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Smoking throughout history
Smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world. Many ancient civilizations, such as the Babylonians, Indians and Chinese, burnt incense as a part of religious rituals. The Israelites and the later Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches also practiced this as part of religious worship. Early smoking evolved in association with religious ceremonies- as offerings to deities, in cleansing rituals or to allow shamans and priests to alter their minds for purposes of divination or spiritual enlightenment. After the European exploration and conquest of the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco quickly spread to the rest of the…
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What to Expect When You’re Expecting in the Past
So we have discussed sexual mores from the past, but those of us who have had the birds and the bees discussion know what happens from all these bedroom doings. Many times, there is small person on the way. So how did ladies of old handle the joys of pregnancy? Pregnancy was joyful, but it was also a very serious and dangerous business. Mortality rates for both mother and child were not good. One in three women died during their childbearing years, and being rich or young did not spare a woman from complications after labor which could kill her. The Diseases of Women, a widely used medical treatise from…
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Hair care for the Medieval Woman
The Bible says a woman’s hair is her crowning glory. Because of this, it was considered a very private thing. It was fine for young girls to have unbound hair, and a maiden wore her hair completely unbound on her wedding day as a symbol of her virginity. Once a lady was married however, it was a different story. A married woman was to only show her unbound hair to her husband. Any other time, ladies of quality made sure to cover it with veils, nets, hoods or hats. Some women in warmer climates abandoned veils for comfort sake, but still adorned their hair with elaborate braids, beads and ribbon.…
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Surviving Life in The Workhouse Part 2
In part one, we discussed the development of Poor laws and rates and so on to meet the rising need of the destitute in the community and the provision for children, the elderly and others who were unable to provide for themselves. We had reached the point where Elizabeth I had passed the 1601 Poor Laws, now known as the Old Poor Law, which had passed on the responsibility for collecting the poor rates from parishes and converting it to basic foods, clothing and fuel etc for those in need. Rent allowances and other monies from the rates were also introduced to be given to those in need, enabling them…
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Surviving life in – The Workhouse (Part One)
Most of us have heard tales of the infamous workhouses of the Victorian era. Dark abodes of desolation where the most pitifully destitute of humanity went, never to see the outside world again. Conditions were harsh and mortality rates were high. But is this an accurate view of these institutes? Let’s delve into the past and find out. The common idea of the Workhouse goes back much further than most people would think, although in varying guises. As a result of the Great Plague epidemic of 1348/9, a vast number of the peasant population of England and Wales had been wiped out. The loss of life particularly impacted agricultural areas,…
