14th Century England Hygiene

One would probably not think of 14th century England as the most hygienic of times and it wasn't. Nonetheless, people did what they could to stay clean, according to what their standards of clean were. Medieval England wasn't exactly the time of absolute filth that is sometimes portrayed as. Now don't misunderstand, people certainly weren't as concerned with cleanliness as they are today, but they weren't exactly oblivious to the benefits of personal hygiene. Here we will discuss a few of the grooming habits of the various classes of medieval England and the beliefs that people in that place and time held about hygiene.

In 14th century England, the focus of hygiene was placed on scent and appearance rather than actual cleanliness. People believed that smelling sweet was a sign of moral purity. They also believed that smelling foul was a sign of a sinner. With this in mind, most people made at least some effort to smell decent. They also made special effort to make sure that their appearance was not filthy. Any part of the body that was showing while in clothing was usually washed at least once daily, if not more. However, what was going on beneath the many layers of medieval clothing was probably anything but pure.

14th Century England Hygiene: Hands, feet and face

It was not just important to smell good in medieval England, as mentioned above, it was important to at least give the appearance of cleanliness. Therefore, even if you hadn't taken a full bath in months and you had lice, you were expected to wash your face and hands daily. If you were moral, that is. The proper thing to do was to wash your face and hands first thing upon waking. It was also considered appropriate to wash your hands before and after each meal, of which most people had two in medieval England. Feet were washed whenever a person had been on a significant journey. Of course, people of higher social status would wash their feet more often. For example, some 14^th century monks would wash their feet once a week.

14th Century England Hygiene: Bathing

Bathing habits in medieval England depended on the individuals job, social status, etc. For example, a person who holds a particularly filthy job would think nothing of bathing daily. However, he/she would probably do so in a river. A member of a higher caste would probably bathe much less often, but their bath would be quite luxurious for the time. It would also be in their own private bathtub in warm water with servants to attend to them. Some people would go months or a year without bathing.

Those who could, would use sweet-smelling herbs, spices and flowers when they bathed in 14th century England. Sometimes these would also be used between baths in order that the person would smell as 'pure' as they could. In the mid to late 14th century, perfume became the fashion for fighting off odor, for those who could afford it.

14th Century England Hygiene: Teeth

Brushing your teeth in medieval England was far different than it is today. Brushing your teeth in that place and time did little to nothing to prevent tooth decay, gum disease and halitosis. It was more of a means to make your breath smell better and surely it was needed, considering the fact that tooth decay, halitosis and gum disease were likely more common than they are today. Spices like cinnamon, cumin, licorice and cardamom were used to this end.

14th Century England Hygiene: Hair

Medieval England's hair woes could probably be summed up in one word-lice. There was no conventional (or successful) way to fight off these parasites during the 14th century, so people's only defense was to pick them out of their hair. Women were expected to comb their men's hair in the light of the window so they could pick out all the little bugs. Women would have to brush and style their own hair or have it done by a maid, depending on social status and income. They would have to do this frequently because they were required to style it in such a fashion that they could pin it up and hide it. None of their hair could be showing in public.

This was about the extent of personal hygiene in the 14th century England. Options were quite limited. Of course, clothing and linens were also cleaned, but again, how often and with what depended on class. To be sure, the people of medieval England were hardly offended by their contemporaries' grooming habits, with the exception of the really foul-smelling ones. However, our modern selves would probably find the grooming habits of 14th century England intolerable.