When exactly the bathroom appeared, it is difficult to establish. There is a myth that the first bathrooms were still with primitive people. After hunting for a mammoth, a tired man lay down to rest on the shore and fell asleep. When the tide began, water flowed into the formed hole and heated up. In different periods of history, people perceived purity differently. For example, a medieval man smelled much better than a representative of the Tudor era. Just because the latter considered bathing a sinful activity.
It is difficult for us to imagine how it is possible to live without hot water, but for many centuries in a row, mankind has been content with a small - a bedside basin. We often think of the Middle Ages as a "dark", dirty time. But this is not the case. Bathing was of great importance in human life. Especially wealthy. Public baths were opened in European cities. They resembled the ancient Roman baths.
Water played a big role. It was used in the rite of baptism and for knighthood. In 1509, before the coronation of Henry VIII, twenty-six future knights underwent a symbolic ablution in the Tower. So they confirmed the purity of their intentions and thoughts. Bathing of the knights took place as follows. The servant curtained a wooden tub with white cloth, laid flowers and herbs nearby, the knight sat down on a specially prepared cloth, washed it with hot herbal infusion and rubbed it with a brush, then washed it with rose water, wrapped it in linen and helped to get out of the bath. Then he put on shoes, stockings, a nightgown and went to bed.
Nice bathrooms were in the royal suite. In a source dated 1351, there is information that the wooden container had two bronze taps, from which hot and cold water was supplied. From the inside, she was covered with a canvas sheet so that His Majesty would not plant a splinter in a soft place.
In the medieval baths, one could not only wash, but also eat.
The crusaders who returned from the Crusades told about the eastern hammams. Similar baths existed in medieval London. As soon as the water was heated and steam was let in, the boys were sent down the streets. The bath was common for everyone. Ladies and gentlemen washed together. However, this is the case now in the Nordic countries. At first they had a reputation of trustworthy and respectable, and then something went wrong. In 1390, a highly moral monk decided to go to the bathhouse to wash. His indignation knew no bounds. "In the bathtubs we sat naked with others naked, and what was happening in the dark - it is even indecent to think about it."
Medieval baths in London.
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By the 16th century, the word bath has finally become a symbol of a brothel. In 1546 Henry VIII finally closed the London public baths by decree. Two "unwashed centuries" began. Baths and holy springs were closed. The tradition of ablution gradually faded away. Moreover, people were afraid that through the water they could contract diseases. Philosopher Francis Bacon recommended rubbing with oils before bathing so that water does not penetrate the body.
Only thanks to the prescriptions of doctors, the procedure began to return again. In 1724, English doctors began to write that water cleans the pores clogged with dirt in the body. Joseph Brown in 1707 noted in his writings that cold water can cure jaundice and rickets.
Progress did not stand still, and water pipes began to appear in European cities. This greatly contributed to the ability to wash as often as possible. Priest John Wesley preached in church that untidiness is contrary to Christianity. And he certainly added that his feet would not be in the room where there was no restroom. In Victorian England, all etiquette books said one thing: good parenting begins with a clean body.
Pavel Romanutenko
