I got this email the other day, and looked up on the internet and actually found the web page ... (www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/fifteen/hundreds.html) ... I thought it was very interesting and wanted to share with you! I hope you enjoy.
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The sixteenth century may have been an exciting time in history, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant place to live for ordinary people. Here's what it MAY have been like to live in the 1500's.
Most people got married in June, because they'd just had their yearly bath in May, and still smelt pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so the bride may have begun carrying bouquets of flowers to disguise their body odor. This is where the custom in today's weddings comes from.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of 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 with straw piled high and no wood underneath. It was a place for animals to get warm. So all the cats, mice, and insects, and other small animals 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'.
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. She they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until it started to slip outside. Then they would place a piece of wood in the entranceway. Hence the phrase, 'Threshold'.
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show it 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'.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom part. The family got the middle, and guest got the top, or the upper crust. Which was usually soft.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. the combination would sometimes knock the person 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 to see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of 'holding a wake'.
