# Medieval Bathing

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medieval-bathing/1009976
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [November 9, 2024, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medieval-bathing/1009976 "2024-11-09T07:34:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 6

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### Author: ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medieval-bathing/1009976/6 "2024-11-09T17:37:26Z")

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> [@Movie with great cannon , medieval times](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-with-great-cannon-medieval-times/1009577/22):
>
> > [@Movie with great cannon , medieval times](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-with-great-cannon-medieval-times/1009577/22):
> >
> > They may have washed their faces and hands regularly, but they certainly didn’t bathe often.
> 
> You can sponge bath your whole body, you know.

I’ve sponge-bathed most of my body with paper towels and room temperature water in public restrooms at the end of a dance weekend, when I’ve already checked out of my hotel room and I’m sweaty enough that i want to freshen up and change before sitting on an airplane for hours. It’s much better with real towels/sponges, which aren’t recent inventions.

I think there was a period when parts of Europe considered bathing to be a sensual pleasure (and thus immoral), but they felt the same about food, nice clothing, and sex, and many people indulged in those things, too.

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