The Privy

Few people on our tours are not disgusted by the idea of the Medieval privy. The privy is where the peasants of Medieval Europe did their toilet related business. The disgusting part is how the waste is disposed of. Whether dumped down the river or in a lake, the human waste purposefully ended up in the local water supplies. Some of the waste, however, was used for practical purposes. Urine of a young boy was often useful for cleaning a peasant's hair or curing certain illnesses. There is some science to the cleaning part, as urine contains ammonia which is very good at killing bacteria, but who would want their hair smelling like urine.