I'm amused by the idea of Shad meandering through these old castles pointing out little rooms and niches and going "you could do it in there, you could do it in there, and in there..."
. "A tumble in the hay." "Roll in the sack." "Turns in the cabbage patch." "A little bed play." Maybe there was a saying like, "Singing in the alcove." or "Sharing the window space."
The brigandine hoodie looks cool though I'd like it in different colors than just red. I'd get it in navy blue / indigo... maybe with brass-colored rivets. Also, summer just started so it's gonna be too warm to wear a hoodie for a long time...
The hoodies dont ship out until august, so it'll be more appropriate by time they actually come out. But yeah, more colors would be a great addition for sure
Privacy wasn't really a thing in those times. At least not for non-lords. In reality, it was normal for people to engage in intimate activities with others in the same room. Particularly the children, because they often spent all of every day at their parents' side. The children were generally expected to just ignore it and/or look away, because while sex wasn't really taboo, blatantly watching would be. The most common time privacy was generally sought out was unmarried persons, whether as youth or those committing adultery. Ironically, since churches most sat empty, this was one of the few places a couple could engage in 'sinful' relations and expect to not be seen.
@@Blurns Maybe. It's honestly hard to imagine what it's truly like living in such an incredibly different world. That far in the past almost doesn't feel like the same planet anymore. We all can look at the technology (or lack thereof) and how the world was physically different. The things that get more lost to time are the societal differences. The way people perceived their own world when it was the only version of society they could possibly know. We have examples from other parts of the world where the ancient culture has been well-preserved, but medieval Europe got white-washed so hard as the church changed things we really didn't get to preserve what their true way of life was like.
I like it man, you turned a trip to castles. Not only into a nice family trip, but alot of info to the rest of us that haven’t been to them. And you explore more of the subtle things that we might not have thought about. Love your work man, keep it up. Even if youtube dont like you. Lol
Area for changing and such... castles had very little privacy 😂 Could also be a knights room. A baron with a dozen knights would still have to take care of those knights. Not equals, but something close. They also might have a dedicated surgeon/healer... someone trained to remove arrows and bind wounds.
@@kevinsears7300 i doubt that castles don't have a lot of privacy. castles have to prepare for sieges and have to be somewhat self-sufficient. that leads to a couple of unfrequented rooms you can go to for privacy. stable, storage, bedrooms, some defensive parts, workshop and more are not always occupied but necessary in a castle. yes there might not be much inbuilt or intended privacy but you can make do. also consider that a castle is not full in times of peace. you need more capacity for soldiers in war than for residents in peace. while a castle in war, especially under siege, will be very crowded, the same castle might only have a dozen permanent inhabitant that could entirely avoid each other.
@@BayWa4eva a BARONS castle has a typical garrison of around 50-150... thats just men at arms... youll see around 7 or 8 at a gatehouse, a handful at various towers... several training in the castle yard... and this is for a baron... all those troops add up... 50 is a pretty low number in times of peace, while times of war might see this drop to around 20 if the small baron is called to serve his leige in battle. A mott and baily is prettymuch the only castles that can be garrisoned by a force of 20 btw. Then theres typically the lord and lady, any aunt uncle, causins and so on... residents in a castle typically number around 200-300(counting the garrison of a typical Baron) But the good news is, most of the causins and such will have some kind of meaningful position in the castle, often these causins will earn their spurs and serve as knights, or work in the kitchens. Especially for barons and baronettes, because the relatives who were not the heir typically werent 'nobility' unless they they were knighted or married to a knight. Was different in scottland, where 90% or more of the castles residents were clan.
@@kevinsears7300 a "typical" castle has a rough time fitting 50-150 men in it for an extended time. are you only referring to huge movie castles? we have lots of castles around here and no there hasn't been a standing army in any of those. there has been a rather small permanent guard and some residents. if your castle needs 50-150 men-at-arms as guard it either is huge or it so vulnerable that you can barely even call it a castle.
@@BayWa4eva 50-150 is pretty standard for castles of barons... or are you forgetting that in addition to being able to provide security, with 2 shifts of guards, they typically had a handful of messengers and escorts for nobles, 50 is likely as few as any castle got after mott and baileys were phased out. It took money to build a castle, but a castle typically had a minimum of a lord, 3 knights, and 50 men at arms. In england and france both, your smallest castles would garrison 15-20 bowmen, either crossbows or longbows... then you had at least 10 riders. These would use their lords horses, wear their lords colors, and be sent with messages or as escorts then you has 20-25 soldiers within the garrison that used weapons from maces to swords to halberds and spears... half of these would be on sentry duty at any time, with around 10 stationed at the main entrance.. And we are talking the smalkest castles... In times of war, when the lord left one of his knights in charge, this number might drop to 20, as he took the rest with him to battle... In scottland, a clan had anywhere from 50 to 300 trained fighting men... 50 meant they lost a few fights and were on their last legs... however in scottland, these were all clan, family of the chieftain. Logically, the minimum 50 makes perfect sense, when you stop and actually use the brain rattling in your head. 20 is the barest minimum needed to defend the smallest castles... and you had guards sleeping in shifts, AND troops to go into battle with the lord... in times of peace, when the lord was at home, the men at arms he takes to war are at home too... When we look at spain and italy, the numbers run closer to 100 for the smallest castles. If you look at an Asian castle, expect their smallest castles to have a garrison of at least 300. India and china both. When we look at walled towns throughour sweden and denmark, we are looking at around 70-80 on the lowest ends, plus around 50-100 men in the torn itself that train on a set day each week and can be called up to fight... but remember in their situation they positioned around 20 guards at each entrance, and typically built fortified towns around a crossroads. IF you had less than 50, you wouldnt have a castle long... a garrison of 30 can hold out for reinforcements, but cannot send fighting men to aid neighbors and allies... you'd be conquered if 2 wolfships or a single dragonship full of ostmen showed up... (aviking is a verb, ostmen is the correct term) the dragons were military sgips with a crew of around 100-120, and a wolfship is the more famous raiding ships, crewed with around 30-40 men... the horseships were wider, cargo vessels, and had a crew of 10-15... rowers sail trimmers, sheethandlers, a skirl... the greek tritemes had 15 oars asside, banked, so 2 rowers per oar, 60 rowers, plus around 30 fighting men... a few of these could easily overwhelm a small castle as well if their garrison was too small. Just THINK ABOUT IT
Shad you don't want to put a bed next to a medieval glas window. I don't know how it is in GB but in Germany, the winters can be quite harsh. In my youth I found my self fortuned enough to sleep in a room with a Butzen window and a oil stove. And from that I know, that the cold air will creep from that window on to your bed and that isn't a nice thing. So the best place for a bed is infront of the fire place and in winter you want to close the shutters on the windows and have curtens cutting of the cold from the windows. PS: In winter I had two blankets and long angora underwear as my sleeping gear.
