History Main / BeardOfBarbarism

* Aversion: When most people hear barbarian, they probably think of Franchise/{{Conan|TheBarbarian}}, who isn't bearded. The Aesir, Vanir and other barbarians that he occasionally fought, on the other hand, did have full beards.
** ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Cohen]]'' the Barbarian, on the other hand, has a beard so long he's been said to not actually need his loincloth to remain decent. Being mostly a parody of BarbarianHero types, it's to be expected.

* Aversion: AlexanderTheGreat had his men shave regularly, so as to avoid giving the enemy an advantage (pull on your opponent's beard, his head's going to go where you want it to go).
* Vikings -[[HollywoodHistory stereotypically.]] Actual Vikings tended to go for [[http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/hairstyl.shtml whatever type of beard was comfortable for them. So you could find as many Vikings averting this trope as you could playing it straight.]] This was both for the same practicality concerns Alexander the Great had and because the Norse people were very hygienic for the Middle Ages -- it was normal to wash and comb one's hair daily. Being beardless, however, was considered unmanly, and "thin-bearded" was a fighting word.

* '''{{BRIAN BLESSED}}''' often plays a character with one of these.

* When PeterTheGreat decided to drag Russia kicking and screaming into conformity with Western European cultural mores, one of the things he did was make all of his nobles shave off their beards, sometimes he would do it personally.

* One of the reasons that the BadassBeard is so popular in Music/HeavyMetal subculture. Particularly relevant to performers and fans of viking and folk metal, most famously Amon Amarth front man [[http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c53/Schatten000/Amon_Amarth___Wacken_2006_by_HellPi.jpg Johan Hegg]].

* [[http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/images/viking_lg.jpg Vikings]]-[[HollywoodHistory stereotypically.]] Actual Vikings tended to go for [[http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/hairstyl.shtml whatever type of beard was comfortable for them. So you could find as many Vikings averting this trope as you could playing it straight.]] This was both for the same practicality concerns Alexander the Great had and because the Norse people were very hygienic for the Middle Ages -- it was normal to wash and comb one's hair daily. Being beardless, however, was considered unmanly, and "thin-bearded" was a fighting word.

Barbarians usually do not have access to good shaving blades or mirrors. So it is not rare to see a barbarian with a huge BadassBeard that puts all other beards to shame. Not only do they dwarf the beards of civilized men, but they also have really awesome [[DreadlockWarrior dreadlocks]] and BraidsOfBarbarism. He may even have body parts from his slain enemies stuck in there. Anyone with a beard like that is immediately flagged as a [[TheBerserker Berserker]], a BloodKnight or both. There's a reason 'Beard' and 'Barbarian' are thought to be derived from the same root (see discussion page).

* {{TabletopGame/Warhammer}} takes this trope and makes sweet, sweet love to it. The length and fullness of your beard is a direct indicator of how badass you are. From the Norscans to the Dwarfs to the northerly Imperials, almost everyone whose badass has some manner of thick, unruly, seriously grizzly looking beard.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Inverted and played straight in CormacMcCarthy's ''Literature/TheRoad.'' The book's most central character sports an unkempt beard (rarely mentioned except when he gets the opportunity to shave it off) and is also the ''least'' barbaric character in the novel. Played straight by a small band of cannibals seen briefly, in which the only adjective that describes the men is "bearded."

* Chaos Marauders from ''WarhammerMarkOfChaos'' bear giant, sometimes forked, sometimes heavily braided beards into battle against the enemies of the Dark Gods and come from a culture of what could only be described as ''Satanist Vikings''. Helmetless Chaos Warriors on the other hand, disappointingly avert this trope. Despite embracing it in the official art for them from the tabletop game.

* Wulf in ''StrontiumDog'' is another Viking character with an impressive beard.
* VandalSavage usually has a beard. You can sort of tell how "civilised" he is in a given time by how trimmed it is. It's a full-on BeardOfBarbarism in ''DemonKnights''.

* Chaos Marauders from WarhammerMarkOfChaos bear giant, sometimes forked, sometimes heavily braided beards into battle against the enemies of the Dark Gods and come from a culture of what could only be described as ''Satanist Vikings''. Helmetless Chaos Warriors on the other hand, disappointingly avert this trope. Despite embracing it in the official art for them from the tabletop game.

* Aversion: When most people hear barbarian, they probably think of {{Conan|TheBarbarian}}, who isn't bearded. The Aesir, Vanir and other barbarians that he occasionally fought, on the other hand, did have full beards.

* Inverted and played straight in CormacMcCarthy's ''TheRoad.'' The book's most central character sports an unkempt beard (rarely mentioned except when he gets the opportunity to shave it off) and is also the ''least'' barbaric character in the novel. Played straight by a small band of cannibals seen briefly, in which the only adjective that describes the men is "bearded."

* [[Literature/HarryPotter Hagrid]]. The famous comb-breaking, beetle-infested beard.

