Dr Kat and Our Filthy Ancestors?
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- So the story goes, people in history were unwashed and smelly, with blackened teeth and filthy, matted hair. How valid is this interpretation though?
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Intro / Outro song: Silent Partner, "Greenery" [ • Greenery - Silent Part... ]
Images:
Photograph of the Roman Baths at Bath, UK (image from www.visitbath.co.uk). For the site website www.romanbaths.co.uk.
Minature of the Regime dei Corpi by Aldobrandino da Siena, manuscript illumination (14th Century).
Picture from France; circa 1390s is from the work "Chroniques de France ou de St. Denis", shows a scene of the baptism of Isabella, daughter of King Charles V of France.
The Accolade by Edmund Blair (1901). Held in a private collection. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
Medieval illumination of a nobleman bathing; author and date unknown. Wikimedia Commons.
Manuscript of Eboli Stone. Balneum Tripergulae - from the Angelic Code of De Balneis Puteolanis by Pietro da Eboli.
A Bathhouse in Valerius Maximus’ Facta et Dicta Memorabilia (fol. 244) by Master of Anthony of Burgundy Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilium by Valerio Massimo (1470).
Silver-gilt basin and ewer (hallmarked 1617-1618). Held by the Royal Collection Trust.
Pomander said to have belonged to Mary Queen of Scots (1500-1600). Held by the Royal Collection Trust.
Tudor cleansing tools (1525-1530). By family tradition, Henry VIII’s first gift to Anne Boleyn. Held by the Victoria and Albert Museum.
I second the emotion on NOT using music - what a blessing it is! Almost all videos have some monotonous thing droning away in the background, and it adds nothing and even detracts from the narration. It is as if we are afraid of ANY kind of silence, even in the background, and it has to be stuffed with noise.
I completely agree with you !! I have always hated videos like that!!
When i was a small child in the 1950's the cottage we lived in didnt have a bathroom, so once a week my father brought a tin bath into the house and placed it in front of the fire and we bathed once a week, the rest of the week we used a bowl and ewer and had a body wash with a wash cloth.
from 1980 on I lived in appartment that did not have a shower, so it was washing at the kitchen tap. and boys I've been more contious about my body smell than then.
Snap
We did this too. People used a mix of soot and salt and a twig to clean our teeth!
My mum had a similar experience in the US. And I still have my great-grandmother’s “dry sink” and the pitcher & ewer she used in the 1800s-early 1900s.
Coming to this 3 years late, but my grandmother didn't have indoor plumbing at all while I was growing up in the 80s/90s. She lived back in the "hollers," right up against a mountain, and her water supply was a hose that her sons pulled up to a mountain spring. I don't know how none of us got sick from that, come to think of it. We never had full baths there, just large pans filled with water and put on the wood stove.
I think back on it often now, and wonder how many adults would be able to deal with that, but my childhood visits there were so idyllic. ...except the spiders in the outhouse.
They even used chalk to try to whiten their teeth. A woman on another channel used the Tudor method of of bathing using a linen cloth for her skin only for a year and an Edwardian method for her hair. After the year she asked people if she smelled they said no. She actually said she felt cleaner than any normal bath and the linen made her skin amazing it was like a microdermabrasion everyday.
For a summer I lived on a remote property where my family were building a cabin. To wash, I had to fill at a spring box, and carry up a very steep hill, the water in two 1-gallon glass wine jugs. I quickly learned how to thoroughly wash and rinse my hair and whole body with the precious water, heated by wood that had to be chopped. I usually used the same procedure to wash my clothes; trips to the nearest laundromat were long, infrequent and expensive. It really made me appreciate, back in the modern world, my heated bathroom, shower and bathtub, and my washing machine, what luxury we live with every day!
You can get completely clean in a very small amount of water. My paternal grandparents lived on a farm in rural Namaqualand. The region is very remote and quite arid. They relied on rainwater collected from the roof and limited ground water. So while they had a bath tub, it was not used. Instead they washed in a small basin of water - and so did we whenever we went to visit. Children running around on a farm can get incredibly dirty, so this gave me a pretty good first hand experience in how very little water it takes to clean yourself.
Recently my parents partially reverted to this method of washing due to the very strict water restrictions during the worst part of the water shortages in Cape Town. And this is something anyone can easily verify. All you need is a washcloth, a bathroom sink and some soap. Fill the sink halfway, soap up your washcloth and wash yourself with it. Rinse the washcloth out and wipe yourself down. Repeat the last step as required (you might need another half filled sink of water to rinse out the wash cloth, but that is really all you are going to need).
It should be noted that large parts of the world still keep themselves clean with very limited access to water. And as we put more and more stress on the planets finite water supplies more of us might in future find ourselves reverting to this method of keeping ourselves clean. Cape Town might have been the first city to almost run out of water, but it is very likely not to be the last.
It is great that you are thanking NHS staff for their service during Covid. Nobody gives a thought about about mortuary and funeral staff. We are always completely overlooked. We do a difficult job and we do it well
That’s very true! Thank you for all you do. It must have been very frightening at the beginning of the pandemic.
"How can you tell he's King?" "He hasn't got sh*t all over him."
“well, I didn’t vote for him!”
@@JeanieD "Listen, strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."
Where is this from? A movie?
@@tahiranaveen monty python and the holy grail
Tahira S. You are missing out! You must watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail!! 🤣
Not having a bathtub does not equate with being filthy. There was nothing to stop people from using a wet wash cloth (or similar thing) to go over the body and scrub it clean. Although some people may not have had the luxury of bathtubs, they certainly had the common sense to wash themselves any way they could.