Thanks to being an island, GB stays a little warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than you might think. I suspect an east facing window might have someone that needs to be up with first light. A west window would warm in the evening and carry that through much of the night.
I really doubt there was glass in those windows at the time. I don't remember what people would use for insulation back then, but glass was hella expensive, so it would be an insane flex to have glass windowpanes. Also, a castle is meant to withstand sieges, where a lot of stuff would be flying at the towers to potentially break the glass (even through closed shutters), so this flex could be rather short-lived, too. All this to say, it could've been even colder 😅
Well, arrow loops are designed to be opened during a siege so that's not a concern. And large windows would only be put safe distance from the ground if ever. And glass is just one option. You can have a fish bladder or oiled linen cloth. They would not be see-through as they diffuse the light heavily, but they would stop wind while letting the room be lit.
A good point, although it could have been used just in the summer. I also don't know who wants to wake up with the sun. I think medieval beds often had their own curtains for reasons.
I'll admit, I usually save your videos to my watch later list and forget to watch for weeks. That thumbnail? Watching right this second, thank you very much.
Procreating another in a dark room with few small children sound asleep might sound dubious or immoral to outsiders, not really to the ones whose flesh and blood these blessings are. Obviously, be very very mindful, NOT to wake up the ones already out of the uterus. A woeful cry in the night will instantly seize ALL of your attention. Just listen.
It's only considering traumatizing to us today because that's our current morals. Other peoples, throughout the ages and including tribal people today, think nothing of sleeping and being intimate in the same room as the whole family.
That societal discomfort is quite recent and comes from people's jealousy of sex, back then you were married off at 16 and were expected to have sex with your husband or wife or a divorce was in order, in fact the way they figured out if you were having sex is by having sex in front of a room full of strangers, people back then really didn't care about public sex, they only cared about sex outside of mariage. As the bible said its a sin to deny sex to your husband or wife as much as its a sin to have sex outside of marriage. So people just went like, yeah if the bible says so thats our morals, it really doesen't matter where you were if your partner wants it you gotta do it, the only exception to this rule was if you needed time to pray. So people who didn't want to have sex had to go to another room and pray until their partner fell asleep which happened a lot more with men than with women at the time mostly because there was no contraceptives and women had literally nothing else to do in life appart from giving birth and raising children.
Always loved these kinds of videos. Never gave much thought to these places until its brought up which at that point my mind starts racing while learning about the history of them
I think tapestries were smaller, usually... but maybe I could be wrong. The wall hangings/carpets Shad was talking about span an entire wall, acting more like a wallpaper than a painting (which is what I imagine a tapestry is more like)
@@_Squiggle_ Nah, wall hanging is a broad category, tapestry is the specific thing he is talking about and there ain't no size limit. The famous bayeux tapestry is 70 meters long and most tapestries are floor to ceiling.
The sheer amount of content you keep releasing from your trip to the British Isles is honestly staggering. Thanks for all the hard work my guy(s)! Love these videos! I feel like we need a campfire story about Shad's trip, something like, "... and they say his spirit wanders the castles to this day. When the light hits the castle walls just right, you can still hear his voice echoing amongst the battlements, "Machiculaaaaationnnnnssssssss....... Goooorrrrgeoussssssss...... Waaaaaaaallll caaaaarpetttssssssss......" ".
I suppose the parents throughout the games learned to do it after the children are asleep or outside playing. Also being that families tended to be quite large, my bet is that they were quite good at it hahah.
There is no point in using any other material unless you live in a place that absolutely doesn't have stone - even desert people use SANDSTONE that easily lasts 5000 years if not damaged, unlike modern materials that inevitably rot away.
@@MauricioOsuna-et8et This is assuming you want to create such permanent structures. Many cultures especially more nomadic ones might not feel the need.
@@MauricioOsuna-et8et My point is that its all about the reason you build and solving problems. Not about making the absolute "best" thing ever. You don't need a quantum computer to play Doom.
Yep. Concrete is cheap and fast but it crumbles in about fifty years. The Romans made some high quality concrete though. Anyway we should return to building for the ages. Yes it take longer and are more expensive but a thousand years later your new house could still be lived in with some modernising.
Oh snap, I need that hoodie. I can’t afford full gear kinda stuff but this is a perfect blend of passion and function. Will order one sometime in July! Unless they are gone. Dammit! Lol
The thumbnail made me think of noc na Karlštejně. It's Czech histrical musical, about a castle where women were banned from. There's this one song called Asi do věží, (maybe in the towers) with lyrics being man wondering where lovers could hide, because they don't believe men could make it without love, and concluding lovers hide in the towers... Thrns out to be just a window, but still cool
I know it's a slim chance that shad will read this. But have you looked at legacy blades No-Dachi sets. They are only 400$(US) and absurdly sturdy. The one I have is made with 9260 modern spring steel. I think Shad may appreciate the price and quality of such a fine blade.
My first thought was you want seats by the windows for sewing or other handcrafts. Especially when you have windows on opposite sides of the room, you could move to the other alcove as the sun moves through the day. You've got room in each for a good few people to sit together with good light for various tasks.
Personally, that seems like the more likely option to me. Likewise, that sort of little room seems like the sort of place I'd locate my writing desk if I lived in a castle.
Not to mention, if two windows were positioned across from each other in the same room, they could double as a makeshift cooling system. Remember, Europe, especially southern France, Spain, Italy and other countries touching the Mediterranean, have hot summers.
Let's go, baby, to the ramparts, So you and me can-a ram parts ... Not gonna make it in the damn carts I wanna take ya up to the ramparts Okay, that's the chorus ...
Reminded of the novel "The Greatest Knight" by Elizabeth Chadwick. Sir William Marshal and his wife Isabel are given a bed in the great hall, with either curtains or wooden dividers for privacy. They do married couple things as quietly as they can.
In fact, yes. The old word for dungeon is "donjon", which means keep. Originally they kept prisoners there, because that was the most defensible place, and prisoners usually were nobility anyway.
They did keep prisoners in tower rooms, but such inmates would have been of exalted rank. You'd place your high value hostages under similar conditions as you would have lived under back then as a noble. When actual dungeons were used for holding captives, it would have primarily been for those the lord wanted to break down, like their worst enemies. For the unlucky souls the lord of the manor REALLY wanted to do away with, they'd end up executed by being chucked or lowered into an oubliette/bottle dungeon where death would usually come via starvation and dehydration. The oubliette was designed to be absolutely impossible to escape from and is thus technically a variety of immurement (the process or condition of being walled up alive). The term "dungeon" is derived from "donjon", which was the keep of the castle. Despite the terms often being synonymous with "tower", the keep wasn't always a tower, it was simply the main dwelling of a castle.
