Edwardian Advice on Self-Confidence

Confidence is nothing new!

Today, I am transcribing a reply in an advice column from the July, 1905 edition of The Delineator.  The column is titled "The Observances of Society" and is written by Mrs. Frank Learned. Unfortunately, the original letter asking for advice is not included, but I still find the reply interesting.

Anxious--
Your trouble seems to be morbid self-consciousness. If you think less of yourself, and the impression you are making, less of the criticism of others, if you are your own courteous, refined self, you will not be worried constantly about little problems. You tell me you understand the first thing is to be a refined woman always, and that is the limit of your knowledge. Now, I think when you say this you show you are not at all limited or narrow when you know by instinct the refinements and natural conduct of a "gentlewoman." This is a good old English word and it means much. Less self-consciousness, the cultivation of a sense of humor, which is the salt of life, would help you to look less seriously and severely on the little every-day matters which worry you. Do not make mountains out of molehills.  

Good advice, even in the internet age!

Other Posts of Interest:

Edwardian Advice on Baby's First Clothes

10 Artifacts that Prove Vikings Weren't Savages

Pop culture perception of the Vikings is that of a savage people, unsophisticated and unusually violent, raping, pillaging, and razing their way across Europe. They were dirty, feral conquerors in horned helmets. Their only advantage was that of genetic size and strength. As they used it to destroy gentler, more sophisticated societies, the world was set back to the dark ages, shrouded in fear and haunted by lost civilization. Their history was written by their enemies. Their truth, recorded in Sagas and buried away in artifacts a thousand years old, tells a different tale.

Image Credit: National Museums Scotland

10. Balance Scales

Although Vikings may be best known for what they plundered, sets of early Scandinavian scales prove that they also paid for goods. Silver was the primary money of the day, although gold and other precious metals were also used in trade. Whether formed into coins, jewelry, or ingots, the metals were valued by weight, rather than demarcation. Large numbers of Islamic coins were brought into Scandinavian countries only to be melted into hack silver. So important was the weight of metals, that one merchant who lived his last days in Kiloran Bay on Colonsay in the Inner Hebrides chose to be buried with his scales. Weapons and ornaments from his homeland in Scandinavia surrounded his body, but cradled closest to him, between his knees and head, rest his splendid set of bronze scales along with seven engraved, lead weights. (1)

10 Terrifying Historical Ketchup Recipes

Cooking up some Catsup?

If you’re an American, you probably think you know a thing or two about ketchup. After all, 97% of American households report having a bottle at the table. (1) The average American consumes a staggering 71 pounds of ketchup annually. (2) Yet, most of us would not recognize the many historical varieties of ketchup. Fewer would be brave enough to taste them. Their ingredients vary as widely as their spelling. Most of these recipes call for out-dated fermenting and preserving techniques, so remember folks, don’t try this at home. Or, if you do, follow modern food safety precautions.

10. The Original Kê-tsiap
Ketchup. It’s as American as… well, it’s not American. The original version hails from Southeast Asia and was likely brought back to Britain in the late 17th or early 18th century. It seems that sailors took a liking to the condiment which was called in Hokkein Chinese kê-tsiap. (3) It held little resemblance to the modern variety. Instead, it was a dark, fermented fish sauce. The first recipe on record dates back to 544AD. It instructs one to:

“Take the intestine, stomach, and bladder of the yellow fish, shark and mullet, and wash them well. Mix them with a moderate amount of salt and place them in a jar. Seal tightly and incubate in the sun. It will be ready in twenty days in summer, fifty days in spring or fall and a hundred days in winter.” (4)   

9. Oyster Catsup
British optician, inventor, musician, and cook William Kitchiner published The Cook’s Oracle in 1817. His best-selling recipe book contained eleven different catsup recipes, demonstrating that by this time, the condiment was a culinary staple. (5) Much like the original Chinese version, Kitchiner’s Oyster Catsup was a fermented fish sauce. Instead of yellow fish, shark, and mullet, he called for an ingredient which would have been more readily available in Britain and the Americas. If oysters were not available, he said that a fine catsup could be made by replacing them with an equal amount of cockles and muscles (sic.)

“Take fine, fresh Milton oysters; wash them in their own liquor, skim it, pound them in a marble mortar, to a pint of Oysters add a pint of Sherry, boil them up, and add an ounce of salt, two drachms of pounded mace, and one of Cayenne, — let it just boil up again, skim it, and rub through a sieve, and when cold, bottle it, and cork it well, and seal it down.” (6)


8. Anchovy Catchup
 Hannah Glasse penned the 18th century’s best-selling book of any genre over a period of just four months. How she did this whilst mothering eleven children is anybody’s guess. (7) In any case, her recipe for “Catchup to Keep Twenty Years” draws on ale and anchovies for its primary flavors. Unlike in the preceding recipes, Ms. Glasse does not call for any fermentation. This would produce a sauce similar to modern Worcestershire sauce, which utilizes anchovies and barley malt vinegar. However, Mrs. Glasses’s Catchup does not call for any sweetening, while the vast majority of Worcestershire sauce produced today includes molasses and sugar.

