Was there a period in history predating the 15th century where being bald was not looked upon negatively?
Upvote:1
Probably yes - Japan.
The traditional samurai haircut looks just like male pattern baldness. I don't think it's an accident - they were trying to look older/more experienced.
Upvote:2
The answer is mostly no. See History of Baldness by Albert M. Kligman, MD, PhD, and Beth Freeman, RPh.
Throughout the ages, a scalp adorned with luxurious hair has been assigned positive attributes of virility and power, whereas baldness has been associated with negative symbolisms.
They then give several examples of how different cultures have used baldness as a punishment or to make men unattractive. And there's more.
The appearance and disappearance of hair has always symbolized the coming of age and aging. Prosperous cultures bestowed a full head of hair with an aura of beauty, youth, virility, and well-being. Above all, the desire to remain permanently youthful explains the common dread of age-associated hair loss.
There may be more in this article but I can only see the first page. There's a whole book on baldness, Hair! : Mankind's Historic Quest to End Baldness, which from the pages one can see is saying the same things.
Another book, Baldness: A Social History more or less agrees and points out how common wigs and various cures have been through history. But it also says that there have been occasional backlashes which have led to people shaving their heads as a sign of rank or religion. I found one example for Qalandar Dervishes in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, shown in Siyah Qalem's paintings.
Response to comments-
I did some more searching on Kligman and I agree he doesn't seem very reputable, but other sources support what his article says, with a few exceptions.
The comment on Samurai is interesting and true, but it's not before the fifteenth century.
The comments on Turks looks like a good example of an exception. The source given by Johndoe says:
The Ottoman custom of shaving the head appears to have its origins in early Islamic lore.
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