An aside for the "whole family in one room" idea here, in thos case it would be family members of the nobles that own the castle. So their children would have ensured jobs lined up for them at a very young age or even at birth. Sons that are squires may not spend all year in this one room as the knight they squire for might have duties that necessitated travel, such as guarding their lord as he visits the king for some kind of political duty. Daughters might spend much of the day learning to be ladies, and doing their own chores, and may travel with their parents or other relatives to balls and courts. These things are a limited list of examples since the things they'd do would change somewhat woth the times and the location of the castle, but it's import to remember that it wouldn't likely be overly crowded all year long in that room. It may even be viewed as almost seasonal, or on a basis of fortnights and months. But when it was crowded, the excess body heat might even help reduce how much wood they'd need on the fireplace.
Hey Shad, I was wondering, have you ever made any videos over the years covering wall defenses from late to early antiquity? I’ve often wondered how exactly defending a keep or a town worked back then as by many modern representations it would seem defenses back then where nowhere near as intricate as they became in the medieval period. Walls being big naked blocks of stone, few merlons and even earlier then that in the bronze age! I think this could make for a very interesting subject as we often associate city defenses with the medieval period 😊
I was in a castle in france last week and many rooms were for family or guest but also the captain of the guards had his own room in the castle and it was quite a big one. Fireplace, aditional writing/reading room attached to the mainroom with a doorway, multiple windows.
The jump cut between different castles and the monologue continuing was so smooth I had trouble understanding he must've filmed those entirely separately. Stunningly good directing.
Comment for the algorhytm Also, for those who think these rooms are too small for an entire family, it also has to be taken into consideration that people back then spent most of their time outside if possible. That's why (aside the obvious finances) for example peasant's houses were small or sometimes seemingly even impractical (from our modern perspective) up until quite recently. Of course, this can vary depending on the region and culture.
In my home town, there's a small log cabin smaller than my bedroom. If I recall, a family of ten or so lived there. This castle room would be huge to that family.
It seems highly probable that someone worked in needlecraft in the bench alcove. A reasonably comfortable seat is helpful but good light is essential and so are fingers warm enough to be nimble.
Something else with a room like that is that it might also be a workable room for a traveling "master" that they might be needing the services of for a short time. Such as an armorer might be hired to make the Lord a new set, or painter for a portrait or a sculptor for a statue...putting them up in the castle while they work on it is something that could be a major thing there. It's large enough to also have room to work from if needed. You would also have rooms like that which would probably also be used for storage most of the time, then if there was an issue or visitor in need, they'd clear them out and hang things up for them and it's ready to go. Plus you might have some as armories or similar during peaceful times, or just additional stores of things that would be non-perishable stashed that could be shuffled around if they need the actual rooms. Hell, a lot of them might even be reserved for various higher ranked or specialists that they'd need if there was a siege to give them a safer spot during it. Such as getting the village smith or smiths places that they know is reserved for them and their family while they're inside the castle rather than sticking them with everyone else.
In my village, we still use wall carpets in my parent's house because our walls are whitewashed and touching them would stain clothes. Additionally carpets keep from cold when you want to sit with your back pressed against the wall 😁. And they really do look good, although washing them is a nightmare😂
Considering thick linen would have fairly good sound-blocking effects if used well, that's an entirely plausible idea. As long as what happens in there isn't especially loud, it would pretty much be totally unclear what's happening behind the cloth. There's also the reality that people in that time range were probably a bit more comfortable talking about certain things than average people now are, so if one area had a main use during the day but was a sort of unspoken privacy zone for that to keep kids from seeing it, it would make some sense. There would definitely be somewhere couples would have to go for that if they had kids or even other adults around, and inside a castle there aren't too many places that come to mind as being especially comfortable for it while also being fairly private.
An alcove is, in the European context, a room or cubicle without windows, which is designed as a bedroom and with an entrance from an adjacent room. This is what i found about the word Alkove in Danish I don't think that people would have their beds against the thin outer wall an the one layer non termoglas it would be too cold in winter. Because of your last videos about castles, I want to investigate some of the Danish castles,thank you very much i might have a new hobby ❤ Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰
Women might have sat in the window alcove areas to work on embroidery or weaving tapestries or just sewing where they needed better light. Not sure how many people back then would have been writing or reading as there were few books , everything was still handwritten before Gutenberg’s printing press, etc.
Oh I am so tempted to get that zip up hoodie, Shad. You have no idea how hard it is to find them here in Kentucky for men's, strangely. Would it be possible to create a black hoodie with your coat of arms on it like what you wore in the video? Something about it is very Gucci, if I may say so, very Chanel. I'd love to sport your coat of arms in the form of a zip up hoodie. Thank you so much Team and Shad!
If you ever felt like making a blue brigandine I would buy it without hesitation just so you know. I hesitate to buy the red and black because, my Alliance loyalty runs deep. I am not one to sport red and black. I would love to sport the blue, or gold and black.
Mauterndorf Castle in Austria has a great example of these large tower rooms. One of the rooms multiple stories up even has a blacksmith furnace across from the normal fire place.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains!". Suddenly the stories, comical strips or scenes in animated movies seems to make a bit more sense about thieves, spies, and assassins hiding behind curtains or concealed passageways being more likely. Perhaps some of those little holes we see in certain castles or gatehouses that don't make much sense were intended to be hidden behind wall draping to allow for sounds to travel to certain ears.
What crosses my mind is the medieval box bed. It would have been warm. And it could have been used to subdivide the room. Wardrobes, armoires, and chests would have been used to store items and would have been easy to move from place to place. All of would have shaped traffic in the room.
Wat were the floors made out of. How do atone floors hold up in these places. They didn't use rebar so I'm interested in how the structure is supported alongside te silent strength
I'd also imagine that privacy for 'getting intimate' was probably viewed as less important than today. Even if they were used as you describe with curtains, you'd still be able to hear everything... like students in dorms today I guess.
I normally don't like the Medieval sensual vids (I'm probably an anomaly), but I did click on this one only because Shad's face on the preview image is hilarious.
Just a guess, but a secluded well lit area like that, would be ideal for the lady of the house & her ladies in waiting, to do embroidery, tapestry work etc.