“Take a gallon of strong stale beer, one pound of anchovies washed from the pickle, a pound of shalots peeled, half an ounce of mace, half an ounce of cloves, a quarter of an ounce of whole pepper, three or four large races of ginger, two quarts of the large mushroom-flaps rubbed to pieces; cover all this close, and let it simmer till it is half wasted, then strain it through a flannel bag; let it stand till it is quite cold, then bottle it. You may carry it to the Indies. A spoonful of this to a pound of fresh butter melted makes a fine fish-sauce, or in the room of gravy sauce. The stronger and staler the beer is, the better the catchup will be.” (8)

7. Mushroom Catsup
This was a popular ketchup in the 18th and 19th centuries. Used for seasoning meat and savory pies, it left behind the fish and turned to the humble mushroom for its savory qualities. This was done for reasons of practicality, cost, and taste, depending on the cook. Mushrooms could be scavenged and were available inland. Many people simply preferred the flavor. This is the only catsup to still be manufactured today and may be poised for a come-back. Celebrity chefs Heston Blumenthal and
Nigel Slater have both recently published recipes for it. (9)

The Cook’s Oracle actually includes two separate recipes for mushroom catsup. In both recipes, Mr. Kitchiner advices against the over-use of spices, stating that they can over-power and confuse the meaty flavor of the mushrooms. The basic recipe is as follows:

“Put a layer of these (mushrooms)at the bottom of deep earthen pan, and sprinkle them with Salt, then another layer of Mushrooms, and some more salt on them, and so on alternately, salt and mushrooms; — let them remain two or three hours, by which time the salt will have penetrated the mushrooms, and rendered them easy to break; — then pound them in a mortar or mash them well with your hands, and let them remain for a couple of days, not longer, stirring them up, and mashing them well each day; — then pour them into a stone jar, and to each quart add an ounce of whole Black Pepper, stop the jar very close, and set it in a stewpan of boiling water, and keep it boiling for two hours at least. Take out the jar, and pour the juice clear from the settlings through a hair sieve (without squeezing the mushrooms) into a clean stew pan ; let it boil very gently for half an hour…” (10)

6. Walnut Ketchup
If one could not get a hold of any fish, bivalves, or fungi, one could always turn to nuts. This sauce was a great favorite of English novelist Jane Austen. It would seem that unlike Kitchiner, she did not shy away from the use of spices. The following recipe was recorded in the household book of her best friend Martha Lloyd, who lived with the Austen family at the time. Here you see the inclusion of vinegar, cloves, and aliums, all ingredients in the most popular tomato ketchups sold today.

“Take green walnuts and pound them to a paste. Then put to every hundred two quarts of vinegar with a handful of salt. Put it altogether in an earthen pan keeping it stirring for eight days. Then squeeze through a coarse cloth and put it into a well lined saucepan, when it begins to boil skim it as long as any scum, rinse, and add to it some cloves, mace, sliced ginger, sliced nutmeg, Jamaica peppercorns, little horse radish with a few shallots. Let this have one boil up, then pour it into an earthen pan, and after it is cold bottle it up dividing the ingredients equal into each bottle.” (11)

5. White Ketchup
It seems we have covered ketchup for every need, but what if we need to flavor a white sauce without darkening it? All of the previous recipes produce a brown liquid which would unpleasantly color your sauce. Charlotte Mason’s 1787 book The Lady’s Assistant: for Regulating and Supplying the Table contains the answer. This is just one of seven ketchup recipes in the manual.

“Take one quart of white wine, one pint of elder vinegar, and one quart of water; half a pound of anchovies with their pickle, half a pound of horseradish scraped, one ounce of shallots bruised, one ounce of white pepper bruised, one ounce of mace, a quarter of an ounce of nutmegs cut in quarters; boil all together till half is consumed, then drain it off : when it is cold, bottle it for use. It is proper for any white sauce or to put into melted butter.” (12)


4. Cucumber Catsup
Now we come to a vegetable ketchup, though when you think of ketchup, cucumbers probably do not spring to mind. Scottish journalist Christian Isobel Johnstone was known to have a sharp mind and a prolific pen. An early feminist and champion of liberal causes, she wrote under the pseudonym Margaret Dod in order to protect her personal life. Of all the things she wrote, her 1826 recipe for Cucumber Catsup was probably the least likely to get her into trouble.

“Pare large cucumbers; cut them in slices and break them to a mash, which must be sprinkled with salt and covered with a cloth. Keep in all the seeds. Next day, set the vessel aslant to drain off the juice, and boil it up with a high seasoning of white peppercorns, and sliced ginger, black pepper, sliced shallot and horseradish, and bottle the catsup which is an excellent preparation for flavouring sauces for boiled fowls, veal, rabbits, or the more insipid meats.” (13) 

3. Browning or Sugar Catsup
Thus far we have covered savory recipes that include vinegar, cloves, alliums, salt, pepper, and cayenne. One thing we have yet to find is any sweeteners. Most modern ketchup is sweetened with sugar. Mrs. Johnstone advised the use of a “sugar catsup” as a browning sauce for sauces, soups, etc. This was a simple concoction which could be spiced at the cooks discretion.

“Pound very finely six ounces of the best refined sugar, and put the powder into a small and very clean frying pan, with a glass of water. As it dissolves, mix well with a wooden spoon, and withdraw the pan from the fire when the fluid begins to boil  violently ; stir, and keep it thus till it has acquired the rich, dark brown color wanted. It may either be seasoned with pepper, salt, cloves, catsup, etc., or not, but is generally more useful plain.” (14)
 
2. Pudding Catsup
It’s not as scary as it sounds. This has nothing to do with a custard type of pudding. In this context, “pudding” is synonymous with dessert.  This 1817 recipe is simply a sauce to be added to various sweets.

“Half a pint of brandy, ‘Essence of Punch’ (a brandy-lemonade mixture)… an ounce of thin pared Lemon peel, half an ounce of mace. Steep them fourteen days, then strain it, and add a quarter pint of Capillaire (an orange flower syrup).” (15)

1. Tomato Ketchup
At last we come to our missing ingredient. Tomatoes were once looked on with trepidation. Many Americans and Europeans believed them to be poisonous. Yet, they also had their champions including Thomas Jefferson who cultivated them at Monticello as early as 1809 and ate them regularly. (16) The first recorded recipe for a tomato-based ketchup comes from Philadelphia physician James Mease’s 1812 book, The Archives of Useful Knowledge. Mease refers to the tomatoes as “love apples”, a common moniker at the time.

