LIFE IN THE 1500'S
> > The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the
> > water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things
used
> to
> > be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
> >
> >
> > Most people got married in June because they took their yearly
> > bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were
> > starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the
> body
> > odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting
married.
> >
> > Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the
> > house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other
sons
> and
> > men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies.
By
> > then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.
Hence
> the
> > saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..
> >
> > Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood
> > underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the
> cats
> > and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained
it
> > became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the
> roof.
> > Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.
> >
> > There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house..
> > This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings
> > could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a
> sheet
> > hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came
> into
> > existence.
> >
> > The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than
> > dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that
> would
> > get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on
> floor
> > to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more
thresh
> > until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A
> > piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh
> hold.
> >
> > (Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
> >
> > In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle
> > that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added
> things
> > to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They
> would
> > eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
> overnight
> > and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that
had
> > been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas
> > porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
> >
> > Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite
> > special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to
show
> > off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon.
They
> > would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around
and
> > chew the fat..
> >
> > Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid
> > content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead
> > poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the
next
> 400
> > years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
> >
> > Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt
> > bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top,
or
> > the upper crust.
> >
> > Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would
> > sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking
> along
> > the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They
were
> > laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would
> > gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.
> > Hence the custom of holding a wake.
> >
> > England is old and small and the local folks started running out
> > of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take
the
> > bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these
coffins,
> 1
> > out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and
they
> > realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string
> on
> > the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the
> > ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
> graveyard
> > all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone
> could
> > be, saved by the bell or was considered a ...dead ringer..
> >
> > And that's the trut h...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
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Topic: Life in the 1500s (Read 871 times)