The word hygiene comes from Hygeia, the Greek goddess of health, who was the daughter of Aesculapius, the god of medicine.For a detailed timeline of personal hygiene, visit this site: https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/a-history-of-medicine/history-hygiene-timeline/
1400 AD the Chinese invested toilet paper!
An aside from the History Channel “The most famous example of ancient ‘toilet paper’ comes from the Roman world [during the first century A.D.] and Seneca's story about the gladiator who killed himself by going into a toilet and shoving the communal sponge on a stick down his throat,” says Erica Rowan, an environmental archaeologist and a lecturer in classical archaeology at the University of London. The sponges, known as tersoriums, may have been used once or cleaned in a bucket of vinegar or salt water and reused, or they may have been used more like toilet brushes than toilet paper.https://www.history.com/news/toilet-paper-hygiene-ancient-rome-china#:~:text=In%20very%20ancient%20times%2C%20wiping,known%20as%20tersorium%20or%20xylospongium.
1566 – King James VI of Scotland wore the same clothes for months on end, even sleeping in them on occasion. He also kept the same hat on 24 hours a day until it fell apart! He didn’t take a bath as he thought it was bad for his health! (Ugh)
1750 – A letter from Lord Chesterfield to his son urges the use of a sponge and warm water to scrub the teeth each morning. The recommendation of using one’s own urine in France was widely flouted by Fouchard, the French dentist. Gunpowder and alum were also recommended. (More ugh. Urine to clean your teeth along with gunpowder and alum!)
From Owlcation:
The romantic scene of a towering castle surrounded by the pristine sparkling waters of a moat is not strictly true. Especially when we talk about toilets from hundreds of years ago.
In Tudor houses they were called 'privies'. Many were basically a bowl with a slab of wood and a hole carved in the top. This would be set into a recess or cupboard-like area called a garderobe.
The castles were not much better. The slab of wood often just covered a hole in the floor that took waste products straight into the moat - now you know why there are no picturesque paintings of some cute rustic fishing in a castle moat.
Peasants did not have the luxury of any form of toilet no matter how crude. They were forced to relieve themselves where they could and then bury any waste matter. Washing your hands after doing your business was not practiced by anyone.
Of course, rich or poor, neither had toilet paper. Poor people would use leaves or moss to wipe their bottoms. If you had a bit more money then you would use lambs wool.
However, if you were the King, then you employed someone to wipe your bottom for you. The position of royal bum wiper was officially called 'The Groom of the Stool' the more formal title would be read as 'Groom of the King's Close Stool to King (name )'. As disgusting as this job may seem to be, it was a much sought after position. Noblemen would fight hard and dirty - excuse the pun - to get their sons employed in this role, as it often resulted in, eventually, advancing to powerful roles such as Private Secretary to the King. The reason for the promotion was that the groom, who knew the King's most intimate secrets, often became his most trusted advisor and friend.
One major source of infection was bites from fleas and body lice - they were rife. The poorer people in particular were very susceptible. Due to a meager diet and malnutrition, the sores from bites would often become infected. In addition, the human flea is capable of spreading diseases such as typhus and parasites such as tapeworms.
Another source for infection, especially in medieval times, was the use of rushes/straw on the floors. They were used to cover up the natural dirt floor of the building and the top rushes were often changed. Added to these would be sweet smelling wild flowers and herbs to fragrance the room. However, often the bottom layer of rushes was not completely cleared and this led to all manner of possible infection sources.
The reason why so many marriages took place in June was that most people had their yearly bath in May so they were still fairly clean when June arrived. However, as a precaution brides carried bouquets of flowers to cover up any odious smells. June weddings and carrying bouquets are still traditional today but most wedding parties smell a lot nicer.
When Mary Queen of Scots returned to her native Scotland from France she was astounded and not a little put out that the men continued to wear their hats while sitting down to eat at her banquets. It was then pointed out to the young Queen that this was not a sign of disrespect to her but necessity. The men kept their hats on in order to prevent not only their long hair from touching the food but head lice from falling into their plates.
When doing your laundry in the past you didn't have the luxury of biological or non-biological soap powders nor sweet smelling fabric conditioners. Your clothes, linen etc would have been scoured in lye made up from ashes and human urine. The use of human urine to wash clothes and linen goes back to at least Roman times and was favoured for it's great ability to remove stains.
For your reading pleasure or displeasure as the case may be, there are numerous sites about the disgusting cleanliness habits of the past. Something to think about next time you swoon over a highland hero or the like. Handkerchiefs were rare and seldom used to wipe noses. Just a thought!
I write time travel and several of my books/series focus on that genre. Riley's Journey Trilogy, Aimee's Locket and Heart of the Sorcerer! Of course, I don't focus on any of the above facts! We want our heroes to be heroes in all aspects.
Patsy
1 comment:
Thankss great blog
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