Well, according to this article we were a lot cleaner than our present-day selves insist on thinking. Our naughty bits weren’t to be scrubbed, for fear of making them even naughtier…but it seems it would have been okay to splash around in a river every day (in the summer, at least). Plus, you could… Continue reading Just how clean WERE we in medieval times….?
Tag: rivers
Giving the Walbrook the Elbow….
In this article I wrote the following:- “….The Walbrook flowed quite swiftly [south] from its source, but on nearing the Thames the land flattened considerably, and the river seems to have indulged in a curve….” This curve or meander, when filled in and “improved” in the 15th century, for the river to flow more… Continue reading Giving the Walbrook the Elbow….
LONDON’S LOST AND FORGOTTEN RIVERS
Updated post at sparkypus.com A Medieval Potpourri https://sparkypus.com/2020/05/14/londons-lost-and-forgotten-rivers-2/ Jacob’s Island formed by a loop in the River Neckinger c1860. Formerly known as Folly Ditch. Watercolour J L Stewart 1829-1911 Here is a link to a very interesting article on London’s lost and forgotten rivers with details of some interesting finds including, my favourites , a 12th century… Continue reading LONDON’S LOST AND FORGOTTEN RIVERS
The long-lost Walbrook makes a “reappearance”….
Having for the past few days been concerned with the course (in the 14th century) of the old Walbrook, one of London’s “lost” rivers, I was pleased to come upon this article which indicates that the lost river is being acknowledged once again. Well, naturally, it hasn’t been mislaid at all, but was covered over… Continue reading The long-lost Walbrook makes a “reappearance”….
Not just the Thames; London has many hidden rivers….
This article begins: “London is usually seen as a one-river city, just big old Father Thames. The city breathes with the rise and fall of its tide, and for centuries the Thames has posed patiently for tourist drawings, etchings and photos. But what of London’s other rivers, the capital’s unseen waterways? Twenty-one tributaries flow… Continue reading Not just the Thames; London has many hidden rivers….
Mythmaking: BONES IN THE RIVER
Night. The late Middle Ages. An angry mob rips open the sealed tomb of a man and carries his fleshless skeleton through the town streets, jeering. Reaching a field of execution, the bones are hurled on a pyre and burnt, then crushed to small fragments. This indignity not being enough, the desecrated remains are then… Continue reading Mythmaking: BONES IN THE RIVER
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