Thank you. I lived in South East Asia for 18 months - I do not recall ever seeing a bathtub and very few of my colleagues had showers. They, and when I was outside of the capital city, kept clean by dousing with water, soaping and rinsing off with more water. It was very effective at keeping clean. In fact, when I returned to Australia and visited my home town, which was suffering the worst drought in living memory and the town was limiting water use, I suggested it as a way of keeping clean and saving water.
@@brontewcat I grew up in rural Australia & we had a bath once a week. We washed face, neck, armpits & arms each morning & at night washed face downwards ending at feet. Mum called it a bird bath. It didn't use as much water since we only had one tank.
Common sense might be completely different things in the past.
i am just starting on medieval reenactment and whenever i finish an object or a garment, my parents keep asking me wether i don't want to age it with dirt or coffee or put some holes in it or wether the color isn't just to vibrant. I can't get them to believe that they had nice things back then and took care of them by means of carefulness, washing and mending
I took a summer class at Christ Church Oxford on Eizabeth I and her court. The tutor told of some re-enactors who recently did a test to gain insight into this question. The group divided in half. One half regularly washed their bodies but not their clothes; the other half regularly washed their clothes but not their bodies. At the end of the experiment, the group with dirty clothes/clean bodies smelled badly while the group with clean clothes/dirty bodies did not. The clothing of the period was designed in such away that it could be washed--sleeves were separate from main garments and could be laundered, layers of washable undergarments were worn, men and women wore washable hosiery. So, I don't think body smells were a problem.
Read Shogun.
jandipeach not sure I wanted to share that class
Chris Pink every body got a price
jandipeach THANKS! Very useful story.
So revealing myself to be major nerd here...one of my favorite hobbies is working on my 1/12 miniature 1270's castle, so of course I didn't include bathing facilities. Then one of my fellow nerds pointed out how historically inaccurate that was, about how the Black Plague made people believe water would kill you, etc, so I looked up "medieval bathtub" and found...contemporary illuminations of co-ed bathing parties in an enormous tub with a board slung across carrying a feast, while men and women are obviously having sexy fun time. As a dutiful mini historian, there is now a bitty tub with a bitty feast and bitty red wool curtains in the corner of my bitty solar.
Dana Glabeman I wish I could see a photo of your castle! I don’t suppose you have a photo posted somewhere??? I love miniatures ❤️
I’d love to see some pictures if you didn’t mind!
Dana Glabeman Pictures, please!!🏰
I do love a nerd. Well done you clearly are very good at it. 😙
Oh please I would love to see a photo of your miniature castle.
The biggest problem with the twig brush is splinters getting into the gums causing gum abscesses. I happen to be a dentist, so this video is very interesting to me. You did a great job with the content.
That sounds agonising - thank you for offering this context.
What about liquorice root? I know this was popular before the invention of modernised tooth pastes and brushes.
Doc, I think it also has to do with the kind of tree twig you are using. Some (not sure about England) had high content of tannins (anti bacterial) . Others also when chewed would become soft and be like a tooth brush.
This kind of twig or root brush would be unlikely to give you splinters (but I'm sure it happened to some). The way they are used (still in some areas) is that you have a softened bit of root or twig, peel the bark off the top and chew the exposed end to separate the fibres, creating a very soft brush. It is not like the aged wood we use for building furniture etc. At least, not if you are using a fresh twig/root.
I've tried it myself and it was more effective than a normal modern toothbrush and my teeth felt very clean, but some places were harder to reach and I didn't enjoy the taste very much. I did also find that as it dried out over time, it became harder to use as the fibres became more brittle. (Still, I didn't have any issues with splinters) I'm sure you could soften it with a boiling water bath but I gave up on the experiment instead.
Theoretically, you are supposed to be able to use up the whole stick by cutting the used bit off and repeating the process of peeling off the bark again. I don't know how hygienic that would actually be if the bacteria got into the wood, but some types of wood are supposedly antibacterial and wood cutting boards have been found to not absorb bacteria as much as plastic ones, so perhaps the natural properties of the wood prevents bacterial growth better? All speculation of course. But it was fun to try it and surprisingly enjoyable!
Caveat: I did only try one specific type of plant root, produced and prepared specifically for the purpose of cleaning teeth. It had been sterilised and was said to have antibacterial properties. I believe it was produced somewhere in Africa, so I do not have any experience of using local plants (quite tricky when you live in an apartment anyways). Although I have heard that birch twigs were commonly used and still liked by survivalists for this purpose.
My great grandmother used soot from the grate every morning for her teeth, using her finger. She passed away aged 81 with every tooth in her head intact .
Hello from Sweden, and thank You for a interesting and entertaining historica RUclips channel. !! ;) In swedish the word for Saturday is Lördag a short form of the medival Lögaredag wich means the day you wash yourselves. So apparently our medival and viking forefathers tried to wash themselves in some way at least once a week. !!
I notice that the washing of oneself occurred the day before sunday, the day of worship. Clean body, clean mind.
I thought the Vikings were clean people & liked to be well groomed.
My mum (born 1942) told me how the first house her family bought after the war didn’t have an indoor bathroom. Her dad added it after they moved in and it was a BIG DEAL. But they definitely bathed. Just in the kitchen in a tub instead of a bathtub in a bathroom.
Some farmers who couldn't afford sugar and other luxuries used this special type of bark to brush their teeth which did have some antiseptic properties mint leaf was also used. Fellow historian and medieval enthusiast :)
My mom used to give me “kitty cat baths.” A simple washcloth will do the trick in lieu of a bath sometimes, at least when you’re a child.
Greetings from Montana .... we are slowly coming out of self isolation. That isn't stopping me from binge watching your channel. Thank you so very much.
