Horrible Jobs of the Renaissance

There were a lot of ways to have it tough during the Renaissance: cabin boys were responsible for hunting and killing rats and cockroaches aboard ship; woad dyers’ work “might have been the smelliest of all Renaissance jobs”; pinners were usually children who had to make sharp pins by hand. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of life in the Renaissance and is broken down into easily digestible sections, one trade per spread. While humorously describing the plight of the lowest of the low, this book ingeniously gives a detailed view of life during this period of change. The lives of artists, explorers, and kings are illuminated by considerations of those who served them; readers also will get a sense of how Renaissance professions such as the law and medicine were practiced. Sidebars and text boxes provide fascinating information or anecdotes related to the jobs discussed. For example, instead of bathing regularly, some people masked their odor by carrying pomanders, metal balls filled with spices or herbs. “The Horrible Truth” boxes relay some of the worst news about life during the period, such as the destruction wrought by the Black Death. Includes captioned full-color photographs, archival illustrations, a glossary, suggestions for further reading, and an index.