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Public baths in Rus'
Public baths in Rus': what was it really like?
There is a large amount of evidence from foreign travelers that in Muscovite Rus' there were common baths where men and women steamed together. But is it?
This statement is not entirely true. For example, in the bathhouses that peasants had in villages, both men and women could visit, but only relatives. It was impossible to get there with strangers, since the baths were mainly built for oneself, they were in every yard, so the whole family could wash in them.
The situation was completely different in the cities where everyone washed together. The law on building separate women's and men's baths was issued by Catherine II
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In villages, bathhouses were heated mainly on Saturdays, as well as on major holidays. Men and children went first to wash, and then women. Washing on a full stomach was considered unacceptable, as this could lead to excess weight. The head of the family prepared a birch broom (soaked it in hot water), sprinkled water on the stones, swirled it over the hot stones until the broom began to thin out the aroma and steam. When the leaves became soft and did not stick to the body, they began to steam and wash themselves.
In villages, the bathhouse could be heated “black” or “white”. When, during heating, the smoke came out through the pipe, then the bathhouse was heated in white, but if the smoke went into the steam room, it was ventilated, the walls were doused with cold water, and then steamed in black.
One of the most original ways to wash yourself was in the oven. They washed themselves in this way: after cooking, straw was laid in the oven so that the person would not get dirty, and kvass or water was sprinkled on the walls.
As for the cities, public baths were built there, the first of which were erected by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The baths were one-story buildings near the river, which consisted of the following premises: soap room, dressing rooms, steam rooms. It was customary to steam in such baths together (men, women and children).
According to travelers: “women of different ages walk there without shame, and even joke about their immodesty.” What was also surprising for foreign guests was how steamed women and men ran out into the street, wearing what their mother gave birth, and plunged into the icy water of the river. Such baths existed for about one century:
So already in 1743, it became forbidden for men and women to steam together. But this ban existed only on paper, and the final division of baths occurred under Soviet rule, when they began to build steam rooms with different sections for women and men.
History Post Series:
Part 1 - Alexander the Great. Part 2 - History of Kievan Rus, where, really? ... Part 42 - Yekunnin - Russian monster from Chukchi legends Part 43 - “Legitimate rape”: on women’s rights in Ancient Rome Part 44 - Public baths in Rus'
History of the Russian bath.
Do you like saunas? I love. It's a shame you don't get to go out often. What is this - a bathhouse? Why is it so good and useful? And where did the tradition of washing in a bathhouse and talk about the benefits of a steam room come from?
Let's figure it out.
It is difficult to say where mankind’s love for the bathhouse came from. Many authors who have studied this issue say that most likely the prototype of the bathhouse was natural hot springs. Ancient people noticed the beneficial effects of hot water and steam on health, and tried to simulate this in artificial conditions.
It is generally accepted that the first baths appeared in Ancient Greece. And only thanks to them the world learned about the existence of the bathhouse. However, long before Columbus arrived in America, the ancient Indians of North and South America organized bathing days for themselves.
The Indians of South America built a temezcal - a clay dome-shaped structure, the so-called “sweating chamber”. Steam and medicinal herbs were used for the washing procedure.
The Indians of North America used an ordinary wigwam in which heated stones were watered.
Ancient Scythians - half-dugouts or huts with heated stones.
The Japanese steamed in barrels of heated sawdust, and used barrels of clean water to wash themselves.
In ancient India, every home had a bathroom, and in ancient Ireland, archaeologists still find sweat pits dug into the ground.
In England in the 12th-13th centuries. a barrel with a cutout for the neck and a bench inside for the convenience of the recipient of the procedure was used as a bathhouse. Steam was supplied through a special tube from a separately heated container, which was attached to the barrel.
And yet, the first real baths, in the form that has survived almost to this day, appeared in Ancient Greece. These baths served as an example for the creation of Roman baths, Turkish hammam, luxurious Persian baths and our Russian bath.
Why are they so different in appearance? It’s simple, each of the peoples adapted the idea of a bathhouse to the conditions of their life and their own capabilities.
In our northern conditions, it is difficult to heat a huge room, so the size of the area of the Russian bathhouse has been reduced to the maximum possible.
According to some sources, the history of bathhouses in Rus' begins in the 5th century; according to others, archaeologists have discovered bathhouses dating back to the 11th century. This is always a small log house, standing away from the main house buildings (fire safety) with a disproportionately large stove and a hole for smoke to escape. In approximately this unchanged form, Russian baths reached the mid-20th century. Yes, yes, they can still be found if you look in the remote villages of our vast Motherland.