* [[http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/images/viking_lg.jpg Vikings]]-[[HollywoodHistory stereotypically.]] Actual Vikings tended to go for[[http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/hairstyl.shtml fairly short, neat beards.]] This was both for the same practicality concerns Alexander the Great had and because the Norse people were very hygenic for the Middle Ages -- it was normal to wash and comb one's hair daily. Being beardless, however, was considered unmanly, and "thin-bearded" was a fighting word.

* Pretty much everyone has a seriously badass Beard of Barbarism on ''Series/{{Vikings}}''. Hell, even background characters get beards of such epicness that usually belong to main or supporting characters on other shows.

* Bearded Nords and Giants in ''TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' would probably qualify.

* When PeterTheGreat decided to drag Russia kicking and screaming into conformity with Western European cultural mores, one of the things he did was make all of his nobles shave off their beards.

Barbarians usually do not have access to good shaving blades or mirrors. So it is not rare to see a barbarian with a huge BadassBeard that puts all other beards to shame. Not only do they dwarf the beards of civilized men, but they also have really awesome dreadlocks and BraidsOfBarbarism. He may even have body parts from his slain enemies stuck in there. Anyone with a beard like that is immediately flagged as a [[TheBerserker Berserker]], a BloodKnight or both. There's a reason 'Beard' and 'Barbarian' are thought to be derived from the same root (see discussion page).

[[VideoGame/GodOfWar http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BarbarianKing.jpg]]

** Hmm... I wonder if VikingBeard is common enough to warrant its own trope.

* Aversion: When most people hear barbarian, they probably think of [[ConanTheBarbarian Conan]], who isn't bearded. The Aesir, Vanir and other barbarians that he occasionally fought, on the other hand, did have full beards.
** ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} Cohen]]'' the Barbarian, on the other hand, has a beard so long he's been said to not actually need his loinclothh to remain decent. Being mostly a parody of BarbarianHero types, it's to be expected.
* Hagrid. The famous comb-breaking, beetle-infested beard.
* Inverted and played straight in Cormac [=McCarthy's=] ''TheRoad.'' The book's most central character sports an unkempt beard (rarely mentioned except when he gets the opportunity to shave it off) and is also the ''least'' barbaric character in the novel. Played straight by a small band of cannibals seen briefly, in which the only adjective that describes the men is "bearded."

* The Barbarian King from ''God of War''.

* The Dwarf Mountain King in ''{{Warcraft}} 3'' has skulls (presumably) from his defeated enemies attached to his mustache.
** In ''WorldOfWarcraft'', this trope is exemplified by the vrykul, whose men ''always'' have this kind of beard. Additionally, any male player-character Orc or Dwarf can have a beard with multiple braids and rings hanging from it.
* Thok, Master of Dungeoneering from ''RuneScape''
* Bearded Nords in ''{{Skyrim}}'' would probably qualify. Also, [[OurGiantsAreBigger Giants.]]

* The Barbarian From ''{{Diablo}} III''. Note that The Barbarian of ''Diablo 2'' was bald and shaved.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Aversion: AlexanderTheGreat had his men shave regularly, so as to avoid giving the enemy an advantage (pull on your opponent's beard, his head's going to go where you want it to go).
* [[http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/images/viking_lg.jpg Vikings]]-[[HollywoodHistory stereotypically.]] Actual Vikings tended to go for[[http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/hairstyl.shtml fairly short, neat beards.]] This was both for the same practicality concerns Alexander the Great had and because the Norse people were very hygenic for the Middle Ages -- it was normal to wash and comb one's hair daily. Being beardless, however, was considered unmanly, and "thin-bearded" was a fighting word.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chabal This guy]]. Suggested by @/{{Chabal2}}. Guess what he looks like...
* '''{{BRIAN BLESSED}}''' often plays a character with one of these.
* The Latin word for beard ("barba") is related to the Latin word for barbarian ("barbarus"). One theory holds that the word barbarus comes from the fact that the Romans were clean shaven, while the barbarians were not.
* While the beardedness of the Celts is debatable, they are confirmed to have some [[http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3399/3557557985_ed748ebfa5_o.jpg pretty big mustaches.]]

[[/folder]]

* VandalSavage usually has a beard. You can tell how "civilised" he is by how trimmed it is. It's a full-on BeardOfBarbarism in ''DemonKnights''.

* Bearded Nords in ''{{Skyrim}}'' would probably qualify.

[[folder: Literature ]]

** ''[[{{Discworld}} Cohen]]'' the Barbarian, on the other hand, has a beard so long he's been said to not actually need his loinclothh to remain decent. Being mostly a parody of BarbarianHero types, it's to be expected.

[[folder: Music ]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]

* [[http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/images/viking_lg.jpg Vikings]]-[[HollywoodHistory stereotypically.]] Actual Vikings tended to go for[[http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/hairstyl.shtml fairly short, neat beards.]] This was both for the same practicality concerns Alexander the Great had and because the Norse people were very hygenic for the Middle Ages -- it was normal to wash and comb one's hair daily. Being beardless, however, was considered unmanly, and "thin-bearded" was a fighting word.

* Bearded Nords in ''{{Skyrim}}'' would probably qualify.