Beards: Were they Religious or Cultural to pre-Christian Heathens?

A look at the passages mentioning beards in the Sagas and Eddas, one will find mainly men with the word “beard” in their names, like Sven Folkbeard.  There is no evidence in the Sagas that beards were seen as religious, i.e. beards were a religious expression or rite.  I do not think Heathens felt all men must have beards to please the Gods and Goddesses. There are law codes like the Lex Saxonum forced on Germanic Peoples (the Norse are Germanic Peoples) who venerated Thor and Odin (Thunar and Uuoden).  None of the law codes prohibit beards to new converts from Heathenry.  Alcuin, who argued with Charlemagne over the treatment of the forcefully converted Saxons, criticized the King of England for having hair like the Heathens: “Look at the dress, the hairstyle, and the luxurious habits of the princes and people.  Look at the hairstyle, how you have wished to imitate the heathens in their beards and hair!  Does not the terror threaten of those whose hairstyle you wished to have?” [Alcuin of York, early 10^th century].  This passage, more than any Edda or Saga passage confirms that most (*maybe even all) Heathens had beards.  Whereas the christians had short hair, generally speaking.  

I personally believe that beards were a sign of masculinity in the Norse and Germanic Heathen culture.  I do not believe the Saga references to beards show it as a religious preference.  For those in the military that wish to grow beards, I will join you in your fight to keep your spirituality in the military with your beards. While I think this was the culture (masculinity was shown with beards in pre-christian culture in the North), I do not think it was a spiritual requirement.  The Eddas and Sagas mention Winter Nights and Yule hundreds of times more than beards.  Odin commands in Ynglinga Saga that there should be three blots a year.  (Some argue this is Snorri going too far, as Heathenry was not a commandment centered faith like Abrahamic religions are.) There are no commands nor punishments given for a man who was beardless.  I think observing Blot three times (or more) a year was considered spiritual, but the Sagas show beards were a sign of a masculine man.  Let’s look at passages in Ynglinga Saga, Heimskringla, and the Eddas. Beards in Ynglinga Saga: Ynglinga Saga ch 53: Alfheim, at that time, was the name of the land between the Glommen and Gotha rivers.  Now when Alfhild died, King Gudrod sent his men west to Agder to the king who ruled there, and who was called Harald Redbeard.

Beards in Heimskringla: Halfdan the Black ch 3: Halfdan the Black got a wife called Ragnhild, a daughter of Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard), who was a king in Sogn. Harald Harfager’s Saga ch 32: Many a bearded man must roam, An exile from his house and home, For cow or horse; but Halfdan's gore Is red on Rinansey's wild shore.

Olaf Trygvason’s Saga ch 38: Svein, King Harald's son, who afterwards was called Tjuguskeg (forked beard), asked his father King Harald for a part of his kingdom; but now, as before, Harald would not listen to dividing the Danish dominions, and giving him a kingdom.

Olaf Trygvason’s Saga ch 54: But when Svein Forked-beard, immediately after his father King Harald's death, went out on war expeditions in Saxonland, Frisland, and at last in England, the Northmen who had taken up Christianity returned back to heathen sacrifices, just as before; and the people in the north of the country did the same.  Please notice the Sagas call England “England” and Saxony “Saxland” or “Saxonland”.  England is never called “Saxonland” in the Sagas.  The English are never called “Saxons” in the Sagas/Eddas.

Olaf Trygvason’s Saga ch 73: There was a great bonde called Skegge, and sometimes Jarnskegge, or Iron Beard, who dwelt in Uphaug in Yrjar. He spoke first at the Thing to Olaf; and was the foremost man of the bondes in speaking against Christianity. The Thing was concluded in this way for that time,—the bondes returned home, and the king went to Hlader.

Olaf Trygvason’s Saga ch 111: Earl Eirik had a large ship of war which he used upon his viking expeditions; and there was an iron beard or comb above on both sides of the stem, and below it a thick iron plate as broad as the combs, which went down quite to the gunnel. I am not a fan of how this verse is translated.  Nonetheless, this is not about a man’s beard but the back of a ship.

First Saga of Olaf Haraldson ch 11: The king sailed from thence westward to England. It was then the case that the Danish king, Svein Forked Beard, was at that time in England with a Danish army, and had been fixed there for some time, and had seized upon King Ethelred's kingdom. 

First Saga of Olaf Haraldson ch 79: His beard was so long that it lay upon his knee, and was spread over his whole breast; and the man, moreover, was handsome and stately in appearance. 

First Saga of Olaf Haraldson ch 139: During this time Canute the Great, called by some Canute the Old, was king of England and Denmark. Canute the Great was a son of Svein Haraldson Forkedbeard, whose forefathers, for a long course of generations, had ruled over Denmark. 

First Saga of Olaf Haraldson ch 258: Afterwards the bishop took scissors, clipped the king's hair, and arranged his beard; for he had had a long beard, according to the fashion of that time. Then said the bishop to the king and Alfifa, "Now the king's hair and beard are such as when he gave up the ghost, and it has grown as much as ye see has been cut off."

The Saga of Magnus the Good ch 17: A dangerous sign it is, I fear, That old grey-bearded men appear In corners whispering at the Thing, As if they had bad news to bring.

The Saga of Magnus the Good ch 23: There was a man, by name Svein, a son of Earl Ulf, and grandson of Thorgils Sprakaleg. Svein's mother was Astrid, a daughter of King Svein Forkbeard.

The Saga of Harald Hardrade ch 15: King Herald was a handsome man, of noble appearance; his hair and beard yellow. He had a short beard, and long mustaches. The one eyebrow was somewhat higher than the other. He had large hands and feet; but these were well made.

Magnus Erlingson’s Saga ch : On the other hand, King Valdemar should get that domain in Norway which his ancestors Harald Gormson and Svein Forked-beard had possessed; namely, the whole of Viken as far north as Rygiarbit. 

Beards in the Prose Edda: Chapter 9 Loke and his offspring: The asas now began to fear that they would not get the wolf bound. 94So Alfather sent the youth, who is called Skirner, and is Frey’s messenger, to some dwarfs in Svartalfaheim, and had them make the fetter which is called Gleipner. It was made of six things: of the footfall of cats, of the beard of woman, of the roots of the mountain, of the sinews of the bear, of the breath of the fish, and of the spittle of the birds. If you have not known this before, you can easily find out that it is true and that there is no lie about it, since you must have observed that a woman has no beard, that a cat’s footfall cannot be heard, and that mountains have no roots; and I know, forsooth, that what I have told you is perfectly true, although there are some things that you do not understand. 

Brage’s Talk Ch 3: Then Loke tied one end of a string fast to the beard of a goat and the other around his own body, and one pulled this way and the other that, and both of them shrieked out loud.

The fooling of Gylfe ch 15 Why is the Sea Salt:  Out in the wood-shed stood an old man with a long white beard, cutting wood for Christmas.

Beards in the Poetic Edda: Rigsthula, Poetic Edda: There sat the twain, and worked at their tasks: The man hewed wood for the weaver’s beam; his beard was trimmed, o’er his brow a curl, his clothes fitted close, in the corner a chest.

Gotalagen (Law of Gotland - 12th Century): Section 20: "Pulling a man's beard incurs fines, as well as for other hair pulling."