In german castles the women, including the ladies, would sit in those window alcowes and do needlework. An insane amount of work was needed to produce clothing, sheets, carpets or cushions from wool or linnen. They needed daylight, and they needed it warm. You can't sow a seam or stitch a pattern with freezing fingers and no light to see what you do. Those rooms were the "kemenate", the womens'chamber. The medieval german word is surely connected to the word "Kamin", engl. "Chimney".
the alcove near the doors is probably for guards, the one near the fire to store purified water and chopped wood for drying by the fire. the alcove slightly higher up, is for the servants to collect and purfy water and maintain wood supply as well as cooking the food. where each side was probably for husband and wife + child. as the door for guards is probably 4 guards 2 per 12hr shift rotations. presumably being 8 people and 2 kids with food and water storages. meanwhile the fireplace isnt just the heat for the guards and workers. but shafts the heat threw the stone. as privacy and intimacy is less a point of importance for servants and guards within a medieval period. as if they wanted a "shag" they would lay down the shag carpets for mating and bedding, and less about hanging up the shag for "intimacy" as it is still a common term today... "so do yah fancy a shag" aka is your female parts sensitive needing to lay down a blanket, less of a question to if the female wants to or not. as more about reproductive health and common entertainments, and less about intimacies. and might ask why are all 4 guards at the door and not of higher statue to the servents. well the guards at the door with possessions at the door, if something happened, then the sleeping wake to also guard. meanwhile females in aspect to protect are slightly higher up not just because female. but because wood and food attracts bugs, and heat rises and women bleed. so smoke rising up helps keep bugs from going into the area. curious of the fireplace has a masonic lutz or lazel stack going across the floor for heated floors on 2nd level or if the stack rises straight up.
Since medieval europe was catholic wouldnt these rooms be more useful to pray, say the rosary, quiet contemplation/meditation. Im not saying they couldn't use it as a shag hole, but considering that in Elizabeth I and further down the century's (charles II sticks out to me) had "closets" where they could go and pray and meditate on The Word. I remember Lucy Worsley doing a bit in one of her documentaries where these tiny rooms not much bigger than an alcove were richly decorated and held a chair and maybe a kneeler. I think people forget just how devoute the whole continent was. Another point I think if the kids are asleep the parents would just shag in bed. My grandads family owned a pub up until I think the 70s and my grandad always said when the yanks showed up he and his brother had to sleep on trundle beds in their parents room and he always had a chip of his shoulder for them having to make room for the officers. I can't imagine anyone not shagging for 4 years. The pub stopped serving at midnight and then there was clean up only to wake up again at 6am latest to cook breakfast for a whole regiment. Last point please stop calling it a wall carpet. Its an incredably skillful needlepoint tapastry. I attempted it a few years back and quickly gave up. That took so much time and skill im in awe of the women who did it. There is a beautiful one, I think it is in the British Museum called something like the hunt of the unicorn. Its so beautiful its like any art by Rubens, michealangelo, or Van Eyke.
On an unrelated topic: do you lot have bayonets by any chance. Sharp ones, I mean. Specifically the model that had been used by the Australian Light Horse during the Great War. If yes, it would be nice to have a review of one to be posted on the 31th of October (the 107th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheeba, the last great cavalry charge in history. Which was performed by Australian mounted infantrymen (with tremendous success), who were using their bayonets (held in their hands, not attached to guns) instead of swords (which they didn't have, not actually having been cavalry))
The first rule of Places for Sexy Acts is: If it is possible that the couple would not be caught, or in the instances of disregard for getting caught, then every and any place can be and has been used for sexy acts
What do you call it when an iguana has intimacy issues?
A reptile dysfunction.
What do you call it when a Garand misfires?
Projectile Dysfunction.
Lol, you ripped that off from BG3.
@@abear7199Who cares? It was funny and pertinent to the video.
@@AFVEH I care because it's interesting.
What do you call a gunner with a grenade launcher and diarrhea? Explosive disfunction
I'm amused by the idea of Shad meandering through these old castles pointing out little rooms and niches and going "you could do it in there, you could do it in there, and in there..."
Yeah, Christians are weird. ;)
Listen, once you have kids your mind starts racing, looking for any spot of privacy to make more
@@bokrugthewaterserpent3012 😁😇
😭
As an Exmo, I can confirm that Mormons always think "yep, you can get a quickie in there" any time we see an alcove or broom closet.
I reckon just about any place was used for intimacy sooner or later.
On the bed, on the floor
On a towel by the door
In the tub, in the car
Up against the mini-bar
@@sparkieT88in a recycling bin?
@@Springtrapisafurry We have some standards.
@@chipsdubbo6983 only some
@@chipsdubbo6983 well actually......
. "A tumble in the hay." "Roll in the sack." "Turns in the cabbage patch." "A little bed play." Maybe there was a saying like, "Singing in the alcove." or "Sharing the window space."
People get tired of their families sometimes. Instead of continuing a petty dispute, moving to the guest tower for a bit might be a nice break.
The brigandine hoodie looks cool though I'd like it in different colors than just red. I'd get it in navy blue / indigo... maybe with brass-colored rivets. Also, summer just started so it's gonna be too warm to wear a hoodie for a long time...
Yeah, the timing makes more sense in the southern hemisphere.
I always forget that it’s winter there this time of year
I know 😢 reds not my color. I hope they do more colors at some point😊
I'd probably choose one if it was in leather-brown colour with brigandine plate outlines visible... Likewise the chainmail hoodie seems nice..
The hoodies dont ship out until august, so it'll be more appropriate by time they actually come out. But yeah, more colors would be a great addition for sure
Being a light sleeper in those time must suck. The best place to get away from noise is where people get busy :(
Privacy wasn't really a thing in those times. At least not for non-lords. In reality, it was normal for people to engage in intimate activities with others in the same room. Particularly the children, because they often spent all of every day at their parents' side. The children were generally expected to just ignore it and/or look away, because while sex wasn't really taboo, blatantly watching would be.
The most common time privacy was generally sought out was unmarried persons, whether as youth or those committing adultery. Ironically, since churches most sat empty, this was one of the few places a couple could engage in 'sinful' relations and expect to not be seen.
You probably would have learned not to be a light sleeper at a young age.
@@Blurns Maybe. It's honestly hard to imagine what it's truly like living in such an incredibly different world. That far in the past almost doesn't feel like the same planet anymore.
We all can look at the technology (or lack thereof) and how the world was physically different. The things that get more lost to time are the societal differences. The way people perceived their own world when it was the only version of society they could possibly know.
We have examples from other parts of the world where the ancient culture has been well-preserved, but medieval Europe got white-washed so hard as the church changed things we really didn't get to preserve what their true way of life was like.
@@BlurnsIf you are working hard enough light sleeping isn't a problem.
