Medieval society may have liked to bathe more than one might expect, however, this was not always an easy process.

Medieval castle residents used wooden tubs with water heated from the fire in the great hall. In good weather, the tub might be placed out in the garden.

Lords often employed a person whose sole responsibility was preparing baths for the family. This person would often travel with the family wherever they went.

Hot baths were very popular and most towns, as late as the mid-1200s had public bathhouses. Wood fires heated the water, but this posed two problems.

First, out of control fires could consume several blocks of buildings. And as the forests were depleted, firewood became expensive and the rising costs of heating the water forced most of the bathhouses to close.

Some tried burning coal to heat water, but the fumes proved to be unhealthy. Possibly as there was no direct source for the smoke to disperse out of the bathhouse so it just created a cloud of sorts around the building.

By the mid-1300s, only the very wealthy could afford firewood for hot water in the winter. The rest of the population was forced to be dirty most of the time. Barrels were often used as baths, with entire families sharing the same water.

Text Source: medieval-life.net

Resisting the Danes and uniting the various English kingdoms under one rule. A promoter of learning as well as a skillful military leader and administrator, Alfred was the only English king to be labelled "the Great."

● 3/4 cup butter
● 3/4 cup caster/superfine sugar
● 4 cups plain flour, sifted
● 3 egg yolks
● 1 teaspoon mixed spice
● 1 teaspoon allspice
● 3 tablespoons currants
● a little milk

Soul Cakes are an echo of the sacrificial foods of the Celtic festival of Samhain held in early autumn. These little cakes were traditionally set out with glasses of wine on All Hallows Eve for the souls of the dead.

On All Saints Day (1st November) children would go "souling" calling out "Soul, Soul, for a Soul Cake: pray you good mistress, a soul cake".

Preparation & Cooking:

Place the butter and sugar together in a medium sized bowl and cream together until pale in colour, and fluffy in texture. Beat in the eggs to the mixture gently using either a whisk, or fork until blended in completely with the butter and sugar.

Fold in the sifted flour and spices together then stir in the currants with a spoon until all are stuck to our mixture. Add in a small amount of milk and mix together with our mixture so far, adding more if necessary until it becomes a soft dough.

Empty the dough from the bowl and kneed gently to ensure a good mixture, then after a few minutes roll out flat with a rolling pin until around 1/2 to 1 inch thick depending on preference.

Cut out shapes in the mixture and place each cut-out onto a well greased baking tray. Note that the original version of this recipe calls for rectangular shapes, but it's up to you if you decide to use another shape, such as a duck as shown in the above picture.

Place the baking tray, complete with cut-outs of the dough, into the oven at 180*C / 350*F (Gas Mark 4) and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Recipe Source: GreenChronicle.com
Image Source: flickr.com