I’ve just got back from living as a medieval person, AMA

[TheCountessofFitzdotterel]

First time in my life I’ve ever done anything worthy of an AMA!

Does anyone have a link to the news show this was on I'd love to see it. That museum is my favourite museum ever.

This has been a really interesting read OP, even though I'd have no interest in doing it myself!

Was this it?

Good question.
Am I mad, or just very very sane? 😉

No children this time but there was a dog.
Most re-enactments I do have plenty of children, they tend to love it because there are always lots of things they can get stuck into and lots of adults of different ages who don’t mind supervising them. But people might have been worried about doing this with kids because of the cold, plus it was term time.
The dog was very happy btw. Went from lap to lap revelling in the attention.

Butser - I haven’t but have friends who play Roman there.

Ruth wasn’t around but I re-enacted with her many years ago, when I was still a teenager. She was very kind and unfailingly cheerful in terrible weather. I really recommend her book, The Domestic Revolution.

Very interesting about the special room for washing.
Tbh I think the fact I didn’t want to leave was just because I wasn’t there for long; I am sure after a month or so I would feel differently.

I've got the Ruth Goodman book The Domestic Revolution. She's a very interesting person with an unusual CV. I had assumed she was an academic historian but she's not. I remember her talking about how she went several weeks without washing her body (not sure what period this was possibly 16th or 17th century) and just changing her linen regularly. She said she didnt smell. I suppose if you don't wear knickers the air circulates better round your nether regions.

A book I would recommend is Food in England by Dorothy Hartley. All about food production and cooking from medieval times onwards.

It was a great team.

I think with reenactment everyone knows we all have to get on for it to work so if we want to play this game we need to make an effort. There are some very strong personalities in reenactment so some events are quite an exercise in getting on with people, but it’s worth it- you often end up getting very fond of people who were infuriating to begin with 😂

Did they have hairbrushes back then?

It might not be the easiest way…. 😂

I very much doubt it. I hope we will understand more about the causes in due course.

It was a one off but I think there’s a good chance there will be a repeat because we got lots of visitors so the museum was happy.

At what point do you transition from modern times to medieval times? Do you just get changed once you get there? Or do you end up driving whilst wearing full reenactment regalia? And do you travel home in character, or do you get changed before you set off?

Actually, what footwear did you wear? Surely it’s difficult to magic up medieval footwear at short notice? And I’m guessing you can’t just wear modern shoes.

I first spun at Kentwell Hall years ago as a teenager but tbh most of my improvement and learning different techniques happened more recently courtesy of YouTube.

we didn’t have rushes on the floor but one of the group made rushlights. You don’t need a special source, soft rush (Juncus effusus) grows all over as long as it is slightly damp, I have found them on the Yorkshire moors and round random ponds in all sorts of places.

I can’t comment on Chichester premier inn but I stayed in the newer Portsmouth Havant one the night after and it was fine. They are generally pretty reliable ime.

<reenactor high five>

Our modern style obviously isn’t working for a lot of people, but equally, never being alone would be highly pressured too, and theirs was the era with the most murders!

Oh that telly report is really nicely done! Though I became slightly distracted by wondering whether one of the women reenactors' beautifully plucked eyebrows were authentic (maybe? there was a craze for high thin eyebrows at one point, wasn't there)

Yes!
I was intrigued by the way people wanted to be attached to a greater household than their own, like, whatever your place in society you will send your children away to serve in the highest status house your contacts can muster.
The visceral physical experience of a house that is bearable because it has warmth, food, lighting, compared with what a house would be like slightly lower down the social ladder, just that bit darker, colder, less well fed…. It all makes a lot more sense than it would in our age where we can all (well mostly) have a warm, light house with enough food, even if it’s smaller and less well situated than the fancy one.

This is a long one so I might answer in bits!

Children’s clothes - not gendered until 7ish. Linen smock and a kirtle (sleeveless wool dress) over it. The secret is lots of tucks in the skirt for the extra length, rather than a deep hem.
Sleeves were separate and tied or pinned on.

fermenting vegetables- not in this country afaik.

spinning - this week I used both a great wheel for wool and a distaff and spindle for flax, but I also use the spindle for wool.

I comb for the spindle and card for the great wheel. I have used detergent or soap to scour my fleece because I have never happened to be doing it in a reenactment but hot water should do it. I understand that lye or stale urine were used (both alkaline). If you are putting wool in hot water don’t do it suddenly, or it will felt.

I didn’t weave because by the 15th c it is floor looms and very much a skilled trade rather than a domestic task. You spin at home but the weaver turns it into cloth.

The smock hem is big enough that it won’t limit your movement. Then the kirtle is bigger. Fashion probably. I think mine is 120”. The gown is bigger still, but you don’t worry about the relationship between the garments.

will add more tomorrow!

Good AMA! Pretty sure I know who you are from KW so here's another reenactor high five. Or more likely, I'll make my reverence, given you are usually posh and I am not and may be even serving you... 😁

Kudos for learning to brew for this, in addition to all your other historic skills and knowledge!

Thank you very much for this fascinating and charming AMA

Part two!

Shoes. Fairly light and leather, hence much wearing of wooden pattens which are overshoes to keep you out of the wet or muddy ground. On a cold day they’re useful indoors too, for adding insulation between your soles and the cold floor.
All but the most desperate beggars would have had shoes but they do wear out and need fairly regular cobbling, so I have no doubt the state of repair of your shoes would be one way of telling how well off somebody was.
Boots were also worn a fair bit.

Bed: yes, futon stuffed with wool is a good description. The straw went in a big bag. We didn’t air them as such but the straw did need a bit of shaking and kicking around every day to keep it comfortable or it would have just gone flat and hard. If we had done it for longer regular bedding airing would probably have happened.

Sources of knowledge. That’s a really interesting question. I think over time you get to know which books are the immediate go tos on each subject. For instance, for a food question I will go straight to my copies of Peter Brears, or for clothes Thursfield for medieval or Tudor Tailor for 16th c. I think once you are part of the wider reenactment community it becomes easier as people are very willing to share knowledge and the internet really helps. One of the absolute privileges of this event was working with people who knew so much.

I agree about the Dorothy Hartley book!

I couldn’t say for certain about brushes in the 15th century, but there are plenty of combs.

This is so cool!!!