I'm a living historian, who has then and again spent weeks using historical hygiene practices, and feel fairly comfortable saying that, yes, there is a reason this system of washing the face and hands, changing the undergarments, covering the hair was fairly ubiquitous around Europe for CENTURIES. Historical people weren't idiots. They would not have carried on spending all of that time and energy and money on things that didn't work.
At the same time, I think our modern capitalist society has done a very good job of convincing us that we need this vast array of products and procedures that we simply don't need. And in some cases they even cause us harm that we then have to undo with even more products--using soap that you don't need dries out your skin, so then you need moisturizer, which suffocates your skin, so then you need exfoliaters, ad infinitum. I've actually ended up going BACK to doing a lot of my hygiene the 18th century way all the time, and my skin and hair is much healthier. And, I am less smelly. Yes, that's right, I am LESS smelly because not only do I smell fine on a normal day, I also smell fine if I forget my deodorant or skip a shower, because my body doesn't depend on those products.
can i ask just out of curiosity what you use to clean yourself and your hair etc?
Hands, face, pits and parts.
Same here. Once my husband and I detoxed from all the commercial products we find we no longer need deodorant. That was tough - 7ish months of such greasy hair (me) and a very smelly husband.
Amarella Harte I’d love to know how you detoxed your hair? What was your process/routine?
@@amarellaharte574 my underams completely stopped smelling bad when I gave up deodorant and shaving, I need to wash them twice a day and give them a good scrub with a flannel sometimes a nail brush but it does the trick...only wearing cotton or linen tops and giving up polyester or viscose also made a big difference
I’ve been on full bedrest for 5 years due to botched surgeries. I live on a hospital bed in my living room. Take it from me, mental health issues from being cooped up are real! For me, the quarantine is just another Tuesday.
That must be so hard for you I’m sorry! I couldn’t even imagine 24 hours on bed rest I hope you are able to get through this soon!
Patricia Palmer As a matter of fact, I love real books and have gone through them like a fiend. I even grew to like trashy Harlequin novels🤣
colahu111 thank you.
Rishi Beauty I hope you've managed a way to avoid or deal with "bedsores" from such long enforced immobilization. Wishing you the best possible🙏
I’m really sorry to hear that, I wish you peace and happiness and I hope you’re able to live your life as you’d like to again!!! Sending you lots of love from Spain❤️❤️
I lived in SE Asia for 18 months. When I was in the rural areas I did not ‘bath/shower’. However I kept very clean by ladling water myself, soaping and then ladling more water to rinse.
We know people in Tudor times had ewers, basins, washers, water, soap and towels. So why do we think people did not keep clean. I assume most people would have regular all over washes, just as people in poorer countries do today.
But did they have access to clean water to wash with.
Same when I lived in Africa and India.
Sarah Dixon , in Kenya, water is not available. Some poor people haven’t had a bath for sometimes years.
Agree 💯 this is exactly what I experienced (though in rural southern/southeast China). After a certain time your body adjusts into a more ‘natural’ state of being, that is NOT dirty or smelly at all, it’s just ‘clean enough’ -
Ruth Bashford The water may not have been clean enough to drink, but its England even in Tudor times I assure you there was enough rain to supply water.🙂
I've been enjoying your vids.Thank you.
When I was a little girl in the 50s my grandmother and mother both bade us mind our open pores. We weren't allowed to go outside or change clothes until thoroughly dry and "closed". My great grandfather was a "horse and buggy" doctor (osteopath+) in rural US South late 19thc and this was something he preached. So funny to think of now.
I have just discovered your channel and I love it. I wish my history classes were as interesting as your videos. I love and admire your presentation. Thank you!! Stay safe and healthy!
Yes, i wish I had too. I never had a luck to have good history teacher. It is very complex subject. I have quite good general knowledge across all areas but history is my week point.
I wish I had a professor like you when I was in college many years ago. I too have enjoyed binge watching your channel. Best wishes from Augusta Georgia
Very good stuff! Having worked as a guide in a historic building, I was always getting that 'nobody washed' thing flung at me - even other guides would trot it out because it's nice and gross. But as you so rightly point out, total immersion is not the only way of getting clean, so even if you didn't have access to a bathtub, it was perfectly possible to clean at least the important bits.
I've been watching the video on Henry VIII. His various medical problems fascinated me cos my mom taught me a lot of things amongst which was the gem that he had syphilis and that accounted for his bad behaviour. Seriously, I'm a live in caregiver,driver and housekeeper for an old lady who has dementia. I'm 70 and we're all self isolating. I want to thank you for your kind words for us. I just love this channel and it shows one is never to old to learn. God bless
The linen lining of a wooden bathing tub was for comfort not to prevent leaking. There was probably some slow leak in a wooden tub until it swoll up a bit, but remember, barrels were used to store liquids, so they were efficient. I also sense that as long as you had the social means to do so, you would use some method to wash, even if it was just rubbing yourself with a rag. Also, il bagno is Italian for bath, it's pronounced "Ban-yo", perhaps in recognition of the Roman Bathhouses?
I worked as a pioneer of the American West one summer at a living history heritage site. Wearing a corset, several petticoats and black woolen stockings (terribly itchy and uncomfortable in the high heat of the desert!) were part of the job. However, when our director decided that we ladies should take it to the next level and practice Victorian era menstrual hygiene practices to make our experience more authentic she had a major revolt on her hands. She was actually clueless about ALL that this would entail. By the time we ladies were through explaining “the facts” to our “dear leader” she backed down. If asked (heaven forbid!) by a visitor (likely to be a woman) we ladies were prepared to take them aside in proper Victorian fashion and explain “the facts” as our DL afterward called them. Of course nobody ever did ask.
