Facts About the 1500's. (1 Viewer)

Cardigan600

Memoriam Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2008
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1,388
Yo Troopers sounds funny but bet it wasn't, read on.


In The
> 1500's
> The next
> time you are washing your hands and complain because the
> water temperature isn't just how you like it, think
> about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the
> 1500s:
>
>
> These are interesting...
>
> Most people got married in June because they took their
> yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June.
> However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a
> bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom
> today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
>
>
>
> 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
> dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the
> saying, 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 sometimes
> the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the
> saying It's raining cats and dogs.
>
> There was
> nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This
> posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other
> droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed
> with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some
> protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
>
>
>
> 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 thresh (straw) on 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 saying a thresh hold.
>
>
> (Getting quite an education, aren't
> you?)
>
> In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big
> kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit
> the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly
> vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the
> stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold
> overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew
> had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence
> the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas
> porridge in the pot nine days old..
>
>
>
> Sometimes they could obtain 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 with 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
> considered 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 whiskey. The
> combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a
> couple of days.. Someone walking along the road would take
> them for dead and 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 and see if
> they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
>
>
>
> England is old and small and the local folks started
> running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up
> coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse
> the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins
> were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they
> realized they had been burying people alive.. So they would
> tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
> coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
> Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night
> (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone
> could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.
>
>
>
> And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was
> boring ! ! !
>
>
> Educate someone.Share these facts with a
> friend.
>

So arnt we a lucky lot then lol.
Bernard.
 
Great post. I learned quite a bit just now although I'm sure some of these customs predated the 1500s (probably made the 1500s seem positively modern).
 
They're tongue in cheek, of course. Or not?

"Saved by the bell" came into common usage, for example, in the late 1800s, from boxing. There is a citation from a Massachussetts paper, describing a fight, in which one of the contestants was "saved by the bell several times".

"Threshold" is much, much older than the 1500s, too, the word goes all the way back to English's and German's pre-Germanic ancestor.

Sorry, don't mean to be Captain Literal, it's my education as a language major coming through :D

Prost!
Brad
 
Yo Brad, just cos your a clever cloggs is OK by me. But I knew a lot of the old sayings from way back, have forgot a few, here is one. "He is worth is salt" goes back to the Saxon days when salt was very scarse, so when they had a meeting all the Chiefs sat at the top of the table, so they got salt, as it went down to the riff-raf there wasn't any left hence worth his salt. Also I always thought when you said "you have let the cat out of the bag" meant you gave away a secret. But it actually means your in trouble. Comes from the sailing days when the Captain kept the dreaded Cat 'o Nine Tails in a green bag in his cabin, so if you were in trouble for being naughty the saying was "You have let the cat out of the bag now" Lets see if you guys can come up with more, its amazing some of our sayings go back a thousand years. A more recent one was the plague and the game we used to play as kids Ring a Ring of Roses pocket full of Poses etc.
Bernard.
 
Yo Brad, just cos your a clever cloggs is OK by me. But I knew a lot of the old sayings from way back, have forgot a few, here is one. "He is worth is salt" goes back to the Saxon days when salt was very scarse, so when they had a meeting all the Chiefs sat at the top of the table, so they got salt, as it went down to the riff-raf there wasn't any left hence worth his salt. Also I always thought when you said "you have let the cat out of the bag" meant you gave away a secret. But it actually means your in trouble. Comes from the sailing days when the Captain kept the dreaded Cat 'o Nine Tails in a green bag in his cabin, so if you were in trouble for being naughty the saying was "You have let the cat out of the bag now" Lets see if you guys can come up with more, its amazing some of our sayings go back a thousand years. A more recent one was the plague and the game we used to play as kids Ring a Ring of Roses pocket full of Poses etc.
Bernard.

Yo Troopers forgot to add, the one that really bothers me (serious) is when they dug up the coffins and found scratch marks inside, so they had buried them alive:eek:. Where I lived in the UK a woman was in the morgue for four days and woke up:eek: If that was Ireland there was nothing down for her. When someone dies over here, they are buried in two days (no Joke), so can you imagine how many have been buried alive over the centuries. So the orders are for the WIFE if I pop it, its a Viking funeral for me Cremation;).
Bernard.
 
Here's some more for ya! These are somewhat later than the !500's.


Did You Know?

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington
showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while
others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters
were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how
many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore
painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression,
"Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."



*********************************************************************


As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a
year!
(May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved
their heads
(because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford
good wigs made from wool. The wigs couldn't be washed, so to clean
them they could carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell,
and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and
fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here
comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and
wealthy.


********************************************************************

In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with
only
one chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall
and used or dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the
chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while,
a guest (who was almost always a man) would be invited to sit in
this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were
important and in charge. Sitting in the chair, one was called the
"chair man." Today in business we use the expression or title
"Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."


