Medieval Hairstyles for Men
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
- Search for a true medieval aesthetic. Compare historical styles with modern equivalents. Find the one that best suits you for your next event or character design.
1:06 History
8:00 Style Guidelines
9:03 Short Hair
9:45 Medium Hair
10:18 Long Hair
www.lordsandladies.org/middle-...
www.medievalchronicles.com/me...
rosaliegilbert.com/haircare.html
harreira.com/viking/viking-br...
scandinaviafacts.com/did-viki...
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Music: "Now We Feast", "Mjonir", "Vetur Frosti", "Grundar", "medieval Loop" by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
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Free music for non-commercial use from Fesliyan Studios "Pirate Song" - Zábava
This was really helpful! I was looking for setting/character information about what men actually did, and this was exactly what I needed.
It's worth mentioning that which of these hairstyles work for you is as much a factor as hair type or texture as anything else. Straighter, finer hair may not take a braid well, and you'll get better results with the curls look if your hair naturally curls and has a lot of body.
Half up-half down or similar is also going to be quite warm if you're moving around at all, so if you're LARPing, especially in summer, that's something to bear in mind.
Great points Cygna, thank you! It all comes doen to personal experimentation with the texture. Given the period, people must choose what is practical. We can't afford to be fighting our hair for looks when everyday is just a fight to survive!
I'm getting information for a book I'm writing. Definitely helpful.
I'm a bald man...timeless look.
I have long hair. I spent 40 years working in heavy industry around all kinds of dangerous machinery, and wearing a hard hat more often than not. Long hair is very easy to manage in that environment. I tie on a bandana like a scarf completely covering the front and top, pull the back of the bandana in from both sides to be close against my head, take the "ponytail" in the back and wrap it around my hand a couple times and hold it on top of the bandana while I plop on the hard hat. Very secure, never had it come down, and it takes a tenth of the time to do it that it took to read this. Working outdoors, especially when it's hot, same thing except I plop a ball cap on top instead of the hard hat. Never had an employer complain either.
Sounds like cronmage style samurais had. I believe it was for practicality and keeping the hair and the helmet in the right place.
@@Falanu Also reminds me of the Suebian knot.
@@dubuyajay9964 I'd have to look that up. It sounds interesting.
@@dubuyajay9964 that looks awesome. I just looked at it. It is very similar except chronmage is on the back of the top where a man bun goes and you intentionally shave the front and top soft of like a receding hairline except this looks sharp and intentional. The Suebian is on the side/top kind of and all tied out of the way without shaving any parts of the head. I like it. You learn something new every day.
Yes, and medieval men often wore a kind of head wrap (like a balaclava) as a part of the imposed feudal costume. There wasn't free choice, but a strictly enforced dress code for medieval peasants.
Trying not to laugh at you basically pointing out one of the things that almost all women find silly about so many depictions of women in media that have remotely 'action' scenes; long, loose hair is, indeed, largely impractical. However, how effectively this is negated by braiding or otherwise securing longer hair shouldn't be understated; modern women doing anything practical have to manage somehow, much as women in cultures where they kept their hair long have throughout history. I personally would also love to see more men branch out into employing some of the styling techniques aimed at or utilized by women, especially if it's not in a strictly "historically accurate" context - that being said, there are probably more historical men's styles during the 'medieval' time period from places outside of Europe that could offer options for longer hair, as it wasn't uncommon in all cultures
Just a hint on why Aragorn, Boromir and Faramir don't look like that dork in the painting: layers. They have layers plus the kind of casual curls a wavy-haired person gets when the hair gets sprayed with water. Easy. Plus, in Aragorn's case, the hair is unwashed for 2-3 days. That creates a lot of curls in a layer cut.
imma rock up to the larp with the historically accurate bowl cut.
the "pot cut" if you will.
Chad!
I'm a woman, have always had very, very long hair (waist length or more), and usually wear it unbound. It does take some work to care for, but it would not be impossible for anyone with a little free time every day. I can do many things with my hair loose, but when I did martial arts, I would always tie it back.
I also make chainmail (modern butted), and wearing a coif without both binding my hair up AND covering it completely would be a nightmare.
Great channel, btw. I'm part of the invasion from the Shadlands, I subscribed and think I'll stick around.
