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First of all, let me apologize for the week-long delay in posting. I had my first vaccine (Astra) and it had quite the kick. Then, Electra had it and she was even worse than me. Between taking care of her and the wee one, I had precious free time in my hands for the other things I love such as blogging.
I’m back with an attempt to dispel two common myths about sleeping conditions in the Middle Ages. Some people think that everyone slept on straw, as you may do in a stable. Others imagine everyone sleeping on mattresses, albeit of a more, ahem, organic variety than we’re used to nowadays. Both of these are wrong, as Alice Twain explains on Quora.
Straw Matting
When we think of reeds on the floor, we tend to imagine something similar to what is done in stables, whose floor is covered with straw to make it more comfortable for the animals.
In medieval houses, the flooring was very different. The floor was covered with several layers that were used to insulate and keep the house warmer in winter.
First, the floor was consolidated (if it was a ground floor room with an earth floor) by adding materials that made it harder, almost like concrete. Higher up the floors were made of wood, bricks, or stone.
On this bottom layer, people scattered perfumed herbs that were changed at least yearly. These herbs kept the rooms more fragrant while also keeping insects and other pests away.
Straw or other materials were tied in tight bundles and laid on the floor in an orderly way so that they created a relatively thick insulating and soft layer.
On top of the bundles, there was a layer of tightly woven mats. The rich could also afford to place carpets on the mats. The mats could be swept daily and were regularly taken out and shaken. While the mats were removed, people would add more fragrant herbs, substitute any bundle that was too damaged, or rearrange the bundles.
The term “threshold” actually comes from the fact it prevented the threshed wheat from moving outside the house.
Earthen Floors
You should also keep in mind that this matting was placed on earthen floors. These were traditionally used in Medieval houses along with wooden ones (a practice that lasted for centuries). People often used wood ash and water to harden the floor, making a sort of lime/clay mixture. Later, floors were beaten earth mixed with linseed oil that hardened to the point they could be waxed and polished. They were virtually indistinguishable from linoleum. Such earthen floors could last for centuries.
Some added a wooden floor on top of that, but it was often a floating one. Wooden floors were more expensive and, amazingly enough, were often “earthed” or covered with a layer of puddled soil.
Upper-class accommodation usually had stone floors and more insulation on top because they could afford it.
So, now you know where your knight slept at night. Happy writing!
beetleypete said:
Sorry to hear about your vaccination issues. I have had both doses of AZ, and zero side-effects.
Thanks for the bedding info. Shame they didn’t have memory foam, I swear by it! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – yes, memory foam would be worth its weight in gold! You’d be a rich man if you could travel back in time, memory foam mattress in hand 🙂
I’m glad Astra had no side effects for you. It seems to vary immensely by age. All of my friends/classmates spent a day in bed. Electra’s almost 10 years younger. All of her friends/classmates spent two days in bed. And a 33-year-old friend spent a whole 5 days in bed. We’re all fine now, mind you, but my conclusion was that younger immune systems are much more active and thus create worse side effects.
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beetleypete said:
That could be it. I am ancient of course, so that helped. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
😀
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Chris The Story Reading Ape said:
Hope you and Electra are both feeling MUCH better now, Nicholas 🤞😃
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much, Chris! We’re both just fine. The side effects only lasted a couple of days 🙂
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Chris The Story Reading Ape said:
Glad to hear it, Nicholas 👍😃
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Jan Sikes said:
Hope both you and Electra are feeling okay by now. Thanks for sharing the bedding info. Interesting!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much, Jan! We’re both fine now, as the side effects only lasted a couple of days 🙂
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Marina Costa said:
Reblogged this on Corabia cu gânduri a Marinei Costa – Marina Costa s shipload of thoughts and commented:
Maybe you didn’t know. ..
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Marina Costa said:
I had AZ without any secondary effect, both shots. My husband had his first,Pfizer, also with no effects. Get well soon!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’m so glad to hear that, Marina! I hope hubby has no side effects after his second shot, too, as some of my friends said the second one carried more of a kick than the first one.
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Marina Costa said:
I expected to have some of the described side effects, because I am generally allergic, I have allergic asthma, but nothing. Not even pain around the shot.
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Chris The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
A history lesson that is certainly not the last straw 😃
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OIKOS™-Editorial said:
I am feeling sorry for this, Nicholas! Congratulations! Here we are waiting for the first vaccination. This posting is very interesting as here they had used straw matresses – covered by linnen till the 20th century. 😉 Best wishes, Michael
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you, Michael. I hope you can get your vaccine soon!
A surprising number of places used such mattresses (and earthen floors, for that matter) until well into the 20th century.
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wilfredbooks said:
Always good to know there’s at least one advantage to being older, albeit minimal, Nicholas! I had zero problems after my 2 shots and, thankfully, both my daughters [35 & 33] have only had minimal discomfort after their first shot [can’t remember its name; not the AZ one I had though]. Thanks for the interesting post! 😀 Cheers, Jon.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I’m so glad you all had no side effects, Jon!
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storiesofpetey said:
I hope you are feeling better! It really affected my husband. I love this article! I reupholstered an antique chaise lounge and discovered exactly what you are talking about. It was a sight for sure..lol
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Wow, really? The chaise lounge had straw inside?!
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storiesofpetey said:
It sure did! Here is a post where I shared pics of remodeling it😊
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
What an amazing post! Many thanks for sharing the link!
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raynayday said:
Really enjoyed the article and it makes sense to me. One thing though and it may only be a Scots thing. I once visited the Auchendrain museum (https://www.auchindrain.org.uk/) where they suggested dried bracken was placed on top of a hard earth floor. Lol- this was for the poor people not the Lairds.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Wow, didn’t know that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Rebecca Cuningham said:
One of the plants used was “flea bane” which has pretty flowers. It helped keep away those dratted parasites. Interesting about the floors as hard as linoleum!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much for sharing that, Rebecca!
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Rebecca Cuningham said:
You’re welcome. We grow it in our garden, it’s a hardy volunteer.
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Michelle Morrison said:
Interesting. I’m sorry you had issues with the vaccine.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! It’s all good now 🙂
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