Life in the 1500s

Melisandre121

Found this online.. not 100% sure of the original source but thought it was interesting



They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & Sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor"

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot......they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low

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 they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell . ...... . 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 entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

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 truth....Now, whoever said History was boring?

The Backwards Man

Ah, but we were much happier then.

EmilyHoward

Sounds like Leitrim in the present day

xper

Ah yes, life was tough between three and four in the afternoon

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

I read this on Facebook. I like the washing bit. "I'll get married in June cause I washed a month ago and still smell alright".

Sir Arthur Daley

All they used do is ride day and night, good times were had.

wp_rathead

Melisandre121 wrote: »

And that's the truth....Now, whoever said History was boring?

clearly morons as history is fecking savage.
For example, here is the History of Toilet Paper

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

I think existence was very horrible for most humans in the thousands upon thousands of years we've inhabited this planet.

I get to play PlayStation against some fela from New Zealand on my couch eating chocolate cake at 1 in the morning while listening to the Beatles. Up yours thousands of years of human evolution. I ****ing won!!!

The Diabolical Monocle

Bet they didn't have to face a rush hour and clock in though.

EmilyHoward

wprathead wrote: »

For example, here is the History of Toilet Paper

FFS, I've officially reached the end of the internet.

Badly Drunk Boy

Here's an extended version of that history.

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

The Backwards Man

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

Here's an extended version of that history.

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

In other words, bunk?

Melisandre121

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I'm other words, bunk?

Aw man... duped by the internet again

The Backwards Man

Melisandre121 wrote: »

Aw man... duped by the internet again

Happens us all.

RobbingBandit

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

I think existence was very horrible for most humans in the thousands upon thousands of years we've inhabited this planet.

I get to play PlayStation against some fela from New Zealand on my couch eating chocolate cake at 1 in the morning while listening to the Beatles. Up yours thousands of years of human evolution. I ****ing won!!!

Karma is coming for you in the form of a power cut.

obplayer

The Diabolical Monocle wrote: »

Bet they didn't have to face a rush hour and clock in though.

Bet they wished that was all they had to worry about!

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo

The Diabolical Monocle wrote: »

Bet they didn't have to face a rush hour and clock in though.

Tue that, but I bet they probably had a bit too much famine and disease going on constantly for me to want to do a swapsy with them though

Miss Lizzie Jones

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Ah, but we were much happier then.

I was happier then and I had nothin'. We used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the roof.

GerB40

Miss Lizzie Jones wrote: »

I was happier then and I had nothin'. We used to live in this tiny old house with great big holes in the roof.

You were lucky to have a house. We used to live in the corridor...

Miss Lizzie Jones

GerB40 wrote: »

You were lucky to have a house. We used to live in the corridor...

Well, when I say 'house' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us.

foggy_lad

Miss Lizzie Jones wrote: »

Well, when I say 'house' it was only a hole in the ground covered by a sheet of tarpaulin, but it was a house to us.

Ye lucky lucky b@$¥∆&ds, what we wouldn't have given for a sheet of tarpaulin or a mucky old hole to shelter in. 19 of us there was plus mun and dad and the grandparents and uncle Jackie who was a bit deaf, all living in a shoe!

Esel

Do not contract with your local lord!

We are all freemen of the land, and we will bathe as and when we see fit.

We don't mind (them profiting from our) pissing, but we hate dat.

blackbird98

Melisandre121 wrote: »

Found this online.. not 100% sure of the original source but thought it was interesting

And that's the truth....

Oh no it's not!!! good read though...

Origins: In a nutshell, this article about "Life in the 1500s" is nothing more than an extended joke, someone's idea of an amusing leg-pull which began its Internet life in April 1999. All of the historical and linguistic facts it purports to offer are simply made up and contrary to documented facts:
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp#RF1lQzjEfxt2fQ5Q.99

El Weirdo

blackbird98 wrote: »

Oh no it's not!!! good read though...

