Important Travel Warning

Travel to the 16th Century involves the good, the bad, and the totally yucky

Dear Readers,

Before you hitch a ride from this century back to the 16th century with Rose Ashley, seventh grader from Indiana, there are a few things you should know about  that time in history—let’s just call it The Good, the Bad and The totally Yucky.

The Good 

Hardly any pollution

Gorgeous clothes if you’re rich and royal

Wonderful entertainment, especially when Shakespeare showed up

Bathroom humor was permitted although there were no bathrooms!

The Bad 

If you got sick they might bleed you by inserting a needle in your vein and letting the blood drip into a basin.

The toothbrush had not yet been invented—people used toothpicks and chewed herbs –a favorite was chewing rosemary then rubbing your teeth with ashes.

A solution of lye and pee were often used to wash clothes.

No good medication for acne.

The Totally Yucky  

Since there were no bathrooms people (mostly males) pee’d in the fireplaces  or on the floors that were covered with rushes (herbs, branches from evergreens and hay),

In castles ‘garderobes’ in the towers sometimes were used. A garderobe was a bench with a hole on which one sat and the poop dropped straight into the moat.

Kings had someone to wipe their butts. This person was known as the “Groom of the Stool”. It was a sought after position as one could advance quickly to more powerful roles

Women wore make up that was filled with toxic substances. Powder and face foundations had lots of lead that could lead to paralysis of facial muscles.

So as they sometimes say forewarned is forearmed. Have fun reading this first book The Portal of the Tangled In Time series. Don’t get sick. Don’t wear any make up and I hope you can find a private place if nature calls!

Cheers

Kathryn