#tonsure

Obsequies.

Pontifical matutinale and missal of Jean Coeur, France, ca. 1465

This is true

This has been in my head for a while

And it’s true! Before you could become a priest, you had to go through monkhood to prove your dedication to your cause. Monasticism followed a very disciplined way of life, with some examples of this discipline being near-constant prayer, physical labor attending chapel grounds, and… the tonsure, or the Monk Cut.

Tonsures were made purposefully to look very silly and unattractive. A person’s hair was regarded with much more importance than it typically is today, and cutting it was usually frowned upon or undesired. To be tonsured in the name of God meant that you were willingly embarrassing yourself, in a sense, to show your dedication to God and to humble yourself in his name.

The fact that the haircut exists in TES implies the same connotations: publicly humiliating yourself before the Divines to show your dedication to them. It’s a symbol of great character from Martin, really, especially if you believe he was part of the Rose Cult beforehand. Trading his old, harmful life of beauty and pleasure to dedicate himself to humility and hard work? That’s rather neat :]

Too bad he looks silly /lh

After monkhood, clergy could grow their hair out once again. So, once Martin became a priest, he got his locks back.