What a great video! Thank you for correcting these common misconceptions. As it is, a couple of years ago, I got very exasperated with using so many 'essential' hygiene products that first of all were pretty dear and on top of that didn't work for me and so I took a look at what my gran and her mother used (I grew up in the country and few things had changed since the 'olden times', at least not when I was little growing up in the 1980ies). Anyway, neither of them ever smelled bad, had greasy hair or split ends but lovely hair and skin even though they only bathed/showered once a week if even that and didn't use body lotion or facial cream and they never used deodorant. However, they washed with clear water and a little soap twice a day, once in the morning and once before going to bed (they, of course, also washed their hands before mealtimes and after going to the loo!). After some deliberation, I decided to give it a go and turn back my 'beauty routine' by a couple of centuries, so to say. The first six to eight weeks were a nightmare but then... well, what shall I say, it was a downright miracle.
The skin that had previously been all itchy and requiring lotion on a daily basis was suddenly nice and smooth and not itchy at all anymore, while my nails were no longer brittle. My hair, once greasy at the top and incredibly dry at the tips was suddenly shiny, sleek and easy to manage. These days I can go into bed with wet hair without combing it and still wouldn't have any trouble brushing through it the next morning despite it being waist-long. I wash it once a month at most using curd soap (which I also use for the rest of my body), though I rinse it with cider vinegar in-between washes. When working in the garden or being at home I pass on any kind of deodorant but still use it when going out. But, as you may have guessed, it's not the kind you buy in the shops. No, I use nothing but bicarbonate of soda dissolved in water and it's never failed me, unlike the stuff I used to buy. Bicarbonate of soda also works well as a substitute for toothpaste and to rinse your mouth, though toothpaste is one of the very few things I still buy. I also use perfume when being out and about, but very little of it.
Now, I don't say that this would work for everybody, but we still have to keep in mind that the beauty industry is very keen on selling as many products to us that they possibly can and consequently, isn't really interested in things working - at least not long-term. The more stuff we 'need' (or rather think we need) and use to look and smell good, the better for them and their purses. And it's simply not true that if you don't use all this stuff you are doomed to be dirty and smelly. Funnily enough, I since have been asked quite often what I use for my hair because it always looks nice and never smells bad or what deodorant or lotion I buy. My answer has surprised many people but as yet, no-one has dared try it for themselves.
Anyway, after this little experiment, I have gone further still and no longer buy any synthetic fabrics but only natural fibres if I buy clothes at all. Most of them I now make myself (also using natural fibres, of course) and it has made me appreciate them all the more. I'm positively proud of the few clothes I have and one really doesn't need much. On top of that, I no longer need to try and find what I want (though admittedly I hate shopping for clothes with a vengeance anyway) and, more importantly, I have clothing that fits me perfectly and is 100% my style. And no, it's not cheap to make clothing yourself!!! - It's both time-consuming and pricey if you want good material. But this or the other way, the only thing I'm regretting is, that it took me so long to dare take that step, but I certainly don't want to go back.
i agree with minimal-izing your beauty products but I don't think I could live without washing my butt with soap and hot water at least once a day.
@@clobberelladoesntreadcomme9920 Well, as I said, I do wash with soap and water twice every day (morning and evening), using a washcloth. - Or rather two: one for the top and one for the bottom. It is only showering, or on very rare occasions bathing, that I do once a week. Seriously, otherwise, I wouldn't feel comfortable either. And as said, as well, I also regularly rinse my hair, while washing it with soap I only do once a month. It is overdoing things (using tons of products, showering at least once a day etc.) that I gave up, but that's something else altogether. Washing oneself every day is basic hygiene and that I'm not prepared to give up either.
@Maina Fridman No, just someone who dared to stray from what is considered normal these days by looking at the past, though with a little adjustment to my own needs. But thank you :)
Great video! I believe the 2 words that get incorrectly used or understood are Filthy and Smelly. I think people were definitely smelly back then, there was no way around it. They worked, they sweated, perfumes and oils were expensive so the day to day person smelled. But back then the peoples level of normal smells were totally different than now. There was sewage, animals, smoke from fires. These smells were present everywhere, part of a normal daily life so bodily smells weren't much more than what they were used to smelling. The word filthy is where I think I draw the line on how most people lived back then. Yes, they did care to have good hygiene, it was part of staying healthy, so they washed in bowls or with rags, in lakes or rivers when they could, kept their undergarments as clean as possible, their living spaces etc. One family I used to know were Navajo in New Mexico. They lived in a Hogan and cooked with wood fires. They always smelled of bacon grease and wood smoke, to me, because it was a different smell than I was used to, but to them they smelled fine and they were very very clean in all ways.
I kept thinking as I watched this about the novel Shogun by James Clavell, set in 1600 Japan, three years before Liz I dies. If you're not familiar, it concerns an English sea navigator whose ship crash-lands on the coast of Japan. He becomes a sort of privileged prisoner/guest of the Japanese and one of the first things they make him learn is how to take a bath and wash his hair once a day. At first he's horrified but he learns to like it pretty quickly. There was co-ed bathing sometimes; the only rule was that a married woman must never be alone in an enclosed room with a man who wasn't a father, brother, husband, or son. As long as there were witnesses around, they could get naked and share the tub together.
I wish I had had history professors like you. You make it come alive.
I get Baldrick and Blackadder from your intro😂....all he wanted was a turnip of his own
I was surprised to see many skulls in Pompeii which showed excellent dental care, even in the elderly. Also, not been proven but, I suspect that the old Japanese upper-class penchant for teeth-blackening was an effort to hide tooth decay.
I have the sudden urge to brush my teeth again.
In French, we say to be in a bad mood to be "de mauvaise humeur" or to be in bad humour. I think language is fascinating, when you think about the origin of the idea of bad bodily functions affecting mental state.
