What's the Rush? - Bushi SF/F

I can’t recall where it was that I first came across the concept of “rushes” being strewn about the floor of a lord’s castle. It may very well have been in one of George R. R. Martin’s Fire and Ice books. I know I’ve seen it since then as a recurring practice, usually mentioned off-hand, in some Euro-fantasy settings.

I do remember that I didn’t know what the heck a rush was or why it would be on the floor. So I looked it up, and it’s a plant. Ah…

I must admit, my first thought was – well, they’re obviously going to be cutting loose for a banquet, so the plants are gonna help…suck up the puke and wine and stuff? I mean, they can’t just throw down some towels, now, can they?

Not exactly the case.

As it turns out, rushes – long and durable grasses – were often used to pad the floors of medieval manses, castles, churches, and such. Pleasant-smelling herbs could be added to these floor coverings, and they would be changed out seasonally to freshen things up.

Still, this doesn’t sound very pleasant, does it? Would high lords and ladies be walking around on piles of grass like one might find in a barn? Most likely not. It would seem that the image presented by most Fantasy writers here is misleading.

A number of sources seem to agree that most likely the rushes were woven into mats. This makes a lot of sense, given that Japanese tatami is apparently a variety of rush, and tatami mats have been in use for over 1,000 years.

So rather than a mess of grass and plant matter scattered carelessly about the castle, you should be picturing grass mats lining stone floors. If you’re a writer, you may want to do yourself a favor in this regard, and assist your reader in visualizing the picture you’re painting.

I would suggest, therefore, that the servants lay down fresh rush mats rather than fresh rushes.