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12 Dark Secrets of the Past That Spoil Its Romantic Flavor
History can actually be quite funny. For example, when we hear the word “pirate” we imagine a big guy with a beard holding a sharp sword. However, one of the most successful pirates in history was a Chinese woman with loose morals named Ching Shih that commanded over 50,000 sea robbers.
History, unlike classical literature, isn’t always romantic. Bright Side decided to show the unvarnished, everyday lives of people from previous centuries. These 12 facts will make you see the world in a totally different light.
1. The bathroom and the closet were in the same place.
In the Middle Ages, toilets were called the “garderobe” and it was a ledge on the wall where all excrement would slide down right into the moat around the castle. The least squeamish conquerors would just climb up the wall or gutter and get into the castle through this hole. And you bet they’d hope that the toilet wasn’t occupied at that very moment.
At this time, ladies would put their luxurious dresses in these toilets. It was believed that the strong smell in the toilet killed fleas and other parasites in the clothes. The tradition to “vent” the dresses in the garderobe continued up until the 19th century. But while the dresses were being vented, people used a different room for “calls of nature” where there was a toilet with a lid and servants would dispose of the excrement.
2. The beak of the ship where carved statues were placed was used as a toilet.
On the front parts of ships, the beakhead, where the figures of deities, mermaids, dragon heads, and other things were placed, actually served as toilets for sailors. The waste was dumped right into the sea. However, quite often, captains and ship owners had figures of their wives and lovers placed on the fronts of these ships.
Some sailors, scared that the sea waves would come aboard and force them off the ship and into the sea, used the actual deck of the ship for their bodily needs. For this, they were severely punished.
Only the captain alone had a separate closed toilet on the back of the ship right next to his room that he could visit without fearing for his life.
3. Some women didn’t do anything during their periods and hid symptoms underneath red clothing.
Before the beginning of the 20th century, periods were quite rare due to bad nutrition, regular fasting, and frequent pregnancies. Menopause in women also started much earlier. In the Middle Ages, it usually happened by the age of 40. But at those rare times when periods actually did happen, there was no serious hygiene practice: in the best-case scenario, women used cloths that they tied around their waists or lower regions — and in the worst-case scenario, they used nothing.
It’s believed that this was one of the reasons why red-brown dresses were so popular in medieval times — the signs of periods were less noticeable on such clothes. However, these dresses were signs of wealth: only very wealthy women could afford clothes that were painted in these colors (they were very expensive).
These men are dyeing fabric red.
4. It was possible for knights to never take part in a battle over the course of their entire lives.
Many medieval warriors were not very decent people. Even Edward of Woodstock, also known as The Black Prince, was believed to be one of the greatest knights of his time and did merciless, pointless things. After he was betrayed by one of his close friends, a bishop, he conquered the city of Limoges where the betrayer was located. Despite his begging for mercy, 3,000 people including women and children were executed and the city was burned. When it was time to execute the bishop that started all this, the prince unexpectedly decided to have mercy on him.
If you still think that shiny armor and swords are romantic, you should know that in reality, things were far duller. People that had never taken part in battle could become knights, including local judges, political advisors, bodyguards of wealthy men, and even successful landlords.
5. Curtains for beds were used to hide from others while fulfilling marital duties.
In the same room with the lord and his wife, there were his servants and bodyguards. This is why the curtains played a very practical role: they protected the “sleeping” owners from prying eyes and cold. The servants would sleep on benches or on simple mats on the floor.
6. Luxurious dresses were never washed — women would just change their underwear often.
Dresses were not washed, even during the progressive Victorian era. Back then, the delicate fabrics used in the making of dresses wouldn’t have stood against the lye, and all the friction and the colors would fade. Instead of washing themselves often along with their clothes, ladies would just wear a lot of underwear.
The pantaloons and nightgowns were sparkling white, but of course, it also took a lot of effort to keep them that way: the maids had to spend hours washing the underwear in hot water and lye and then covered them with starch and ironed them. Their skin would crack and look awful as a result.
