We toured Ross Castle after exploring the ruins of Innisfallen Abbey. What amazed us on the tour was the life expectancy of its occupants in the 15th century: 25 to 35 years! The servants who lived outside the castle had a life expectancy of 55 years! The main factor for this difference: the nobility dined off pewter plates (made of tin and lead, known poisons), and they lived in a virtually windowless castle where the damp, moldy castle air was full of soot from the smoky fireplaces and the tallow (animal fat) candles! The peasants ate off wooden trenchers and worked outside in the fresh air all day.
1 comment:
Poetic justice.
Post a Comment