- 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 again, so brides carried a
bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. 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
from 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 phrase "it's raining cats and dogs" was also the result of the stray animal population.
When it rained and the streets would flood, the water would recede leaving behind drowned
corpses of all the strays.
- 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 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 entranceway. Hence the word: 'thresh hold.'
- In the 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 people could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special since meat was
very expensive and hard to come by. 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 into the food, causing death by lead poisoning. This happened most often with
tomatoes, which for the next 400 years or so 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 whisky. 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 in 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".
- There were no such things a napkins in the Middle-Ages. So, when it came to eating there
were three possible options. You could, of course, use your sleeve. Also, people would wipe
their mouths on bread and then eat it. The third option was to reach under the table and wipe
your hand on the dog, who would then lick himself clean. This is why you will always see
dogs under the table in old paintings of Medieval feasts.
- In Medieval times, business and politics were sometimes quite literally cutthroat
industries. So, when making deals and meeting new people, it was customary to shake hands at
the wrist to make sure nobody was hiding a dagger up their sleeve. This may also have been a
useful practice seeing as how there was no such thing as toilet paper at the time.
- Rope beds were very common. Every day, the servants would come in to tighten the
ropes and make sure the bed was sturdy. When guests would stay over too long and wear out
their welcome, the servants were instructed not to tighten the ropes on their beds. So, every
day they would sink lower and lower to the floor, in the hopes they'd eventually take the hint
and finally leave. Hence the saying, "sleep tight".
- The only people in Medieval times who could read or write were the nobles. So, the
shops in town would hang signs over their doors cut into the shape of a familiar image to
indicate what their business was (i.e. an anvil for the blacksmith, scissors for the tailor). That
way, when the servants were sent out on their errands, they would know where to go despite
the fact that they couldn't read.
- In Medieval times it was believed that when you sneezed, your soul flew out of your
body. That's why it became customary to say "God bless you" when somebody sneezed.
Similarly, the tradition of covering your mouth when you yawned was started as a way to keep
demons from reaching inside you and stealing your soul through your mouth. It had nothing to
do with etiquette.
- The tradition of pirates and sailors wearing eye patches began in the Middle-Ages.
However, it was common place for them to be worn even when they were NOT missing an
eye. There were no lights on board, so the lower decks of the ship tended to be much darker.
Pirates and sailors would keep one eye covered then switch the patch when going below decks
so that one eye was already accustomed to the dark.
- Many common nursery rhymes were created in Medieval times, though their original
meanings are long since forgotten. Probably for the better, as most of these rhymes are now
meant for children. For instance, not everybody realizes that "Ring Around the Rosie", a
seemingly innocent children's game, is actually about the Black Plague! The skin of a plague
victim would break out in red blotches (ring around the rosie...). Many people believed the
scent of flowers could keep the disease away (...pockets full of posies...). Dead victims of the
illness were commonly burned to keep it from spreading (...ashes, ashes...). The plague killed
between 25 and 50 million people in Europe alone (...we all fall down!) Creepy, huh?
- In the 1400's, a law was passed in England allowing men to beat their wives provided
they used a stick no wider than their thumb. This is where we get the term "Rule of Thumb".
- A common matrimonial custom, originating in Babylon, was for the father of the bride to
provide the groom with all the mead he could drink for one month following the ceremony.
This was referred to as the "honey month". Since the Babylonian calendar was lunar based,
this was the origin of the term "honeymoon".
- In English pubs, ale was ordered by the pint or by the quart. Whenever the customers
would get unruly (as they tended to do) the bartender would shout, "Mind your pints and
quarts!" Hence the phrase, "Mind your P's and Q's".
- A common design or drinking vessels in English pubs had a whistle carved into the
handle. Whenever a customer drained his cup, he would use the whistle to call for a refill.
Hence the phrase, "wet your whistle".
- The face cards (king, queen, jack) in a standard playing deck are all meant to represent
famous historic and legendary royalty. The spades are David, Pallas, and Holger Danske. The
clubs are Alexander the Great, Argine, and Lancelot. The hearts are Charlemagne, Judith, and
La Hire. And the diamonds are Julius Caesar, Rachel, and Hector.
- The "jack" card in a standard playing deck was originally referred to as the "knave" or
"knight" card.
- In the 1500's, one of the chief tanning agents for leather was urine. People used to urinate
into a pot, then trudge on down and sell it to the tannery. If this was how you had to make your
living, you were considered "piss poor". Some people were even worse off than that. They
were so poor that they "didn't have a pot to piss in". Hence, the origin of the phrases.
- Long voyages out at sea were very long, and very boring. Unfortunately, most board games
at the time were difficult for sailors to play, as the constant rocking of the ship would
inevitably spill the pieces. A new game, called "The Captain's Maiden", was designed using a
vertical board that wouldn't spill. A modern version of this game still exists, identical to it's
Medieval counterpart. We now know this game as "Connect Four".
- In some countries, your last name was indicative of your occupation. Names like Smith,
Cooper, Shoemaker, and Miller all originated this way. Similarly, in the old Norse culture,
your surname was indicative of your genealogy. If your last name was Anderson, it meant your
father's first name was Ander, and you were his son.
- When Scotland was under the control of England, many (if not all) of the old Scottish
traditions were made illegal...including dancing. The Scottish therefore adapted many of their
traditional dances to be performed entirely straight-backed. This allowed them to stand behind
a wall or hedge and perform the dance from the waist down, while appearing to be standing
perfectly still from the waist up, and the English would be none the wiser.
