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House of a medieval English peasant, 13th-15th century AD
(thelemmy.club)
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this post was submitted on 06 May 2026
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How do you happily play the flute while asphyxiating from that smoke, cow gas, and the smell of decomposing carcasses hanging above?
Edit: instrument
I'm a medieval reenactor and I have slept in those conditions. It's really not bad! There is little to no smoke. There may not have been chimneys, but there are holes for the smoke to escape. And a good fire has little smoke. The meat is dried/cured/smoked and doesn't smell. The cows, well, you get used to it. Ask any farmer.
Of course, close contact with farm animals is a major vector for new viruses (like pox and covid). There's a reason life expectancy was significantly lower in the Middle Ages, especially for young children.
I'm also a medieval reenactor :D 14th century mercenaries. If you think about it, we "cheat" all the time by having tents for everyone, plenty of food, sanitary facilities (even if it's only portaloos), being vaccinated, etc. Campaign life would be a lot less enjoyable if we actually kept it authentic.
My grandad used to say "Many a man has frozen to death, but nobody's ever stunken to death yet." when us kids threw open a window one too many times for his taste in winter.
("Is schon mancher erfroren, aber noch keiner erstunken.")
Hehe, "erstunken". German is so poetic xD
People can get used to anything!
Strange to think what a late invention the (house) chimney was! It wasn't until the late Renaissance that chimneys began to be a standard feature of homes.
Same way you can hum along to the radio while baking in a hot car and smothering in exhaust fumes.
Isn't that a flute?
Yes! Thank you!