“Slice the apples thin, and over every layer sprinkle a little salt; cover them, and let them lie twenty-four hours; then beat them well, and simmer them half an hour in a bell-metal kettle; then add mace & allspice. When cold, add two cloves of raw shallots cut small, and half a gill of brandy to each bottle, which must be corked tight, and kept in a cool place.” (17)

The idea seems to have taken root quickly. Mrs. Johnstone published her own recipe for “tomata catsup” fourteen years later. Mrs. Hardy of the American hotel published her recipe in 1865. Finally, Henry J. Heinz started producing tomato ketchup in 1876. (18) The rest is history.

Other Posts of Interest:

The Colonial Kitchen

The Medieval House Garden in Spring

Edwardian Advice on Baby's First Clothes

Body in the Bog: Elling Woman

In 1938, a local farmer discovered what he thought to be the remains of an animal in a peat bog in Bjældskovdal outside Silkeberg, Denmark. Then, he noticed a belt fastened around the remains. Instead of a drowned animal, he had found the remains of a long-deceased human. The farmer contacted the National Museum of Denmark and the body was subsequently transported to Copenhagen for further inspection.

The front of the body suffered decomposition while the back had been better preserved by the acidity and lack of oxygen in the bog. It was determined that the person wore a skin cloak and belt with a blanket of cowhide covering the lower body and legs. Because of the furrow left in the neck and the skin belt with a sliding knot which was discovered with the body, it was determined that this person was hanged to death. With the available technology of the time, researchers found it impossible to discover more, and the body was then moved to a storage room in the museum.

It was not until the 1970's that x-ray technology allowed researchers to discover the sex and age of the body. These were the remains of a young woman, approximately 25 years old. Radio Carbon dating placed her lifespan during the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C. in Northwestern Europe.

Although the discovery of bodies preserved in Northern European bogs was not unusual, nor was her mode of death or dress uncommon amongst the bodies found, one there was something remarkable about the body.

The Medieval House Garden in Spring

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.This post contains affiliate links.

I love gardening. As most of you know, I recently moved away from the beach and back to the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. This winter provided an intense relief from the last seven years of drought, forced us to evacuate our home under the severe flood warning caused by issues at the Oroville dam, and ripped apart many a landscaped yard. My family actually had to rent a tractor to repair the dirt roads on their ten-acre parcel, many of which were wiped out by torrential rains.

So far this year, I have planted roses, lilies, delphiniums, bougainvillea, and marigolds. Fresh sod has been put down in one area of the yard. Bare-root apple, plum, peach, nectarine, cherry, and apricot trees were planted in February. Tomatoes and potatoes went into the ground weeks ago. Today, we are going to plant daffodils and tulips purchased on sale last spring. Later in the week, carrots, greens, and herbs, will be planted.

Where we were living on the coast, you cannot tomatoes because of the lack of sunshine, so I absolutely cannot wait for my first home-grown tomato in six years. If you have never tasted a truly fresh, sun-ripened tomato, I think John Denver summed up the experience best in his song aptly titled Home Grown Tomatoes.

Because I am a self-described Armchair Historian, today I am bringing you some gardening advice from the fourteenth century.

A Medieval Home Companion is a partial translation by Tania Bayard of a text written by the elderly, Parisian husband of a fifteen-year-old girl. In the opening pages, the author assures his young wife that he is very pleased by her and that he requires no further duty or change of character from her. However, because she was separated from her mother, father, and all others who may give her advice, she has asked for his instruction so that she may be a good wife and keep their home well. To appease her wish and to attempt to prepare her for her future life a second marriage, he carefully composed one of the most exhaustive texts on moral and domestic instructions to come out of the century.

The following passage contains his advice for the garden in April, May, and June which is as true today as it was then:

Edwardian Advice on Baby's First Clothes

I recently acquired several antique magazines and found the advice contained in this article interesting. It seems trivial, but several of my friends who are first-time parents have found themselves in all-out marital war over baby's clothes. Mother wants to dress baby up in all the cute, ruffly, patterned, and themed outfits she can find. Father insists the most basic multi-packs of onesies from Walmart and a few swaddling blankets will be more than sufficient since baby is just going to poop and pee on everything before quickly out-growing it anyway.

Mary Bentley offered the following compromise in Delineator Magazine in June, 1907.

"How to make her first baby's clothes is the most vital problem which confronts the young mother. The advice of well-meaning friends is confusing because it is so contradictory. What shall she she do?

This I will endeavor to tell her in the clearest and most concise manner possible, and she may follow the directions with certainty that she will make ample provision for the baby's needs. 

Prince Dead: A Note on History

Just a reminder… Prince Dead is still on sale for $.99 on Amazon. As always, it is free to read for members of Kindle Unlimited and you can preview the novel here.

Note: This post is a re-print of the Forward from the novel which explains the decisions behind the presentation of some of the minor historical points. If you are considering purchasing, I hope this helps.

Author’s Note

The Vikings are a people whose history has been much clouded in legend, forgotten in time, warped by their enemies, and twisted in popular culture. Even their name, the Vikings, is incorrect to their people as it stems from the Old Norse word Vikingr, meaning freebooter, sea-rover, or pirate. Not all Vikings were pirates. Most were farmers, landowners, and craftsmen, but it is the few great seamen and the warriors who ravaged foreign lands whom are best remembered.

Gokstad Ship

Among our sources of knowledge about the Scandinavian people of the eighth to eleventh century are the rare rune stones. These give us records written in the actual period. However, they are scarce and, unlike other ancient languages, there is no Rosetta Stone to help in their deciphering. In fact, it would seem that what is recorded on many of these stones is street directions, which indicates that the majority of the population was literate, but tells us little else.