@@TheDoc73 you're making a lot of assumptions and generalizations based on things you half read or watched
I like it man, you turned a trip to castles. Not only into a nice family trip, but alot of info to the rest of us that haven’t been to them. And you explore more of the subtle things that we might not have thought about.
Love your work man, keep it up. Even if youtube dont like you. Lol
"some pesants homes were smaller than this entire room".
well, i guess some things haven't changed.
Nothing galvanized square steel can't fix
Aware
I suspect curtains probably were used to close off the alcoves. Potentially used a lot in winter to keep out drafts from the windows.
Area for changing and such... castles had very little privacy 😂
Could also be a knights room. A baron with a dozen knights would still have to take care of those knights. Not equals, but something close.
They also might have a dedicated surgeon/healer... someone trained to remove arrows and bind wounds.
@@kevinsears7300 i doubt that castles don't have a lot of privacy. castles have to prepare for sieges and have to be somewhat self-sufficient. that leads to a couple of unfrequented rooms you can go to for privacy.
stable, storage, bedrooms, some defensive parts, workshop and more are not always occupied but necessary in a castle.
yes there might not be much inbuilt or intended privacy but you can make do.
also consider that a castle is not full in times of peace. you need more capacity for soldiers in war than for residents in peace. while a castle in war, especially under siege, will be very crowded, the same castle might only have a dozen permanent inhabitant that could entirely avoid each other.
@@BayWa4eva a BARONS castle has a typical garrison of around 50-150... thats just men at arms... youll see around 7 or 8 at a gatehouse, a handful at various towers... several training in the castle yard... and this is for a baron... all those troops add up... 50 is a pretty low number in times of peace, while times of war might see this drop to around 20 if the small baron is called to serve his leige in battle.
A mott and baily is prettymuch the only castles that can be garrisoned by a force of 20 btw.
Then theres typically the lord and lady, any aunt uncle, causins and so on... residents in a castle typically number around 200-300(counting the garrison of a typical Baron) But the good news is, most of the causins and such will have some kind of meaningful position in the castle, often these causins will earn their spurs and serve as knights, or work in the kitchens. Especially for barons and baronettes, because the relatives who were not the heir typically werent 'nobility' unless they they were knighted or married to a knight.
Was different in scottland, where 90% or more of the castles residents were clan.
@@kevinsears7300 a "typical" castle has a rough time fitting 50-150 men in it for an extended time. are you only referring to huge movie castles?
we have lots of castles around here and no there hasn't been a standing army in any of those. there has been a rather small permanent guard and some residents.
if your castle needs 50-150 men-at-arms as guard it either is huge or it so vulnerable that you can barely even call it a castle.
@@BayWa4eva 50-150 is pretty standard for castles of barons... or are you forgetting that in addition to being able to provide security, with 2 shifts of guards, they typically had a handful of messengers and escorts for nobles, 50 is likely as few as any castle got after mott and baileys were phased out. It took money to build a castle, but a castle typically had a minimum of a lord, 3 knights, and 50 men at arms. In england and france both, your smallest castles would garrison 15-20 bowmen, either crossbows or longbows... then you had at least 10 riders. These would use their lords horses, wear their lords colors, and be sent with messages or as escorts then you has 20-25 soldiers within the garrison that used weapons from maces to swords to halberds and spears... half of these would be on sentry duty at any time, with around 10 stationed at the main entrance..
And we are talking the smalkest castles...
In times of war, when the lord left one of his knights in charge, this number might drop to 20, as he took the rest with him to battle...
In scottland, a clan had anywhere from 50 to 300 trained fighting men... 50 meant they lost a few fights and were on their last legs... however in scottland, these were all clan, family of the chieftain.
Logically, the minimum 50 makes perfect sense, when you stop and actually use the brain rattling in your head. 20 is the barest minimum needed to defend the smallest castles... and you had guards sleeping in shifts, AND troops to go into battle with the lord... in times of peace, when the lord was at home, the men at arms he takes to war are at home too...
When we look at spain and italy, the numbers run closer to 100 for the smallest castles. If you look at an Asian castle, expect their smallest castles to have a garrison of at least 300. India and china both.
When we look at walled towns throughour sweden and denmark, we are looking at around 70-80 on the lowest ends, plus around 50-100 men in the torn itself that train on a set day each week and can be called up to fight... but remember in their situation they positioned around 20 guards at each entrance, and typically built fortified towns around a crossroads.
IF you had less than 50, you wouldnt have a castle long... a garrison of 30 can hold out for reinforcements, but cannot send fighting men to aid neighbors and allies... you'd be conquered if 2 wolfships or a single dragonship full of ostmen showed up... (aviking is a verb, ostmen is the correct term) the dragons were military sgips with a crew of around 100-120, and a wolfship is the more famous raiding ships, crewed with around 30-40 men... the horseships were wider, cargo vessels, and had a crew of 10-15... rowers sail trimmers, sheethandlers, a skirl... the greek tritemes had 15 oars asside, banked, so 2 rowers per oar, 60 rowers, plus around 30 fighting men... a few of these could easily overwhelm a small castle as well if their garrison was too small.
Just THINK ABOUT IT
Shad you don't want to put a bed next to a medieval glas window. I don't know how it is in GB but in Germany, the winters can be quite harsh. In my youth I found my self fortuned enough to sleep in a room with a Butzen window and a oil stove.
And from that I know, that the cold air will creep from that window on to your bed and that isn't a nice thing.
So the best place for a bed is infront of the fire place and in winter you want to close the shutters on the windows and have curtens cutting of the cold from the windows.
PS: In winter I had two blankets and long angora underwear as my sleeping gear.
Thanks to being an island, GB stays a little warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than you might think. I suspect an east facing window might have someone that needs to be up with first light. A west window would warm in the evening and carry that through much of the night.
I really doubt there was glass in those windows at the time. I don't remember what people would use for insulation back then, but glass was hella expensive, so it would be an insane flex to have glass windowpanes. Also, a castle is meant to withstand sieges, where a lot of stuff would be flying at the towers to potentially break the glass (even through closed shutters), so this flex could be rather short-lived, too.
All this to say, it could've been even colder 😅
Well, arrow loops are designed to be opened during a siege so that's not a concern. And large windows would only be put safe distance from the ground if ever.
And glass is just one option. You can have a fish bladder or oiled linen cloth. They would not be see-through as they diffuse the light heavily, but they would stop wind while letting the room be lit.
@@Lonely_Moth I think the windows were paper, unless they were really rich. They could also be taken out.
A good point, although it could have been used just in the summer. I also don't know who wants to wake up with the sun. I think medieval beds often had their own curtains for reasons.
