How frequently were pomanders used in the Tudor period?

Question

I've heard of Cardinal Wolsey holding an orange studded with cloves to his nose to avoid bad smells, but does anyone know if the upper class commonly used pomanders? Like when they were in the city or amongst the poor (e.g., at a public event like a coronation)? Any help and sources you could provide would be great.

Answer 1

In addition to protecting people from unattractive smells, many believed they also warded off illness.

Answer 2

Commonly used by the upper classes when encountering the stink of the common masses, or the general stench of streets with gutters awash with sewerage.

Answer 3

"A pomander was a round, highly decorative case, opening with a hinge,  which contained perfume or sweet-smelling herbs. Men wore pomanders suspended from a chain or a belt and women attached them to their girdles."

http://www.the-tudors.org.uk/tudor-jewel...

The upper classes probably wore pomanders most of the time, as (re the above) they were attached to chains for easy access.  Living in wealthy homes with fragrant herbs strewn among the rushes on the floors, they were probably less used to the unpleasant smells that the poorer people had to live with, so when they walked in the city streets with the sewage running down a gully in the middle, they would have held the pomander to their noses.  If they mingled with the poor at great events, they also would have used their pomanders to help alleviate the smell, I'm sure, and also to ward off disease.

The poor would probably have sweet-smelling herbs and flowers wrapped in a handkerchief.  Sweet-smelling herbs were also thought to ward off the foul smells created by diseases like the plague, which did happen at times in the Tudor era.

"A pomander is a rind fruit, such as an orange, that has been studded with dried myrtle buds ( otherwise known as whole cloves.) The name pomander is derived from the French for Pomme ( apple) and amber ( golden in color). Amber may also be a reference to ambergris, an early perfume ingredient originally obtained from Sperm Whales.

During the Elizabethan era, gold and silver were crafted into hollow orbs that mimicked the shape of fruit and held a mixture of spices and fragrant oils. Carried on waist chains somewhat like a pocket watch, they were thought to ward off disease and help mask unpleasant odors."

http://www.learnsomethingtoday.com/text%...