Wiping.... for the Hygiene article

[bunnyjadwiga]

How and whether people 'wiped' in the middle ages after defecating and/or urinating is an obscure topic. There are a number of allegations about how it was done and/or what supplies were provided, but I have found little solid primary source documentation.
It is generally alleged (citations?) that the Romans used a sponge on a stick, with no details as to any care and washing of said sponge between users or uses.
Frank Muir uses a post-1600 text to support his allegation that 3 mussel shells were used for scraping.
Holmes (Daily Living in the 12th century), suggests that 'torche-culs' made of straw, or a small curved stick, called a gomphus, gomph-stick or gomf, were used.
Another text (citation) suggests that in monasteries, part of the necessarium supplies were cabbage-like leaves for the same purpose.

The question of whether babies and infants had diapers once they progressed beyond the swaddling clothes stage (as alleged in a TI article -- citation) is not clear. No instructions for toilet-training the child show up in the 14th-16th century manuals (or excerpts thereof) I have found, though other instructions to the mother or wetnurse for care of the infant (including instructions to wash the child regularly), do.

Comments

[math5.livejournal.com]

I would think that it's not a topic that needs much to be written about as it's probably part of the things that are taight early on, but... it reminded me of this chapter of French litterature
http://mapage.noos.fr/crosin000v/Rabelais/Extraits_fr_Rabelais.html

[lucianus.livejournal.com]

The question of whether babies and infants had diapers once they progressed beyond the swaddling clothes stage (as alleged in a TI article -- citation) is not clear. No instructions for toilet-training the child show up in the 14th-16th century manuals (or excerpts thereof) I have found, though other instructions to the mother or wetnurse for care of the infant (including instructions to wash the child regularly), do.

Interesting! As a data point, in the 16th century, the normal "breeching" age for boys, when they stopped wearing skirts and put on breeches, was about age six. I've looked at an awful lot of portraits from the period as a part of Jehan's and my doublet research and this pretty much seems to be the case. I'm of several minds about the diaper thing and might it not just have followed the same practice as women did when they had their period, re wearing a rag or not.

BTW, do you have access to EEBO? If not, I'd be glad to look anything up that you might need.

[danabren.livejournal.com]

Frank Muir uses a post-1600 text to support his allegation that 3 mussel shells were used for scraping.

This made me think of "Demolition Man", and I had to stop reading for a while.

:)

[tattycat.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA!! I did too! I am so glad I'm not the only one. . .

[paquerette.livejournal.com]

Have you looked into the elimination communication circles to see if any of their work is based on documentable history? It's certainly possible to have babies of 6 months or so fully potty compliant. It's just a lot of work.

[strawberrykaren.livejournal.com]

An interesting picture (and the only one I've been able to find which demonstrates the whole "small children being taught to pee out the front door" idea, whether or not it's actually a truism throughout history): the January illustration in the Hennessey Hours, c. 1530-1540. (But this kid is obviously well beyond infant-aged.)

My linkspage on children's clothing has lots of examples of what children wore when they were beyond swaddling age, but none (except perhaps for Conrad Schwarz aged 1 to 3 years) show what was (or, in this case, was not) being worn underneath.

(And now I am struggling to remember which illustration actually showed a medieval training-potty ... nothing as fancy as this or this, but it was pretty clear that was the same sort of function. If I find it again, I'll send you a link. I feel almost sure that it was a 15th century illustration, and may have been somewhere in L'enfance au Moyen Âge, but can't recall where.)

[tattycat.livejournal.com]

I have to say, this may be about the most fascinating thread of research currently appearing on my flist. Seriously. This stuff is just. . . *mesmerising*. I feel like I'm waiting for the next serial installment to come out.

Thank you!