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MrSpectre98 t1_j1hsgkz wrote

I think it's dependable on the period and area. The Vikings (or more properly Scandinavians) were notorious for their good hygiene, which, kind of, put to shame the Anglo-Saxons who bathed much rarer. In the 11th century, an otherwise unknown Trotula of Salerno wrote "De ornatu mulierum" a detailed guidebook for proper hygiene of women. John, King of England was known to take a tub along with a "tub-ward" on his journeys. In Poland of High Middle Ages public baths were very common and cheap, and Polish King Władysław Jagiełło (r. 1386-1434) kept a very high hygiene - even receipts for repairs and extensions to the baths he used have survived. Finally, there survived several treatises detailing bathing techniques, such as "Magninius Mediolanesis" and "Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum" - both from Apenine Penninsula from 13th and 14th century respectively.

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hillo538 t1_j1ibepv wrote

They didn’t understand germ theory, I’ve read about their baths, they’d use one tub of water and they’d all blow their nose in it and spit in there before the next guy used it

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