Welcome! Thanks for stopping by, hope I can convince you to stay!
BUTTED?
@@knightlon There's no way I'm going to teach riveted mail at a SF con!
Or was your comment an example of the sophomoric humor that is rife on CZcams?
@@lizcademy4809 Why can't it be both?
He might not know the difference in between the different chains
As a primarily 18th century reenactor, I will heartily agree with the assorted issues of a long ponytail with medieval garb.
I feel like I need a degree in geometry to wear a hood comfortably(up or down), and chain mail caught in a braid should be classified as torture in most countries.
where mail is concerned, a good arming cap is essential.
Hence the Norman style haircut, due to the frequency and focus on war on the hands of the Normans.
4:44 This guy is a frigging elf!
A linen coif was ALWAYS worn under armour ( helped to remove sweat) therefore hair was protected
11:06 Here is the answer to your question: their bangs are long enough to be parted, which they do roughly down the middle. That's how they pull off long hair with short(er) bangs. It frames the face well and blends in to the rest of their hair instead of looking like they're cut straight across in contrast to the length of the rest of their hair.
As a guy with long hair, the little joke you added in about someone threatening to shave yours was 😱 to me as well.
Hey young man, I appreciate your commitment to authenticity and accuracy. Great video.
13:15 That was a helluva way to take one for the team.
I have short hair and a bushy beard. But I'm envisioning my full dwarf getup will have a massive hairstyle and beard.
The hair will need a cap to help direct it rearward, and to serve as a helmet liner.
Not sure about making the uber beard manageable yet, though.
i feel like if youre a guy with long hair and are unwilling to cut the hair or go for common masculine styles, literally just follow a womens hair tutorial, something simple like a braid that is pinned up could do - it's historically accurate still!
As someone who served as a modern soldier in combat, I can attest to the fact that short hair is preferable for a few reasons. It is easier to keep clean, doesn't get in the way, and doesn't get caught in equipment. Interestingly the same reasons stated in this video
Thank you for your service. Short hair cuts makes sense in the military now, and they would have made sense then. I think probably the reason a soldier might have had long hair was status, or maybe religion.
Its what was usual. Knights letting their hair grow long was criticized by moralists of the time because it was vanity that lacked practicality.
Very nice video man, love the medieval period but its so heavily stereotyped that its hard to find good media about it
So glad Inigo Montoya was able to make a guest appearance at the end of this vid. Seriously though, you rock it, and great vids.
He stopped by looking for a six fingered man and ended up staying for the video and tea
Hygiene factors - particularly avoidance of head lice - would have been significant in this era. Bear in mind that sharing of unwashed beds was common even up to Samuel Pepys' time in the 1600s. And, if we look a sailors on ships like King Henry the VIII's "Mary Rose", limited accommodation combined with the watch system, inevitably led to "hot bunking" where lice infections would be transmitted unless strenuous avoidance methods were employed.
I like your approach of deep analysis combined with digging deeper into all strata of society.
I don't know, man. Those silky trsses of yours are great, but the reverse mullet/roadkill toupee look at 3:25 is MAJESTIC.
XD
Respect to you for trimming any length off those lovely locks for the video (and the sake of historical accuracy). That's not easy to muster the courage for!
This video has been incredibly helpful for me in the context of writing a medieval fantasy.
Absolutely wonderful, and your sense of humor is amazing. I can't wait to see your other videos!
- another living anachronism
Really interesting video! One thing I've found out lately is how the bowl cut is coming back into fashion now, and can also be seen in many 14th an 15th century illustrations of men.
Just found this for a book and watched it the whole way through, I absolutely adore this channel and your personality and this is definitely aiding my hyperfixation on the medieval era haha. Thank you!!
Great video!
I have had long hair for almost 20 years, and I know how inconvinient it can be. But it's still cool!
All Serbian men had long hair until begining of 19th century, but then they started cutting it because it's big problem in melee combat (that's time of Serbian uprising against Turks). So, my long hair is not medieval but it is historically accurate =)
Aragorn, Boromir, and Faramir pulled that off because they have a semi-part in the front. The fringe isn't short and straight down over the forehead as in that painting, but longer and pulled to the sides in a loose part that just doesn't go back over the rest of the head. This is basically just a rough-and-ready version of the long and parted style worn by noblemen, which is what these characters were.
