Monday 3 August 2020

Medieval Magpie Pickings (Snippets of Interesting Info)

By Marilyn Forsyth

(This post was inspired by Catherine Meyrick’s blog post ‘Elizabethan Magpie Pickings’. So many interesting snippets about 16th century England!)

I’ve been vicariously inhabiting the world of 12th century Wales for a couple of years now, while I write my Rebel Daughters of Wales timeslip series. Here, for your reading pleasure, are some of my magpie pickings:

1. Women were legally, and with the sanction of the Church, allowed to be beaten by their husbands. The only condition was that the stick used for the beating must be no thicker than the husband’s thumb.

That's a thumbs down from me!

2. For women of the nobility, haute couture was a mark of high status, but such an outward show of pride was not appreciated by Christine de Pisan (medieval writer and historiographer and advocate for women's equality), who wrote: Such women “should especially avoid two things...extravagant head-dress and gowns...and the jostling that goes on when they try to get in front of each other at public functions.” LOL. Seems there have always been those types who need to get noticed.

 
Image courtesy of giphy

3. Speaking of medieval fashion trends... 
Because dresses were so expensive the sleeves were often detachable so that the style could be changed to keep up with the latest style without incurring the cost of a whole new dress. 

4. Despite common belief, medieval people actually did take good care of their teeth. Part of the reason their teeth may not have developed cavities is that sugar was a luxury item and consequently expensive. Many toothpaste recipes that have survived from that time (halitosis, it seems, has never been in vogue). One Welsh recipe says to rub teeth with a mixture of equal parts sage leaves and salt, baked until burnt and powdery.
If toothpaste goes the way toilet paper has gone in the recent crazy times, you’ll now know how to make do. 😉

Image courtesy of giphy

5. Speaking of toilet paper...
It’s probable that anyone who used a garderobe in a castle used either hay or linen scraps to wipe their posteriors. I know which one I’d prefer.

Image courtesy of all-free-download.com

6.
The Battle of Hastings (in which William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II and the Norman dynasty came to power in England) did not take place at Hastings but at the nearby town of (the appropriately named) Battle. (We were to have visited there last month - sob!)

Image courtesy of vintage-news.com

7. Speaking of William the Conqueror...
His death was just as memorable as his life (for all the wrong reasons!). Over the years of his rule, he had grown so obese that his internal organs ruptured when his protruding stomach was thrown against the pommel of his saddle. He passed away some weeks later, his body left naked on the floor while his household servants looted his belongings. Eventually his body was embalmed (despite the festering internal organs) and taken for burial, where it was discovered that his stone sarcophagus was too small to fit him. As his bloated body was being forced into place, his putrefied insides burst. The officiating clergy fled in disgust. Monty Python sketch, or what!

Image courtesy of giphy

8. Princess Nest of Deheubarth was the daughter of King Rhys ap Tewdwr, mistress to Henry I, and wife of Gerald of Pembroke. She was famed not only for her beauty, but also for her involvement in an amazing escapade when her second cousin, Owain, having only just met her, fell instantly in love and abducted her. Little wonder she became known as the Helen of Wales. The question is, did she go willingly? That’s something I explore in my current wip (tentatively titled Nest’s Secret). 

Image of Nest in bed with Henry I 
 
I hope you enjoyed these snippets, garnered from my reading. Do you have a fact that has taken your fancy from your current read?
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Love to Love flowers. My garden is loving the rain.


Love to Laugh at ‘Why Women Kill’. Couldn't get enough of this dark comedy on Foxtel.





Love to Learn about life in medieval times through studying illuminated manuscripts. Thank you, Enisa Haines, for the beautiful book.






17 comments:

  1. Amazing facts! BIG thumbs down on the wife beating! And, eww on William the Conqueror. Just as well he wasn't alive to see all his 'dead' indignities. Your next book sounds so interesting, Marilyn, I've never heard of Nest before. Can't wait to read all the shenanigans and see what you come up with. Should be a fascinating read. Someone said - 'Everything I know I learnt from a romance novel'? Sounds like I'm about to get a wonderful Medieval history lesson!
    P.S. Love illuminated manuscripts - Enisa, what a friend you are to be able to part with such a jewel as a gift.

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    1. Thanks Miranda! I look forward to sharing my book about Nest with you. She is one fascinating lady.

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  2. Fascinating facts! Thank you

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    1. Thanks so much for dropping by, Cathie. I loved your Elizabethan Magpie Pickings, too!

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  3. Love these Marilyn. I've been to battle and the museum there was fascinating. Alan and I walked some of the battle ground as well.

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    1. I was so looking forward to checking out Battle! So jealous! Maybe next year??

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  4. The Medieval period is so rich with facts at times unbelievable to us today. Constant battles. Kings and the rich nobility in castles. Peasants in one room shacks. The Plague. So much history to immerse myself in but the time that fascinates me the most is the Witchcraft Trials. Innocent women, and men, using herbs and ointments to heal the sick, accused of cavorting with the Devil by the Church who wanted everyone under their religious control. By royalty who the Church whispered to, and by medical doctors who thought of herbal healers as a threat to their medical practises. Horrendous times of ignorance and irrational fear.

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    1. I know how much you enjoy that time period, Enisa. And how much you love to write about it. Hope that writing is going well.

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  5. Thanks for an absolutely fascinating post Marilyn. I'm reading historical romances at the moment. Maybe it's time to try one set in medieval times.

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    1. Let me know if you need any book recommendations, Sharon. I have so many authors to suggest: Sharon Penman, Catherine Meyrick Sarah Woodbury (among many others).

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    2. Thanks Marilyn. It's always great to receive author recommendations for a genre you are interested in exploring.

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  6. Thanks for some interesting medieval facts, Marilyn. What a shame you aren't going to Battle soon. It's a great place to visit. We got the audio head guides and that gave us a real insight into what happened, where.
    Poor William the Conqueror. What an inglorious end to an amazingly successful man. My ancestors on my father's side served William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. They were given land which later became Derrington!
    Love all things medieval, especially as I am trying to get to my computer every spare moment to finish my third medieval book (written as Alyssa James).
    Thanks again for fascinating reading.

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    1. How fabulous to be able to trace your ancestors back that far, Alyssa! I have my fingers crossed that we'll be able to go on our planned trip to England some time next year.

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  7. Thank you for the interesting information Marilyn! I was intrigued by fact 3 - though not surprised :) Not sure i'll be swapping toothpaste receipes anytime soon though hehehe. Hope the writing is going well! x

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  8. Hi Jayne! I thought that info about medieval dresses might take your fancy.;) My writing is going well. Hope yours is, too.

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  9. Kinda glad I wasn't eating my lunch when reading about William the Conqueror! But I love little historical titbits... And as Miranda says, big thumbs down on the wife beating (although the phrase 'rule of thumb' remains with us today!)

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  10. I was gagging while I was writing about it! Glad you enjoyed the post, Kristine.

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