The 5 humours(or was it 7)were the early way of diagnosing disease. Choleric humour,black humour, melancholic humour etc being bodily liquids like bile,urine,blood etc that indicated particular ailments. Its fascinating.
Add the 'one hundred strikes a night' of hair care, popular until pretty recently, which redistributes oils to the ends of long hair.
Believe me Dr Kat. I'm in the high risk group, self isolating, hoping for the best. Videos like your's help! Thanks.
I remember reading as a kid (probably in a Horrible History book) that when the Romans arrived in Britain, the locals thought they were completely disgusting. Because while the Roman's kept clean by scraping the skin, the Celts had soap, and thought the smell of the average Roman was pretty rank.
Although, to be fair, it wasn't clear whether these horrified Celts were encountering mostly Romans in the military. I can't imagine that any group of soldiers is going to smell particularly fresh after a day-long march in armour.
I have just found your videos and I love them. I love history and this era is fascinating. The information is wonderful, full of details that I have not heard of before. Thank you for them
My great-grandmother (1873-1954) lived most of her life in houses with no indoor plumbing. The last house she lived in had a running cold water tap in the kitchen - a real luxury! She had long hair down to her waist - she wore it up and kept it covered during the day with a dust cap or her sun bonnet. She would use a very fine-toothed comb to comb it and that removed any dirt there might be and distributed the oils so that her hair looked healthy and shinny. She never undressed completely to bathe - she always kept her pettycoat on. She mostly used an enamel basin filled with warm water and bathed in her bedroom. She never smelled bad or looked unclean or unkempt. She washed all her clothes by hand and hung them on a line in the backyard. She was a remarkable woman!
From New Zealand. I am reading Hilary Mantel's "The Mirror and the Light". Your video gives me a better understanding of the times. Thank you.
Dr. Kat, I have been reading and watching docs about British history for more than a decade and, alas, have rewatched nearly everything available on YT more than once. Most are worth a second or third watch, but it is truly wonderful to have new content and new perspectives. Thank you for making this channel and for sharing your light with us. I would love to see you present a full doc (or a series) on one or more of these subjects - you are a gifted teacher. All the best to you and yours, with much gratitude
I will add my thoughts, even though they match so many others. I am new to your videos in recent days and can't get enough of watching them. Each one is more interesting than the last. I first became interested in the Tudors because of the series by that name on Netflix. I have watched the entire series more than once. Your videos and the way you relate information is very entertaining, and gives us even more of a glimpse into what is a very fascinating period of history. I am American by the way, and it is very cool to read some comments from people who can claim an ancestral line directly from some of these people. Thank you for your videos, and thank you for your compassionate and well spoken comments at the beginning of this one. Best wishes to you as well, stay safe and healthy.
I absolutely love the fact that as I'm watching this video I'm literally sitting in a hot bath scrubbing my piggies 😅😅😅
But seriously, it's been tough sitting at home for this last month or so with nowhere to go. I want to tell you how much I appreciate these videos and the fact that you're sharing your knowledge and opinions with us. My primary source of maintaining productivity during these difficult times has been endlessly watching documentaries and videos like yours that analyze different points in history. I'm learning something new everyday which not only passes the time but gives me information to think about (in the bathtub) which really makes me feel good 😊 Thanks a lot! Keep 'em coming!! 👍
Many thanks ... you connect historical info and interpretation with compassion. It’s very compelling!
I feel the use of linen to line medieval bath tubs was more to protect the bather from splinters than to prevent leaks. The barrels were obviously well enough sealed for wines and ale
I love Flora Thompson's book "Lark Rise" an autobiographical account of life in a small hamlet in southern England prior to WW1. The writer describes the prevailing method of keeping clean with basin, bucket, soap and cloth as, "I washes down as far as possible, then I washes up as far as possible, and I feels all the better for it." To which the response was invariably to ask what "poor Possible" had done wrong that it should be left out.
I’m so happy I found your channel! Thank you, I love the content! I’ve been obsessed with everything “past” and “Tudor”, etc., for a long time! Stay safe and keep up the great work. Thank you, again 🥰
Hi. I was brought up in a small terraced house . The WC was outside and warm water was only available if the coal fire was lighted. We had a bath in a small tin bath weekly or fortnightly. Otherwise we used a bowl of hot or cold water to wash ourselves down. We stood in the bowl, soaped ourselves and poured jugs of water over us to rinse off the soap. We were not dirty and did not smell. You don't need a bath to stay clean!
A subject close to my heart. Firstly, Bathing is washing but washing is not always bathing. Peasants had access to a plant called soapwort, whose leaves and roots when boiled produce a soapy lather. Peasants washed. It only takes a wooden bowl, some hot or room temp water and a cloth. They used rivers or ponds or lakes. As for the Rennaissance, Louis XIV did not bathe he WASHED in an herbal preparation daily or twice daily. He was fastidious about this. It wasn't that hard to do even for the poorest.
Just found your channel and I love it! I am a huge history fan and I love the way that you do not just give us the history but you do a deep dive into motives and personal feelings of these people!
Please keep uploading! Love this channel and the content!
Thank you for this intro. Very sweet. Just want to let you know your channel has helped keep me sane in this crazy time. I find that looking back at our ancestors, and history comforting. Knowing they survived so much and worse brings a sense of resilience and comfort. Thanks Dr. KAT!
I discovered your channel today and love it. Trying to start from the beginning, but then I see a title like this and have to watch. 💜💓💖
Pre penicillin, tooth infection was the number one cause of death. The nerve endings in the upper teeth goes straight to the brain causing uncontrollable fevers.
The nerves in the lower teeth goes through the spine and the infection gunshots from there. An absessed tooth can cause septsis shutting down the body organs including the heart.
