Cleanliness is Next to Godliness - Part One

It's a popular misconception that the Tudors were unclean individuals, who wore flea ridden garments, that were caked in dirt and stunk to high heaven. This is quite simply not true. In social historian Ruth Goodman's book 'How to be a Tudor, A Dawn to Dusk Guide to Everyday Life' she mentions that it was considered to be socially unacceptable back then to '..stink like a beast..', especially if you wanted to lead a socially respectable life. How then did they keep the dirt at bay, and ensure they smelt sweet to their contemporaries, especially when they could wear many layers of clothing, and wore textiles that were difficult to clean such as silks, and wools?

The Tudors secret weapon in the fight against dirt and odour is linen fabric. Garments that were to touch your skin were made from this fabric in differing thickness/coarseness - the most finest of linens being 'Holland' or 'Lawn'. The reason for this was because linen was absorbent, meaning when you removed a linen layer from your body be it a coif, or shirt etc. you removed the layer of dirt, sweat and grease that had built up on your skin and had been absorbed by the linen touching it. Also linen could withstand being regularly washed. Most people had at least two linen shirts, the idea being that you could launder one, whilst wearing the other. So you had a clean shirt each day. The exceptionally wealthy sometimes changed their linen under garments as much as several times a day.

It should be noted that the exceptionally poor sometimes struggled to even obtain a linen undergarment to cloth themselves in due to the cost and required aid from charitable groups to be able to obtain one.

Without the use of modern day washing machines and tumble dryers, how were clothes cleaned back then? The below picture from the 'Splendour Solis' shows women laundering linens, with each working on a different stage of the cleaning process. The basic process is:

1. Water or a lye-water based solution was made, and is shown being heated over the fire in the below picture.

2. The linens were then soaked and moved around the lye solution. As shown by the lady with her hands in the wooden tub to the right of the fire. She could also use a wooden corrugated board to scrub the linens.

3. The linens would then be beaten, either against stones on the river bank or with a wooden washing bat/paddle. There are two women pictured with these wooden bats in their hands.

4. The linens would then be rinsed in a clean water source. In this case you can see a woman rinsing some linen in the the river.

5. The linens were stretched and hung out to dry, or laid out flat across the fields to dry and bleach in the sun.

Page detail from the 'Splendour Solis' created in Germany 1582. Image is copyright to the British Library.

The whole process was quite laborious, and was entrusted to women only. So what sorts of stains were these women removing, and how did they achieve this? Aside from techniques and recipes passed around from women to women, and generation to generation. There were some manuals containing cleaning recipes/instructions which could be consulted.

In her paper entitled “Ye Shall Have It Cleane”: Textile Cleaning Techniques in Renaissance Europe' by clothing historian Drea Leed, she examines one such manual called the 'Nuremberg Kunstbuch',  which was originally written for the sisters of St. Catherine's convent in Nuremburg, Germany. The paper contains the 12 original cleaning recipes in German and their translation into English. Some of the most interesting are below:

'How one gets dirt out of clothing.

xxii. Item if you want to get dirt out of fabric, take the yolk of an egg and beat it well and spread it on the spot and rub it in, until it goes through [the fabric]. Then spread it on the other side [of the fabric] and again rub it very well in; then let it dry, and take then good soap and a bit of water and wash it, and it will go away.'   

'How one gets a spot out of clothing.

xxiii. Item to get a spot out of fabric, which is colored, take peas and boil them until the coating disappears, and with the same water wash it, and it will go out.'

'How one gets wagon grease out of clothes.

xxviii. Item if you want to get wagon grease out of clothing, take clay and put it in a pot and pour water thereon, and let it boil until it becomes like mud and paint it on the stain, but in such a way that it does not burn the cloth; and lay it in the hot sun until it becomes dry and then rub it out, and it [the stain] will go away.'

'How one restores green clothing, that is stained with wine etc.

xxix. Item if you want to restore green clothing, which is stained with wine, take fresh woad ashes and put them in a new basin and pour foul water thereon and let it stand half a day and take then the same solution and sprinkle the stain therewith and hang it up in the air, that the sun does not shine thereon, and let it dry, and it will be good.'                      

