Lecture explores history of a haircut

On Monday, Nov. 8 the Irish Cultural Association of Rhode Island (ICARI), hosted by the Gaelic Society and the Department of History at Prov-idence College, sponsored a lecture by Dr. James T. McIlwain on the Celtic tonsure.

The ecclesiastical tonsure, or haircut, was worn by men to signify their membership in the priesthood or in a monastic order. It is believed to have taken three forms: the Roman tonsure of St. Peter, the Eastern Orthodox tonsure of St. Paul, and the Celtic tonsure of St. John.

McIlwain's curiosity on this topic was kindled early in his study of Medieval history when he read an account of a meeting between prominent political and religious leaders held in what is today England to discuss the Celtic tonsure.

This meeting clearly indicates the important and controversial nature of the Celtic tonsure, yet the topic was nearly untouched and there was little valid historical evidence as to what the haircut actually looked like.

Recently, McIlwain began searching for written accounts or images of the Celtic tonsure, endeavoring to find a firm definition.

McIlwain explained that he first looked at the varying descriptions of the Celtic tonsure that are accepted today, such as those in The Catholic Encyclopedia, The Encyclo-pedia Britannica, and Colgrave and Mynors' twentieth century translation of St. Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

All modern sources seemed to repeat what McIlwain deems "the mantra" of the Celtic tonsure-that the head was shaven in front "from ear to ear."

Since none of these works cited any primary source for the description, McIlwain went in search of the origin of the "mantra." He was able to trace it back to a collection of canons from the late seventh century that had been translated by James Ussher, a 17th century bishop of the Church of Ireland.

McIlwain then turned to images of the Celtic tonsure, looking at the Book of Durrow and carvings on stone crosses throughout the British Isles. He commented, with a smile, that the portrayals could easily depict either the tonsure or male pattern baldness.

Convinced that there was more to the story of the Celtic tonsure, McIlwain persisted in his research and ultimately found eyewitness accounts, particularly those of St. Wilfred, the Venerable Bede, and John Dowden. Unfortunately for McIlwain, each work provided a different picture of the Celtic tonsure.

"A lot of things were interesting about this project ... not least of which were the characters I ran into," said McIlwain in reference to figures like Ussher, Wilfred, Bede, and Dowden.

"Dowden," McIlwain said, "is one of my heroes in this debate." While other accounts disagree over whether the front or the back of the head was shaved, Dowden asserted that neither is true, but that a strip across the middle of the head was shorn.

McIlwain also acknow-ledged the probable influence of the druids on the formulation of the Celtic tonsure, though there are discrepancies between documents as to whether Celtic monks imitated or consciously avoided the druidic practice.

It is possible that the Celtic monks retained a tuft of hair on their foreheads, a tonsure inherited from the druids. The writings of St. Columbo "indicate druids were not the hated class they came to be later on," explained McIlwain. He noted, however, that Colgrave and Mynors believe that a tonsure following druidic tradition would be frowned upon by Rome.

The Celtic tonsure, as posited by McIlwain, was a fully shaven head. He cited the possibility that the Celtic monks were expressing their withdrawal from society, which valued long hair, and the servitude they pledged to God.

In closing, McIlwain said that one of the "interpretation hurdles" in researching the Celtic tonsure is whether the word "tonsure" refers to the shaven or unshaven part of the head. This ambiguity suggests there is much research still to be done on the Celtic tonsure.

McIlwain earned a degree in neuroscience from Tulane University and is the Professor of Surgery-Opthalmology (Research) Emeritus at Brown University, where he also served as Chair of the Program in Medieval Studies.

ICARI, which is celebrating its 20th year, is sponsoring another lecture, scheduled for Dec. 6, on "Ireland and the British Empire."

The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Kevin Kenny, assistant chairperson of the Department of History and professor in the Irish Studies Program at Boston College.