I've watched a couple of your videos today and Have to tell you - thank you for your kind words at the beginning of each one, particularly so in this one. I really enjoy also the way you move from introduction to subject, so smooth it's unnoticable. The subject is presented seriously but not depressingly so. I've never enjoyed history so much but have always been interested in it.
When I said that I wanted to be a part of history, this wasn't what I had in mind! Thank you for the content 😁
I feel you! I will remember to be careful what I wish for in future, for sure! I am glad you are enjoying the channel.
Gusty hue guru yeti ifu hutu dyke ugh uni iii iggie hui jute yuh iii iris yuk eiii ute iggie hui jute yuh iii iris hui eiii ute end this b;?:বন্ধুর বুহনুবও,কবৃ,মব/৪',',;/+৫ বনবহন
Hi Dr.Kat I love Ur videos and through the centuries it's interesting how they took there personal hygiene no wander they were full of diseases and died at young age.
So delighted to find your posts during this pandemic as I decidedly need a respite from the horrific news. Educational while entertaining makes them a treat in my day. Thank you!
Hello from Netherlands where I’m enjoying your history lessons. I like the way you inform us in a very interesting and most pleasant way. It is “education permanente” for people who are interested in history.
Really enjoyed this video, your commentary and analysis is so enjoyable! I always wondered about this. Thank you for sharing your findings with us!
Viewing this in January, 2021.
Thank you for bringing us knowledge of the past while we endure this difficult time.
Your introduction integrates past and present issues perfectly. You do this with all your presentations.
This episode is very timely, bears repeating, and reminds us how important the 'basics' remain. Much appreciated!
Enjoying your program, always very interesting! It’s a most relaxing way to learn more about our past. Education permanente for when you’re interested in history.
So happy to have found you Dr Kat. I love the way you tell stories of tudor history. I could listen to you all day.
Another excellent talk, Dr. Kat. Your good work, like good poetry, delights and instructs. Thank you!
So happy to have found you. Such interesting content, delivered in such an engaging way. Thank you!
Another lovely presentation! I must mention that Anne Boleyn’s whistle pendant isn’t gilded; it’s solid gold.
Ah, thank you very much for the clarification on this.
Reading the Past 😊
Hi I’ve just found your channel on RUclips and I am thoroughly enjoying listening to you. I’ve always been interested in social history but unfortunately, in my opinion, at school we were taught too much about the wars and fighting and not enough about how society lived. Thank you for your time, knowledge and expertise, you are an excellent teacher and I am looking forward to catching up with all your other videos. Take care and hope you and your family stay safe and well especially during this awful time. Yvonne Scotland xx
Only recently found your videos. I'm really enjoying them and learning a lot of interesting facts & trivia :-) keep them coming.
I have not used shampoo on my hair in 2 years. Instead I wash my hair with baking soda dissolved in water and rinse in apple cider vinegar, every 5 to 7 days. As you said in the video the first 3 to 6 weeks are horrible because you do not wash your hair at all with anything to give your scalp a chance to recover and stop overproducing sebum. But once you stop using shampoo your scalp stops overproducing oils (sebum). When you use shampoo, you are stripping out every bit of sebum from your scalp which causes your scalp to produce even more sebum. I have gone 3 weeks without washing my hair, and my hair looked fine I did have it pulled back and braided but it didn't smell ,and it wasn't extremely greasy. By not using shampoo, I'm not only saving money, but I'm also helping the environment.
First time viewer....just subscribed.....wonderful, interesting, and on point. Have always loved history and my hobby is reading........my great Gran, gran, and Mom always said there was no reason someone had to be dirty or smell.......a wash cloth could be made out of anything and some sort of soap was cheap or could be made. Probably no more people smelled in that time period than they do today. Smells are subjective and objective, so it’s up to the individual to present themselves as well as possible.
Queen Elizabeth's attendants proclaimed that she "hath a bath every three months whether she needeth it or no." King John at one point in his life had eight baths in a twenty-four week period, averaging a bath every three weeks.
One of my favourite things is the variety of subjects you present to us. One day we have teary eyes about a tragic happening, next there's visions into domestic life.
I'm going to enjoy pondering points of today's subject. You made a great deal of (common) sense, I've realised fallacies regarding bathing etc, but hadn't really thought about teeth.
Kudos
I usually work with kids in sport but I've temporarily become a live in nanny a la Mary Poppins for family so that their parents can work and have been sharing these videos with the kids I'm looking after, the older 2 are loving them! (The younger one is only just 4 and doesn't really understand yet)
Hello there! I just discovered, and am enjoying your channel. I just finished reading The People Of The Abyss, by Jack London. An amazing portrait of life in slums of London in Victorian/Edwardian times. It really made me appreciate my ability to bathe daily, as well as have a clean bed to sleep in. Very poignant and realistic, sobering and sad essay on life in that time and place. Thank you for your wonderful uploads! Be well...❤
Again, Thankyou for these compelling and informative videos Dr Kat.
You are incredibly knowledgeable and have such a pleasant manner of presenting, making history come alive and become even more fascinating and accessible to us all. Please stay safe xxx
I stopped shampoo nine years ago
It took about three months to normalize but now my hair is cleaner and easier to manage than when I washed it regularly
I’m Canadian but have been obsessed with British history!! And every video I’ve seen of yours has taught me something new!
Subscribed!
I’m a frontline Healthcare worker in a Nursing Home in NJ , USA . I’m off today and I came across your videos. I’m an amateur historian who absolutely loves British History. I’m living my dream this September and finally coming to London with my sister . Hopefully life for all of us returns to some normalcy. Your videos have cheered me up . I love your format style. Best part of my needed day off . Thank you.
