What Hygiene Was Like For Medieval Peasants

Sure, you might think it would suck to be a

medieval

peasant. But do you know how stinky it is? Although cleanliness in the Middle Ages was primitive compared to

what

modern people enjoy, that does not mean that

medieval

hygiene

did not exist. They may not have indoor plumbing, shampoo, or nail salons, but they made do with

what

they had, which in most cases wasn't much. If you think having more than one set of clothes is a luxury, let's say you would fit right in. Today we're exploring...ew, what's that smell? Oh, it's just the

hygiene

habits of medieval

peasants

.

But before you do, how about you subscribe to the Weird History channel and tell us what medieval topics you'd like to know more about? OK. It's time to hold our noses and dip our toes into the cesspool of what hygiene was really like for medieval

peasants

. Overall, hygiene in medieval Europe was an ascending battle. The abundance of waste and inefficient methods of treating it led to disease. This waste added to an abundance of bugs, fleas and lice, which in turn caused diseases and even pests. Hygiene in medieval times depended on washing frequently and using herbs and flowers to deter pests and provide pleasant smells.

If you like taking warm baths with small amounts of dirty water, hop into a time machine that will take you back to medieval times. While many upper-class people could bathe in hot tubs and many of the middle class made use of public baths, peasants had to settle for much, much less. Since there was no running water and farmers had to carry water by hand from wells or rivers to their homes, bathing required a lot of work. Many people bathed with a little water. And often there was no heat. So those who did not have a suitable area in their homes bathed outdoors.

Since many peasants performed manual labor all day long, bathing helped remove dirt and stinking sweat. And it also helped them avoid lice and fleas. They didn't always use soap. But when they did, it often consisted of an alkaline solution, such as a mixture of salt and lime. Because bathing required so much work, some peasants decided not to wash at all. The lucky few who lived in castles used baths that consisted of a bench with a hole placed over an opening leading to a cesspool. The peasants did not have that luxury. That's how it is. A bench with a poop hole was considered a luxury.

On the other hand, the lower classes made use of latrines and often had to share them with the community. Those who did not have access to latrines used chamber pots. And if urinals were out of their budget, they used trash cans. People then emptied their urinals and garbage cans into nearby cesspools or into the river. Instead of toilet paper, medieval peasants used straw, grass, moss or hay to clean themselves. And let's take a brief, awkward moment to talk about these cesspools into which people easily dump their bodily waste. In addition to numbers 1 and 2, people also threw their garbage into wells, which increased the stench.

Can you imagine if your job was to clean up trash in manure-filled cesspools? Well, it was someone's job. And that unfortunate man had to do everything possible to empty as much as possible. And yet, cesspools often leaked and contaminated groundwater and soil. Do you hate shopping? Become a medieval peasant and you won't have to worry about having more than one set of clothes. Capes were common for the peasant class. Clothing worn next to the skin was made of linen and heavier woolen garments were worn over underwear. People understood that washing clothes helped keep parasites away. And etiquette books advised changing underwear every day.

For peasants, however, that was often not an option. If you were one of the lucky ones who could afford more than one set of clothes, you would change into clean clothes once a week while you did the rest of the laundry. Peasants who could not afford to send their clothes to a professional laundress washed their clothes themselves, washing their clothes in the river, usually with lye soap. Unfortunately, medieval rivers were often polluted with human waste, garbage, and runoff of animal excrement into the streets. For medieval people, especially peasants, dealing with fleas and lice was a reality.

Parasites were such a problem that comb manufacturers began adding finer teeth so users could remove dirt and lice while combing. That's how it is. You can thank lice-covered medieval peasants for your favorite fine-tooth comb technology. People used to use their fingers to do the same job and would gather together to delouse each other. Strange as it may seem, delousing groups formed a social activity for peasants. We are like bonobos. Although it was difficult, medieval peasants liked to keep themselves as clean as possible. Keeping clean was not only a sign of pride in this culture, but was considered common etiquette by many.

Popular etiquette especially advised people to wash their faces and hands after waking up and continue the practice of hand washing throughout the day. Even peasants could do it, since it did not require much water, which they would have had to collect with hard work taking it to their homes. Since the peasants did not have utensils and ate with their hands, it was especially important to wash their hands before and after eating. Memory foam mattresses are great. But straw beds are just as good, right? Beds made of straw were relatively comfortable and provided insulation for medieval peasants.

