In 1514 Thomas Murner published ‘Ein andechtig geistliche Badenfart’ in which he used the very recognisable visit to the bathhouse as an allegory.
The illustrations give us a really nice insight into what a bath house visit was like.
My Latin is non-existent so I had google translate it, don’t put too much trust into the result.
Much of it was very difficult to read and understand, if someone is willing to do a proper translation, let me know.
Sorry about that.
You can read the book here; https://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/ausgaben/thumbnailseite.html?fip=193.174.98.30&id=00083105&seite=1
It was written in German, not Latin, so this was meant for a large, non Latin reading audience.
I’m only looking at the pages with illustrations.
The visit starts with an invitation, god himself is the bath house manager and blows the trumpet to let everyone know the bath house is open:
“Inviting to the bath
Since God himself asks you to bathe,
You cannot excuse yourself,
You are so openly invited,
That all the world knows how to bathe:”
Can’t bathe without water so God gets some from the well:
“No one washes themselves clean with water,
even if I seek out all the water;
only those that come from the heart
and let themselves out through the eyes.“
Time to heat up the oven.
“Warming the bath
Although man, by his own will,
May fulfill many great virtues,
Yet he cannot, without God’s grace,
Warm himself in this bath.“
This is a “Hippocrate’s sleeve”, used to filter or infuse, so here God is making lye soap, or perhaps waters it down.
“Whoever wishes to bathe must take care
That they also make a long preparation [cleansing],
Wash our head and all our senses,
Wash away all that is yours.”
God comes with water and the leaves/twigs.
“Recognising oneself as unclean
Recognising oneself as unclean is a great part of health,
and the beginning of man’s salvation,
if he is not blinded to himself and knows his own sickness.“
God says “come on in Dave, water is ready”, I think.
Interesting detail is the stick hanging out the window with what appears to be a straw hat & the leaves/twigs.
It’s a sort of advertising sign, letting everyone know that there’s a bathhouse in this building and that it’s open for business.
“Welcoming to the bath:
Welcome to my flesh and blood.
How is your arrival so good to you?
No child was ever better off on earth than when it was with its father”.
God helps the man undress.
“Undressing
Whoever flees all sin and malice,
He himself takes off his clothing entirely,
And pulls his coat off with the serpent,
In the evil that he has committed.“
All naked except for tiny undies, the twigs ready.
“Standing naked before God
How do I stand here so naked,
That I cover myself with no virtue?
My great sin is guilty of that,
That I stand so naked before you, Lord.“
First God washes the man’s feet.
Outside we see the well, you need a water source nearby if you want to run a bath house.
“The Foot Washing
If it were the case that Christ
Is not prepared for Heaven,
He would have to have been washed
By God beforehand.“
God gives a body rub.
“Rubbing the body
Rubbing is a poor penance
Which a bath-child must maintain
Whoever is rubbed here alone
Would almost remain half clean.“
God is scratching the man’s back.
I’m not a religious person but if God offered back scratching, I’d probably join up.
Also on the left we see the oven with stones in it, these were made hot and then either used to quickly heat up water or to make steam with, like in a sauna.
“The skin scratching
Whoever must let themselves be scratched in the sweat-bath,
They come under the right scratcher.
Whoever does not rub themselves clean here,
They must let themselves be well-scratched there.”
Cupping therapy was quite popular back then, a sort of medical procedure
Lovely detail is the stacked upside down buckets.
“Cupping
Whoever, through scratching and through rubbing,
Lets light and heavy sins be driven from them,
They must let the vile blood be drawn from them,
So that they can commit no more sin.“
God washes the man’s head, cleaning his hair but also giving a nice head rub I reckon.
Look, there’s a fountain with clean water!
That must be piped in from somewhere.
“Washing the head
When the body is bathed,
you are being scratched and cupped,
Then wash the head quickly,
So yourself lead the foundation entirely.“
Our man is getting a nice shave.
“Shaving the head
Shaving is a spiritual state,
It bears great preparation upon it,
And has public preparation,
So that he may be in the highest parish.“
God sprinkles the man with lavender water.
He’s going to smell so nice.
“Sprinkling with lavender
Shaving anointing with lavender,
To lead a priestly state,
Signifies how one should keep oneself,
So that one may also smell well before God.“
Time to comb the hair I think.
