[Illustration: Fig. 408.--Costume of a Scholar of the Carlovingian Period
(St. Matthew writing his Gospel under the Inspiration of Christ).--From a
Miniature in a Manuscript of the Ninth Century, in the Burgundian Library,
Brussels (drawn by Count H. de Vielcastel).]
Notwithstanding that under the Carlovingian dynasty it was always
considered a shame and a dishonour to have the head shaved, it must not be
supposed that the upper classes continued to wear the long Merovingian
style of hair. After the reign of Charlemagne, it was the fashion to shave
the hair from above the forehead, the parting being thus widened, and the
hair was so arranged that it should not fall lower than the middle of the
neck. Under Charles the Bald, whose surname proves that he was not partial
to long hair, this custom fell into disuse or was abandoned, and men had
the greater part of their heads shaved, and only kept a sort of cap of
hair growing on the top of the head. It is at this period that we first
find the _cowl_ worn. This kind of common head-dress, made from the furs
of animals or from woollen stuffs, continued to be worn for many
centuries, and indeed almost to the present day. It was originally only a
kind of cap, light and very small; but it gradually became extended in
size, and successively covered the ears, the neck, and lastly even the
shoulders.
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