one's face and head, sort of like a literal version of Shakespeare's 'wearing one's heart on one's sleeve.'
The real reason soldiers shaved clean was to ensure a seal for their gas masks. Its also a way for soldiers to have less self expression and be a unit of one. But grooming was a reason too.
@@jimbokilo Interestingly, I just watched a docudrama a few days ago, about a U.K. soldier that had to 'ride out' a gas attack with full mustache, and could only tend his mask during the attack, unable to join the battle. They even briefly suggested that Hitler might have had a similar experience and trimmed his original W.W. I style 'stache, down to the narrow version.
Thanks to my 25% Italian DNA, I'm sadly unable to grow a full beard on my face. But hell if I can't grow one on my ass.
Lmao, what haha
I love that he was completely honest in his marketing of his sponsor, and his prices being slightly higher. I work in food, so i have to get an exemption, i have my beard still but its super short.
The blinded eyes and bald neck hairstyle is extremely similar to the Irish "Glib" haircut from the medeival age, beards and long hair were also common
I have to keep my beard relatively trimmed for professional reasons, but I have never had a problem with having it in my career.
Real quick guys, Honest Amish Beard balm and Beard oils are all natural and super cheap. They sell them at Walmart and they work amazingly well. I also use their beard wax which is literally just bees wax.
I've been blessed with Norwegian ancestry and have a full, bright red beard that is almost to my waist now. Now I'm growing out the rest of my hair to see how long I can get it!
I've said it before. I wish we could post pics here. 😄
Although I have a good foundation ( no weak areas in my beard ) I have a question
Doesn't the length get in the way on a lot of occasions. For me it's 4 inches or shorter to enjoy it. Sometimes less is more and visa versa
Norse men were known for keeping their beards trimmed and "shaped".
Love a man with a glorious beard 😁. Please could you do a video on all the sources about women and long hair, too? (Apologies if you already have and I’ve missed it). Thank you, love your vids, and really appreciate all the time you put in to researching them.
If it wasn’t for my Late Mother only liking Men with Beards? I probably wouldn’t be here! She once told me, when they were still together?
He Shaved it all off once and she looked at him and just Shook her head disapprovingly…
…he didn’t stay Clean Shaven for long!
VERY INTERESTING & INFORMATIVE video!
Yes!!!!! … hands down you just made my day
The neck shaven hairstyle is shown on the Bayeux tapestry, which shows you how exactly that Normans were in fact Danes, besides using Dane axes of course which are also depicted on the tapestry.
LOL I actually said out loud: Short answer? Yes." when I saw the title and clicked, and then you said the exact same thing 😄
Love the video man. Absolutely true. Just got out of the army myself and they made it a bitch for us to get beards. Its sad how its more frowned upon. Whereas it used to mean everything. It was our pride.
I understood the clean shaven requirement of the USMC to be more about gas mask fitment than uniformity, and that only came about after WW1. So, there was a time when beards were allowed, and relatively recently.
About the accounts of bleaching from the Roman and Greek period regarding Gauls and Germans.
I feel as though that they could perhaps not fathom that platinum blonde was a real color and thus speculated that the lye they used must cause this color.
On the other hand though I've got a vague memory of Romans actually importing said lye from the Batawii to make their own hair look blonde. Maybe it was Pliny, but I don't think so, although he did say >something< on it. I do know also of an account Ovid who talks about Romans shaving off the hair of German slave girls to make wigs of it so that Romans could be blonde without needing to bleach it.
The hair would also change texture and be spiked up. These people were very expressive.
Blonde hair was common in ancient greece. Achilles is described as having long blonde hair of gold. The idea of greeks all being dark skinned and black haired came later after the occupational rape by the ottomans.
@Norse Magic and Beliefs
Would you do a video on viking marrige cermony and it's importants?
That would be interesting to see. I look through your play list but could not find such a video.
That was very interesting. Besides the cultural and religious ways, I think beards would have been very helpful in keeping the face warm in colder months and on journeys in the ships.
It does help, actually. I've been bearded since I left the Corps in 2010 (save for shaving once or twice and starting it over), and I'm definitely more comfortable with it both in cold and warm weather.
One of my Japanese students drew a great portrait of me, in class of course, but, 'Where's my beard??' He was astonished to realise he simply hadn't drawn it. Don't trust those sources.
They have a thing about Japanese Men having Beards over there, it wasn’t always so though…
…i saw a Japanese TH-cam Video about that very thing, it might still be available on here somewhere?
@@Excommunicated-ei1ep The Emishi were the Indigenous peoples of Honshu and were marginalised as the culture from the Korean peninsular spread. This accelerated in the Heian Period where Chinese administrative concepts spread.
The elite were clean shaven and light skin meant you didn’t work outside; hairiness and dark skinned indicated people who had to work outside and could not spend time and money on grooming.
Post-war Japan also favoured clean-shaven and suited workers to rebuild the country. Hairy faces is still considered a sign of rebellion or perversity. I refused to shave :)
Thankyou my dude
I was successfully able to get an exemption for growing my beard at my job as well. I also used the military source as a reference to attain this.
different cultures deal with beards differently and they were seen as either important or optional for different reasons.
Good video thanks
Agreed wholeheartedly. Well done. 🌲🦌🌲
Aye. I trust no man who exhibits a naked chin and I dream of a strong woman with a long beard to tame. ...There was actually an old lady in a local town who had quite a long beard, she was the noblest of women.
I love that you pronounced 'Sikh' so correctly 💛
I can't even describe how cool this is.
We never hear from Scandinavia!
This is refreshing!
Every single man of Viking or Anglo decent should have a well kept beard if they can grow it. It’s more important than head hair in my opinion. it’s a show of testosterone and masculinity. And not in a silly way. Groom it well and grow it long. Women will love it.
