1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogebam Here. If you could transport 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: yourself back to the days when kings ruled Europe, what 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: job would you choose for yourself? Would you be a 5 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: powerful night or a humble cleric, or would you choose 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 1: a much more important role, perhaps as the man who 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: helped the king relieve himself throughout the day. Your job 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,360 Speaker 1: title then would be groom of the stool, and, believe 9 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: it or not, in many cases, this would make you 10 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: one of the most influential people in the monarchy. These days, 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 1: the idea of signing up to tend to someone else's 12 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: bodily functions when they're perfectly capable of handling it themselves 13 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: may seem a bit weird, But back before the days 14 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: of indoor plumbing, the process of elimination required manual labor. 15 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,920 Speaker 1: In the king's case, he'd use what was called a 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: close stool, which was essentially a velvet wrapped stool containing 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,640 Speaker 1: a chamber pot that needed to be presented, emptied, and cleaned. 18 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: This piece of furniture, by the way, is where the 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:06,679 Speaker 1: term stool to refer to poop comes from. Circo the 20 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: fifteen thirties, in the fancy, wealthy days of the tutors 21 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: in the fifteen hundreds, just getting ready to use the 22 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: stool took some work, as royals generally donned multiple layers 23 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,679 Speaker 1: of fine garments in their daily lives. The groom of 24 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: the stool might help with loosening those clothes and then 25 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,399 Speaker 1: whisking away the waist. The sources vary on whether the 26 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: groom actually helped the king clean himself after the deed 27 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: was done, or just handed him a cloth, but there's 28 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: no doubt about his importance to the head hauncho's daily life. 29 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: We spoke via email with Stephen Gunn, history professor at 30 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,320 Speaker 1: Oxford University. He said he doubled up as the king's 31 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: leading personal servant and head of the king's private domestic 32 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,800 Speaker 1: staff in the Privy Chamber. Though it's hard to reconstruct 33 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: what actually went on there all day, This presumably involved 34 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: waiting on the king is a kind of chief valet 35 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,559 Speaker 1: and organizing all the work necessary to make the king's 36 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: day go smoothly from a domestic point of view. For example, 37 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: Bull being in charge of the king's private expenses account, 38 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: which at times in Henry the Eighth's reign spent thousands 39 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: of pounds a year on clothes, jewels, gambling, sports equipment, 40 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: or small rewards for people the king met. And sure 41 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: there were probably moments when the groom wasn't terribly excited 42 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: about the biological aspects of his job, but during this 43 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: period of history, people were extremely excited to be connected 44 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: to royalty in any way possible. Gunn said. What we 45 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: also have to remember is that private service to someone 46 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: of very high status was itself thought to be a 47 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,399 Speaker 1: high status job, such that young nobleman, for example, were 48 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: more than happy to serve the king and his guests 49 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: food at the table. And of course watch how political 50 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:45,360 Speaker 1: operators operated over here bits of interesting political discussion and 51 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: generally learn how to be powerful at court. Not just 52 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: anyone could become groom of the stool. To get this 53 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,920 Speaker 1: prized gig, one needed serious connections. We also spoke via 54 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: email with Ben Low, history professor at Florida Atlantic University. 55 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: He said they were usually close friends or confidants of 56 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: the king. They often came up from an up and 57 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: coming family that was seeking further preferment. Gunn explained that 58 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: these men would have been appointed by the king no 59 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: doubt on the recommendation of other influential courtiers once they 60 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: napped the enviable position they were in on the ground 61 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: floor of the kingdom's political environment. Low said it grew 62 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: in importance during the time of the Tutors, especially after 63 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,400 Speaker 1: Henry the Seventh moved much of the administration of his government, 64 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: including its finances, to the Pretty Chamber, where the groom resided. 65 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: This led to a more administrative role for many grooms. 66 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: Their constant access to the king also made this an 67 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,280 Speaker 1: enviable position to hold for the high level of influence 68 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: a groom might wield. The groom also spent a lot 69 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: of time with the King when he was trying to 70 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: relax and avoid political topics. Getting to know the King 71 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,160 Speaker 1: on a more personal level made for a closer relationship, 72 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: one that often came loaded with benefits. Gunn said the 73 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: groom was ideally placed to talk to the King about things, 74 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 1: and that included asking the King for things for himself 75 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: or for others. This presumably explains why Henry the seventh 76 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: groom of the Stool Hugh Denny's, was paid pensions and 77 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 1: given gifts by those who wanted to be in the 78 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: King's favor. And was able to spend such money buying land. Also, 79 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: Henry the Eighth's first Groom of the Stool, William Compton, 80 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: was given land grants, land leases and offices by the 81 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: King that brought him in maybe two thousand pounds a year, 82 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: equal to the income of a leading nobleman or one 83 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: of the richer bishops. Later, as King, Henry the Eighth's 84 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: health slowly deteriorated. His last Groom of the Stool, Sir 85 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: Anthony Denny, became more powerful. He even wielded the King's 86 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: personal signature stamp, giving him the authority to approve or 87 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: disprove requests from across the land. Denny also helped draw 88 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,719 Speaker 1: up Henry's will. Over time, the job title of Groom 89 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: of the Stool faded out. The last person to officially 90 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,360 Speaker 1: hold the title may have been Sir Michael st Hope 91 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: for Edward the sixth in fifteen forty seven. That's in 92 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:06,919 Speaker 1: part because the kings gave way to two queens in succession, 93 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,320 Speaker 1: Mary the First and Elizabeth the First. Gun explained because 94 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: their most intimate servants could not be men, they developed 95 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: a bed chamber staffed by women, which took over the 96 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,440 Speaker 1: domestic role and some of the influence of the Privy Chamber. Furthermore, 97 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: personal monarchy gave way to a more bureaucratic and institutionalized 98 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: royal court. At the same time, monarchy in Britain itself 99 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: lost power, continuing largely as a ceremonial holdover of an 100 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: earlier age. Low said the power once held by royal 101 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 1: attendants like the groom now had moved to high level 102 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: staff positions among leaders of Parliament or cabinet members, and 103 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: even here they paled in comparison to their early modern forebearers. 104 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: Attendance to royalty simply lost their political power or status 105 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: as a font of patronage for those seeking favors of 106 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,599 Speaker 1: the crown. After the death of Elizabeth the First in 107 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,599 Speaker 1: sixteen o three, the position re emerged, but with the 108 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: upgraded title of Groom of the Stole, which implied the 109 00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: person helped the monarch with dressing duties as opposed to toileting. 110 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: The last Groom of the Stole was James Hamilton's, a 111 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,359 Speaker 1: duke who served Edward seventh when he was Prince of 112 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,479 Speaker 1: Wales in the late eighteen hundreds, and the position was 113 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: officially abolished in nineteen o one. Today's episode was written 114 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,679 Speaker 1: by Davan Chandler and produced by Tyler Klang. Brain Stuff 115 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: is production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For 116 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: more in this and lots of other topics that you 117 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: may want to sit down for, visit our home planet, 118 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com. And for more podcasts for 119 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 120 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.