Uncle AJ's Rolex, Wrist Watch & Nature Forum A place to chill out and have some fun a forum about nothing yet also about everything. An alternative wrist watch and nature forum.
Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 263 Location: Queensland, Australia
Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:28 pm Post subject: FACTS FROM THE 1500's
During the 14th century most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell a little, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour and hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
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.
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 deaths. 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 was old and small then and the local folks started running out of places in their villages 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, some of the 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 hence the "graveyard shift" in order to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell, or was considered a dead ringer.
_________________ Steve
#3
Joined: 07 Aug 2007 Posts: 263 Location: Queensland, Australia
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:23 pm Post subject:
steve wrote:
Fascinating, wasnt too sure wether to believe or not, to be honest, without looking a pratt and asking
steve
It's all lighthearted stuff based on heresay.
Who the hell could prove what was customary in Merrie England in the 14th century? Bathing and personal hygiene were not of the standard they are today.
The burial stuff was all bull or was it? _________________ Steve
#3
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Join! (free) 