Great video ❤I love it the most when you talk about history, especially the medieval way of life.
I'll admit, I usually save your videos to my watch later list and forget to watch for weeks. That thumbnail? Watching right this second, thank you very much.
Id love one of those hoodies in black with gold colored rivets. Nice.
I love how brilliantly you designed the flow of the conversation. Very clever
always a good evening when shad drops a video
What happens on the alcove stays on the alcove!
Love the return to castle content!!
great video, very concise and I appreciated it's brevity
idk I think you can still hear everything through a wall carpet... medieval children were probably all traumatized lol
Actually, it's used today in cinema and studios to provide additional sound dampening. Still very effective.
Procreating another in a dark room with few small children sound asleep might sound dubious or immoral to outsiders, not really to the ones whose flesh and blood these blessings are. Obviously, be very very mindful, NOT to wake up the ones already out of the uterus. A woeful cry in the night will instantly seize ALL of your attention. Just listen.
It would have been normal to them
It's only considering traumatizing to us today because that's our current morals. Other peoples, throughout the ages and including tribal people today, think nothing of sleeping and being intimate in the same room as the whole family.
That societal discomfort is quite recent and comes from people's jealousy of sex, back then you were married off at 16 and were expected to have sex with your husband or wife or a divorce was in order, in fact the way they figured out if you were having sex is by having sex in front of a room full of strangers, people back then really didn't care about public sex, they only cared about sex outside of mariage.
As the bible said its a sin to deny sex to your husband or wife as much as its a sin to have sex outside of marriage.
So people just went like, yeah if the bible says so thats our morals, it really doesen't matter where you were if your partner wants it you gotta do it, the only exception to this rule was if you needed time to pray.
So people who didn't want to have sex had to go to another room and pray until their partner fell asleep which happened a lot more with men than with women at the time mostly because there was no contraceptives and women had literally nothing else to do in life appart from giving birth and raising children.
Always loved these kinds of videos. Never gave much thought to these places until its brought up which at that point my mind starts racing while learning about the history of them
Thank you so much for this talk and tour, Shad.
The word you're looking for tapestries. They hanged tapestries on the walls.
Or an arras.
I think tapestries were smaller, usually... but maybe I could be wrong. The wall hangings/carpets Shad was talking about span an entire wall, acting more like a wallpaper than a painting (which is what I imagine a tapestry is more like)
@@_Squiggle_ Nah, wall hanging is a broad category, tapestry is the specific thing he is talking about and there ain't no size limit. The famous bayeux tapestry is 70 meters long and most tapestries are floor to ceiling.
@@alimaeus455 Huh, now I know. Thanks
HUNG.
The sheer amount of content you keep releasing from your trip to the British Isles is honestly staggering. Thanks for all the hard work my guy(s)! Love these videos!
I feel like we need a campfire story about Shad's trip, something like, "... and they say his spirit wanders the castles to this day. When the light hits the castle walls just right, you can still hear his voice echoing amongst the battlements, "Machiculaaaaationnnnnssssssss....... Goooorrrrgeoussssssss...... Waaaaaaaallll caaaaarpetttssssssss......" ".
I suppose the parents throughout the games learned to do it after the children are asleep or outside playing. Also being that families tended to be quite large, my bet is that they were quite good at it hahah.
This is the weirdest video you've ever made, but I'm here for it.
Love the connexion between the two castles! Very well done!
something new and freshly. really nice video.
Great series. Gives a good idea of how dungeon dressing should be done for RPG, especially when using dungeon tiles etc. ❤
We need to keep building in stone. This is an awesome room design too.
There is no point in using any other material unless you live in a place that absolutely doesn't have stone - even desert people use SANDSTONE that easily lasts 5000 years if not damaged, unlike modern materials that inevitably rot away.
@@MauricioOsuna-et8et This is assuming you want to create such permanent structures. Many cultures especially more nomadic ones might not feel the need.
@@MauricioOsuna-et8et My point is that its all about the reason you build and solving problems. Not about making the absolute "best" thing ever. You don't need a quantum computer to play Doom.
Yep. Concrete is cheap and fast but it crumbles in about fifty years. The Romans made some high quality concrete though. Anyway we should return to building for the ages. Yes it take longer and are more expensive but a thousand years later your new house could still be lived in with some modernising.
Imagine: you buy a plot of land and hope that your grandchildren will finally have a house to live in...
I looove swords, but man... castles are seriously AWESOME. Easily some of my favorite content of yours throughout the years, mate 💪
a fireplace was also needed for the survival of servants in the very cold nights of winter
"I'm cold. Throw another servant on the fire!"
Firewood expensive, bring up our fattest servant!
Oh snap, I need that hoodie. I can’t afford full gear kinda stuff but this is a perfect blend of passion and function.
Will order one sometime in July!
Unless they are gone. Dammit! Lol
The thumbnail made me think of noc na Karlštejně. It's Czech histrical musical, about a castle where women were banned from. There's this one song called Asi do věží, (maybe in the towers) with lyrics being man wondering where lovers could hide, because they don't believe men could make it without love, and concluding lovers hide in the towers... Thrns out to be just a window, but still cool
I know it's a slim chance that shad will read this. But have you looked at legacy blades No-Dachi sets. They are only 400$(US) and absurdly sturdy. The one I have is made with 9260 modern spring steel. I think Shad may appreciate the price and quality of such a fine blade.
My first thought was you want seats by the windows for sewing or other handcrafts. Especially when you have windows on opposite sides of the room, you could move to the other alcove as the sun moves through the day. You've got room in each for a good few people to sit together with good light for various tasks.
Personally, that seems like the more likely option to me. Likewise, that sort of little room seems like the sort of place I'd locate my writing desk if I lived in a castle.
Not to mention, if two windows were positioned across from each other in the same room, they could double as a makeshift cooling system. Remember, Europe, especially southern France, Spain, Italy and other countries touching the Mediterranean, have hot summers.
Thanks so much for the jackets. This is something that I think I’m going to buy.
Let's go, baby, to the ramparts,
So you and me can-a ram parts ...
Not gonna make it in the damn carts
I wanna take ya up to the ramparts
Okay, that's the chorus ...
'Entire families' you say? Insert galvanized square steel meme here 😂😂😂😂😂
Huh?
Reminded of the novel "The Greatest Knight" by Elizabeth Chadwick. Sir William Marshal and his wife Isabel are given a bed in the great hall, with either curtains or wooden dividers for privacy. They do married couple things as quietly as they can.
me: why are they selling hoodies in summer
Sɥɐp: ᴉʇ ᴉsu'ʇ snɯɯǝɹ ɯɐʇǝ
Just about every nomad was being active in less space.