Detail from Oseberg Ship

We also have pieces recovered from archaeological digs. Among the most famous of these are the Oseberg Ship and the Gokstad Ship. Though they are only two of many vessels which have been unearthed, they are the most well-preserved, having been buried in clay. From these and other finds, archaeologists know that by the ninth century Viking ships had undergone vast improvements as compared to their earlier counterparts and were built for specific purposes. Some were large, robust vessels, equipped with sails and built for the open seas. Others were slim, fast war ships, wherein rows took the place of importance. There is even evidence of ships which seem to be built specifically for cargo.

Prince Dead: A Historical Heroine

Just a reminder… Prince Dead is still on sale for $.99 on Amazon. As always, it is free to read for members of Kindle Unlimited.

Now that I had a character sketch for my hero, and had chosen the setting, I needed to draft an idea for my heroine. She was to be Irish, but beyond that I did not know.

There seems to me to be a dominate popularity in historical fiction for what I call, “bad ass warrior babes”. You know what I’m referencing. These are the heroines whose long hair flows in the breeze without ever getting caught on anything and whose gravity-defying breasts do not fall out of their anachronistically low-cut gowns as they meet their enemies in hand-to-hand combat. They are 5’2” tall and weigh 110 pounds but still boast the decadent curves of a Golden Era Hollywood siren, and they are so mighty that when sword-fighting the 6’5” warrior hero who was trained up for battle from the cradle, they send him straight onto his backside and steal his heart.

As you may have guessed, this heroine bores me.

My heroine would be a strong woman, one who was up for adventure, but not an utterly perfect goddess entirely lacking in self-doubt. She must be intelligent and cunning, I decided, but more empathetic than my hero.

I turned once more to my research. Ireland was in a transition phase during the period I meant to set my novel. The old Celtic ways had already been touched by Roman Imperialism and were now merging with newly adopted Catholic beliefs and culture.

I wanted to capture this cultural strain in my heroine. Ironically, most of the first-hand accounts of the Celts were written by their enemies, just as is the case for the Vikings. We do know that there were high-ranking women of power among the Celts and it seems certain that Celtic women held a better position in society than Roman women. Ammianus Marcellinus, describes meeting Celtic women in battle by stating they were “large as men with flashing eyes and teeth bared”. There is also a notion, first popularized by 18th and 19th century Romantic authors that the Celts were a strictly Matriarchal society, yet there is little direct evidence to support this. The Catholic influence in my setting would surely have put an end to much of this, but I wanted it’s echoes to still be heard in my novel.

My heroine would be a stand-in landlord for her father who left her in control when he went on a pilgrimage. Her younger brother would be coming of age, however, and have the full support of the local church in trying to grab power from his sister. The people they rule over are torn, some happy with the way she has managed things, others sure that their leader must be a man, others simply taking the opinion of their priest as fact. To further complicate it, they face encroachment and possible defeat by a neighboring warlord, one who has fully immersed himself in the old traditions and who has no interest in the culture of the Catholic church.

Thus, my heroine would teeter on the edge of losing all. She would try to balance the needs of her people with her own beliefs. She would barter, manipulate, compromise, and fight to do what she believes right.

Now, to make things just a little harder on my heroine, I would send in the Viking invasion…

Prince Dead: The Setting

Just a reminder… Prince Dead is still on sale for $.99 on Amazon. As always, it is free to read for members of Kindle Unlimited.

Once I had a character outline for my hero, I knew I needed to decide on the setting of the novel. My Viking would be invading… somewhere… sometime. I just needed to know where and when. I turned once again to my copy of The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, on June 8, 793 AD, “the ravages of heathen men miserably destroyed God’s church on Lindisfarne, with plunder and slaughter”. Subsequent raids in England between the late 8th century and the first half of the 9th century were sporadic and seemingly unorganized. After that, however, the attacks intensified until in 869, the Vikings killed King Edmund and conquered East Angles.

I wanted to set the novel within this time frame, when the Viking were known and feared in the British aisles, but before they gained a true stronghold. I was not sure, however, that I wanted the novel set in England. That story, it seemed to me, had been told.

Between 795 AD and 824 AD the Vikings attacked Rechru, Innis Patraic, Do Chonna, Inishmurray, Roscam, Ulaid, Clew Bay, Howth, Cork, Skellig, and Etgal. They plundered, killed, razed monasteries and villages, and kidnapped women for hostages and slaves. From thence forward, the attacks in Ireland only intensified, just as they had done in England.

I personally never knew much about this and I suppose it is because, in an ironic turn of events, American students are generally given English history almost as their own prior to Christopher Columbus arriving in North America. We focus on English history, I suppose, for the simple reason that we can read it. So, while I was vaguely aware that the Vikings had raided throughout the British Aisles, Ireland was not the first place that jumped to my imagination when I thought of Viking invasions.

For this reason, I decided to set the novel in Ireland. It fit just enough with people’s preconceived notions (Americans’ at least), but would offer a bit of a fresh take. So, half my characters and my hero were to be Vikings. Now, I decided the heroine and the other half of the characters were to be Irish.

The Colonial Kitchen

My latest novel will be set at the dawn of the American War for Independence and a great deal of the action will take place in the home of the protagonists. We all know that the kitchen is the heart of any home, and it was no different in the 18th century, so I have been doing a little research to make my setting as accurate as possible.

