9 Comments
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Kim Masson's avatar

Not sure what would've been more intimidating the sound of their armor or their smell🤔 Ewww!

Thomas E. Johnson's avatar

Becoming a knight was a lot like cleaning horse stables. The glamorous image of riding into battle in shining armor is like imagining a stable as a place of graceful horses and fresh hay—but in reality, the work was messy and uncomfortable. Squires, who dreamed of knighthood, were like stable hands, willingly shoveling muck and scrubbing stalls as they cleaned and maintained their masters’ armor. The smell, the grime, and the endless labor couldn’t drive them away, because their ambition gleamed brighter than any polished breastplate—just as a stable hand endures the filth for the love of the horses and the dream of the open ride.

Dennis Bodzash's avatar

Most of today's 'poor' in First World countries have a higher standard of living (any cleanliness) that the royalty of centuries past.

Anto wants to know's avatar

Why do I feel the need to take a shower after reading this? Lol

Jon's avatar

Bathing, in bathouses was a fairly common thing, you might meet someone at a bathouse for a business meeting, you might go and have a drink or even a meal while bathing. Yes, physicians said that immersion bathing was possibly hazardous, but that's probably because you may well share a tub with strangers, or maybe just the water.

https://www.tastesofhistory.co.uk/post/dispelling-some-myths-medieval-bathing

The Odd Historian's avatar

Yes, the culture of bath houses was both interesting and prevalent! That’s why I wanted to clarify that yes they are bathing, but our modern idea of full submersion was not as common, which was definitely because of (what I would assume) either the overall cleanliness of the water or whom they were sharing it with. Crazy stuff!