themerger 938 Posted October 2, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted October 2, 2017 I stumbled upon a fascinating- seemingly meticulous account- of life at Kensington Palace (20th century home to Princess Diana of Wales) in the court of King George I and II in 18th Century England, titled: The Courtiers: Splendor and Intrigue in the Georgian Court at Kensington Palace by Lucy Worsley Inside, two particularly vivid accounts struck me- and I quote: 1. "The use of chamber pots at court was not necessarily restricted to private moments: the French ambassador's wife, for example, was notorious for the 'frequency and quantity of her pissing which she does not fail to do at least ten times a day amongst a cloud of witnesses'." Citation provided in the book 2. "And it was not possible to leave the royal presence without permission. One lady-in-waiting with a bursting bladder was forced to urinate on the floor, producing a humiliating puddle as big as a dining table which threatened the shoes of bystanders." Again citation provided in the book I wish that I could access Worsley's Sources page via Google Books; I find the second account about the lady-in-waiting (too long) particularly interesting (dining-table sized puddle?!) Has anyone else stumbled upon any histories detailing bladder bursting situations like these? DsGSilver, Anubis, rachelkirwan and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment
MasterOptometrist 594 Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 I remember reading somewhere - and I can't back this up at all so maybe it was BS - that back in Versailles times female courtiers used to just find a secluded hallway in which to basically wet themselves rather than try to remove their ridiculous dresses, on account of the lack of plumbing. This was apparently just considered normal and the place smelled like pee real bad for a while; servants would just have to be around to mop up. EmmaWees, DsGSilver and themerger 3 Quote Link to comment
Adrian6970wc 243 Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 It sounds like a 'must have' book! Quote Link to comment
Ronyo 806 Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Don't forget for the most part people back then weren't as worried about being smelly, it was quite normal. Quote Link to comment
FreeFall 1 Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 Ronyo has a point. Hell, back then deodorant wasn't even a thing (other than, I guess, dried flowers). I think people were less shocked or grossed out by bodily functions. Quote Link to comment
themerger 938 Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 On 10/2/2017 at 5:18 PM, MasterOptometrist said: I remember reading somewhere - and I can't back this up at all so maybe it was BS - that back in Versailles times female courtiers used to just find a secluded hallway in which to basically wet themselves rather than try to remove their ridiculous dresses, on account of the lack of plumbing. This was apparently just considered normal and the place smelled like pee real bad for a while; servants would just have to be around to mop up. Yes! That seems the consensus of Versailles in numerous histories. I found this story- as corroborated in period texts- particularly interesting: "Th ruthlessly honest Duc de Saint-Simon once said of the Princesse d'Harcourt that she would often urinate while walking making her hated by the many servants who had to clean up after her." http://thisisversaillesmadame.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-lack-of-toilets.html?m=1 EmmaWees, rachelkirwan and Bismiris 3 Quote Link to comment
rachelkirwan 13,626 Posted May 4, 2018 🌟 OmoOrg VIP Share Posted May 4, 2018 Why does this semi-clinical older style of writing get me almost immediately wet? 5 hours ago, themerger said: Yes! That seems the consensus of Versailles in numerous histories. I found this story- as corroborated in period texts- particularly interesting: "Th ruthlessly honest Duc de Saint-Simon once said of the Princesse d'Harcourt that she would often urinate while walking making her hated by the many servants who had to clean up after her." http://thisisversaillesmadame.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-lack-of-toilets.html?m=1 EmmaWees 1 Quote Link to comment
scinosensation 543 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 There is a now decades old book "Life On Man" which has a chapter that describes one of the Kings of England, a king Richard I think who so loved hunting (actually chasing after captive foxes) that he would be out all day with his hunting party and never dismount (Quoted from memory so may not completely accurate) "leaving a fine mess for his (servants? I forgot the exact word) to clean up" themerger 1 Quote Link to comment
Weasel 1,097 Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 Combining several of the prior ideas, I've read that Louis XIV (builder of Versailles and an outright tyrant) loved hunting, and would have his wife, mistress, and other women along in a carriage while he rode horseback, and he would refuse to stop even to let them out to pee... even when his wife was pregnant! That must have led to some frantic times or some wet seats or both. The same book said that Louis was alone for only two hours in his entire life. His courtiers would compete to bring him the chamber pot every morning. I guess when you're king, everything's awesome and nothing is shameful, so no need for privacy. I don't have the book any more but it was a book by Robert Massie on Peter the Great (Louis XIV just got a chapter, but it certainly caught my attention). Bismiris 1 Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.