Yep, no bangs!
Love the final reveal
Your hair is beautiful btw. The cut suits you perfectly
Thanks!
Great thoughts!!!
Found your channel when Shad mentioned one of your vids…great work! Keep it coming, please!
New video every weekend. Thanks for checking out my channel!
Thanks for this video! My husband and I were trying to figure out what to do with his hair that he decided to try growing out again. For fun we decided to try the Faramir/Aragorn hair and... It kind of works! Haha
such a cool video concept and channel! Glad I found it, subscribed! ✨
Thank you!
Interesting, I can't say I've ever given this much thought because I'm limited to only one hair style (short) because my job is operating machines, and even if I was to tie it back long hair is not good full of oil, but long hear caught in chainmail would be nasty, and probably result in short hair quite quickly LOL
This was helpful, Ive been considering the King Henry but didnt know if it was historically accurate.
I love your videos so much.
As a man with frizzy curly hair I only have one option. It's short hair or look like an angry bush. This video is just 13 minutes and 55 seconds of being mocked for never being able to have the long luscious hair needed to be a fantasy hero. I am doomed to be the wild haired drunken peasant friend of the hero.
If you look at a lot of the iconography from the period, to me it looks like a lot of the men in the period had shorter, curly hair, more than they had hair like mine ;)
The last time I watched The Seventh Seal I thought that the short hair of the knight and his man at arms looked convincingly practical.
Have you tried a curly hair care method?
Love your beautiful Pothos, I have one that is growing like crazy and have started a second one from starts off my larger one. I love Pothos and Spider Plants, they're great air cleaners.
Not sure if you have already or if you plan on it, but I would love to see a video like this one medieval facial hair
LOL..Loved this...thank you, Sir :)
I've had long hair half way down my back. I accidentally caught it on fire over an alcohol lamp in art class and I had to braid it to the scalp and braid the length when doing taekwondo like they do in ufc. I personally find mid neck to tops of shoulder length hair is the easiest to care for because my head's natural oils at that length make it so I don't have to wash my 2b-c wavy semi coarse medium hair as often because I use a boar bristle brush with it to distribute the natural oils so my ends don't get dry but it can still be put up out of my face and up in a updo of sorts . we also have remember many combs are found with lice, and people still had to deal with fleas so having long hair can be disadvantageous and hard to clean when bathing meant going to the bath house maybe 1x a week to bathe. most people wore some kind of head protection from the elements like a hat ,hood , head scarf or cap that would be great for holding hair out of the face and out of the way .
I like your hair in the end
Just came back and watched this now that I'm thinking of using the knowledge soon. 😅, helpful and hilarious at many points.
I may do a follow up soon showing different styles that I do, elven, human etc
@@LivingAnachronism That would be great! And useful for me. I'm thinking of beginning my own channel before too long. My own hair is pretty short, so it's those kinds of styles that I personally will be looking at, I haven't yet decided whether I'll grow it past a couple extra inches.
Try tying with a linen ribbon It holds nicely
Thank you for this video. I'm costuming a camelot-set show, and I needed help with the men's hair!
When I was a National Park Ranger, lo these _many_ years ago, I had very long hair that I wore loose or in a braid. At first. After my first brawl with violent, drunken campers, one of whom grabbed the braid and yanked so hard I had a bruised neck, I learned to pin that braid around my head. It can’t have been any different throughout history. Long hair is just too tempting a handle with which to control you.
nice video
Subscribed
im going for the prince charming rn
Cool video! I've been looking at what to do with my hair for the purpose of filming a historical short film while not looking silly in the modern day (I comply to the first one now lol), and this was quite helpful :) You might have just earned a new subscriber!
Also, your hair looks really good at the end!
Mate you were right, this shit’s pretty cool
@@koffieverslaafde627 lmao ikr
Excellent! Glad you found some inspiration. Is the short film your own project or is it casting somewhere? I'm a trained actor, I'd love to be involved if I can.