I thought it was a prison.
Guess gives new meaning to the word Dungeon.
In fact, yes. The old word for dungeon is "donjon", which means keep. Originally they kept prisoners there, because that was the most defensible place, and prisoners usually were nobility anyway.
They did keep prisoners in tower rooms, but such inmates would have been of exalted rank. You'd place your high value hostages under similar conditions as you would have lived under back then as a noble. When actual dungeons were used for holding captives, it would have primarily been for those the lord wanted to break down, like their worst enemies. For the unlucky souls the lord of the manor REALLY wanted to do away with, they'd end up executed by being chucked or lowered into an oubliette/bottle dungeon where death would usually come via starvation and dehydration. The oubliette was designed to be absolutely impossible to escape from and is thus technically a variety of immurement (the process or condition of being walled up alive).
The term "dungeon" is derived from "donjon", which was the keep of the castle. Despite the terms often being synonymous with "tower", the keep wasn't always a tower, it was simply the main dwelling of a castle.
An aside for the "whole family in one room" idea here, in thos case it would be family members of the nobles that own the castle. So their children would have ensured jobs lined up for them at a very young age or even at birth. Sons that are squires may not spend all year in this one room as the knight they squire for might have duties that necessitated travel, such as guarding their lord as he visits the king for some kind of political duty. Daughters might spend much of the day learning to be ladies, and doing their own chores, and may travel with their parents or other relatives to balls and courts.
These things are a limited list of examples since the things they'd do would change somewhat woth the times and the location of the castle, but it's import to remember that it wouldn't likely be overly crowded all year long in that room. It may even be viewed as almost seasonal, or on a basis of fortnights and months. But when it was crowded, the excess body heat might even help reduce how much wood they'd need on the fireplace.
Finally getting my Honshu this week, looking forward to slicing some noodles!
"That's not an alcove."
"What is it then?"
"That, my inquisitive friend, is a nookie nook!"
Hey Shad, I was wondering, have you ever made any videos over the years covering wall defenses from late to early antiquity?
I’ve often wondered how exactly defending a keep or a town worked back then as by many modern representations it would seem defenses back then where nowhere near as intricate as they became in the medieval period. Walls being big naked blocks of stone, few merlons and even earlier then that in the bronze age!
I think this could make for a very interesting subject as we often associate city defenses with the medieval period 😊
I was in a castle in france last week and many rooms were for family or guest but also the captain of the guards had his own room in the castle and it was quite a big one. Fireplace, aditional writing/reading room attached to the mainroom with a doorway, multiple windows.
That jacket actually looks cool
The jump cut between different castles and the monologue continuing was so smooth I had trouble understanding he must've filmed those entirely separately. Stunningly good directing.
This makes me appreciate my studio apartment lmao
“Hey Baby, wanna come see my tower?” 🤣
Comment for the algorhytm
Also, for those who think these rooms are too small for an entire family, it also has to be taken into consideration that people back then spent most of their time outside if possible. That's why (aside the obvious finances) for example peasant's houses were small or sometimes seemingly even impractical (from our modern perspective) up until quite recently. Of course, this can vary depending on the region and culture.
In my home town, there's a small log cabin smaller than my bedroom. If I recall, a family of ten or so lived there. This castle room would be huge to that family.
It seems highly probable that someone worked in needlecraft in the bench alcove. A reasonably comfortable seat is helpful but good light is essential and so are fingers warm enough to be nimble.
Those alcoves look so nice.
Something else with a room like that is that it might also be a workable room for a traveling "master" that they might be needing the services of for a short time.
Such as an armorer might be hired to make the Lord a new set, or painter for a portrait or a sculptor for a statue...putting them up in the castle while they work on it is something that could be a major thing there. It's large enough to also have room to work from if needed.
You would also have rooms like that which would probably also be used for storage most of the time, then if there was an issue or visitor in need, they'd clear them out and hang things up for them and it's ready to go. Plus you might have some as armories or similar during peaceful times, or just additional stores of things that would be non-perishable stashed that could be shuffled around if they need the actual rooms.
Hell, a lot of them might even be reserved for various higher ranked or specialists that they'd need if there was a siege to give them a safer spot during it. Such as getting the village smith or smiths places that they know is reserved for them and their family while they're inside the castle rather than sticking them with everyone else.
I love ALL Shadiversity videos!!!! ❤
For whatever reason I always see a strawberry when I see the hoodie.
Gonna be honest, I was less present for a while, then I saw you post about castles.
I picture this type of alcove with the curtain/ tapestry where Polonius was hiding before Hamlet got mad and went all stabby stabby
In my village, we still use wall carpets in my parent's house because our walls are whitewashed and touching them would stain clothes. Additionally carpets keep from cold when you want to sit with your back pressed against the wall 😁. And they really do look good, although washing them is a nightmare😂
Shad has new CASTLE Lore CONTENT!!!! 🥳
Considering thick linen would have fairly good sound-blocking effects if used well, that's an entirely plausible idea. As long as what happens in there isn't especially loud, it would pretty much be totally unclear what's happening behind the cloth. There's also the reality that people in that time range were probably a bit more comfortable talking about certain things than average people now are, so if one area had a main use during the day but was a sort of unspoken privacy zone for that to keep kids from seeing it, it would make some sense. There would definitely be somewhere couples would have to go for that if they had kids or even other adults around, and inside a castle there aren't too many places that come to mind as being especially comfortable for it while also being fairly private.
I really enjoy the castle series.
Cheers for the video, here is some full engagement for channel growth.
An alcove is, in the European context, a room or cubicle without windows, which is designed as a bedroom and with an entrance from an adjacent room.
This is what i found about the word Alkove in Danish
I don't think that people would have their beds against the thin outer wall an the one layer non termoglas it would be too cold in winter.
Because of your last videos about castles, I want to investigate some of the Danish castles,thank you very much i might have a new hobby ❤
Greetings from Denmark 🇩🇰
Women might have sat in the window alcove areas to work on embroidery or weaving tapestries or just sewing where they needed better light.
Not sure how many people back then would have been writing or reading as there were few books , everything was still handwritten before Gutenberg’s printing press, etc.
Oh I am so tempted to get that zip up hoodie, Shad. You have no idea how hard it is to find them here in Kentucky for men's, strangely.
Would it be possible to create a black hoodie with your coat of arms on it like what you wore in the video?
Something about it is very Gucci, if I may say so, very Chanel. I'd love to sport your coat of arms in the form of a zip up hoodie.
Thank you so much Team and Shad!
If you ever felt like making a blue brigandine I would buy it without hesitation just so you know.