I decided to rock a horseshoe stache. I think I'll grow it all back out after the summer has ended.
Air Force DRGL here, this was refreshing to watch.
That's like asking if Metal Head's all have Long Hair 😂 😂.Thanks for the content man I'm Christian by the way I think it's very interesting the Nordic stories.
My beard grew 3" just listening to this.
thanks for the video! although i find the music a bit distracting
Brother! I had to undergo a emergency tripple bypass two years ago. The medical staff wanted to shave my beard, I refused on spiritual grounds kept my beard had the operation.
Grow it out! Another good one, take care!
I myseld did a summer haircut, based it on carvibg on the oseberg cart. High bowl cut with short shaped beard and full moustache. 😊👌
Awesome!
long beard and long hair are liabilities when fighting
At first thought perhaps, but I will say after discussing this topic with fellow martial combat enthusiasts, it is not that simple. Remember that someone that grabs your hair (or beard) is giving you easy access to their hands. Having said that, I also prefer hair and beard no longer than to the chest and cut away from the eyes. Also as a combat Glima practitioner, having someone weave their hands into the hair at the back of your head is frowned upon, but in a "more real" situation could be a viable tactic that must be countered immediately.
@@Madgardian i think the crew cut/shaved face originated from roman soldiers? some beard is alright surely... maybe it different if ur in a giant battle and have a helmet... but if all else fails y wud u put urself at a disadvantage. seems like beards/long hair are a sign of peaceful times or people.
I am grateful for your effort and analysis on this delicate subject. Even if I do not agree to all of your statements never miss a video.
I just ask for two things.
Please fix your room and try to wear some merch t-shirts/jewelry.
Regards.
Beard struggle yup. Dear as hel tho and your shop is in Ireland now I bought thors hammers beautiful piece.
Many of the warriors not depicted with no beards might have been too young to grow one.
Yesssssss. I love beard struggle. The commercials are the shxt.
I requested a waiver, but from what the Chaplain could find online, he said it looked more like an option than a requirement. I feel so naked without my beard now.....😢
Us Indo Europeans have a tradition with beards. From Sikhs and Achaemenids, to the Norse here and the Slavs. It is our Lions mane.
I also think men and women should both have long hair. Especially women, and it is also manly in men, like a lions mane.
That shaved in the back was probably a anti head louse tactic. The Celts shaved the sides of their heads for the same reason.
Personal hygiene!
From Germania by Tacitus ~~> A practice, rare among the other German tribes, and simply characteristic of individual prowess, has become general among the Chatti, of letting the hair and beard grow as soon as they have attained manhood, and not till they have slain a foe laying aside that peculiar aspect which devotes and pledges them to valour.
The chatti must've been nasty mf'ers from what I've read from tacitus...
"Yes! Now please buy these beard balms."
When reading the accompanying Text it sometimes says we need beer instead of beard😂😂
As long as it's groomed a beard or even a moustache is a symbol of masculinity, virility and strength as a man. And if you can't grow a beard, grow your hair out and be proud.
Every lion needs a mane and every boar needs his tusks.
I use the base tenet's of Sikhism as the foundation of my own path. Keep yourself presentable, never shave (I do keep a short hair cut) I have a replica Norse comb I use daily and I always have my knife at all times. I have a brass mala that stands as my Kara and while I do not have a specific under garment I wear I've begun practicing sexual restraint, and trying to get back into my morning meditation after a life hiccup. I recommend it to every pagan I can great foundation in my opinion.
Excellent
I keep my beard trimmed short, but my hair goes down to my waist.
I'm French Norman Viking/ Iroquois Mohawk Metis. I have an amazing Viking beard . Skal 🍻
This video will be the basis for my religious exemption for work as to why I should be able to have a beard.
You project good energy and wisdom towards those with good intentions to learn. Maybe you got to cash in that hard work over the years and possibly were able to access some healing and good luck.
Stupid question and I hope yall will forgive my ignorance but just curious. Is it a full beard or would something like a long goatee work.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE men WITH beards because beards are cool! 🤔🥰🤗🇨🇦💖 Skål!
Regarding Njál. He was famed for being incredibly wise and pretty much advised the protaganist exactly what to do, as if he knew what the future would hold.
This to me seems like a wizard/sourcerer prototype which is always deemed effeminate.
I think his clean cheeks are meant to highlight further that he is indeed effeminate and thus a sourcerer.
It seems as though Wen (Oðinn, Odin) is the exception here as he's not just a sourcerer but mainly the god that embodies all the tools that a great King would need to be succesful.
For comparison, the Turtle Island Indigenous, some can't grow a beard.
However, they feel that long hair makes one more sensitive to natural, and spiritually.
It's a parallel.
Can you do a video on pagan ethics, did the Vikings believe in good vs evil .... where does honour come from?
If you look at art some men in the viking age had beards but some didn't. There was variety just like today.
I love my beard now that I've grown it longer
This is awesome! I've been a lucky guy that's been able to grow a beard since I was in highschool. And I used it to cover up my baby face 🤣
If you ask me i think they made halfdan the black look like a cossack with how his hair looks
The hair color thing is interesting when you think of the context of the show, "vikings" Rollo(brunette) isn't treated with as much respect as his brother Ragnar(blonde)
She took his honor then he took hers. Things much differently back then.
What's the name of the song from the background from the part when you showed the products of the store?
The last Pagan emperor had a beard
What are some good books to start learning more about our history ?
Yes
I love my hoary beard
So does a goatee count? I currently have a beard, but there is a massive bald spot under my chin, so I thought about going back to just a goatee but do not wish to be seen as un-Norse. I am rather new to Norse and still have much to learn.
LOL... Great plug.. 15:04
I was just having this exact conversation with a cringe pagan, thank you for all you do man.