@@LivingAnachronism since my dear friend is a slow little shit I’ll answer: it’s his own project, well one of them at least, and we’re from the smallass country the Netherlands, though I think he’ll appreciate any tips and help he can get ;)
@@koffieverslaafde627 Very cool! I wish you both the best of luck with completing it then, and I hope that some of my videos help give you guys some ideas :)
Nice video mate! I’m big into history so this was cool, and I appreciate that you weren’t preachy! Nice
Glad you enjoyed!
For the half-up/half-down or ponytail set, flat leather cordage and laced leather bands similar to what bikers wear today seem to be historically acceptable, as are leather cups and hair sticks, depending on region.
Fringes look really good :)
Great shirt…. Mind sharing where you got it.
11:7 and 12:24 😌 Thank goodness! I was getting worried!
An interesting aside--I'm listening to a podcast about English/British monarchs, and for the life of me I can't remember which one it was, but one of the complaints about him was that his hair and that of the males in his court was considered way too long for propriety. It apparently hung down their backs, and the implication was that it was "unmanly". If I can find the episode, I'll edit with his name.
I found interesting this topic and it's controversies over some countries, that seems just mundane (though I really like long hair myself) like the japanese culture and the hairstyles, the reasoning behind them etc. They didnt use elastics and such but they used similar materials and natural oils to pull the hair up and bond it with hair rope, and they were actual warriors/samurais. We can also see that on vikings culture too, anyways great video and surprising ending lol
8:15 funnily enough i think this was the typical aztec commoner hairstyle from when the spanish arrived and conquered
I love your style. The outfit hair and facial hair. But it could be impractical if you are fighting and wonder why and when long hair was seen as girly/feminine.
When I'm giving a look at pictures from the medieval or renaissance times, I always see paintings or drawings with men with short hair, but you just said that the more "default setting" hair that we keep seeing is long. So is it because in the media, long hair = medieval or because we only study portraits that look how we modernly think a man should look (short hair)?
This is an issue of what constitutes long at what time. In the middle ages long hair on men was shoulder-length and the preference for "long" vs short (which was basically a cropped bowl cut) varied depending on the year. While fashion did not change as rapidly then as it does now it still did change within people's lifetimes and it could change quite drastically. I can't find the article but someone did an analysis of sartorial rhetoric during the late middle ages where older men were complaining that young men were wearing their hair long and cutting their beards and shortening their tunics to the point their butts would be seen. Long hair in this contest was shoulder-length or just below the end of the neck as compared to the much shorter hair that was popular just a few generations earlier.
As to why we like to put long haired men in our medieval fantasy? We think it looks cool. That's it. Movies and shows will never show fashions that are as correct to the period as we can get because they will always look a little funny to us today (unless you are specifically into historical costuming). They will always be influenced by current fashions, it's why we have female characters running around with their hair down, men generally not sporting bowl cuts or looking like Lord Farquad from Shrek, why no one wears caps, and why the tunics are never short enough.
Coif. The inconvenient truth with modern recreations, but ubiquitous in the day. Under the hood, hat, mail, or just over hair, for hundreds of years. Bad hair day, greasy hair, don't want hair grease on your expensive hat, don't want hair caught in mail or in the way, fugly haircut...coif got ya covered. If a coif is really, truly OOP for your impression, a bag hat or regional cap. We have to imagine that a lot of iconography depicts people in their Sunday best, going to celebrations, freshly bathed and tonsured, whereas just like a baseball cap for modern workers (that they don't wear when dressed up), a cap is the everyday wear.
I know you've already commented on me recently, but your mention of nobles having longer hair (signaling they don't need to work) is something smart I hadn't thought about. Reminds my of Absalom, the favorite son of Israel's most well-known king (David). Absalom had really long beautiful hair, then in a battle that he fled, his hair got stuck in the trees and his horse run from under him. Hanging by his hair from the branches Absalom was living target. Yup, not very convenient. Edit* Duude, your hair above shoulder length at the end of the video looks good! (and is a funny alusion to your video).
Thanks! It was a little disillusioning to find that long hair isn't viable at all, but I'm glad the shorter length still looks good. It's much more convenient, I don't think I will go back to longer than shoulder length any time soon.
So one of the most common period styles is basically just what happens when you wear a hood over medium-short hair. It's absurd how much sense that makes.
Nobody's gonna talk about Matthew Broderick's electric clipper job in Ladyhawke?
