Did medieval castles smell?

Life in a Medieval Castle: Cold, Dark, and Very Smelly! To our modern standards of living, most Medieval castles would have been incredibly cold, cramped, totally lacking privacy, and would have been disgustingly smelly (and likely home to more than a fair share of rats!).



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Castles and manor houses often smelled damp and musty. To counteract this, herbs and rushes were strewn across the floors.

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The first stone castles built were cold, dark, smelly and damp. Inside the castle walls, floor coverings consisted of straw rushes and, later, sweet smelling herbs to mask the smell of animal excrement, grease, rotting food and beer.

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Washing and Bathing Was Very Uncommon In medieval times, the wealthy would take a bath every other month. If you were poor, you'd be lucky to bath 4 times per year. There was no hot water so it had to be carried in through a well and then heated over a fireplace.

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In the Middle Ages, people would make use of sticks, moss and other plants. Archaeological findings from cesspits of monasteries in Ireland and Norway included small pieces of cloth that were used like toilet paper.

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In the medieval period luxury castles were built with indoor toilets known as 'garderobes', and the waste dropped into a pit below. It was the job of the 'Gongfarmer' to remove it – one of the smelliest jobs in history?

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After the 16th century, castles declined as a mode of defense, mostly because of the invention and improvement of heavy cannons and mortars. This artillery could throw heavy cannonballs with so much force that even strong curtain walls could not hold up.

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While the Ancients may not have understood this scientific explanation, they went to great lengths to mask their body odour. The Egyptians and Greeks bathed frequently in water liberally scented with fragrant oils, applied aromatic oils to their bodies and used incense to perfume the air.

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