More details from the 1500-1600 home makers

Hi Ladies, Here are a few more intersting facts from the 1500-1600's that make us thankful we live in the here and now. In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Everyday they lit the fire and added things to the pot. The ate mostly vegetables and did not get a great deal of meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving lefovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite awhile. Hence the rhyme: "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old." Sometimes they could obtain some 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 who had money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considerd 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 somtimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead an 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." I have a few more interesting facts for you but they will need to wait until next month.

Marriage and home making in the 1500-1600's

Dear Ladies, Have you ever wondered where some of the marital traditions came from? Some date back as far as the 1500's. For instance: Most people got married in June becasue they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. (sigh) Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. (sigh) Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the 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 diry you could actually loose somone in it. Hence the say, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water! Houses had thatched roofs- thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice,bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and somethimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying: "It's raining cats and dogs." There was nothing to stop them from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings would mess up your nice clean bed. Hence a bed with big posts and a sheet hug over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came int existence. How about one or two more interesting facts for this posting? 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, so they spread straw, called "thresh" on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more "thresh" until when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: the thresh hold. More to come on the next post.