Catholic Church. Book of hours : use of Paris : manuscript, [ca. 1500].
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Category: Uncategorized
Quick and Dirty medieval fact: They bathed!
In school they told you that Medieval and Renaissance people of Europe didn’t ever bathe or wash and slept among pigs and were covered in poo. Not entirely true. Most people were pretty darn fastidious, because who likes being filthy? Ew, nope.
Vikings in particular were noted for their extreme tidiness and a very common accessory was a little keyring-like hygiene kit, with a little scoop thing for cleaning your ears, a little pick for cleaning under your nails, and so on.
Except in portrayals we have of bath-houses or the bathing regimen of rich folks who had servants for labor, one didn’t sit in an entire person sized tub of water every day because someone has to lug that water by hand and heat that water by fire. You washed by undressing and scrubbing yourself clean, with only a few cups of water being used. I myself can bathe this way, and until very recently it’s how most of the population of Earth kept clean. Hair was washed less frequently because without a hair-dyer it is hard to get it all dry in any amount of time, but it was also kept cleaner by use of veils, caps, and other head coverings which kept dirt and dust off and absorbed oils.
Some bulkier outer clothing was not often washed because people wore inner garments. Outer clothing was also tricky to wash, especially fancy stuff made of silk or embroidered work. Skin oils and sweat were absorbed by the inner layers which were removed and washed. Modernly we think clothes- one layer, over brief lil’ undies. Most Medieval and Ren people always had a layer or two or ten between their skin and their cote or doublet. THAT’s what gets washed. I mean, how often do you wash your winter coat? Maybe dry cleaning once a season, right? Because it doesn’t really get very dirty, unless you spill things on it.
Periodically a plague would make it less convenient to visit bathhouses and people worried about getting sick would wash less. Pomanders, scented hankies and the like were for avoiding the stenches in the streets of big crowded cities, as public sanitation wasn’t very good in more crowded later times, and didn’t noticeably improve until the late Victorian era. (look up the Great Stink in London history… Ew.)
An of you medieval students with more (better documented) info to add, please do.
Hi there! I would like to learn how to craft a praise-poem in the style of the Irish bards. Do you have any suggestions for finding examples with as little Christianization as possible? My persona is 10th c., so anything that old or older would be helpful.
One of the ways we librarians answer questions is by finding people who know the answer. People are resources too! So this answer was brought to you by the letter P and Master Owen Alun and Brendan O’Corraidhe.
Websites
Overview of Irish Poetry: [Link]
Side-by-Side English/Gaelic of Pangur Ban (a cat poem): [Link]
More side-by-side early Irish poetry: [Link]
Brendan’s Link Library for Irish Poetry, etc.: [Link]
Brenden’s Handout and Lecture notes for his Irish Myth and Legend class
[Handout][Lecture Notes]
Brenden’s notes and Redaction of Pangur Ban: [Link]
Books
Silva Gadelica: A Collection of Tales in Irish With Extracts llustrating Persons and Places
by Srandish H O’Grady
Published 1892 (so take with salt)
Silva Gadelica is a collection of tales in Irish with extracts illustrating persons and places. In this edition, the English translations are to the front, while the Irish originals are at the back.O’Grady describes his work like a straw being tossed up to see how the wind blows. In other words, he was testing the judgment of those who urged for this book to be given a good reception. These popular English versions of the Irish tales earned him the title of “father of the Irish literary revival.”Standish Hayes O’Grady (1832 – 1915) learned Irish from the native speakers of his locality and was later educated at Rugby School and Trinity College Dublin. His profession was as a civil engineer, but he is best remembered for Silva Gadelica.After moving to America, he contributed to an essay on Anglo-Irish Aristocracy to a collection entitled Ideals in Ireland edited by Lady Augusta Gregory in 1901. O’Grady was unable to his finish his final work – Catalogue of the Irish Manuscripts in the British Museum – before his death, although it was later completed by Robin Flower.
