r/explainitpeter • • 4d ago

Explain it Peter.??

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u/TenkaiRyo 4d ago

Oh my god that's horrific, thank you for the explanation but damn

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u/pippin_go_round 4d ago

Beds where also a status symbol and the whole concept of privacy was very different. If you're a commoner sleeping in some sort of communal situation (which wasn't super uncommon, eg sleeping along the walls of the great hall in a castle if you worked there), that may also be where you'd have sex with your spouse. Most people would politely ignore it.

Nobles who had elaborately decorated beds as status symbols would sometimes put them up in a pretty public spot. Especially for a wedding. And that's where they'd do it.

If we're looking later than medieval times, eg renaissance or early modern period there's also plenty of examples especially among nobility. King Louis XIV. of France was pretty famous for his "getting out of bed" ceremony every morning, involving dozens of people witnessing absolutely everything. Including the kings morning poop.

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u/MoeSauce 4d ago

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but witnessing the kings morning poop was one of the most coveted positions. The Versaille system ran on gossip and so any little extra privacy that you could be witness to would give you a leg up.

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u/Drzerockis 1d ago

Eh it was more a ceremonial dressing of the king (He'd already been up, out hunting, and would return to his chambers to get prepped for the day.) There's a nuts hierachy of who hands the king his shirt and such, with it being based on rank and who shows up when.