Note 047 Even in the seventh century, the monks were generally laymen: 'hey wore their hair long and dishevelled, and shaved their heads when they were ordained priests. The circular tonsure was sacred and mysterious; it was the crown of thorns; but it was likewise a royal diadem, and every priest was a king, &c., (Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. i. p. 721 - 758, especially p. 737, 738.)]

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The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire —Fall In The East —Chapter 51