Fascinating History

Shortly after tobacco was first introduced in Europe, it was thought to be beneficial to your health. It was thought to cure a number of ailments and even take away bad breath, although a smoker's wife at the time told her husband: "It makes your breath stink like the piss of a fox!" In England, smoking tobacco really cought on and by 1577 it was even being grown here. Tobacco leaves were smoked in clay pipes and by the late 1590s one could purchase pre-filled disposable ones suitable for one use only, much like we would get a disposable camera today. The used pipes were then habitually thrown away, many into the Thames river, where nowadays, enthusiasts of uncovering items from the past find them in abundance, immersed in the thick mud left behind by the tide. A rather disgusting description of the smoking habits of the time gives us the picture: "...they draw the smoke into their mouths which they puff out again through their nostrils like smoke, along with it plen...

Athenais de Montespan was the mistress of Louis XIV. She was extremely clever, beautiful and well educated (which was something of a rarety in her time). Through her role as mistress, she managed to acquire more power than the Queen, therefore being refered to sometimes by historians as the true Queen of France. Athenais came from an aristocratic family. At a young age she was engaged to a young man whom she was very fond of, an unusual circumstance for those times when arranged marriages were the norm. Unfortunately this man died just before they were to be married. Athenais then had the misfortune of being married off to the Marquis de Montespan, who was always having affairs and managed to get himself into enormous debt. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, but with a focused, ambitious mind and very good looks, she maintained an air of modesty and virtuousness beyond reproach, while she set out to be the King's mistress. Luckily she was already lady in waiting to the King's curr...

Nowadays it is fashionable and desirable to have a tan and people go to extreme lengths to acquire one, baking for hours under the sun or even paying interesting sums of money to be "microwaved" in a tanning pod. However, this passion for tanning was not always so. Indeed, up to the first quarter of the 20th century, tanned skin for a woman, was a considered ugly and not "the done thing". The ideal was to have a white complexion and women went to great extremes in order to achieve this look. From Medieval times until the middle of the 19th century, white lead called ceruse , was used. The best ceruse was imported from Venice (considered best because it produced the whitest effect). It came in paste form and in order to be applied on the face women would mix it with water or egg-white. They would then apply it with the aid of a damp cloth. Of course, mixing it with egg-white produced the very unfortunate effect of the cracking of the makeup when a woman smiled, so we...

Public lavatories did exist in ancient Rome, but they were nothing like what we have today. For one thing, I am using the term 'public' in its most literal sense because there was no such thing as privacy. There were no cubicles to separate those making use of the facilities. The procedure was conducted in full public view. Moreover, it was considered perfectly normal for people to meet there, defecate and discuss the news and gossip of the day - discoursing from both orifices. Despite this openness the surroundings were extremely well decorated - who knows, perhaps in order to inspire the users. The lavatory seats were made of marble, around them there was a continuous flow of water, while above them one could often see niches with little statues of gods, heroes, etc. Sometimes there was even a fountain in the room. However, even at the imperial palace, where one would expect to find privacy in these situations, the lavatories had three seats, side by side.

Women in the Restoration period did not have an enviable legal status. At the age of seven a girl was considered old-enough to be betrothed, while at twelve it was legal for her to be married. Until the "happy" day of her marriage, a girl was almost quite literally owned by her father. If he should have happened to die at some point while she was unmarried, the next head of the family would take her on, (typically the oldest son or the uncle). Of course, marriage did not give her any more independence as she was then the "property" of her husband and legally her status had changed from feme sole to feme covert , while he was called her "baron" . A feme covert was thus not allowed to enter into any contracts or even make a will, without the permission of her husband. The law of the time specified: "That which the husband has is his own" and "that which the wife has is the husband's" . (How convenient all this was for the hus...

"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down..." Have you ever wondered what the story is behind this well known nursery rhyme? Well, it may not be what you think. Thoughts of London Bridge usually bring to mind Rennie's bridge, the London Bridge of the mid 1800s, which was sold to an American, dismantled and sent overseas bit by bit and put back together again. You would be justified for bringing to mind this bridge, with it's unusual history, but the one I am talking about has a much grander history. The construction of Old London Bridge started in the year 1176. It took 33 years to build and was operational from 1209. It consisted of twenty arches and had on it buildings of 3 to 6 floors high, at various times. Yes, people actually lived on this bridge. There were houses, shops and stalls of all kinds - at one time 138 shops were counted on it. On the Southwalk-end side of the bridge the heads and quarters of traitors were prominently displayed on top...