The vikings were also often described in period journals and letters as having combed hair and clean-shaven faces that could lure easily tempted Christian women. And that Christian men should be wary of this possibility.
Sounds like I need to shave!
@@LivingAnachronism Only if you really want the authentic viking look. Personally, I think the Aragon look is also appealing.
@@khodexus4963 as do I
i have long hair and i do wear armor sometimes, leather lamellar, steppewarrior type armour, and i have no issues at all, becourse i allways wear my hair in a pigtail bray, and unter the helmet i allways wear a shemuag like cloth. so i have never had any issues with my long hair.
What about the pre-christian early medieval northern Europe? It is known that e.g. vikings admired their hair, painted it and put a lot of efford in it. Also, it is written that slavic people wore long hair, that they cut when they were baptised.
Though usually restricted to medival women a common method for handling long hair is to tie with a ribbon and the pin the knot so it can't come undone.
Nice, though I would've liked to hear a more thorough explanation of which styles were fashionable where and when. Not all of these styles were used at all times.
I believe I mention not all of these were used at the same time. A full comprehensive history of all men's hair and beards might be something I can attempt in the future, but it is far to broad a topic for me to embark on right now. I'm currently focused on the most practical way to boost immersion without needing a degree in barbilogy :)
I have read several historical documents about the Knights Templar, Hospitaler and other semi religious military knight orders all wore their hair short due to their wearing of the chainmail coif. They also were required to wear full beards. This was ordered as the regular European knights wore long hair styles with generally short or no beards in the 12th through till later centuries.
This after years of service in the middle east kingdoms and their exposed faces were heavily tanned and very short hair was the one of the main reasons the Knights Templar in 1307 could not just shave and dissapear. The very light colored skin where the beard used to cover would give them away after they were declared as heretics ( later recanted by another Pope ) by the then Pope Clement V and his relative King Philip IV of France who was going bankrupt and heavily in debt to the Knights Templar from borrowing large sums of money from them.
In a fight, if you can get a good hand of long hair, it's all over
I'm a little curious about what did they do for shaved or bald heads, seems to be non-existent
I have my hair shoulder-length, and I trim my own bangs straight across above my eyebrows, like in the 15th century portraits. I don't wear it like that, however; I brush my bangs to the sides and part my hair in the middle and I end up looking exactly like the guys in the Lord of the Rings.
Definitely something I'll have to try one day
@@LivingAnachronism thanks for the reply! I did it because I both like historical authenticity, and because I hate my bangs in my face. I'm a writer, and long bangs + looking down at a notebook for long periods ≠ comfort, lol.
If you want to show commitment to historical accuracy beyond the call of duty, you can wear a "polish plait". You'll be the talk of any Ren Fair, I promise. 🧔
Listen here, Mr. Anachronism from a year ago. Come at me with those scissors. _I dare you._
Monty Python and the holy grail sort of did this like in the which trial scena with the presents having vary short almost bald haircuts. Even though it is not a historical acute movie.
You're very convincing. No expert here, but didn't the Church's edicts have big effect? "The British king Henry I accepted in 1130 to cut his hair and his beard, under the pressure of the Church. Since then, and until the 15th century, it was rare to see beards in men. Haircuts were used no longer than the nape and all the faces were clean shaven. Images of William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy and later king of England, are depicted only with moustaches, though among the Normans the use of beards were very important to separate mature males from youths. From the 11th century on, was very popular the "pageboy hairstyle ", which was a haircut with a bang on the forehead and the hair curved over the ears up to the neck. " Also seems the Bayeux tapestry shows more variety of hair styles than the weird shaved back-of-the-head/bristly in front.
👍
What do you think of so called slavic styles whereby a mustache, beard, and shaved sides and back, with a grown out top, look cossacks, would be also accept able. I know lots is done for westwrn styles. But eastern styles are largely forgotten.
For example i wish to grow my hair out and brush it to the side, if it gets in my eyes braid it along the front to see what happens. Of course if i could, and my lady per its it, a long long mustache to boot.
i agree i'd love his opinion! you can see this style in the witcher 3 DLC and its epic for sure
You look more Ethereal with the longer hair and more mortal and high vitality (due to blunt cut shorter hair looking thicker) with shorter hair.