Hello from nelson new Zealand. A really interesting video.. I have watched a number of other presentations by you. Keep up the great informative work. Take care
I’m new to your channel, but I absolutely LOVE IT!! It’s my new favorite!! Cheers all the way from Texas!
Basin baths are still an effective and normal thing. Water, soap, and a wash cloth do a fine job when one can't shower or bathe for whatever reason.
I just discovered your channel this morning and am already a big fan. Thanks for the great presentations!
Thank you for this channel ! I love it! ❤❤
I'm binge watching your channel. It's so interesting and your presentation is just lovely. Thank you.
I’ve just today discovered and subscribed to your absolutely wonderful channel! Thank you so much for all of the work you’ve put into it.
I am a first generation American who lives in California. Both of my parents were born in England and I was born in Los Angeles. I have always been fascinated with English history and can never learn enough! Your videos are informative and entertaining. Getting ready to watch Bloody Mary next! Thank you again, stay safe and well 🙏🏻💞
I just found you by surfing you tube . just wanted you to know you are the only one I have ever subscribed to . love history thank you
Carrie
I hate scalp smell, my dread is being behind someone in line who didn't wash their hair : (
I agree. Unwashed hair has a definite odour. But, the very worst is unwashed, smoker's hair. Now that people don't smoke in restaurants, pubs etc., it is much more noticeable when you DO get a whiff.
With you on that one.
As mentioned by Dr Kat, the "No Poo" method is interesting. I tried it to see if it worked. Yep. No one would have imagined I didn't wash my hair for 6 months. no smell.It requires brushing to draw the hair oils along the hair, and I have heard it isn't great for people with dead straight hair. I did wash my hair with modern shampoo. Now that requires my washing it every week.
@@flannerypedley840 It's difficult to spread oils evenly on super straight hair with modern brushes and combs. The best combs for straight hair have very tiny gaps in between the teeth/tines(?), not unlike lice combs.
@@munirahbakar4123 best brush that works for spreeding oils is a natural bristles brush. Like wild boar bristles.
Cant say it works good for curlys tho. Amd some heads get never used to it even after weeks without shampoo
Great video! It was so interesting and I enjoyed it immensely! Thank you for another informative and well thought out video!
Sincerely, CC
Fascinating! What about later when they brought in those wigs like Marie Antoniette? I read they wore makeup and perfumes to hide the smells from not washing, that bathing was thought to make you ill.
I hope you and your loved ones are safe, healthy and warm. Thanks for the videos!
I can't self isolate as I'm a key worker. But I hope ur keeping safe. Never thought I'd see anything like this. Your videos are going to be well watched by me. I'm on my fourth already xx stay safe.
Yaaaaaaay, you! Thank you!
I always find tidbits about everyday life in the past very fascinating. And, truly, they couldn't have smelled THAT bad, they had noses too :) I also recommend If Walls Could Talk - The History of the Home - Episode 2 (The Bathroom) with Lucy Worsley on this subject - it's on youtube and very entertaining.
I don’t doubt for a moment the smell could have been horrendous to our modern senses, while being quite the norm in that time. I worked internationally the last half of my working adult life, and I’ve been in a few areas where even today it’s enough to turn your stomach, or make people jump from one seating area on a less than full flight to another due to the stench of a neighboring passenger. (I’ve had that happen several times.) I’ve worked in areas where deodorant isn’t worn as the natural “aroma” is considered manly or virile... I’ve been in domestic process plants that were horrendous, yet the employees working there took no notice. I’ve curled my nose at the scents arising from a land fill, yet the operators carried on as if it was normal. So, yes, they probably didn’t smell bad to each other so much as by our modern “civilized” standards, I bet they were pretty rank...
Robert Taylor I’ve also been to places where “modern western hygiene” is not practiced. Our version of “hygiene” is actually far more “smelly”, since we use products that are highly scented.... and in some cases, it’s multiple products that all have a different scent. Think of it this way.... Shampoo and conditioner... one scent (if you use the same line!).... hair styler... another scent.... body wash or soap... another scent.... body lotion... another scent... deodorant... another scent... aftershave, cologne or perfume... another scent... laundry detergent or fabric softener.... another scent. I personally find this to be a scent overload...
@@tanyas6643 And many people such as myself are highly allergic to the smelly products other people use. I cannot use public transport and have had to leave concerts, movies and public places because of the modern smelly chemicals people use. I am not tallking in convenience - I amtalking potential death. :(
Some people were notorious for their body odour. The writer James Boswell was famous for his stench. Benjamin Franklin, when living in London, only ever took what he called air baths, sitting naked in front of an open window. The belief was that a clean linen shirt was all that was needed to be clean, linen being believed to have cleaning properties. When someone commented on how dirty were Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's feet she responded, 'if you think them dirty you should see my feet.'. Unfortunately it was a time of smells, but because everyone smelled it wasn't noticed as much as we would notice it today.
I find the daily life extremely fascinating, also.
Thank you for your opening comments it is deeply apreciated! I enjoy your broadcasts very much.
I am led to believe that Elizabeth l was very keen on cleanliness to the extent that her bath tub was fitted with wheels and towed behind with the rest of the baggage, as the court travelled the countryside on the annual 'Royal Progress.'
I hadn't heard this detail, she may well have done so, thank you.
Queen Elizabeth was considered unusual because she had a bath once a month, whether she needed it or not.
Great post. Your channel s so interesting, I have been binge watching! thanks.
I am so glad I found your channel! I have watched most of your videos in the last 2 days >.< i love you channel and your interesting way of teaching us about history 🥰
In movies we often see those taking the waters at Bath, turning their nose up at the sulfer smell. I've been there, I get it. However, given that there wasn't filtered water at that time, would they really have found it as objectionable as we, in modern times, find it?
LOVE learning through you. I make a point to have your videos playing when I'm talking my walks and even doing gardening here in sunny Florida.