Although peasants sometimes changed the straw inside their mattresses, many did not change it often enough. And the insects and vermin attracted to the straw stayed there for long periods of time. Peasants who had this type of mattress frequently suffered from bed bugs. Fleas, lice and rats would also infest the straw. To combat this, people mixed aromatic flowers and herbs, such as mint, chamomile, and lavender, with the straw. If they could afford it, peasants also had linen sheets and wool blankets to cover themselves while they slept. Just a few years before diva cups were invented, it was obviously no easy task to be menstruating in the days of the medieval peasantry.

Although not much is known about the subject, historians believe that women resorted to wearing a variety of items during their periods. Many women probably used rags that they tore. Other theories suggest that some women wrapped strips of cloth around a small twig and used it as a tampon or possibly collected absorbent moss and used it as a sanitary pad. It is also very likely that some women did nothing and simply bled on their clothes. Religious authorities shame menstruation and many women felt they had to disguise it. It is possible that they carried aromatic herbs or flowers with them to mask any odor.

But considering that medieval women did not live long and that many peasant women lived hard lives involving hard work and little sustenance, it is quite possible that women had fewer periods during their short lives than women in modern times. Lacking toothbrushes, peasants used twigs to clean their teeth. MMM. They especially enjoyed using small hazel branches. Some people also rubbed their teeth with a piece of wool and rinsed their mouths with water. Those who could afford it mixed things like salt and sage to form a paste to freshen breath and whiten teeth. Because their diet included virtually no sugar due to their limited finances, the peasants didn't actually suffer as many cavities.

The stone-ground bread they ate, however, wore down their teeth. If a farmer's dental hygiene was not sufficient and he developed a problem with a tooth, he would have to remove it. Instead of a dentist, most dental work was performed by barbers. Since there was no anesthesia available, patients resorted to getting drunk before having their teeth done. Who needs forks and knives when you can grab dirty food with dirty hands and cut it with dirty mouth? The diet of medieval peasants consisted mainly of what they could grow on their farms: beans, cereals, vegetables and onions. Depending on how close a farmer lived to a cesspool or contaminated water source, the soil used to grow food and the water used to prepare meals could be contaminated with human or animal waste.

Without refrigeration, fresh vegetables were impossible in winter. And the grains and tubers they stored could rot or become infested with vermin. Fungi could poison grains if people were not careful. And people could suffer bouts of upset stomach, diarrhea, or other illnesses from spoiled food. Meat was a luxury that many peasants could not afford. But if they managed to earn enough to buy some or slaughter one of their own animals, they had to dry the meat with salt. Otherwise, it would break down. And if the crops failed and the weather was bad, those unfortunate peasants would probably die of starvation.

Medicine wasn't exactly a strong suit for medieval peasants or medieval doctors of any faith, for that matter. Medieval doctors adopted the theory of humor and made connections between the body's organs, the seasons, the elements, and temperament. This led to the belief that the disease occurred when the body was out of balance. They also thought that parasites originated within people's bodies and caused the imbalance. Doctors theorized that controlling diet (such as eating less fruit) could help prevent the body from producing lice. However, what they didn't realize was that poor waste management and lack of toileting by some people often cause parasites to be attracted to some people.

No matter how many times people washed their hands, a lack of understanding about the connection between dirt, infestations and diseases meant that no one was safe from parasites and diseases. Mirrors were a luxury item and at that time they were made of lead-based glass or polished metal. But it was difficult to see a clear picture. Vanity was clearly a rich man's game during medieval times. The mirrors used to be small. Many men in medieval times went to the barber for a weekly shave. Many peasants could not afford to pay someone to shave. And some didn't know mirrors.

Many decided not to shave at all, turning most medieval towns into fully bearded cities. Bacteria were everywhere since medieval peasants. In fact, living with parasites was so common in medieval times that people tried different herbal remedies to get rid of them. Some used common items that peasants could find in their homes, such as spreading glue on a slice of bread and placing a candle in the middle to attract fleas that infested people's beds. Other remedies were not effective such as getting rid of lice by washing your hair with salty sea water or smelling lavender. If the strange gluey toasts didn't work, people sometimes tried smoking and vaping to get rid of the so-called tooth worms and mites.

They burned chamomile seeds and inhaled the smoke or held infected limbs over steaming water. To get rid of earworms (non-existent parasites that were widely believed to exist) doctors poured bitter medicines into people's ears. They also used bitter herbs to eliminate parasites in other places. However, the herbs caused horrible diarrhea, basically a total disaster. If a patient vomited or suffered a painful bowel movement, doctors would literally think he was cursed. What do you think of the hygiene of medieval peasants? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're at it, check out some of these other videos from our Strange History.