Specific professions of the past that are disgusting today

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Speaking of professions, it is worth noting that in ancient times there were many occupations that today may seem terrible. So, for example, some dug up corpses for sale, while others collected leeches, allowing them to stick to themselves. What other professions of the past cause shudder among contemporaries - further in the review.

1. Collector of leeches

Previously, leech therapy was considered very popular. Doctors declared bloodsucking almost a panacea for any disease. Naturally, there were those who collected these leeches. People walked through the swamps, and used their bare legs as bait for leeches. When the worms drank their blood, all that remained was to unhook them from their legs. Such a profession brought a considerable income, only the gatherers often fainted from blood loss in an effort to earn even more.

2. Whipping boy

In the period of the XV-XVI centuries. in England at the royal court such a profession as a whipping boy flourished. He was assigned to the young prince. When the offspring of the dynasty was naughty, dirty or otherwise behaved in an inappropriate way, the whipping boy received all the punches for him. It was believed that the prince should be ashamed of what goes to the innocent, because he himself was forbidden to touch. For some whipping boys, suffering ended in reward. When Charles I ascended the throne, he promoted his former whipping boy to the counts and donated the castle.

3. The corpse thief

With the development of medicine, doctors and students began to need corpses to study anatomy. However, autopsies were not allowed by the Catholic Church at that time. Then there were people who readily provided freshly buried bodies to medical universities for a fee. Despite violent public outcry, the profession flourished until the end of the 19th century.

However, along with ordinary diggers, there were those who did not want to wait for the next funeral. Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare killed people and then sold them to an anatomical school in Edinburgh.

4. Felt

In ancient Rome, and then in the early Middle Ages, the profession of felting had specific features. To prepare the fabric for further use, it was folded into a container, which was filled with water and an alkaline solution. The task of the felt was to stand in the container and stomp on the fabric, thus washing it. All would be fine, but the most accessible alkaline solution was urine. The clothiers had to go to public toilets or put a tub in front of the house for passers-by to replenish their urine supplies.

5. Keeper of the royal chair

Oddly enough, but the most coveted at the court of monarchs in Great Britain until the end of the 19th century was the position of "Groom of the King's Close Stool". This man was literally wiping the king's ass. The fact is that only a select few could touch the body of the monarch, who was considered sacred. In a special room, besides a box with a hole upholstered with velvet, there was a jug of water and towels. The keeper of the chair had to tidy up the lower part of the king after he fulfilled his natural needs.

But the most important thing in this position was that the keeper of the chair was left alone with the king. Therefore, when the natural process was delayed, the monarch often discussed state affairs with him. The Guardians invariably received various privileges and moved up the career ladder.

6. Drummer

Looking at the drummers at the parade, it's hard to believe that this activity was once very dangerous. Drummers, as a rule, were young boys. Their main duties were to beat the beat during the battle. With the help of drums, the soldiers walked "in step", keeping the line, and also received orders on the tactics of the battle. The whole horror was that the boys were completely defenseless against the enemy. Considering that the drummers helped the officers to coordinate the actions of the troops, they were the enemy's priority target.

7. Pied Piper

When the Inquisition violently exterminated cats, considered the offspring of the devil, from cities, the rat population reached critical numbers. It was then that the profession of the rat-catcher appeared. This work was literally life-threatening, because rats were carriers of infections. Plus, rat-catchers often had to descend into the gutters, where the largest concentrations of dangerous rodents were.

Some rat-catchers have even gone down in history. So, Jack Black received the title of Her Majesty's Honorary Pied Piper and Mole Catcher from the British Queen.