'How one shall wash an undergown.

xxxiii. If you want to wash an undergown, take three measures of ashes and put them in a great open vessel and pour first hot boiling water thereon and then cold water so that the vessel is full and let it become strong, and sieve it then through a cloth and dunk the gown therein and wash it when cool, otherwise it will be yellow, and rub it well with soap on the collar and the sleeves, and where it is sweaty. If you think that the lye solution is too strong, mix it well with water or pour more water on the ashes and mix it with the first.'

Overall, the nuns were cleaning clothes that had been soiled with wine, dirt, urine and wagon grease. It's not too much of a stretch to think that these were just some of the most common issues being tackled/cleaned by the laundresses of the time. 

The clean linens would then have been stored away with some kind of sweet herb, lavender for example. Therefore, just from your clean linens you could smell quite sweet indeed.

Part two in the series will focus on how the Tudors bathed and groomed themselves to maintain good hygiene.

Sources consulted:

Goodman, R, How to be a Tudor, A Dawn to Dusk Guide to Everyday Life (UK, 2015)

British Library, Splendour Solis (Germany 1582), BL Harley 3469 f.32.v.

Leed, D, “Ye Shall Have It Cleane”: Textile Cleaning Techniques in Renaissance Europe' (Paper Undated)

Sir Edward Carey - Queen Elizabeth's Master of the Jewels

Sir Edward Carey was Queen Elizabeth I's Master of the Jewels from 1595 - 1603, and joint Master of the Jewels with his son Henry Carey, 1st Viscount Falkland (b.1575 - d.1633), for King James I from 1603 - 1618. His family was well known within court circles. His father John Carey served as Groom of the Privy Chamber to Henry VIII, and he was the step brother of Francis Walsingham, through his mother Joyce Denny's second marriage to William Walsingham.

Henry Carey, 1st Viscount Falkland. Image Copyright to the National Trust, Hardwick Hall.

Soon after his appointment Edward was handed some of the queens jewels and goods by some commissioners on 5th August 1595 that had been in the possession of his predecessor John Astley, Esquier). It was decided that the jewels and goods of Elizabeth I that were in John's possession would be noted in way of an inventory. Work began on the inventory on 20th February 1596, which was copied into two books, one of which was given to Sir Edward Carey, the other book was signed by two commissioners being Lord Burghley, High Treasurer, and Sir John Fortescue, Chancellor of the Exchequer. 

Inventory Book Cover Entitled 'Queen Elizabeth Jewels and Plate, Signed by S.Edw.Carey. It is thought to be a later 17th/18th Century Addition. Image copyright to the British Library. Stowe MS 566


Close Up Detail of The Inventory Book Cover. Image copyright to the British Library. Stowe MS 566

One of the first entries on the inventory (which must be taken as one of the most important items) is the Kings Crown, which is described in great detail:

‘Firste the kinges Crowne of golde, the border garnished with seaven Ballaces, eighte Sapheres, fire poynted Dyamondes, twentie Rubies twoe of them being crased nynetene pearles, And one of the crosses of the same Crowne garnished with a greate Sapher, an Emeralde crased, fower Ballaces and nyne pearles not all of one sorte’.


Image from the Inventory Book Listing the Kings Crown. Image Copyright to the British Library. Stowe MS 566

But the inventory wasn't just full of listings for glamorous items, within the inventory, we also see gold toothpicks being listed which were in regular use at the courts of the Tudor monarchs. It also lists broken jewellery. Given the value of items - broken or not, it is not surprising to see them listed within the inventory.

Image from the Inventory Book Listing Some Gold Toothpicks. Image Copyright to the British Library. Stowe MS 566

All pages on the inventory have been signed by Sir Edward Carey himself, he no doubt triple checked everything before signing his name to every page. The listed items were also probably valued by the team of goldsmiths working for the queen, which were at Edward's disposal. There was a great need for different goldsmiths to value the items, as each could value items differently from one another, fashions changed and so might the value of the items with it, and also as a collective they might be able to spot any counterfeit jewels/stones etc. 