The bathhouse was known throughout the Slavic lands; princes, ordinary people, and rich merchants used the bathhouse and loved to take a steam bath. Then the bathhouse had many names, it was called mylnya, movnya, and vlaznya (where the Ukrainian name for the bathhouse comes from - laznya), the bathhouse was also called movya.
In those distant times, the bathhouse was used both as a place for washing, and as a maternity hospital, and as a hospital. And this makes common sense: high temperatures, phenols from smoke, no germs and a high degree of sterility of the room. In addition, the Russian bath is an excellent pacemaker.
A special feature of the Russian bathhouse are brooms; steaming with brooms is a purely Russian tradition, unknown in any other country. A birch broom, thoroughly steamed and heated, creates a massage effect that is deep, warming and invigorating. This innovation in bathing has a wonderful effect on the skin, improves blood circulation, and helps warm up.
At the same time, the functions of the bathhouse were not only hygienic, but also ritual. Thus, before major holidays or weddings, it was mandatory to visit the bathhouse. This trip to the steam room was accompanied by special rituals and traditions.
And nowadays, the bathhouse is loved and appreciated, perhaps much more than just taking a bath. The bathhouse in Russia is valued for its therapeutic effects, healing and hardening of the body.
Sacred action
Foreigners considered the Russian bathhouse to be an abode of debauchery. The Slavs themselves loved “soap” for the health and cleanliness it gave. The concept of hospitality was also associated with it. A decent owner of the house always flooded the bathhouse for his dear guest.
Women gave birth to children in these same buildings. Before an important event, only women and only those who were respected would heat the bathhouse. Men were not allowed to participate in the sacred action. When the room was not occupied, the women gladly used it for fortune telling.
Sometimes this place was also used for secret murders. They could lock the enemy in the bathhouse and burn him along with the wooden building itself. This is exactly what Princess Olga did with the Drevlyan ambassadors, who invited her to become the wife of their leader.
Black bath, or how to wash yourself in soot
Wooden baths were first built without a chimney. The “hood” was the cracks in the windows covered with a bull’s bladder. All the soot from the burned coals under the vat with stones filled the washing room. The walls inside were black with soot.
This is what the “black bath” looked like. Despite its exotic design, it coped well with the hygiene requirements of the time. It was only around the 9th-10th centuries that baths began to be equipped with a pipe, along with which the soot escaped. This is how the Slavs learned to wash in a clean room.
Scythians steamed with hemp
Inside the primitive bathhouse - the “soaphouse” - there was a red-hot vat with stones, which created the heat. The room was very cramped and squat. You literally had to climb into it, bending over. Hence the second name of the bathhouse – “vlaznya”.
Water was splashed on the hot stones, as now. This way it warmed up for washing and at the same time filled the sack with wet steam. To make the heat even cooler, hemp seeds were sprinkled on the wet stones. The Scythians sweated profusely, scrubbing their bodies with ash or wet leather belts.
The washing of our ancestors was something between the process of steaming and wallowing in ashes and their own dirt. But in field conditions, these bath procedures were indispensable. Later, when the ancestors of the Slavs began to lead a more sedentary lifestyle, they began to build squat huts made of wood.
Did not enter the bathhouse after a woman
Men were supposed to be the first to go into the steam room, after them women could enter. According to legends, the bath cleansed the body not only of dirt and dust, but also of many diseases. Our ancestors believed that representatives of the fair sex washed away all sins and illnesses, which could then be transferred to the person who followed them into the steam room. Men were afraid of such dire consequences and allowed women to wash in the bathhouse only after themselves. Such traditions were especially observed in large families of several generations.
Didn't drink alcohol in the bathhouse
It is difficult to imagine bath procedures without alcohol; even in images of steam rooms you can see a man with a beer mug in his hands. According to popular beliefs, drinking alcohol in the bathhouse was strictly prohibited. It was believed that such behavior could greatly anger the bannik, who could not tolerate such drinks. The punishment for a drunk could be severe burns and further health problems.
Some people attributed the negative effects to exposure to alcohol and high indoor temperatures. But most of our ancestors still did not risk drinking in the steam room.
Don't sweat after midnight
Our ancestors believed that each room had its own owner, invisible to the environment. The hut was guarded by a brownie, and the steam room by a bannik. He was given separate time for bath procedures.
According to popular beliefs, it was forbidden to enter the steam room after midnight, because at that time the mystical owner was washing. It was believed that those brave men who entered the bathhouse at the wrong time would be subjected to terrible torture by the bannik. It can release strong steam and fumes on the heads of daredevils, which will lead to suffocation and death. People were very afraid of these terrible beliefs, so they entered the bathhouse only at dawn.
