The Contentious History of the Monk's Tonsure

The tonsure, a religiously shaven hairstyle worn by monks, has a rich and contentious history. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the practice began as a 'badge of slavery' among Greeks and Romans and was adopted by early monastic orders to mark total surrender of the will. Three styles existed: the coronal (Roman/Petrine) tonsure, featuring a bald crown with a fringe of hair, possibly evoking the crown of thorns; the Pauline tonsure, a fully shaved head common in Eastern Orthodoxy; and the Celtic tonsure, which sparked controversy. The Celtic tonsure, associated with Celtic Catholicism, was used by Roman Catholics to portray Celtic Christianity as pagan or an offshoot of Simon Magus. Its exact shape is unknown, but Daniel McCarthy, fellow emeritus at Trinity College Dublin, speculates it was triangular with the apex at the front, based on computer simulations. The practice of tonsure officially ended in 1972 and had fallen out of favor in English-speaking countries centuries earlier. McCarthy views the tonsure as a cult-like devotion to style, analogous to modern hairstyles signaling membership in a group.