RomanceEverAfter

Romantic Tales - Medieval
Health & Sanitation

No Such Thing as Toilet Paper!

The romance stories that take place in the Medieval period are filled with beautiful clothes, intrigue, love and adventure.  Of course, the practicalities of day-to-day living are never revealed.  When was the last time our heroine excused herself to visit the garderobe.

The Garderobes

The garderobes were like an indoor outhouse.  These were small openings built into the hall and tower for bodily elimination.  The garderobe was a raised stoned platform with a hole in the middle.  The waste "dropped through a drain shaft into a cesspool or into the moat." (Imagine what the moat waters looked like!)

The garderobes would be flushed out regularly with water that was brought in via a cistern or water tank in the tower.  In the early castles, the servants cleaned out the garderobes by hand using a bucket of water and a cloth.  Although washed, the smell from these "indoor outhouses" found its way to rooms located nearby.  Perhaps the inhabitants of the castle were accustomed to the odor as this was a way of life, but it certainly couldn't have been pleasant.

Toilet Paper

If you were to travel back in time, you would sadly discover that toilet paper didn't exist in the Medieval age.  In lieu of this modern convenience, handfuls of straw or hay, known as "torche-culs," were utilized.  Another device called the "gomphus," a curved stick, was also used.  

Return to Home Page