[Archive.org][Forgotten Books]
Medieval Irish Lyrics with The Irish Bardic Poet
by James Carney
The text and translation of early Irish poems, both secular and religious. “"These translations…from the point of view of a telling economy and a regard for the original image, its absolute rightness, are far and away superior to anything else I have read”“ – Cork Examiner. ”“Carney has thrown light where there were shadows before, and for this he is, as scholar and poet, due our gratitude”“ – Dublin Magazine. Carney’s noted lecture `The Irish Bardic Poet’, is also included.
Hope these help! Let me know if you need more, and I can see if I can get more out of Owen and Brenden, or put you in touch with them.
FREE EBOOK: The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry | MetPublications | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry
Husband, Timothy Bates, with an essay by Margaret Lawson (2008)
Creative depictions of consorts from the Babenberg Family Tree, a triptych created by Hans Part between 1489 and 1492. See more images here.
I selected a couple of my favourites to see if I could identify them. Some were easy but others posed more of a challenge! Here was what discovered about this small selection:
Image #1: Constantia of Austria
Born 1212 – Died 1243
Margravine consort of Meissen
MoreImage #2: Agnes of Germany
Born 1072/3 – Died 1143
Duchess consort of Swabia and Margravine consort of Austria
MoreImage #3: Uncertain
Described as Mechthild (Matilda), wife of Ernst of Austria. However, Ernst’s two wives were called Adelaide and Swanhilde.
MoreImage #4: Helbirga Babenberg
Born ? – Died 1142
Duchess consort of Bohemia.
MoreImage #5: Judith of Babenberg
Born c.1120 – Died after 1168
Marchioness of Montferrat
MoreImage #6: Wives of Henry II
a) Gertrude of Süpplingenburg
Born 1115 – Died 1143
Margravine consort of Austria and Tuscany and Duchess consort of Saxony and Bavaria.
More
b) Theodora Komnene
Born ? – Died 1148
Duchess consort of Austria
More
Do you know of any good sources off the top of your head for 12th to 14th century Spain/Iberian peninsula? I’m new to SCA and thought it would be fun to do something new to me but have had trouble with the research. /:
Since you’re new, I’m going to start with garb. For me, garb is the stepping stone into more detailed research, such as names, or even other handcrafts or music.
The only reference I have handy is from my own research into 13th century Spanish clothing. Spain is really a melting pot of cultures at this point, with Muslims, Christians, and Jews living in relative peace and harmony.
I’ve been researching 13th Century Spanish Christian garb (because the various cultures wore different stuff), and you can see what I have collected here: [link]
Alfonso X’s book of games is a great place to start for this kind of research because it depicts both genders and various cultures. You can view it here: [link]
Does that help? Was there something more specific you were wanting to look into? Let me know! 😀
I am looking for the original source for an image. I can’t find it on the British Museum website. The reference is: Illustration from the ”Romance of Alexander”, French, 1338-44, fol 59r in the British Museum. Thanks in advance!
This is actually one of my FAVORITE Gothic manuscripts.
Also known as MS. Bold. 264 (parts 1 and 2), this manuscript of the Romance of Alexander is Flemish, originating in Tournai, Belgium.
This entire manuscript is available on the Bodelian Library’s “Luna” website. It has some pretty powerful zooming tools in its interface.
You will find fol. 059r here: [link]
The entirety of the manuscript is here: [link]
Enjoy!
Back from the Holidays
I’ve returned from the whirlwind of holiday travel – time to tackle the reference questions in the inbox. Thanks for your patience!
British Library, Oriental 5024, f. 19r
Author: Isaiah of Trani the Younger
Title: Decisions of Isaiah of Trani the Younger (Pisqei Rabbi Yeshayah Aharon)
Origin: Italy, Central (Bologna or Rimini)
Date: 1374
Decorated initial-word panel accompanied with a partial foliate border in the outer margin inhabited by a deer. In the upper margin, illustration of a man lighting the Hanukkah lamp, at the beginning of the section on Hanukkah.
HAPPY HANUKKAH! 😀