The foul and the fragrant: what did the past smell like?
Imagine stepping back in time, only to be greeted by a symphony of scents. The past, it seems, had a smell of its own. From the foul stench of medieval streets to the fragrant aroma of ancient gardens, let's embark on an olfactory journey through history.
The History of Smell
From Roman funerals to Aztec chewing gum, the historic role of smell was much more important than we realize.
- Most 19th century cities smelled like a combination of raw sewage, horse manure, piles of uncollected garbage baking in the sun, and, last but not least, the “odorous slaughtering and processing of animals”
- Things weren’t much better in Paris which, despite its reputation as the city of love, smelled like anything except roses
Case Study: the Role of Smell in a Roman Funeral
Romans treated their dead with perfumes, ointments, and incense while they lay in state
- These fragrances combated the “pollution” inside the corpse
- Perfuming the dead was so important to ancient Romans that it often took precedence over other social customs
The foul and the fragrant
In his book The Foul and the Fragrant, Alain Corbin links the evolution of class consciousness in 18th century France to the social significance French citizens attributed to good and bad smells.
- Miasma theory affected nearly every part of civilization, from politics to the economy, and soon enough, smell became a key marker of social status.
Smell Beyond Stench
William Tullett, a history professor at Anglia Ruskin University, thinks modern media may have exaggerated the stench of past centuries
- Our obsession with stench may be rooted in some contorted form of xenophobia
- Recent global research suggests that the current literature on smell in history is not only too simplistic but also too Eurocentric
- While particular smells demarcated certain social standings in pre-revolutionary France, the same standards did not apply to other countries
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