*********************************************************************

Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement.
As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by
adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin
to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each
other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was
told "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax
would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." Also, when they sat too
close to the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the expression
"losing face."



*********************************************************************


Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied
lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced."


************************************************************


Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a
tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the
"Ace of Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51
cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people
were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with
a full deck."



*********************************************************************


Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine
what was considered important to the people. Since there were no
telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to
local taverns, pubs, and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and
listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many
assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and
"You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined
when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term
"gossip."



************************************************************************


At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and
quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the
customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention
and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in
"quarts," hence the term "minding your "P's and Q's."


************************************************************


One more: bet you didn't know this!


In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters
carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls.
It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but how to
prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method
devised was a square based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on
four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30
cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the
cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer
from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a
metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. But, if
this plate were made of iron, the ironballs would quickly rust to
it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys."
Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much
faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature
dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that
the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was
quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
monkey." (And all this time, you thought that was an improper
expression, didn't you?)
 
Yo Trooper, BRILLIANT, just think I use all those sayings today from way back not thinking how they originated in the first place. One I use regular is the Brass Monkey one. I always thought it had something to do with Pawnbrokers shops having three Brass balls outside the shop. But can now see where the term came from. This has got to be better than the Word Game guys. Lets see how many of these old sayings we can find that we still use everyday without giving it a thought, and how far they go back. GREAT STUFF:D
Bernard.
 
Wonderful post very enjoyable.

Heres a fact about 1500.Its a hundred years before the birth of UK Reb!!:D:D:D

I only said that because he is about to post here,morning Bob mate!;)

Rob
 
Yo Brad, just cos your a clever cloggs is OK by me. But I knew a lot of the old sayings from way back, have forgot a few, here is one. "He is worth is salt" goes back to the Saxon days when salt was very scarse, so when they had a meeting all the Chiefs sat at the top of the table, so they got salt, as it went down to the riff-raf there wasn't any left hence worth his salt. Also I always thought when you said "you have let the cat out of the bag" meant you gave away a secret. But it actually means your in trouble. Comes from the sailing days when the Captain kept the dreaded Cat 'o Nine Tails in a green bag in his cabin, so if you were in trouble for being naughty the saying was "You have let the cat out of the bag now" Lets see if you guys can come up with more, its amazing some of our sayings go back a thousand years. A more recent one was the plague and the game we used to play as kids Ring a Ring of Roses pocket full of Poses etc.
Bernard.

An interesting post Bernard but I have to agree with Brad some of these origins go back further than the 1500's. For example your "cat 'o nine tails" is actually associated with "pig in a poke" which goes way way back before the navy was the Royal Navy.

A poke is a small sack or bag and is the origin of pocket-poke-ette (smaller version). While the saying found it's way into British Commercial Law as "caveat emptor" Latin for "let the buyer beware". Anglo Saxon traders may not have had a piglet in the sack but a less valuable animal and the truth would be uncovered by "letting the cat out of the bag"

However, English phrases do have many military and naval attributions:

San Fairy Ann originated through our wars with the French and is a deliberate corruption of the French 'a ne fait rien"-it doesn't matter.

Face the Music-disgraced officers being "drummed out" of their regiment.

Being an old "civilian" Royal Navy man a few other nautical phrases that come to mind all had their origins in the "Andrew"
Chock-a block
Cut and Run
Hand over Fist
Know the Ropes
High and Dry
The Bitter End
Taken Aback
Shake a Leg & Show a Leg.

Reb
 
Wonderful post very enjoyable.

Heres a fact about 1500.Its a hundred years before the birth of UK Reb!!:D:D:D

I only said that because he is about to post here,morning Bob mate!;)

Rob

Rob

I am going to think of you all next week whilst laying in the sun in Spain (yes apparently the sun is still shining in the rest of the world-just not in the UK)

Why am I going to think of you? because I won't be on line when you post your famous "Dispatches are up" thread:D:D:D

Bob
 
Rob

I am going to think of you all next week whilst laying in the sun in Spain (yes apparently the sun is still shining in the rest of the world-just not in the UK)

Why am I going to think of you? because I won't be on line when you post your famous "Dispatches are up" thread:D:D:D

Bob

Oooooh thats below the belt!:D:D:D

Have fun in the Sun mate,we parade in London in December.

Rob
 
A couple from the firearms angle. Old time gunsmiths often sub contracted various aspects of the job, ie forming the barrel, or any woodwork involved. A gunsmith who did everything in house produced "lock,stock and barrel."
Old time hammer guns needed the breech mechanism moved to an intermediate position to allow access for priming. If the sear or hammer notch was worn the hammer could slip letting the gun "go off at half cock."
 

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