Without any source of commercial dyes it was necessary for the medieval household to find plants from which they could extract dyes for cloth, food, inks and paints. Some colors extracted were blue from woad, red from madder, and yellow from lady's bedstraw.

Scents were also important, be they pleasing or objectionable. Pleasing scents helped to mask odors created by poor personal hygiene and close proximity to human and animal waste. Objectionable scents were used to drive out vermin and snakes and to protect clothes from fleas and moths, among other things.
 
 

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