The greatest differences in the style of fireplaces and hearths in this era were dependent on wealth more than cultural or geographic variation. The wealthy might have a separate kitchen where the fireplace could be built up to eight or ten feet wide with a cast iron fire back to protect the hearth from the extreme heat. Contrary to popular imagination, there was not often a giant, roaring fire set in these huge fireplaces. Instead, multiple, small fires of varying intensities would be lit and utilized rather like multiple burners on a modern stove. These fires could be built on andirons or grates. A metal crane would have been used and, with no expenses spared, could have swung on an arm toward or away from the fire, held multiple cauldrons, and raised and lowered them to various settings. A small army of servants or slaves would have attended an array of copper, brass, and iron cauldrons, fry pans, dutch ovens, spits, roasters and even waffle irons.

It was not unusual in this era for all cooking to be done over fire, though separate ovens were sometimes built, particularly in these wealthy homes. Ovens were beehive shaped and constructed beside or below the main fireplace. When beside the fireplace, there was sometimes space to build in a warming oven beneath the baking oven. The oven door could be wood alone or wood backed with metal. These ovens were utilized by first lighting a fire inside until the desired temperature was reached, then scraping out the coals, quickly mopping out the ashes, and then placing the food to be baked inside. This process could take anywhere from one to three hours. A clever cook could use the oven to cook multiple things requiring different temperatures by arranging the order of the items to be baked. In other words, one might start off with a crusty loaf of bread requiring high heat, followed by pie needing medium heat, and finally a crock of baked beans could be made with the residual heat. Here is a great video on baking bread in this style of oven, although this particular oven is outdoors.

My characters are a couple of young farmers who have fallen on hard times, so like most people of their position in this era will not have an actual "kitchen". Their home consists of two rooms: a bedroom and an "everything else room". It is in this main room that the food preparation will take place (along with things like emergency surgeries, gun running, and spying... but never mind about that.)

The fire was all important, cooking all meals and warming the house, so for poor people, the fireplace, hearth, table, and shelving could make up half or more of the entire house. They burned any and all wood available to them. In these houses, the cook would not have had access to a plethora of cooking accessories. Instead, a single "lug pole" (a pole cut out of green wood and used in place of a crane to hang pots) and perhaps a skillet, cauldron, kettle, and Dutch oven would have made do if you were lucky. In the south, corn cakes might be baked on the iron end of a hoe and, therefore, called hoecakes. In the north, they were baked on wooden bannock boards and called bannock cakes. You can also see in the painting below a hanging rack which was essential for hanging freshly butchered meat.

If you are wondering if hanging your heavy cauldron from a wood pole over a hot fire, baking your cakes on wooden boards, and having a wooden door to your oven might be a little dangerous, the answer is yes. The lug pole sometimes came crashing down, cauldron, hot soup and all. The bannock boards did not last long and might catch fire if the cook was not watching. You could soak your oven door in water before baking if you were fortunate enough to have the available water and container to do so, but you didn't count on it lasting long. And yes, skirts did occasionally catch fire, although the natural linen and woolen fibers of the period would usually smolder rather than catch flame and the smell would alert their wearer to the danger before any serious damage was done.

The upside to all of this? Food probably tasted better. It was very interesting to hear Ruth Goodman explain her trials and tribulations with a "new and improved" coal cook stove in Edwardian Farm after watching her cook over open fires and smoldering coals for Tales from the Green Valley and Tudor Monastery Farm. Her explanation was that while wood smoke tastes amazing and you almost want to encourage it to get into your food, coal smoke is disgusting and must be kept from the food at all costs. To put is simply, imagine eating barbecue all year every year.

Body in the Bog -- Tollund Man

When digging in the Bjaeldskovdal peat bog in May of 1950, two brothers and one of their wives stumbled upon a corpse. Under more than six fit of peat, it lay in the fetal position, a cap still on it's on head and a rope still tightened around its neck. The face was that of a man, his stubble and wrinkles still evident, his expression strangely peaceful. Besides the pointed, sheepskin cap, a wide belt around his waist, and his noose, the body was completely nude. Believing they had discovered a recently murdered man, the family notified the police in Silkeborg, Denmark.

Unable to determine a time of death, the police eventually brought in archaeology professor P.V. Glob to assist. His findings? The acid and lack of oxygen in the peat bog along with cold Scandinavian temperatures had preserved the body for over 2,000 years and it had likely been placed there as a ritual sacrifice.

Historical Hair Care, Part Six, The Experiment

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links.

"Have we met before? I recognize your hair."

It's a question I have been asked more than once in my life and it probably sounds a bit odd to you. I have a massive amount of extremely curly hair which, until about eight months ago, was hip length. My hair has always been a bit of a mystery on how best to handle. Nobody else in my family has it. Coarse, dry, and bushy, it made me the subject of relentless taunts in school. It regularly ate hair brushes, snagged on any object within a two-foot radius, and consumed family-sized amounts of No-More-Tangles.

Historical Hair Care, Part Five, The Victorian Era

As we move into the Victorian Era and the Industrial Revolution, we get a much better understanding

of hygiene, and hair care in particular. Ladies periodicals of the time as well as recipe books and manuals give detailed advice and some information even pops up in novels and advertising campaigns. As always, a woman's hair was her crowning glory and, in an era which largely shunned makeup, it was given a great deal of attention by ladies seeking to maintain their good looks. The general idea seems to have been the longer and thicker the better. At right is Miss Aline Vallandri, an opera singer so famous for her hair that some people attended her concerts simply to see it.

It seems that most commonly in this era, the hair was washed with a gentle vegetable soap, no oftener than once a week and sometimes as seldom as once per month.

