Where did incense come from in Tudor times?
Incense has been used throughout history; it’s first recorded in Ancient Egypt and also in the Old Testament. By Tudor times, trade routes were well established to the East, and the more exotic incenses – eg. frankincense and myrrh – were brought over as a matter of course. They’d be mostly used in church, but were available, along with silks, jewels and spices, to the rich. Most people’s houses ponged in those days; personal hygiene was fairly basic, and toilet facilities meant using a po indoors and a privy outside. The rich might burn exotic gums and resins, then; but the poor would make pot-pourris and “sweete bagges” from any scented herbs they could find. They might, if lucky, burn pleasantly-scented firewood such as cherry. The French country name for rosemary is “incensier”, as it smells very incensey when burned. Its association with remembrance derives in part from its use at funerals; a corpse wouldn’t smell too nice after a few days indoors, and rosemary, whether burnt or j