I am so enjoying your channel! Thank you for the distraction from everything going on in our world
Just found your channel and I love it. By far the best.
I have recently started watching your vids and am enjoying them very much. Trying to play catch up and am learning a lot. Thank you Stay well
Hi
I loved this video! It was so nice to be able to forget about the coronavirus chaos for 20 minutes and travel back in time with you. You have completely changed my perspective on cleanliness and hygiene in the past. I had never thought to question the accuracy of what television programmes and films encourage us to think about people’s attitudes to hygiene in the middle ages. I’m now wondering if other things that I probably just took for granted might also be untrue!
I’m sure that before I watched your video I would have said that in medieval times most people were probably dirty and smelly. I think that part of the reason I believed this is the image that I have always had of towns and cities during this period. It may be that this image isn’t accurate but certainly the impression that I’ve always got from books and television programmes is that in the middle ages towns were really disgusting - the streets were terribly dirty and dreadfully smelly and because there were lots of horses there was poo everywhere! Please forgive me if this picture is inaccurate but I think that because this was what I imagined the streets would have been like I probably just assumed that people weren’t all that concerned about personal hygiene. I think that my assumption was that if the streets were very dirty and smelly then people probably wouldn’t have been particularly bothered if they were quite dirty and smelly themselves, and they might not have minded all that much if other people were dirty and smelly. You would think that if the streets were covered in horse manure and dog poo it would have been so smelly that people probably wouldn’t have been all that self-conscious if they were stinky themselves as other people wouldn’t have been able to smell them - unless you were incredibly smelly, people wouldn’t have noticed that you were stinky because it was so horrendously smelly outside!
I now wonder, though, how accurate my picture of medieval streets really is. I had never realised that people used to believe that unpleasant smells could actually damage your health and cause you harm! You would have thought that if people believed that breathing in foul air was bad for you then they wouldn’t have allowed anything as smelly as horse manure or dog poo to pile up in the streets - they would have tried to clean the streets and get rid of most of the poo so that the town didn’t get too stinky!
Do you know if people used to clean the streets? Was there a way for them to get rid of all the dog poo and horse manure so that the town didn’t get too smelly?
Thank you so much for taking my mind off this wretched virus!
Anisha
Excellent points, you are correct in the fact that cities (or areas of collective habitation) had to deal with animal and human waste in quantities unthinkable for many today. However, this was a cause for concern - for example, the most stink causing professions were banned from the city centres and proximity to royal palaces; also, if you were caught fouling the streets with your waste you could be fined.
The medieval town and city may well have stunk (to our sensibilities at least), but those who lived there seemed determined to do battle with the filth.
Hi Dr Kat,
Thank you very much for replying to my comment. I had no idea that people could be punished if they disposed of their waste in the street. I had just taken it for granted that people were allowed to throw their rubbish out of their windows and that the waste would just pile up in the streets along with all the horse manure and dog poo. Did the authorities employ people to clean the streets, or were communities/households expected to take responsibility for street-cleaning themselves?
It would be very interesting to know where the idea that medieval people were dirty and smelly comes from. I think that this idea is so widely accepted that most people probably wouldn’t even think to challenge it and I wonder if it’s passed on to children as if it’s just a simple fact. I’m sure that I have seen children’s history books in which the author seemed to be deliberately focusing on the most unpleasant aspects of life and almost trying to repulse the reader by emphasising how dirty and smelly people were. I think that children’s authors may be reinforcing the stereotype that you have challenged and because children are introduced to the idea that medieval people were dirty and smelly as though this is a simple fact they never think to question it. I guess it’s a bit like religion: if at a young age you are introduced to a particular set of religious beliefs as if those beliefs are straightforwardly true then you will probably accept them and won’t think to challenge them. I wonder if it is the same with many of our historical beliefs: without people like you most of us will go through life blindly accepting the stereotypes and oversimplifications in the books that we read and television programmes that we watched as children.
Anisha
Throughout history there has been a lot of shift in who was deemed responsible of the cleanliness of communities - social shaming and legal punishment have both been used (sometimes during the same period) and waste management has been made the responsibility of individuals and the wider community; for example, paid professionals would be employed to deal with cess pools and urine was collected at certain points as it was an effective stain remover for laundry and also because it was an ingredient for making gunpowder.
In terms of why we are shown these representations of history, particularly as children - I think it's because it's interesting and memorable. Also, while it may be exaggerated and reductive, these representations are not wholly untrue. Staying clean was harder in the past - for many centuries doing laundry was a full day of physical labour. What I think needs to be remembered is that, despite the hardship, complexity and questionable success, people in the past cared and were prepared to put in the work to come as close as possible to hygiene.
Thank you so much for telling me about some of the things that individuals/communities/the authorities used to do in an effort to keep towns clean and ensure that they didn’t get too smelly! I must confess that I had completely overlooked the problems that the lack of toilets would have posed - I was thinking that animal poo would have provided the toughest cleanliness challenge but after reading your comments I’m guessing that it was actually human waste that posed the biggest problem!
Your reply to my last comment has definitely made me rethink what I said about the representation of medieval people in children’s history books. I feel really bad for criticising the way that such books tend to portray medieval people as I can see that it’s very important to make history interesting and exciting for children and I know that children tend to like reading about the more unpleasant aspects of life in the past! As you say, it’s not that what books typically tell children is wrong - a lot of the time people probably were quite dirty and smelly and the streets probably were pretty filthy. It’s just that today we perhaps don’t always appreciate how much of an effort people used to make to keep themselves clean - they did their best in very challenging circumstances!
FYI, historic toilets are a pretty fascinating thing - there used to be a communal one on the old London Bridge; people could poop together into the river.