“To cleanse the hair, there is nothing better than soap and water . . . the soap, of course, should be mild, and well and plentifully rubbed in, and afterwards thoroughly removed with an abundance of water”-- Hints on Health, 1852

“Many heads of hair require nothing more in the way of wash than soap and water” -- Decorum  1879

“Supple moist oily hair may be washed every eight days with lukewarm water. Light hair, which is seldom oily, and the fineness and softness of which obviates the use of pomades, rarely requires washing. But a little honey dissolved in a very small quantity of spirit, scented with rosemary, &c. is an excellent substitute.”-- Mrs. Walker, 1840

Historical Hair Care, Part Four, The Renaissance

After the great catastrophe of the black plague a school of thought came into being that bathing was dangerous because it “allowed the venomous airs to enter and destroyeth the lively spirits in man and enfeebleth the body” (Thurley).

So, it would seem that both the body and hair were washed less frequently during this period than before. We know, for example, that King Henry the XIII in his later life stank, though on medical advice he would take "medicinal, herbal baths" in "a large square lead cistern full of water in which he bathed; the water comes from Rosamund spring, is cold in summer and warm in winter.” (Thurley) His daughter, Queen Elizabeth the I was known to bathe twice per year, a practice which does not appear to be frowned upon.

Scented soaps, the best of which were the Castille Soaps made purely with olive oil, were available to the rich whilst the poor made due with coarser animal fat soaps. It is likely this is what the hair was washed with, however infrequently. Scents came in a wide variety of type and cost, from light florals to fresh mints and heady musks.

Lice and fleas were rampant and vinegar was used to combat them. Interestingly, when one washes their hair with soap the scales along the shaft are raised due to the alkaline nature of the lye. This can lead to a rough, tangly feeling. If, however, this is followed up by an acidic vinegar rinse, the scales are closed and the hair feels conditioned. If this did not work, some of the higher class took to shaving their heads and donning wigs.

Fine-toothed combs were still in common and daily use. The Young Children's Book (c. 1500) advises, "Arise betimes from your bed, cross your breast and your forehead, wash your hands and face, comb your hair..."The picture at right is a collection of double-sided combs found in the remains of the ship Mary Rose which sunk in 1545.

Following the late Medieval period, women's hair continues to come out from under its coverings and up into more and more elaborate styles. During the earlier part of the period ornate wimples, beaded snoods, and decorated cauls somewhat covered the hair of the wealthy, whilst the poor stuck with simpler cauls and scarves. Later, braids and coils begin to take on the softening benefit of curls worn loose at the back and sides. Long hair worn loose became a sign of purity and virginity and as such was often seen worn by brides on their wedding day.

Meanwhile, the men took to shaping their beards in various styles whilst the hair was generally worn short. In 1619 The School of Virtue admonished men:  "Thy head, let that be combed and trimmed,Let not thy hair be long; It is unseemly to the eye, Rebuked by the tongue."


As in previous centuries, blonde hair was highly prized. Both simple sun-bleaching in crownless hats and a variety of home-brewed concoctions were used to achieve golden and red-gold locks. These could include everything from alum to human urine. Likewise, homemade tonics and pomades were concocted to aid in the condition and styling of the hair.

I chose, in So Many Secrets, which is set in the very early Renaissance to include a conversation between the women on whether or not the hair ought to be covered during a Masquerade ball. The conclusion? Maybe, but only as little as possible.

Historical Hair Care, Part One, Introduction
Historical Hair Care, Part Two, The Vikings
Historical Hair Care, Part Three, The Medieval Era
Historical Hair Care, Part Five, The Victorian Era
Historical Hair Care, Part Six, The Experiment

Historical Hair Care, Part Three, The Medieval Era

It is not known for sure how often people bathed in the Middle ages, though it seems to have been more frequent than the common stereotype: never. Certainly, washing was done with more regularity before the terrible outbreak of the plague and rumors that cleansing the body opened it up to illness. Nor is it known particularly how often men or women would have washed their hair.

As to how they did it, they did leave some indications, the Trotula, a series of texts composed in 12th Century Italy instructs thus:

“After leaving the bath, let her adorn her hair, and first of all let her wash it with a cleanser such as this. Take ashes of burnt vine, the chaff of barley nodes, and licorice wood (so that it may the more brightly shine), and sowbread… with this cleanser let the woman wash her head. After the washing, let her leave it to dry by itself, and her hair will be golden and shimmering…"

Historical Hair Care, Part Two, The Vikings

Depending on your sources, you can formulate two very different pictures of Viking hygiene. The two most famous written sources state as follows:

"(The Danes) …caused much trouble to the natives of the land; for they were wont, after the fashion of their country, to comb their hair every day, to bathe every Saturday, to change their garments often, and set off their persons by many frivolous devices. In this matter they laid siege to the virtue of the married woman, and persuaded the daughters even of the noble to be their concubines”.
-- John of Wallingford 

John of Wallingford was an English monk and chronicler who recorded the above in 1002, just after the massacre of St. Brice's Day.

Historical Hair Care, Part One, Introduction

Hygiene, in any given period of history can seem almost shrouded in mystery. It is one of those things we do every day and think little about. A modern person keeping a diary is hardly likely to record that they showered that morning with a commercial shampoo containing sodium lauryl sulfate and coco betaine followed by a conditioner containing mineral oil and ceteraral alcohol, for both of which they paid $2.99 at Rite Aid. Nor, I suspect, is any person throughout history likely to record the mundane and exacting details of such a necessity. So, it is really not until the big branding and marketing campaigns of the Victorian Era that we really get a clear picture of exactly what was used, how often, by whom, and how it was made. Though, of course, each person then, as now, was a unique individual with their own routine and preferences.

Our hair is something that, even with all of our modern conveniences like running water, hundreds of varieties of products, heat styling tools, and cheap, disposable combs, brushes, and accessories can sometimes feel like an impossible burden. There is that running joke that God gave us hair to teach us that we cannot control everything. Yet, throughout history, it has mostly been worn much longer than is currently fashionable and seems almost have always been a sign of wealth, luxury, and beauty. So, how did they manage it?