Origins: In a nutshell, this article about "Life in the 1500s" is nothing more than an extended joke, someone's idea of an amusing leg-pull which began its Internet life in April 1999. All of the historical and linguistic facts it purports to offer are simply made up and contrary to documented facts:
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp#RF1lQzjEfxt2fQ5Q.99

Indeed.

Although, if you really find this sort of stuff interesting, than I heartily recommend reading At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson.

gladrags

Great read

Thanks

El Weirdo

El Weirdo wrote: »

Indeed.

Although, if you really find this sort of stuff interesting, than I heartily recommend reading At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson.

gladrags wrote: »

Great read

Thanks

Jesus, that was quick.

Hoop66

Melisandre121 wrote: »

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

Jaysus, imagine that...

Sunhill

Whatever the reason for staying up all night in the presence of a corpse, the explanation for the word 'wake' is incorrect. 'Wake' was an old word for 'vigil'.

BTW Wakes are becoming very common again in rural Ireland as people are shunning the Funeral Homes, probably because those places are too formal or maybe impersonal.

magicmushroom

If they had their yearly bath in May, why wait until June when they still smelt 'alright'...why not just schedule the bath for the morning of or night before your wedding

Chucken

magicmushroom wrote: »

If they had their yearly bath in May, why wait until June when they still smelt 'alright'...why not just schedule the bath for the morning of or night before your wedding

Cos it took that long to get the rest of the family washed...

kylith

I find it amazing that not one piece of information is correct. You'd have expected them to be right about something just by chance.

The Backwards Man

kylith wrote: »

I find it amazing that not one piece of information is correct. You'd have expected them to be right about something just by chance.

The big pot of water in the hearth would still have been coming around here until recently. I remember as a kid doing a bit of work for two bachelor brothers and being invited in for tea, as was customary.


One of the brothers was shaving using the water from the pot and the other grabbed a fork and took a couple of spuds out of it and stuck them on a plate in front of me, then dipped a mug in it, threw a spoonful of loose tea in it and gave to me.

Two boys lived until well in their nineties.

Chucken

The Backwards Man wrote: »

The big pot of water in the hearth would still have been coming around here until recently. I remember as a kid doing a bit of work for two bachelor brothers and being invited in for tea, as was customary.


One of the brothers was shaving using the water from the pot and the other grabbed a fork and took a couple of spuds out of it and such them on a plate in front of me, then dipped a mug in it, threw a spoonful of loose tea in it and gave to me.

Two boys lived until well in their nineties.

Them boys could teach us a thing or 2 about conserving water!

kylith

The Backwards Man wrote: »

The big pot of water in the hearth would still have been coming around here until recently. I remember as a kid doing a bit of work for two bachelor brothers and being invited in for tea, as was customary.


One of the brothers was shaving using the water from the pot and the other grabbed a fork and took a couple of spuds out of it and stuck them on a plate in front of me, then dipped a mug in it, threw a spoonful of loose tea in it and gave to me.

Two boys lived until well in their nineties.

Fair enough then, they got one thing right. Except that they didn't really because pease pudding is porridge made of peas. It is, afaik, Lobbin Scouse that has the left overs added to the new stew every day.

Reoil

It's a shame that 100% of the OP is bull****.

Duggy747

In the 1500s, a pack of Burger Bites crisps were cheaper and you got more in them.

TheEnigma

Nordies were the most powerful people on the island in the 1500s , last to fall to the english

The Backwards Man

Duggy747 wrote: »

In the 1500s, a pack of Burger Bites crisps were cheaper and you got more in them.

And penny sweets cost a farthing.

Reoil

And a Snickers bar was called a "Marathon" bar.

Despite all the nonsense I would say life was grim for most people up until fairly recently, in the 19th century the vast majority of Irish people would have been living in a 2 roomed cottages with an open fire and their only possession would have been an iron pot to cook potatoes in, yet people thrived and survived and lived long enough to produce the next generation or else none of us would be here.

Meathlass

mariaalice wrote: »

Despite all the nonsense I would say life was grim for most people up until fairly recently, in the 19th century the vast majority of Irish people would have been living in a 2 roomed cottages with an open fire and their only possession would have been an iron pot to cook potatoes in, yet people thrived and survived and lived long enough to produce the next generation or else none of us would be here.

