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
The1500s:
These are interesting...
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 the 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 reopeningThese 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 truth...Now, whoever said History
was boring ! !