That is going to be the subject of this series, which I hope will be of interest to my readers and even put to good use by my fellow novelists. I will be focusing mainly on the periods I have studied for my books and even have a couple of experiments planned. So, please stay tuned for Part Two: The Vikings

Historical Hair Care, Part Two, The Vikings
Historical Hair Care, Part Three, The Medieval Era
Historical Hair Care, Part Four, The Renaissance
Historical Hair Care, Part Five, The Victorian Era
Historical Hair Care, Part Five, The Experiment

The Gates of Nottingham, A Bit of History

I never claim that my novels are 100% historically accurate. I research for months before I start writing and often during the writing process as well. That said, some things are left anachronistic for the sake of the story. I am sure that some things are wrong because I did not catch them. I am not a professor of medieval history. That said, I want to talk about a few of the choices I made and the facts that accompany them.

The Gates of Nottingham is not written in any sort of old English, in the dialogue or prose. The novel is set in 1197. At this time, Saxon German and Norman French were just beginning to be combined into a language that both nobles and peasants could understand. You could compare this early form of the English language to modern Spanglish, an amalgam of languages full of inside knowledge, mixed pronunciation, and incorrect form in either language. Most English aristocrats and landholders were still very closely tied to their Norman roots and still speaking the court's French as their first language, whereas most peasants still spoke the mixed Germanic language that came into use after the Viking conquests. The mix of the two is unintelligible to modern English speakers. You could call the early form a dead language. So, I did not make any attempt to bring this form of speaking into the novel. It was suggested to me that I bring in some Shakespearean type words and phrases to better keep the placement of the novel in the past. I, however, always find it rather sloppy when early English is thrown into modern prose willy nilly. It is just my opinion that it can be rather distracting to read. For this reason, the novel was kept in a neutral form of English. Slang was, of course, excluded and the grammar, even in speach is generally more correct than our own day to day English.

The arts of weaponry and battle were a huge part of my research. There are so many myths on both of these subjects which have been perpetuated for so many years that they have almost been accepted as truth. There is a great deal of debate on how much a medieval sword weighed. Many modern craftsmen insist that they were much lighter than we think and that the majority found in ancient grave sights were constructed for tournament, and were therefore heavier than war blades. However, it is well documented that sword fighting was done with both hands, as the weapon was too heavy for one. Archaeologists have also noted in the skeletons of soldiers very englarged bones in the right arm. It was a common practice in training children to force them to carry heavy bags of rocks with their dominant arm to build it up for later sword training. Up until the body of King Richard the third was found just a few months ago, the generally accepted theory was that he was not a hunch-back, just a swordsman, and that the former idea was added for dramatic purposes. For this reason, I decided to go with the theory that the triple layer bonded broadswords of the era were as heavy as some sources claim them to be, which can range anywhere from 20 to 50 pounds. An internet search provides you with answers as little as 2 lbs, whereas textbooks estimate much higher. This is why the weight of the swords in the novel is never specified, though it is mentioned that Marion has a difficult time moving Sir Guy's sword. Sir Guy is, in my novel, an enormous man and it can be assumed, whichever theory you chose to believe on swords, that his would be heavier than most.

As to the longbow, there is much less debate on its specifications. Most English longbows of this period would have been about six foot long with a weight pull back of 120 lbs. Severe scoliosis is found in the skeletons of archers from this time. Their spinal columns were actually bent toward their pulling arm.  Longbowsmen were trained to shoot ten arrows per minute with accuracy up to 168 yards. If only a general direction were desired for the shots, most could shoot twenty arrows per minute up to 300 yards. The longbow may not have had the flash of a sword, but it was not a weapon to be discounted. In fact, it is often credited for changing the course of history at the battle of Agincourt.

There are few clothing remnants from this period in history and what have been found are mostly peasant's clothes, made at home, and often boasting rather strange cuts and stitching. Most of what is assumed from the clothing of this era is what is seen in the artwork. The general idea is pretty close to what you find in Hollywood movies, so I did not spend much time in description. The only thing that stands out in the novel is mentions of color codes in clothing. Color coding started in medieval courts and even at the time, there was no concensus of the meaning of different colors. I mentioned that green was the color for love. Some sources claim this as fact, others dispute it.

Lastly, there is the attack of the castle. The weak point in a castle of this era (which was very early --there would be no spirals, no round towers, nothing of the disney picture just yet) was the corner. I was shocked to learn this and figured that if I incorporated that into the raid, I would not be believed and would be instantly discredited by readers. This is why the attack focuses on the penetrating the castle through the gates. Men with crossbows are stationed on the walls. Crossbows were actually illegal at this time, though the law was hardly enforced. They were not an accurate weapon, but could easily be given to untrained men, and for them it was probably their best bet out of the choices given. The battering ram is described as splintering into nothing. This is commonly noted in the ballads of the era, though I have never seen it portrayed in fiction.

So many people have asked me which version of Robin Hood this novel is meant to resemble most. The answer is none of them. Guy and Marion's relationship is generally thought to come from the most recent BBC series, but I actually started writing this novel before that series was released and as you can see, the relationship appears very early in the book. Forest scenes have been compared to the Kevin Costner movie and I suppose they do bare a resemblence. Quite a few people have said that this novel is not an accurate reflection of the most popular written version, Howard Pyle's masterpiece. It was not meant to be. In fact, I have never read his version. The controversial, darker portrayal of Robin Hood was inspired by the oldest of the original ballads. Originally, he was simply a thug and even when the "steal from the rich to give to the poor" motif comes into play, he is still much more brutal than the commonly accepted narrative. In the first ballad where Sir Guy makes an appearance, he is an innocent, traveling nobleman. Robin Hood needs to get into the castle at Nottingham, so he kills Sir Guy, steals his clothes, redresses the corpse, then completely mutilates Sir Guy's face with a knife. Robin leaves the body by the road and people assume that Robin is dead. I did not want to push the envelope so far, obviously. I can't have my hero mutilating the corpses of people who have commited no crime but to be born an aristocrat. However, you can see where Robin Hood was not always portrayed as the gallant, Errol Flynn in tights, perfect character recognizable to most of us.

