attie
Sous Chef
From a book called “Life in the Middle Ages”
Back in the 1500’s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelt pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so the 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 large tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies.
By then the water was so dirty that you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” --- [Good wife Carol reckons they could top dress the yard when they threw the water out]
Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw piled high - with no wood underneath. It was the only places for animals to get warm, so all the cats and critters 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”.
In those days they cooked in the kitchen with a big pot which always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and got very little meat. They would eat the stew for dinner leaving the leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start again the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quiet some time. Hence the saying “Peas pudding hot, peas pudding cold, peas pudding in the pot nine days old” --- [Holy smokes, that'd take some getting used to]
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How did they ever live long enough to have kids
Back in the 1500’s most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelt pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so the 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 large tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies.
By then the water was so dirty that you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” --- [Good wife Carol reckons they could top dress the yard when they threw the water out]
Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw piled high - with no wood underneath. It was the only places for animals to get warm, so all the cats and critters 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”.
In those days they cooked in the kitchen with a big pot which always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and got very little meat. They would eat the stew for dinner leaving the leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start again the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quiet some time. Hence the saying “Peas pudding hot, peas pudding cold, peas pudding in the pot nine days old” --- [Holy smokes, that'd take some getting used to]
---------------------------
How did they ever live long enough to have kids