7. Originally, in Europe, fans were used to scare away flies from church food and priests.
Before becoming an essential accessory for ladies, fans played a very simple role: they were used to scare away flies and other annoying insects from priests along with bread and wine on the altar. It was called a flabellum and was used in Catholic services up until the 14th century. You can still see these fans in orthodox churches.
Ladies started to use fans in the 16th century to the end of the 18th century. At the time, not a single trendy lady would show up without this accessory.
You might have heard about the secret love language women would use to speak to their lovers with their fans:
- Holding a fan in the right hand next to the face meant, “Follow me.”
- A fan touching the cheek meant, “I love you.”
- Opening and closing the fan meant, “You’re merciless.”
We’re going to be merciless too and reveal the truth for you: this secret language was nothing more than a marketing ploy. After the French Revolution, fans as a sign of luxury didn’t sell very well. And in 1827, a smart Parisian seller published a leaflet where he “deciphered” the secret language of gestures. This idea revived the forgotten accessory and the smart Parisian started supplying fans to the court of the British Queen Victoria.
8. Wigs became trendy thanks to syphilis and a bald Louis XIII.
An outbreak of syphilis in Europe happened in 1495 after the French King Charles VIII marched to Naples. At the time, this was a terrible disease: the infected suffered from serious pains and ulcers all around the body that could literally destroy the nose or the eyes. By the 16th century, the consequences of syphilis became less ugly but even a recovered person was left bald and could become mutilated by “the French pox.”
The nobles started wearing wigs in order to hide the consequences of the sinful disease —like baldness and scars. Some people consciously shaved their heads in order to get rid of the lice that was also a common problem in the 16th and17th centuries. But the peak of the popularity of wigs was when Louis XIV and his father Louis XIII were the rulers. The King’s father lost his hair very early and had to wear a wig. Soon, he and his son’s look was repeated by the entire French noble society.
9. The Renaissance era was not such a bright time.
Many people compare the “dark” times of the Middle Ages to the bright era of the Renaissance that gave the world famous artists and scientists and revived the interest in human personality. However, during this period, the inquisition started a very active job (before the 13th century, witch hunts happened on very rare occasions and only heretics would suffer). But during the Renaissance era, Jeanne d’Arc was burned (1431) and the Roman Inquisition was created to fight the Protestants.
10. People would dance because of poverty and misfortune.
Dancing hasn’t always been a sign of a good mood. In 1518, on the territory of modern France, there was an epidemic of “Dancing plague.” Around 400 people danced without any breaks for several days and then started losing consciousness and dying of exhaustion and heart attacks. There is no single straightforward explanation of this phenomenon: it’s believed that the state was caused by the fungus from the rye that poor people ate or it was a mass psychosis because of famine and other troubles.
11. Those who wanted to get unlimited access to the monarch’s treasury couldn’t be squeamish.
The Queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth I and the First Lady of the Bedchamber, Katherine Ashley
In the court of the Tudors, you didn’t have to have special political talents or be really witty in order to win the trust of the King and become his treasurer. All a person had to do was help the King with his natural needs and give him towels quickly along with other toiletries. This position was called the Groom of the Stool and it was quite a respectable job. The king was basically a saint. During the time of Henry VIII, the grooms of the stool could even become knights.
When Elizabeth I became Queen, a similar position was created — First Lord of the Bedchamber. It was taken by Katherine Ashley who later became a close friend of the Queen’s.
12. New York was built on piles of trash.
The shore of Manhattan was made bigger thanks to the building waste.
Today, New York is beautiful but just as late as the 19th century, it was covered in dirt. A lot of trash was dumped right into the ocean, gradually making the shore of the city bigger. Almost 20% of New York territory, including a significant part of Manhattan, was created artificially by using waste like rocks, leftovers of old buildings, and soil. And the size of Ellis Island in New York increased from 133 acres to 1,333 acres.
Bonus: The Middle Age undressing game is when men and women would throw a ball to each other, and someone that wasn’t able to catch it would take off a piece of clothing.
Which do you prefer: romantic fiction or the truth? What historical film or book made the biggest impression on you?
Preview photo credit Benutzer:AxelHH / Wikimedia
