Life in the 1500's

[mustang-sally 8]

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because

water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how

things used to be. Here are some interesting facts about the1500s:

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 odour. 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

f ood 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 truth...Now, whoever said History was boring !

[gwenneh 7]

Oh for heaven's sake, not again!

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp

[Nessa 23]

[peejay 327]

Oh for heaven's sake, not again!

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp

Not everyone has seen this before on Snopes (or anywhere else). I found it interesting.

[Amby 490]

icky! I feel gross not having a bath or shower for 1 day