Signature of Sir Edward Carey, Master of the Jewels for Queen Elizabeth I. Image Copyright to the British Library. Stowe MS 566.

He would have looked after an impressive collection of jewels on behalf of the queen. Imagine the items he would have seen, and even perhaps held. What an exciting job he had...

Book Review: Jewels of the Renaissance by Yvonne Hackenbroch and Gonzague Saint Bris

Front of the Book's Case - Copyright to 'A Tudor Wardrobe Examined'

Back of the Book's Case - Copyright to 'A Tudor Wardrobe Examined'

Front Cover - Copyright to 'A Tudor Wardrobe Examined'

This book had always been on my radar (with it having picqued my interest with the sheer beauty of it's covers),  but I'm always a little more cautious when it comes to buying the more expensive books. I like to do my homework to make sure the prices are justified for what I am getting. 

I managed to buy this book new for around £60, which is a good deal. I had been tracking this book for a few months, and the prices were coming up around the £100 mark, but most academic books cost a pretty penny, so this didn't surprise me all that much. Is this book worth the investment though?

In some of the reviews I checked out on both Amazon and Goodreads, a reviewer mentioned that the images contained within the book were a little blurry. So when the book finally arrived I was wondering what I had let myself in for. Whilst reading the book some pictures were a bit blurred around the edges. The same couldn't be said for the remaining images throughout the book, which to me where perfectly clear and very acceptable.

Page Details from the Book - Copyright to 'A Tudor Wardrobe Examined'

Page Details from the Book - Copyright to 'A Tudor Wardrobe Examined'

The book's size is a novelty at first. Once you have slipped it out of it's enticing casing and have begun to actually read it, it is made somewhat more difficult due to the fact the book is very large, and weighty. With smaller books you can position yourself on the sofa or arm chair to read with some comfort, but with this I was leaning it on the arm of my sofa, or had it laid flat on the dining room table (the chairs of which aren't designed for long periods of sitting at any one time).

If I remember correctly (writing this review a good few days after completing the book) one error stood out to me within the book, which is an error whereby Juana of Castile is mentioned as being the only daughter of the Catholic Kings, Queen Isabella of Castille and King Ferdinand of Aragon. Which we know to be false. I imagine this would be changed in later editions though as is normal custom.

So, so far this doesn't sound like a very good investment if you were thinking about purchasing the book. However, I believe this book to be an excellent addition to my bookcase and well worth the money I spent on it.

The reason I think this, is because the book in itself is very well researched (yes, there was quite a significant mistake, but we are all human. I imagine it to be a typo not spotted by the proof reader), beautifully illustrated, and extremely informative. I learnt a lot (and I mean a lot) that I hadn't known before, and that is truly the worth and measure of any book. If you wanted an easy read this book is not for you.

The book itself covered the differences in jewellery design, and craftsmanship in various countries (Italy, France, Germany, The Netherlands, England & Scotland, and Spain & Portugal), and at various stages throughout the Renaissance. It mentions various craftsman that went into making jewellery, and their patrons for example. You track the influence of the Italians throughout what we now realise to be modern day Europe, with them introducing humanism into their jewellery designs instead of the more traditional religious designs that had been favoured throughout the middle ages. You also get to see the effects of the new faith being introduced, (brought about by Martin Luther) on trade, and jewellery design, with many artisans/goldsmiths fleeing to other countries for protection against this religious upheaval. It meant jewellery design could be spread further afield.

With this book I would have liked to have seen some maps, showing the different countries throughout the period, as this would have been very useful, also a glossary of jewellery terms would have been a great addition as I was looking them up on my phone. Lastly, I also wished to see a better list where all the jewels pictured etc. were located, as this was somewhat lacking.

Despite all this it will remain a great addition to my ever growing book shelf. I am giving it an overall score of 4/5.