I typically wear my hair up in a bun.
To think, practicality won over fashion during war time... who new... Besides the Romans, we know, they based their fashion off of function.
Loved the video, didn't know about the Viking thing but ya, makes scenes.
It's interesting to me that the ancient Greeks and several native American cultures actually consider long hair to be peak masculinity for warriors or fighters. I wonder of that has to do with the fact that they all tend to use much less mechanically complex armor, or very little armor at all.
I know hair taping is technically more of for medieval women’s thing but would that be a reasonably accurate way to keep men’s hair up?
Good question, and one that I don't have a full answer to. I can honestly say, that at least while doing the prep for this video, I never saw that done in any historical iconography or any article. That doesn't mean it wasn't done though. It might have been tied to females specifically for fashion reasons. I've never tried it, so I don't know how physically practical it is, but definitely something I can look at. Good question, I'm leaning towards no, but I could be wrong.
People may wish to research the Sumptuary Laws of medieval England. These laws, many introduced by Elizabeth I, reinforced older feudal laws about what each rank of society was permitted to wear - not getting above one's station - and making a person's rank (or lack of) clearly identifiable by the colour and style of their dress.
Woabetide anyone dressing above their station in Ye Olde Engeland!
Note: these Sumptuary Laws differed in Scotland and Ireland to those of England. And, crucially for accurate re-enactment, were often broken or ignored, hence the repeated need for further new Sumptuary Laws down the ages.
Right...Elves of Arda didn't wear armor..so they could wear it long. Those on the front line would have to worry a bit more about not getting it ripped out by the roots :)
i have an undercut, but the hair i have on the top of my head its kinda long... if i comb it to the front it covers my whole face and ends on the point of my chin ¿should a braid it? i can try to do the "cut to the middle" but i look like lord farquaad from shrek lol
Hey! I would say braid it, but since it's all anachronistic anyway, do what is easiest and most affective for what you are doing. If you are very active, I'd personally do whatever keeps your hair out of the way the most. Maybe slicking it back or something if you like that look. Hard agree that the farquaad look, while maybe more historical, isn't a great look.
The Farquaad look IS pretty historically accurate to some time periods, so I say rock that style.
I hate guys with better hair than mine...Ok, hate is a strong word. Envy would probably be more appropriate. I am in envy of thy locks. I also thoroughly enjoy these videos, as they are well done and I'm learning interesting things!
Roger the Shrubberer.
Me, with a chrome dome- I compensate with a bushy beard!
I read that, and in my medieval themed brain, though you meant you had a helmet on so only your beard showed1
@@LivingAnachronism Oh that as well, for when I ride my bike >]
Dude, there are historically accurate braids styles warriors with long hair wore. Basically, something like those. czcams.com/video/puzgpBoesss/video.html
I don't think that French hairstyles should be your only option when it comes to this. Especially in a vague fantasy context.
If you have long hair and want to keep it away from your face you can always wear a headband.
Godsent
Until about 20 years ago I had waist long hair. Not very common for a male.
It can take quite a bit of upkeep to keep it presentable and riding a motorcycle I had to keep it inside my jacket. A half meter long pony tail will quickly become a tangled mess at 100 km/h.
These days I have a more sensible style: nothing at all.
what if I have waist length hair
Then you're probably of elven blood. :P
And what did noble men do about male pattern baldness?
Good question, and apparently a hige historical rabbit hole to dive into. There were medicinal remedies, but I've seen some sources to say that men that were bald but had big beards, were more fertile than other men, so given this positive image, maybe some men did nothing at all!
@@LivingAnachronism We need to get this positive image back. :)
As a whole, modern times, beauty standards (for Men too) are just out of touch with reality.
One Punch Man worked out till his hair fell off soooooo.... Ya.
Even Jesus most likely had short hair
What products could people use to keep hair slicked back in the middle-ages ?
I think some type of fat or grease, back in the day. Perhaps oils, if they had them. I know there are some types of "pomade" that women used in the 14th century. I think most people probably just wore hats, or cut their hair so it wouldn't get in their faces.
i’m sad ‘cause i’m bald :(
His name is Inigo Montoya…
And he is looking for the six fingered man.