How CLEAN were the Tudors? Ruth Goodman on 16th-century hygiene

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

• Ruth Goodman introduces the topic: how 16th-century Tudors got ready for the day, emphasizing personal hygiene and clothing, while challenging common stereotypes (e.g., “bad teeth” and “terrible smells”).
• Key claim about hygiene: Tudors didn’t necessarily bathe frequently, but they practiced cleanliness through a structured daily routine—especially by changing underwear often.
• Clothing as a cleanliness system: Linen underwear absorbed sweat, grease, and dirt; staying “clean” meant switching to fresh linen.
• Clothing as social communication: beyond comfort, clothes signaled status, gender, and age, including meanings tied to colors, fabrics, and shapes.
• Clothes were expensive and long-lasting: most people owned few outfits and depended on bespoke tailoring and a large secondhand market as garments circulated over years.
• Materials mattered: clothing was mostly linen and wool, with silk reserved for the affluent. Some pieces (e.g., embroidered vs. plain) were harder to wash often.
• Wardrobe variety existed but was constrained:
  • Some people had multiple shirts/night shirts/day shirts and changed frequently.
  • Poorer people might reuse items longer due to limited supply.
• Specific garment examples illustrate the system:
  • Comb use every morning
  • Linen undershirts/tunics underneath outer garments
  • Stockings for men
  • Headwear for men (including statute caps) and women (always)
  • Children’s clothing showing age/gender through cut and design

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Methodology / routines and instructions

Daily basic washing routine (minimum approach)

• Prepare items in the sleeping area if possible:
  • A jug of water
  • A bowl
  • A cloth (plus a towel)
• Use cold water in the bowl:
  • Pour a little water into the bowl
• Clean face and hands:
  • Splash and wash the face and hands
• Dry properly:
  • Use a towel to dry face and hands
• Optional additional body cleaning:
  • Wash other parts of the body, potentially top to bottom
  • Finish with the feet so the cleanest water is used first
• Refresh water if it gets dirty:
  • Discard dirty water (even out a window)
  • Refill with fresh water from the jug

Hair care routine

• Comb hair every morning
• Use a cheap comb, including common imports (notably mentioned: from Germany)
• Tudor comb design:
  • Two sides:
    • One for tangles
    • Another for a deeper comb
• Rationale:
  • Hair combing is presented as a normal part of daily grooming (supported by Erasmus’s advice for boys)

Underwear-focused cleanliness strategy (“shifting”)

• Wear a full linen layer close to the body:
  • From neck downward, covering the body down to wrists/legs and toward the feet
• Men’s underwear structure (as described):
  • A linen shirt ending above the knee, with a side slit
  • Tuck tails around the body before putting on britches
  • Wear stockings (long socks)
• Women’s underwear structure (as described):
  • A linen garment like a nighty, longer than men’s shirt
  • Reaches down to the ankles
• Core cleanliness instruction:
  • Change underwear frequently to keep skin clean
  • This process is called “shifting”
• Reason linen matters:
  • Linen (not cotton/synthetics) is absorbent
  • It traps sweat, grease, and dirt
  • Changing linen removes contaminants and replaces them with clean fabric
• Social enforcement via criticism:
  • People may complain that others aren’t shifting enough because it results in odor

Clothing wear strategy given limited wardrobe

• Most people had essentially two main outfits:
  • Work clothes
  • Sunday best
• Wear and replace cycle:
  • As Sunday best wore out, it becomes the next work outfit
  • Eventually, it gets replaced with “new to you” items
• Secondhand lifecycle (how garments continue to be used):
  • Garments pass from wealthy → servants → resale/secondhand sellers → poorer wearers
  • Often altered, including:
    • Buttons removed/replaced
    • Braid removed/replaced
    • Taken in/expanded to fit
    • Mending and patches

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Detailed points on clothing, materials, and meaning

Why clothing was a big deal (cost and durability)

• Clothes were very expensive, so most people owned:
  • Very few items (often only two main sets)
• Tailoring was bespoke:
  • Custom tailoring with layers, interlinings, facings, stiffening, and bindings
• Durability was crucial:
  • Wealthy people expected outfits to last
  • The video analogy: an outfit could cost the equivalent of a small car

How clothing cleanliness differed by piece

• Plain linen items could be washed more easily
• Embroidered/finer items were harder to wash frequently
  • Example: embroidered shirts might be treated more delicately

Fabrics used

• Mostly linen and wool
• Occasional silk for the highest wealth
• Different cloth properties:
  • Linen: hardwearing and absorbent
  • Wool: hardwearing, with variety in textures/rigidity

Headwear and hair coverage

• Night cap for men in bed
• Men may wear a cap under their outer hat to prevent hat grease from hair
• Women always wore head covers, including implications for outer-hat settings
• Statute cap:
  • Mentioned as required by law for most men, with exceptions (e.g., gentlemen or under ~6 on Sundays)
  • Used for weather protection but can be itchy; linen caps underneath improve comfort

Children’s clothing signals age and gender

• Example described:
  • A boy’s outfit “before he’s been breeched” (not yet adult-style trousers)
• Sleeve shape and cut indicates fashion while also signaling:
  • It could only be worn up to about age seven
  • Even if it looks dress-like, shapes differ for girls, so gender is communicated through design
• Color indicates rank:
  • A “cheap mad” dye is associated with middle/lower ranks

Color symbolism (general rules given)

• Reds (including pink): considered masculine
• Blues (including powder blues):
  • Considered more feminine
  • Also associated with being subservient (often used for servants because it was cheaper)
• Black:
  • The most expensive, signifying wealth and respectability
  • Professionals like doctors/lawyers are said to wear black
• Green:
  • Associated with youth, energy, spring-like vitality, and mischief
  • Linked with extravagance and youthfulness

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Sources / speakers featured

• Ruth Goodman (host/speaker; explains Tudor hygiene and clothing)
• Erasmus (cited as a writer who provides hygiene instructions for boys)