The growth and erasure of the papal beard

Journal article

This article examines the curious phenomenon of papal beards between 1510 and 1700, analyzing how facial hair became a significant element in papal self-fashioning and religious symbolism. Beginning with Julius II’s beard, reportedly grown in protest after losing Bologna during the Italian Wars, the tradition of papal beards continued with Clement VII’s, cultivated after the 1527 Sack of Rome. It solidified during Paul III’s long pontificate. Beards were transformed from situational aberrations to a normalized feature of papal presentation despite canonical prohibitions. This revolution in papal facial hair paralleled a broader Renaissance reevaluation of beards as symbols of classical virtue and masculine authority. Humanist defenses of clerical beards, particularly Piero Valeriano’s 1531 Pro sacerdotum barbis, provided theological justification by selectively citing biblical precedents. The papal beard disappeared again under Clement XI in 1700, a shift that reflected further changes in the complex interplay between religious tradition, gender performance, and cultural context in early modern Europe.

Authors: Pattenden, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Brepols Publishers
• Journal: Viator
• Volume: 56
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 189 - 206
• Publication date: 2026-01-22
• Acceptance date: 2025-02-28
• DOI: 10.1484/J.VIATOR.5.152141
• EISSN: 2031-0234
• ISSN: 0083-5897
• Language: English
• Keywords: beards; canon law; Catholic Church; masculinity; papacy