I hesitate to buy the red and black because, my Alliance loyalty runs deep.
I am not one to sport red and black.
I would love to sport the blue, or gold and black.
I'm waiting for "and this spot right here is perfect for... hmm... ah! Buggery!"
Mauterndorf Castle in Austria has a great example of these large tower rooms. One of the rooms multiple stories up even has a blacksmith furnace across from the normal fire place.
Finally some castle content! :D
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains!". Suddenly the stories, comical strips or scenes in animated movies seems to make a bit more sense about thieves, spies, and assassins hiding behind curtains or concealed passageways being more likely. Perhaps some of those little holes we see in certain castles or gatehouses that don't make much sense were intended to be hidden behind wall draping to allow for sounds to travel to certain ears.
What crosses my mind is the medieval box bed. It would have been warm. And it could have been used to subdivide the room. Wardrobes, armoires, and chests would have been used to store items and would have been easy to move from place to place. All of would have shaped traffic in the room.
SHADIVERSITY FOREVER!!!!
Wat were the floors made out of. How do atone floors hold up in these places. They didn't use rebar so I'm interested in how the structure is supported alongside te silent strength
I enjoy all of Shadiversity videos
I'd also imagine that privacy for 'getting intimate' was probably viewed as less important than today. Even if they were used as you describe with curtains, you'd still be able to hear everything... like students in dorms today I guess.
The hoodie has a ZIPPER!
The important thing that is so often ignored, people LIVED there!
The Portuguese word for alcove - alcova actually means a small bedroom, so Shad is really on to something here.
Such interesting insights!
Or perhaps a dedicated Bakery! Big Fireplace, offset temporary storage, windows for survival from the heat, thick walls to hold the heat in?
Just wanted to point out that this video title, unlike so many on youtube, has successfully negated Betteridge's Law of Headlines. Well done!
Is Shad trying to woo us? Im getting those vibes for some reason...
What was the medieval man-cave? Right an alcove! The cave in the cellar was used of ahem other activities, like the inquisition and torture games.
Though torture was more prevalent during the Renaissance than medieval period.
This is probably the most intimidating shadiversity thumbnail
asking again for bigger sizes of the hoodies for us big guys that like to layer underneath
This video should be called "how to please the algorithm" 😂
I normally don't like the Medieval sensual vids (I'm probably an anomaly), but I did click on this one only because Shad's face on the preview image is hilarious.
Just a guess, but a secluded well lit area like that, would be ideal for the lady of the house & her ladies in waiting, to do embroidery, tapestry work etc.
Wonder if we are gonna see a updated honourguard with some of these little nooks for "privacy"
In german castles the women, including the ladies, would sit in those window alcowes and do needlework. An insane amount of work was needed to produce clothing, sheets, carpets or cushions from wool or linnen. They needed daylight, and they needed it warm. You can't sow a seam or stitch a pattern with freezing fingers and no light to see what you do. Those rooms were the "kemenate", the womens'chamber. The medieval german word is surely connected to the word "Kamin", engl. "Chimney".
the alcove near the doors is probably for guards, the one near the fire to store purified water and chopped wood for drying by the fire. the alcove slightly higher up, is for the servants to collect and purfy water and maintain wood supply as well as cooking the food. where each side was probably for husband and wife + child. as the door for guards is probably 4 guards 2 per 12hr shift rotations. presumably being 8 people and 2 kids with food and water storages. meanwhile the fireplace isnt just the heat for the guards and workers. but shafts the heat threw the stone. as privacy and intimacy is less a point of importance for servants and guards within a medieval period. as if they wanted a "shag" they would lay down the shag carpets for mating and bedding, and less about hanging up the shag for "intimacy" as it is still a common term today... "so do yah fancy a shag" aka is your female parts sensitive needing to lay down a blanket, less of a question to if the female wants to or not. as more about reproductive health and common entertainments, and less about intimacies.
and might ask why are all 4 guards at the door and not of higher statue to the servents. well the guards at the door with possessions at the door, if something happened, then the sleeping wake to also guard. meanwhile females in aspect to protect are slightly higher up not just because female. but because wood and food attracts bugs, and heat rises and women bleed. so smoke rising up helps keep bugs from going into the area.
curious of the fireplace has a masonic lutz or lazel stack going across the floor for heated floors on 2nd level or if the stack rises straight up.
It would be more interesting to know how they viewed acts of intimacy, were they more reserved about it or what?
Since medieval europe was catholic wouldnt these rooms be more useful to pray, say the rosary, quiet contemplation/meditation. Im not saying they couldn't use it as a shag hole, but considering that in Elizabeth I and further down the century's (charles II sticks out to me) had "closets" where they could go and pray and meditate on The Word. I remember Lucy Worsley doing a bit in one of her documentaries where these tiny rooms not much bigger than an alcove were richly decorated and held a chair and maybe a kneeler.
I think people forget just how devoute the whole continent was.
Another point I think if the kids are asleep the parents would just shag in bed. My grandads family owned a pub up until I think the 70s and my grandad always said when the yanks showed up he and his brother had to sleep on trundle beds in their parents room and he always had a chip of his shoulder for them having to make room for the officers. I can't imagine anyone not shagging for 4 years. The pub stopped serving at midnight and then there was clean up only to wake up again at 6am latest to cook breakfast for a whole regiment.
Last point please stop calling it a wall carpet. Its an incredably skillful needlepoint tapastry. I attempted it a few years back and quickly gave up. That took so much time and skill im in awe of the women who did it. There is a beautiful one, I think it is in the British Museum called something like the hunt of the unicorn. Its so beautiful its like any art by Rubens, michealangelo, or Van Eyke.
On an unrelated topic: do you lot have bayonets by any chance. Sharp ones, I mean. Specifically the model that had been used by the Australian Light Horse during the Great War. If yes, it would be nice to have a review of one to be posted on the 31th of October (the 107th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheeba, the last great cavalry charge in history. Which was performed by Australian mounted infantrymen (with tremendous success), who were using their bayonets (held in their hands, not attached to guns) instead of swords (which they didn't have, not actually having been cavalry))
When modern people think intimacy: strange carnal acts
When medieval people thought intimacy: I need a place to converse with my soymster
But Shad those TH-cam shorts told me castles didn't have fire places!
So let me get this straight: you believe these alcoves were possibly used for snoo-snoo after visiting Castle Coch.
The first rule of Places for Sexy Acts is:
If it is possible that the couple would not be caught, or in the instances of disregard for getting caught, then every and any place can be and has been used for sexy acts
Hey shad what do you think of the mount and blade franchise i was recently playing banner lord so i wad curious