A limited group of people who were part of the aristocracy found, used, and applied aromatic compounds for religious reasons. The word perfume came from the Latin phrase per fumum, which means “by’ or “through” smoke. This is because people in ancient times burned incense to send their petitions to the heavens for divine consideration. As scent became both a pleasure and a spiritual thing, the priest-kings followed, bringing in a larger but still elite group of pharaohs, emperors, conquerors, and monarchs, together with their courtesans and alchemists. The Industrial Revolution and Chemistry combined to make scent accessible to the general public in the 20th century. If you are keen on building a career in perfume-making, pursuing B.Sc Beauty Cosmetology can help you gain the right skills and knowledge for this career path.
Among the main world religions that incorporate fragrance into their ceremonies are Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism and Zoroastrianism. Therefore, religious and pleasure-seeking factors are the primary causes of the widespread usage of smell over time. As civilisation progressed, perfumes became popular in China’s four major cultural centres: India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. They subsequently moved to the more evolved cultures of Greece, Palestine, Rome, Persia, and Arabia.
The seven stages of “aromatic” man in Western culture began when Crusaders brought back three amazing gifts from the East to Europe during the Dark Ages, when people had “not bathed for a millennium.” Years of alchemical research led to the creation of beautiful glassware, distilled drinks, and subtle scents. The medieval West loved the combination of a nice smell, a way to make it last longer, and a container to keep it safe during the six periods of Chivalry, Alchemy, Discovery, Revolution, Empire, and Fashion.
The Chivalric Age
In the 11th and 12th centuries, the Crusaders were enemies of Islam in the Holistic Land. However, they also loved many of the material things that Muslims preowned, and they brought back wall hangings, carpets, spices, eating utensils, glassware, and perfumes to their damp, dark, and gloomy castles in Europe. Empress Zoe recruited court perfumers in Constantinople, which was a Christian stronghold, because she thought that smells and incense might get rid of demons.
To make the mood more pleasant, Normans started putting flowers and rushes on the floors of churches and castles. A washerwoman, or lavnderess (from which the name “laundress” comes), was often hired to spread lavender sprigs and sachets around the chambers and to put packets of fragrant herbs among the linens. Smells were also essential. Knights who wanted to win the lady’s favour didn’t just want a pretty handkerchief; they also wanted the smell of her armpit and the memory of her wearing it.
The Time of Alchemy
The Black Death of 1347–1351 and the pandemics that followed it paradoxically sped up the already growing use of aromatic compounds that had already started to proliferate because of Eastern alchemical procedures. People thought that the epidemic spread by breathing in bad air. Because they smelt like dead bodies on the street, people carried nosegays and little flowers, or posies. From this the children’s nursery rhyme “Ring a Ring o’ Roses was born. The red rings are a visible sign of the plague. During epidemics, people had to go through fire and water to get to the doors of famous people. The greatest way to protect yourself against the Black Death was to wash with water and cover your body in smoke or incense. Torchbearers holding plague torches, which are brands of burning aromatic herbs, led the way for famous and rich people.
Gentile of Foligno, a doctor from Padua, made the following connection between smell and death:
Toxic chemicals are made around the heart and lungs. The illusion is caused by the movement of dangerous vapours through the air we breathe in and out, not by an excess of fundamental quality. Because of this, the epidemic has evolved and expanded both within and between countries.
The Era of Research
Global investigation notably improved in the 1500s and 1600s. Before this, the Americas had been seen by the Italian explorer Columbus and the Englishman John Cabot. Verrazzano looked for a Northern Strait from 1524 to 1528, while Cartier explored the North American coast from 1534 to 1536 in pursuit of wealth. Magellan and da Gama cruised the southern oceans, and Queen Elizabeth’s great seamen Gilbert, Frobisher, Drake, and Raleigh sailed the waters looking for treasure for her coffers. This oceanic operation not only added to the supply of aromatic things that were already available, but it also delivered numerous new ones to European tables and labs. The alchemists waited until the end of the expedition to learn more.
The Era of Revolution
The English Civil War (!642-1651) forced people even more against sovereignty. This got terrible because of the revolutions in North America (1775-1783) and France (185-1799), which changed the political environment and the world order extensively. A quiet revolution was happening as chemists, spicers, and apothecaries started to make money by making perfumes. London-based perfumer Charles Lilly created scented snuffs and a novel scent in 1708 using orange flower, musk, civet, violet, and amber. William Bayley established a perfume store in Long Acre in 1711. He eventually moved to Cockspur Street, where he ran the business under the name “Ye Olde Civet Cat.” In France, Houbigant (1774) and Lubin (1798) followed the same path as Juan Floris (1730) and William Yardley (1770).
George III (1738–1820) made the following law because these six perfumers were able to get more customers and make the market more exciting for the general public:
Any woman who, after this Act, uses perfumes, potions, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, hoops, high heels, shoes, or padded hips to trick, entice, or ensnare any of His Majesty’s subjects into marriage—regardless of their social standing or professional credentials—will face the penalties outlined by current laws regarding witchcraft and similar offenses, and any resulting marriage will be deemed void upon conviction.
Conclusion
The evolution of people’s perceptions of scent from religious ritual to individual pleasure is demonstrated by the history of fragrance chemistry and perfumery. Perfumes were formerly employed in religious rituals. They were reserved for the wealthy and considered a sign of purity and a connection to God. Crusaders, alchemists, and explorers found it simpler to diffuse fragrant ingredients as a result of global scientific advancements and findings.
People began employing fragrant compounds more for hygiene and protection during the Age of Alchemy and the diseases that followed. The political and industrial revolutions helped modern perfumery thrive by making smells easier to find and making perfumers more professional. The manufacturing of chemical compounds enables the formulation of perfumes with more notes and a longer shelf life. A magnificent example of how tradition, art, and science can come together to formulate something unique and evocative is perfume.