In 16th century London sex outside marriage was widespread. Young men of well to do families were sent off to Italy to receive their "education" and bring back a variety of pornographic books. One of the most famous ones is one by the poet Aretino, who wrote a series of pornographic sonnets. To stimulate further the reader's imagination, the book was illustrated showing various sexual positions. There were plenty of English books with advice on the subject, such as Turner's Herbal , which contained many tips on the use of certain herbs for the purposes of evoking the lustful urges of man and woman. Talking of artichokes he says, "...this herb provoketh lust in women so it abateththe same in men" , while saffron boiled in wine , except for repelling moths "keeps a man from drunkenness, but also encourageth into procreation of life" and leeks and onions were also said to stimulate the sexual appetite. Shakespeare's plays are filled with cryptic ...

It is incorrectly assumed that the ancient Greeks and Romans did not know of the existence of sugar. The first reference to sugar is made by the Greek general Nearchus of Crete. He commmanded Alexander the Great's army in 327 B.C. and while he was in what is now known as the Punjab area, he came across sugar. Additionaly, Strabo, the Roman geographer describes "a reed in India [that] brings forth honey without the help of bees..." . He also mentions sugar in solid form, describing it as "stones the colour of frankinsense, sweeter than figs or honey" . The Greek naturalist and physician Dioscorides spoke of it as "...a kind of solidified honey, called saccharon [Greeks still call sugar sakharo or zahari] found in reeds in India and Arabia Felix, of a similar consistency to salt..." . Indeed, it was thought that sugar was a type of salt and we see that even in Medieval times when it was sometimes referred to as "Indian Salt" . Despite th...

One of my readers has kindly sent me his thoughts on the Roman Emperor Tiberius. I have to say that my personal view of Tiberius does not coincide with this one, but I nevertheless felt that the writer has researched his subject well and his enthusiasm is almost contagious. For this reason I am publishing the essay below . The writer wishes to be identified by the pseudonym "Light". Once more, I find myself reasonably bored. So, in the interests of keeping me sane, I'm going to tell you a story... This is the story of the Poor Oppressed Victim and the Big Bad Roman Emperor. Just to somewhat confuse matters, they're both the same person. Tiberius (or to give him his full name, Tiberius Claudius Nero; bit of a mouthful...) gets something of a shitty deal in the history books. He's now known (when remembered at all) as an Olympic standard sexual pervert and sadist. And I suppose there's a grain of truth in that, but in the interest of striking a blow (or taki...

Stays were the corsets worn by women in the 18th century. They were worn from infancy and were made of thick linnen onto which long, thin pieces of cane or whalebone were sewn vertically. This made the garment very rigid. The stays would end in a point, just above the abdomen and would be laced up at the back as tightly as possible. The garment was so tight around the waist and rib-cage, that movement and breathing was made difficult. (This explains why women fainted so easily..) Stays would be worn over a white shirt-like garment, which was usually almost knee-length, (knickers had not been invented yet) and the skirt would be fitten under the bottom part of the stays, with the pointed part on the outside. The front panel was meant to be seen and so was often beautifully embroidered and colourfull. Over the skirt, another shirt-like garment would be worn, which would be open in front so you could see the panel and it would be tied to the stays with silk ribbons or just pinned on. Thi...

If you are dreading a trip to the dentist think again. In 17th century London you had very good reason to. In those days you would be seen to by a man called the "Teeth Inspector", who could be found in fairs and market-places. He had absolutely no academic qualifications and firmly believed that cavities were caused by a worm that made it's lodging in your teeth. If you had a very bad toothache he would usually suggest cauterising the offending nerve with acid, which would also kill both birds with one stone by destroying the tooth as well. If your toothache was so bad that you were howling with pain he might consider extracting the tooth via the use of several grotesque-looking instruments. All this "treatment" was administered in public view and one can say it was seen as a kind of spectacle for curious passers-by. If you complained that too many teeth had been extracted over the years and you wished you could replace them, the Teeth Inspector had a solution ...