All of this is to say, that my novel, like most, has its accurate points and its inaccurate points, led by history which is sometimes known to be fact and is sometimes guessed by historians. I am sure that even since I wrote it, accepted theories about this period have changed. I hope however, that the entertainment shines through in spite of any flaws in its history.

Review of Vikings

I want to start out this review by noting that, like all television series, the intent of The History Channel’s Vikings is purely entertainment. It is not a documentary, and therefore perfect fact and accuracy should not expected of it. Therefore, as I note anachronisms below, I am in no way saying that they ruin the show. I do, however, think there is an interesting discussion to be had on the subject and that is all this is meant to be.

This series follows the adventures of Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), his wife Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick), and his brother Rollo (Clive Standen). The cast is, in order, Australian, Canadian, and English, so the first hurdle to overcome is the varying accents. Fimmel tries out a pseudo-Scandinavian accent while Winnick sounds trans-Atlantic and Standen just speaks in RP English. I have to admit that this distracted me for the entire first episode even though it’s really not that big of a deal. This show is produced for an English speaking audience, so writing it in one of the Old Germanic languages or even one of the modern ones would be entirely pointless. It does take getting used to, though.

Vikings reflects very little of what is known of the real culture of its subjects. In general, Vikings lived and operated in hirds, large family groups rather like clans, not in nuclear family units as portrayed. The villain in the series is Lord Haroldson, portrayed by Gabriel Byrne. Most countries had either no hierarchy or a very loose one, as Scandinavians operated under the ideal that all men but slaves were equals. Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule. Denmark, for example, was probably the most organized country with very powerful kings dating back almost 100 years before the setting of this series. The title of Earl and the power the character wields both seem unlikely and out of place in this setting, however.

It is not clear in the program how much territory Haroldson controls, but within that territory, all of the free men make an oath of their loyalty to him as soon as they reach maturity. Haroldson controls how the men train, where they raid, what their spoils are, and what he keeps. He oversees all legal issues and his judgments are given as law. Most disputes in this age were settled between families. The punishment for murder was almost always a fine, not death, as portrayed here. Theft and rape were considered much more serious offenses and I believe that the way Haroldson keeps his men’s plunder would have been considered theft by the Vikings.

So far, there are only two women characters on the show, Lagertha and Haroldson’s wife Siggy. I have to say that the portrayal of the female characters is rather disappointing as they occupy the usual cliché sphere of either warrior babe or damsel in distress. A Viking woman’s place in society was far more interesting than that and I think that this show is missing a huge opportunity in that regard.

 I don’t want to go too in depth here, because this post is getting long already, but Viking women were treated differently from most European women of the era. Violence against women was not tolerated. For a man to strike his wife was an abominable offense, and in one of the sagas it actually leads to the husband’s death. Women could easily obtain a divorce, ran the household’s finances, and were usually involved in all major decisions. Rape was punishable by death and even unwanted touching procured an enormous fine. Widows could own land and businesses and, though a father could force his daughter into her first marriage, it was generally frowned upon. Women in the sagas are revered for their power, wisdom, and influence, with beauty being almost secondary.

Now, Siggy’s character is, I think, moving in the direction of the shrewd, political woman, so I am looking forward to that. Lagertha hasn’t really shown much personality yet. She is a former “shield maiden” (entirely made-up concept as far as I can tell) and so fights with the boys and goes on raids. She’s crazy about her husband, but little else. I just don’t think the writers are sure of where they’re going yet. Siggy and Haroldson’s daughter was just introduced, married off, and widowed within about five minutes of screen time, so she may be another leading lady. We have yet to see.

As for the male characters, Ragnar is a curious explorer and feared warrior. Sometimes his pride veers into arrogance, particularly when he deals with his brother. He is gentle at home and brutal during raids. I think his character has merit, but the acting at this point is a little stale. Rollo vacillates between villain and hero with jealousy being his guiding characteristic. I think he’s another example of the writers being unsure of where they are going. If he is to be based on Rollo the Ganger, as some people are guessing, he has a long way to go. Gabriel Byrne is not only the most famous, but definitely the best actor in the series which is all I can say about him without giving spoilers.

The costumes, hair, and makeup are truly atrocious at this point and, as this show is reinventing itself episode by episode, I hope they get a major overhaul. There is really no excuse for how horrible and weird all of these impossibly gorgeous actors look. All of the costumes up until last night’s episode seemed to be some shade of grey, but it could just be mud. Vikings were actually known to wash their faces twice a day and to bathe twice a week, but obviously mud just makes things look cool. Plus, eyeliner. Lots and lots and lots of black eyeliner. An entire Wet N’ Wild pencil applied generally in the direction of woman’s eyes looks amazing. Not.

Quick historical facts: it was illegal for a woman to show her arms or for a man to wear a cloak that dragged the ground, French braiding was not invented yet, tattoos were blue, men plucked their eyebrows, married women wore their husband’s family’s coronet, Vikings didn’t knit, and there was no true black dye. Nevertheless, I would settle for any anachronisms as long as everyone stopped looking like walking petri dishes containing a thick stew of myriad infectious diseases.

The show is filmed in Ireland  and the cinematography is stunning. The ships are too small and would not have had sails in this year, but they are otherwise impressive and fairly authentic looking.

Overall, I think this series is fun. It is only in the middle of its first series and is still getting on its feet. I’m definitely looking forward to more and I may even post more about it later.