[Ansteorra] folklore and wive's tales: fact or fallacy

[Michael Gunter]

>Please pardon the intrusion, but I received an email today that my gut 
>tells me is full of misconceptions and inaccuracies.

Yes...yes it is.

>It disturbs me that potential misinformation is being sent about as fact.

Heh. Welcome to the modern world. I think the average modern
has more misinformation than fact on anything before 1776.

>Thank you most kindly for your attention.
>
>Lady Linet Grey

I don't have all the answers but I do have a few.

>Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, 
>and still smelled pretty good by June

Not sure about 1500's, but people bathed earlier. Bath houses were
popular and a form of entertainment, with dining, entertainers, rather
ribald activities etc....

And, although bathing was considered unhealthy by some, being
clean was not as rare as believed. Baths were difficult to do considering
the amount of wood needed to heat it and getting proper tubs. But
there were "washing bags" often filled with oatmeal and flowers that
would be soaked and water and rubbed over the body to give a bit of
a sponge bath effect.

>so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the 
>custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

No. Brides carry bouquets because they are pretty. Also, it is an evolution
from wearing a wreath of flowers in their hair. Oftimes the type of flower
had ceremonial purposes, such as a symbol of virginity.

>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."

I would guess this would happen only during the "yearly bath".  :-)
The method of bathing is actually correct. Since it was such a pain to make 
a
bath, it was often re-used by lower ranking household. As for the saying
being because babies would get lost in filthy water, I highly doubt it.

>sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying 
>"It's raining cats and dogs."

Not quite. The saying comes from the German "katzenjammer" (sp?) meaning
a ruckus or loud noise (like cats squawling in a fight). A thunderstorm 
would be
called a katzenjammer at times and then it kind of got turned around into
English as 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

Drapes around a bed provided insulation and kept the area of the bed warm
in cold rooms. Also, since bedrooms were frequently also common gathering
areas, they afforded a sense of privacy as well.

>Hence the saying "dirt poor."

"Dirt poor" means you can only afford dirt.

>A piece of wood was placed in the
>entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

I agree that rushes were strewn on the floors as a form of carpet.
No idea about the "threshold".

>(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

Just in how facts can be screwed over.  :-)

>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."

This can be up to debate, but I'm inclined to believe this. It's true that 
many
kitchens had an "eternal" stock where there was a constant low heat over
a pot where scraps and such were cooked. This is still used in some parts of
Applachia and Cajun houses as an example. Recipes of the period would often
specify using a "gode broth" as compared to a "clene" broth. This is another
item that was never really discussed in any text because it was so common as
not to be bothered with.

>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 and 
>death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or 
>so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Nope. Tomatoes were considered poisonous because they ARE poisonous. The
tomato is a member of the deadly nightshade family and the leaves and stems
are bad news. There are recipes for tomatoes in Spain in period.

>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 "upper
>>crust."

Sort of. Although a decent bread was not burnt on the bottom. The top
portion of a loaf was usually given to the highest ranking person. I think 
this
was probably more ceremonial than practical. But the upper part of a loaf
of even well-baked bread would be more delicate than the bottom.

>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."

I have no facts to back this up but I highly doubt that is the reason. 
Especially
by drinking whiskey out of a lead cup. "Wake" is probably from another 
language
and the custom of sitting vigil on a body is thousands of years old.

People did get paranoid for a while about being buried alive, but I think 
that was
more of a Victorian obsession.

>Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard 
>shift")

Graveyard shift refers to working after midnight, the point when
the dead would rise from their graves. The "Witching Hour".

>to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or

"Saved by the Bell" is a boxing term for when a fighter is losing
the bout but the bell rings before he is counted out.

>was considered a "dead ringer."

I have no idea of the history of "dead ringer" but I highly doubt
the current usage of something being identical is related to
being dead and ringing a bell. I would suspect it is more related
to shooting matches. Where a bullseye would ring a bell. But that
is just a guess on my part.

Still, this was fun.

Gunthar