The Tudors were not as particular as we are about changing their clothes. Washing would only be done about once a month In a big house, there might only be one washday in three months. People often did their washing outside in a stream using home made soap from fat and ashes.
Drinking cups were made of horns which had the pointed end cut off. Ordinary people cooked, ate and slept in the same room. They would cook over an open fire and would probably drink beer or cider with each meal.
Clean water was hard to find, and so water was not often drunk, especially in cities where supplies became contaminated with sewage and from people cleaning clothes or animal carcasses in the drinking water supply. In the cities water-carriers delivered water to your door for a fee and were used only by the rich.
Alcohol, mostly beer or ale was drunk instead of water and in country areas home-brewed ale or beer was the usual drink at most meals, Including breakfast, even children drank beer. The children’s beer was weaker than that drunk by adults and was known as ‘small beer’. This was made of fermented herbs or weak cider. Wine had to be imported from the Continent so was an expensive luxury and only for the rich.
Drinking cups were made of horns which had the pointed end cut off. Ordinary people cooked, ate and slept in the same room. They would cook over an open fire and would probably drink beer or cider with each meal.
Clean water was hard to find, and so water was not often drunk, especially in cities where supplies became contaminated with sewage and from people cleaning clothes or animal carcasses in the drinking water supply. In the cities water-carriers delivered water to your door for a fee and were used only by the rich.
Alcohol, mostly beer or ale was drunk instead of water and in country areas home-brewed ale or beer was the usual drink at most meals, Including breakfast, even children drank beer. The children’s beer was weaker than that drunk by adults and was known as ‘small beer’. This was made of fermented herbs or weak cider. Wine had to be imported from the Continent so was an expensive luxury and only for the rich.
Harvest 2012
Tudor Times
Tudor Times
Here are some of the diseases:
The Sweating Sickness
The sweating sickness was an illness that only occurred during a small period of time, notably the Tudor Era. It usually hit the strong young people, leaving them with pain, fever, and ceaseless sweating. It was almost always deadly, and could kill within a few hours. Anne Boleyn was known to have fallen ill with it in 1528, and although she survived, others were not so lucky.
The Plague
The plague is perhaps one of the most famous sicknesses during this time. Like the sweating sickness, it was very deadly, and every few years or so it would sweep through the country in a massive epidemic. It could kill off thousands of people in only a few weeks, and when it hit London the King and his court would flee to the countryside, which was supposedly healthier. It was said to have been spread by rats, although no one back then knew how sickness occurred and could only hope that it passed you by. The plague died out along with the sweating sickness long ago.
Smallpox
Smallpox is another epidemic that took Britain by storm. When a person caught smallpox, they got bumps and rashes all over them, and although it was possible to survive it, the patient usually ended up scarred for life. Elizabeth I came down with smallpox very early in her reign, and managed to get away with minor scars.
Scrofula
Scrofula is a type of skin disease. In Medieval times, it was known as "The King's Evil." A touch from a monarch was supposed to cure the disease, so kings would touch any subject that had the disease. They would also bless special rings to give to scrofula victims, as another cure.
Tuberculosis
This disease is probably more common today than any of the other diseases on this page. Because of the poor health conditions in the Tudor Era, it was very common, and always deadly. Tuberculosis is when the lungs fill with fluid and begin to deteriorate. It can be spread through air easily, if an infected person coughs. A very serious symptom is when the infected person starts coughing up blood. A few Tudors died of this disease: Edward VI and possibly Henry VII.
Puerperal Fever
Unlike the other diseases on this page, puerperal fever was not an epidemic that spread from one person to another. This disease, however, was extremely common in Tudor England. Women often came down with "childbed fever," as it was more commonly called, shortly after having children. It was caused by an infection, and there was no cure for it back then. The woman would have a fever, become delirious, and eventually die. Two famous women who succumbed to this disease were Jane Seymour and Katherine Parr.
The Sweating Sickness
The sweating sickness was an illness that only occurred during a small period of time, notably the Tudor Era. It usually hit the strong young people, leaving them with pain, fever, and ceaseless sweating. It was almost always deadly, and could kill within a few hours. Anne Boleyn was known to have fallen ill with it in 1528, and although she survived, others were not so lucky.
The Plague
The plague is perhaps one of the most famous sicknesses during this time. Like the sweating sickness, it was very deadly, and every few years or so it would sweep through the country in a massive epidemic. It could kill off thousands of people in only a few weeks, and when it hit London the King and his court would flee to the countryside, which was supposedly healthier. It was said to have been spread by rats, although no one back then knew how sickness occurred and could only hope that it passed you by. The plague died out along with the sweating sickness long ago.
Smallpox
Smallpox is another epidemic that took Britain by storm. When a person caught smallpox, they got bumps and rashes all over them, and although it was possible to survive it, the patient usually ended up scarred for life. Elizabeth I came down with smallpox very early in her reign, and managed to get away with minor scars.
Scrofula
Scrofula is a type of skin disease. In Medieval times, it was known as "The King's Evil." A touch from a monarch was supposed to cure the disease, so kings would touch any subject that had the disease. They would also bless special rings to give to scrofula victims, as another cure.
Tuberculosis
This disease is probably more common today than any of the other diseases on this page. Because of the poor health conditions in the Tudor Era, it was very common, and always deadly. Tuberculosis is when the lungs fill with fluid and begin to deteriorate. It can be spread through air easily, if an infected person coughs. A very serious symptom is when the infected person starts coughing up blood. A few Tudors died of this disease: Edward VI and possibly Henry VII.
Puerperal Fever
Unlike the other diseases on this page, puerperal fever was not an epidemic that spread from one person to another. This disease, however, was extremely common in Tudor England. Women often came down with "childbed fever," as it was more commonly called, shortly after having children. It was caused by an infection, and there was no cure for it back then. The woman would have a fever, become delirious, and eventually die. Two famous women who succumbed to this disease were Jane Seymour and Katherine Parr.