also, the claim that people were hygenic during this time is debateable. while there were bathing houses during the time, this was certainly not hygenic and if anything further spread bacteria and viruses among the many who used them. also, there are many scholars who have quoted Elizabeth I in saying that she only bathed once a year, if she chose. and the surroundings of people probably smelled twice as bad as the people. human waste was often dumped on streets among the lower classes, and the part of the reason why the king/queen moved between castles is due to the intolerable smell that came about after having so many weeks/months of human waste built up. people did in fact carry perfumed herbs/flowers with them to hold to their nose in large groups of people. the idea that cleanliness is next to godliness did not largely emerge until the victorian era.