In the Arthurian legends we find "Then went Arthur to Caerleon; and thither came messages from King Ryons who said, 'even kings have done me homage, and with their beards I have trimmed a mantle.

Send me now thy beard, for there lacks yet one to the finishing of the mantle.'" The association between short hair and slavery arose from the custom of taking hair from the slain.

It existed among the Greeks and Romans, and was well known among the indigenous tribes of this continent.

Among the Shoshones he who took the most scalps gained the most glory.
In speaking of the prisoners of the Chicimecs Bancroft says they were often scalped while yet alive, and the bloody trophies placed on the heads of their tormentors.

In this manner we readily see that long hair among the indigenous tribes and various Orientals, Ottomans, Greeks, Franks, Goths, etc., was considered a sign of respect and honor.