Well, there was this thing called The Famine ....

muppetkiller

I love these kind of things.. I remember being on a Tour where they spoke about the window tax that the British brought in to Ireland which was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, Ireland France and Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries.
In Ireland and other places too they tried to get around this by building the Front Door in two parts that could be opened in halves so you could use the top half as a Window.

if you ever see any of the old cottages in Ireland you can see how tiny the little windows are ..the Window tax is the reason.

It's where they think the term "daylight robbery" came from

Meathlass

Meathlass wrote: »

Well, there was this thing called The Famine ....

Well all our ancestors survived or else none of us would be here!

gladrags

magicmushroom wrote: »

If they had their yearly bath in May, why wait until June when they still smelt 'alright'...why not just schedule the bath for the morning of or night before your wedding

Because there was only one bath,and all the guests etc,including the parish priest queued to take a bath.

The bride and groom were then bathed.

Followed finally by the piss poor.

This took a loooooooong time.

Another thing that always amazes me if you look at a magnificent building like Versailles for example they built that in all it opulence and wealth and yet there was no indoor pluming, no running water, no loos!!

Meathlass

mariaalice wrote: »

Well all our ancestors survived or else none of us would be here!

Survived long enough for our other ancestors to be born at least!

Grim times though. Can't find the link for it though but remember reading that as a % of population dead Ireland has 2 of the worst famines in history. The Great Famine in 1845 when 20% of the population died and the famine in 1740 when 38% of the population died. At number 2 on the list is Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge resulted in 25% of the population dying.

Meathlass

muppetkiller wrote: »

I remember being on a Tour where they spoke about the window tax that the British brought in to Ireland which was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, Ireland France and Scotland during the 18th and 19th centuries.

There was also the Hearth tax in the 1600s which taxed the number of fire places people had. They were recored in the Hearth Money Records and still survive for some counties. It lists the person's name, address and how many fireplaces they had. There are several years recorded so you can see people building bigger houses or refurbishing or downsizing.

jimgoose

mariaalice wrote: »

Well all our ancestors survived or else none of us would be here!

"Survived" being the operative word. Until relatively recent times life was unbelievably harsh, with constant back-breaking manual work involved in covering the basics like feeding yourself, grinding poverty, no social or any other kind of mobility, medical facilities ranging from deeply shocking to non-existent, and early, lingering, painful death. But sure we were happy, we had a stick! :pac:

D-FENS

During the Stone Age, a huge problem in Ireland was birds of prey swooping down and defecating in peasant’s mouths…..resulting in the victim, or “Gob-****e”, shouting at the “****e-Hawk” to leave him alone.

o1s1n

mariaalice wrote: »

Another thing that always amazes me if you look at a magnificent building like Versailles for example they built that in all it opulence and wealth and yet there was no indoor pluming, no running water, no loos!!

You'd be surprised how many classical civilizations had plumbing, running water and central heating. It's pretty amazing really.

ScumLord

Tangatagamadda Chaddabinga Bonga Bungo wrote: »

I think existence was very horrible for most humans in the thousands upon thousands of years we've inhabited this planet.

People probably wouldn't have considered their life all that bad and would have been pretty happy without some outside reference to say they could do better.

When we were hunter gathers we had the run of the place, there would have been an abundance of food running around the place and while it would have been a hard life by our standards it probably was rewarding. Hunter gathers seem to be long lived and healthy people.

When farmers came along they probably thought they were the bee's knees, food all year round, no need to travel all over the place, loads of free time.

By our modern standards Rome would have been a disgusting mess of a city but the Romans thought they were the height of civilization, and they were. Any place outside of Rome that got themselves a bathhouse probably thought life couldn't get any better.


People tend to think stress is bad for you, but it seems stress is only really bad for you if you believe it's bad for you. Just because they would have had busy and stressful lives doesn't necessarily mean they didn't enjoy the majority of their day.