In discussions on personal hygiene in the M.A.
no one has yet raised the intriguing issue of
how medieval men and women cleansed themselves
after defecating. (I am aware of the work on
latrines by scholars such as Sabine in
Speculum, ix (1934) pp.303-21 and of
the casual disposal of the contents of latrines
into the public highway in both towns and villages.)
I have been looking for hard evidence on this
topic for nearly thirty years and have come
across very little.
1. A charter of King John (of England) which
included the provision of providing straw for
the king's privy. (Not a bottom-wiping option,
presumably it was to spread over the ground,
or dropped down the privy to mask smells.)
2. Excavation of an Augustinian Priory's privy
which revealed large numbers of cut-up squares
from old habits. (This would hardly seem to be
an option for the majority of the people and still
raises the question of how these squares were
used ?re-used.)
So my question is, does any one know of hard
evidence covering this most intimate of
activities?
My own guess is that in the heavily grain-based diet of
north-western Europe, very limited cleansing would
be necessary. But what of the aristocrats with
their protein rich meat diets? And what happened
when people had stomach upsets?
Suggestions, please, and more importantly
any hard evidence?
Chris Harrison
Keele University
England