“Combing/stroking the hair
If Christ does not comb me,
Then God has combed us all here,
So that not a hair is on the head,
He has already counted it all.”
Time for a good thrashing, I mean gentle rubbing with branches and leaves.
It helps blood circulation and is still used in saunas today.
They used wet birch, eucalyptus, oak etc.
Smells nice.
Lashing in the bath
Once the sins are washed away,
Then kindle God with thrashing,
So that your heart burns in love,
feels nothing else but God.
Eh hang on, who is rubbing his feet?
That’s not God is it?
“Rubbing the feet
Whoever drives away the tickle for me entirely,
By rubbing my feet in the bath,
That same person may well understand
That God has very rarely done it.“
After all that God pours water over the man, water from a fancy fountain it seems.
All clean!
“Rinsing off
When we have finished with the rubbing,
Then [God] approaches us at hand,
That is that God then pours over us,
So that all filth flows away from us.”
God puts a bathrobe on the man, very nice.
“Giving a bath robe
When we can no longer live on earth,
Then one must give us a cloak,
Today more than such under pledge,
We carry from this land.“
After all that Dave gets to have a nice nap, yes this was part of the medieval bath house visit and goodness me that sounds wonderful.
“Laying down
With such great care and suffering,
God lays us down with kindness,
So that he may find us beautiful again,
Where he has placed all limbs.”
A lovely nap while God watches over Dave, although I think God may be taking a little nap too.
“Guarding in rest
God guards us in our sleep,
Who also does not abandon us in death.
He has watched over us all in the grave,
Just as he rightly did in life.”
Time to get up Dave, here are your clothes.
“Putting on again
On the last day, when it pleases God,
And He places us before His judgement,
We rise again from the dead,
And put on all our clothing.”
Dave goes home.
Bye Dave!
Bye God!
See you soon babe.
Don’t call me babe.
Sorry God.
“Going Home
I know no home that we have
Other than our father’s land above us,
From which we came according to the soul,
Before we took on life here.”
Although the bath house story is over, I’m sharing a few more pictures from the book because they’re fun.
After bathing it’s a good idea to enjoy a splendid meal.
“Well-living
Whoever has gone home after bathing,
And has well received all the washing,
He should look and mark my rule precisely,
So that he may also live well thereafter.”
I have no idea what’s going on here, is that chap having a nice bath at home?
Looks like put some nice herbs in the bathing water… looks like marijuana!
“Words, stones, and herbal juices
I have heard they have power,
That serves me well for these purposes,
To make a bath out of herbs.”
The spring at Geppinger.
Lovely detail is the water carrier having jugs tied to her body.
“The fountain at the Göppingen bath,
Is healing and does you no harm.
Whoever let themselves be washed therein,
After the sourness, it became sweet to them.”
“Whoever has remarkably large wounds,
Which any old bath does not heal,
He should bathe naturally indeed,
Until the wounds are all gone.”
Oh there’s god again, looks like he’s adding either hot water or something nice smelling or healthy to the bath.
He’s feeling if it’s not too hot I think.
“Oil-bathing is certainly good
That every limb relaxes
Where the limbs cramp together
It can bring them apart”
The book next tells us that you don’t have to bathe every day, but it will clean you, so it’s not bad if you do, this seems to be specifically about bathing in natural springs though:
“The daily bath.
Daily bathing is not necessary, and yet it washes off the dirt.
Although I have another washing, which also washes them off daily.”
We’re being told that medieval physicians thought that bathing was unhealthy, dangerous eve.
Yet it seems that on the next page it’s suggested that if nothing else works any more and you’re close to death, a bath may save you:
“The Last Bath
When all physicians and baths fail
And death grabs us with the scythe
Then the last dance is the bath
That makes many a sick person straight”
A sweat bath!
Extra hot water, little tent on top of the tub and you’ll do some healthy sweating.
Now I want a tent on my bath.
“The Sweat Bath
The sweat bath has a strong nature
It makes many a person faint
Who often, from cold as well as from heat
Must sweat excessively within“
Thank the bather.
Thanks for bathing me God.
Don’t mention it Dave, sorry about Satan rubbing your feet.
No problem God, he did a good job.
See you next week?
Sure thing Dave.
“To thank the bath-master:
he is pure in soul and body.
Whoever bathes here as I write,
if he is of sound mind, he shall thank the bath-master with diligence.”
The end.
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