Editing Public bathing (section)

== History ==
{{See also|Bathing#History|History of water supply and sanitation}}

=== Indus Valley Civilization ===
[[File:Mohenjo-daro.jpg|thumb| [[Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro|Great Bath]] of [[Mohenjo-daro|Mohenjo Daro]]]]
{{Further|Sanitation in the Indus Valley Civilization}}
Some of the earliest public baths are found in the ruins in of the [[Indus Valley civilization]]. According to [[John Keay]], the "[[Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro|Great Bath]]" of [[Mohenjo-daro|Mohenjo Daro]] in present-day [[Pakistan]] was the size of 'a modest municipal [[swimming pool]]', complete with stairs leading down to the water at each one of its ends.<ref name="keay13-14">{{cite book| last = Keay | first = John  | year = 2001 | title = India: A History | pages = 13–14 | publisher = Grove Press | isbn = 0-8021-3797-0}}</ref>

The bath is housed inside a larger—more elaborate—building and was used for public bathing.<ref name=keay13-14 /> The Great Bath and the house of the priest suggest that the Indus had a religion.

=== Ancient Greece ===
In Greece by the sixth century BC, men and women washed in basins near places of physical and intellectual exercise. Later gymnasia had indoor basins set overhead, the open maws of marble lions offering showers, and circular pools with tiers of steps for lounging.

Bathing was ritualized, and becoming an art, with cleansing sands, hot water, hot air in dark vaulted "vapor baths", a cooling plunge, and a rubdown with [[Fragrance oil|aromatic oils]]. Cities all over Ancient Greece honored sites where "young [[ephebos|ephebes]] stood and splashed water over their bodies".

Greek public bathing spread to the already rich ancient Egyptian bathing culture, during [[Ptolemaic egypt|Ptolemaic rule]]<ref name="Egypts Presidential Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research 2020 pp. 51–67">{{cite journal | title=An Insight into an Egyptian Intangible Cultural Heritage Tradition: The Hammām | journal=International Journal of Heritage and Museum Studies | publisher=Egypts Presidential Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research | volume=2 | issue=1 | date=2020-10-01 | issn=2735-3850 | doi=10.21608/ijhms.2020.188742 | pages=51–67| s2cid=237439213 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Redon 2017 p. ">{{cite book | last=Redon | first=Bérangère | title=Collective baths in Egypt 2 : new discoveries and perspectives : Balaneîa = Thermae = Hammâmât | publication-place=Le Caire | date=2017 | isbn=978-2-7247-0696-3 | oclc=1002185387 | page=}}</ref> and [[Roman bathing|ancient Rome]].

=== China ===
{{Main|Chinese bathhouses}}
Bathing culture in Chinese literature can be traced back to the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600 – 1046 BCE), where [[Oracle bone]] inscriptions describe the people washing hair and body in bath, suggesting people paid attention to personal hygiene. ''[[Book of Rites]]'', a work regarding [[Zhou dynasty]] (1046 – 256 BCE) ritual, politics, and culture compiled during the [[Warring States period]], describes that people should take a hot shower every five days and wash their hair every three days. It was also considered good manners to take a bath provided by the host before the [[dinner]]. In the [[Han dynasty]], bathing became a regular activity every five days.<ref name="woc">{{cite web|url=https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2021/07/bathing-in-ancient-times/ |title=Bathing in Ancient Times |website= theworldofchinese |date=1 July 2021 |first=Jiahui |last=Sun}}</ref>

Ancient public bath facilities have been found in ancient Chinese cities, such as the Dongzhouyang archaeological site in [[Henan Province]]. Bathrooms were called Bi ({{zh|t=湢}}), and bathtubs were made of bronze or timber.<ref name="vc">{{cite web|url=https://www.viewofchina.com/ancient-chinese-bath-culture/ |title=Ancient Chinese Bath Culture |website=viewofchina |date=30 April 2019}}</ref> Bath beans, a powdery soap mixture of ground beans, cloves, eaglewood, flowers, and even powdered jade, was a luxury toiletry in the Han dynasty; commoners used powdered beans without spices. Luxurious bathhouses built around hot springs were recorded in the [[Tang dynasty]].<ref name="woc" /> While royal bathhouses and bathrooms were common among ancient Chinese nobles and commoners, the public bathhouse was a relatively late development. In the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279), public bathhouses became popular and ubiquitous,<ref name="vc" /> and bathing became an essential part of social life and recreation. Bathhouses often provided massage, manicure, rubdowns, ear cleaning, food and beverages.<ref name="vc" /> [[Marco Polo]], who traveled to China during the [[Yuan dynasty]], noted Chinese bathhouses used coal for heating, which he had never seen in Europe.<ref>Golas, Peter J and Needham, Joseph (1999) ''Science and Civilisation in China''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 186–91. {{ISBN|0-521-58000-5}}</ref> At that time coal was so plentiful that Chinese people of every social class took frequent baths, either in public baths or in bathrooms in their own homes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/4sub8/entry-5456.html |title= Marco Polo's Descriptions of China |website=Facts and Details|access-date=15 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.dianewolff.com/marco_polo_s_world_134107.htm |title=Marco Polo's World |access-date=15 November 2022 }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2022}}

A typical [[Ming dynasty]] bathhouse had slabbed floors and brick dome ceilings. A huge boiler was installed in the back of the house, connected with the bathing pool through a tunnel. Water could be pumped into the pool by water wheels attended by staff.<ref name="vc" />

=== South Korea ===
{{Main|Jjimjilbang}}
Unlike traditional public baths in other countries, public baths in Korea are known for having various amenities on site besides the basic bathing. This can range from public saunas known as ''[[Hanjeungmak]]'', hot tubs, showers, and even massage tables where people can get massage scrubs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/first-time-korean-bathhouse|title = How to visit a Korean bathhouse for the first time}}</ref> Due to the popularity of Korean jjimjilbangs, some have started to open up outside of Korea.