Restoration London is the period between 1660 and 1670. This period of history witnessed among other things, the Restoration of the monarchy with Charles II, the Great Fire of London and the building of St. Paul's Cathedral by the great architect Christopher Wren. Perhaps the most well-known document of the time is the diary of Samuel Pepys, which provides us with a wealth of information on the everyday life in London of that time. His diary spans almost a decade, from 1660 to 1669, when he had to stop writing because he was losing his eyesight. Probably one of the most unpleasant times in a person's life in those days, was when they got ill and had to be treated by a surgeon. These were not to be confused with the doctors of the time who were called physicians . Chirurgeons (pronounced 'surgeons') were not especially learned and not regarded as gentlemen, unlike physicians. Their training consisted of a seven-year apprenticeship. They did not attend a university ...

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born in A.D. 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. His parents died young and he was subsequently adopted by his grandfather and at the age of 17 by the emperor Aurelius Antoninus, who was also his uncle and had no sons of his own. Marcus married the emperor's daughter, Faustina, who bore him five children out of which only one survived, the future emperor Commodus (the tyrannical, sadistic, cruel one we see in the film 'Gladiator'). When Aurelius Antoninus died, Marcus succeeded him and made Lucius Verus (another adopted son of the deceased emperor) his co-ruler. It was thus that for the first time ever there were two emperors ruling Rome. Their rule was marked by various natural disasters and also the invasions of Germanic tribes from the north. In A.D. 167 Marcus joined his legions who were fighting these tribes, in the Danube area. He was not happy there and to console himself wrote his thoughts down, which we now know as Meditations...

Women in ancient Rome, were allot fussier about their morning "toilette" than the men. (This would apply particularly to the rich ladies.) They would awake of course at the same time (sunrise or before). Like the men they would go to bed at night almost fully dressed. However, in the morning unlike the men who were practically ready to step out of the house like that, they would make several additions to their attire, which usually involved a colourful tunic, an elaborate fabric belt around the waist, jewellery (including bracelets, anklets, necklaces and earings). Before the Roman matron was ready to do this though she would have to "put her face on". This consisted of applying what we would call make-up, only unlike modern make-up this was made of chalk, lead and other such unpleasant and unhealthy ingredients. The chalk and lead were used to whiten the skin, herbal dyes would colour the lips red and ashes mixed with charcoal were used to intensify the eyebr...

A Roman's relationship with his barber was crucial; the trimming of the beard was almost of religious significance and the utensils the barber used could be deadly with one accidental slip of the hand! Indeed, many were those who had their face sliced off due to the carelessness of their barbers! There was no use of softening lotion or soap; only water was used to soften the bristles. As a result the experience would often be painful. The poorer folk were known to spit on their shaving blade in order to "lubricate" it. As soon as a young man had grown enough beard to have it shaven off he would be sent to the barber for an almost ritualistic acting out of this deed. The Emperor Augustus had his taken off whe he was 23 whereas both Caligula and Nero did it when they took the Toga Virillis. Nero had his shaved-off bits sealed in a gold box even! Of course all young men in Rome would then follow the same example (much the same as young people of today who immitate habit...

Ancient Romans did not like to stay in bed in the morning. In fact, anyone who did opt f0r a lie-in was treated with contempt and probably suspected of being a drunken lout! Romans typically woke up every day at sunrise. The Emperor Vespasian in fact preferred to rise before sunrise and plan who and what he was going to deal with and see to any paperwork. The Roman bedroom was a simple, small room, not made to encourage anyone to want to stay in it for longer than was thought necessary. It was very much a functional room in the sense that it was just a place for the Roman to sleep at night. The shutters were thick and dark and when shut left the room in absolute darkness, so as to encourage sleep. And if you thought that was rather Spartan and strict, the Roman bed was no cause for celebration either. It was usually a simple wooden affair, more like a sofa. The rich may have had a mattress consisting of swan's down, whereas the poor would have to make do with a hay-filled mattress....

Welcome to my Blog! Posts on this blog will be dedicated to the strange, intriguing, interesting and sometimes fascinating aspects of how people lived their lives in past times. A particular focus will be Ancient Rome but other times and places will be explored too. I hope you find these bits of information as interesting as I do! Stay tuned for my first post! :-)))