The history of the beard of Francois 1er

Today we are going to talk about a French king. More precisely, why did François I have a beard when no other king before him had a beard?

The wearing of a beard or moustache has always evolved according to civilisations, the Egyptians reserved it for the pharaohs for example. In the Middle Ages, it was banned for a long time by the Catholic Church before King François I brought it back into fashion. He was not always bearded, but on 6 January 1521, he celebrated the Epiphany and his cousin pulled the bean. For fun, the king starts a fake battle to attack his cousin's hotel.

But the confrontation turns into a drama and someone sends a flaming log that hits Francis I in the face. He fell into a coma, but escaped with only scars on his cheeks. He then decided to grow a beard to hide them. He then launched a fashion that was imitated in all the courts of Europe and even in England, with Henry VIII.

This fashion lasted a century for all the next Kings of France.