[[File:Ga Hiti Bhimsenthan Kathmandu Nepal Rajesh Dhungana 1.jpg|right|thumb|300px|People bathing in Bhindyo Gaa Hiti in [[Kathmandu]], [[Nepal]] in 2021]]

=== Nepal ===
{{Main|Dhunge dhara}}
From at least as early as 550 AD there have been public drinking fountains in Nepal, also called dhunge dhara or hiti. The primary function of these dhunge dharas was to provide easily accessible and safe drinking water. Depending on their size and location, they were also used as a public bath and for other washing and cleaning activities. Many of them are still being used as such today.<ref name=Raimund1995>Water Conduits in the Kathmandu Valley (2 vols.) by Raimund O.A. Becker-Ritterspach, {{ISBN|9788121506908}}, Published by Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 1995</ref><ref name=KVWSMB2019>[http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/31677 Kathmandu water spouts, lost and found cases] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206171536/http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/31677 |date=2019-12-06 }} by Purushottam P. Khatri, The Rising Nepal, 1 June 2019, retrieved 6 December 2019</ref>

=== {{anchor|Japan}}Japan ===
{{Main|Sentō}}
The origin of Japanese bathing is {{transliteration|ja|[[misogi]]}}, ritual purification with water.<ref name="Clark1994 backcover">{{ cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pT7tP4zFHdYC | title = Clark – 1994 | quote = backcover Misogi| isbn = 978-0-8248-1657-5 | last1 = Clark | first1 = Scott | year = 1994 }}</ref> After Japan imported Buddhist culture, many temples had saunas, which were available for anyone to use for free.

In the [[Heian period]], houses of prominent families, such as the families of court nobles or samurai, had baths. The bath had lost its religious significance and instead became leisure. {{transliteration|ja|Misogi}} became {{transliteration|ja|gyōzui}}, to bathe in a shallow wooden tub.<ref name="Clark1994 p.36">{{ cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pT7tP4zFHdYC&q=gyozui&pg=PA36 | page = 36 | title = Clark – 1994 | quote = Gyōzui| isbn = 978-0-8248-1657-5 | last1 = Clark | first1 = Scott | year = 1994 }}</ref>

In the 17th century, the first European visitors to Japan recorded the habit of daily baths in sexually mixed groups.<ref name="Clark1994 backcover" /> Before the mid-19th century, when Western influence increased, nude communal bathing for men, women, and children at the local unisex public bath, or {{transliteration|ja|[[sentō]]}}, was a daily fact of life.

In contemporary times, many, but not all administrative regions forbid nude mixed gender public baths, with exceptions for children under a certain age when accompanied by parents. Public baths using water from {{transliteration|ja|[[onsen]]}} (hot springs) are particularly popular. Towns with hot springs are destination resorts, which are visited daily by the locals and people from other, neighboring towns.

=== Indonesia ===
[[File:Pura Tirta Empul, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.JPG|thumb|right|Public bathing as cleansing ritual in [[Tirta Empul Temple|Tirta Empul]], [[Bali]].]]
Traditionally in [[Indonesia]], bathing is almost always "public", in the sense that people converge at riverbanks, pools, or water springs for bathing or laundering. However, some sections of riverbanks are segregated by gender. Nude bathing is quite uncommon; many people still use ''kain jarik'' (usually [[batik]] clothes or [[sarong]]) wrapped around their bodies to cover their genitals. More modest bathing springs might use woven bamboo partitions for privacy, still a common practice in villages and rural areas.

The 8th-century complex of [[Ratu Boko]] contains a ''petirtaan'' or bathing-pool structure enclosed in a walled compound.<ref name="Wonderful">{{cite web|url=http://www.indonesia.travel/en/destination/830/the-majestic-beauty-of-the-ratu-boko-palace-ruins | title= The Majestic Beauty of the Ratu Boko Palace ruins |publisher=Wonderful Indonesia |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140625073335/http://indonesia.travel/en/destination/830/the-majestic-beauty-of-the-ratu-boko-palace-ruins|archive-date= 2014-06-25|url-status=dead|access-date= 2014-06-23}}</ref> This suggests that other than bathing in riverbanks or springs, people of ancient Java's [[Mataram Kingdom]] developed a bathing pool, although it was not actually "public" since it was believed to be reserved for royalty or people residing in the compound. The 14th-century [[Majapahit]] city of [[Trowulan]] had several bathing structures, including the Candi Tikus bathing pool, believed to be a royal bathing pool; and the  Segaran reservoir, a large public pool.<ref name="JPMajapahit">{{cite news|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/04/09/tracing-glory-majapahit.html|title=Tracing the glory of Majapahit|author=Sita W. Dewi|date=9 April 2013|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|access-date=5 February 2015}}</ref>

The Hindu-majority island of [[Bali]] contains several public bathing pools—some, such as [[Goa Gajah]], dating from the 9th century. A notable public bathing pool is [[Tirta Empul Temple|Tirta Empul]], which is primarily used for the [[Balinese Hinduism]] cleansing ritual rather than for sanitation or recreation.<ref name="burari">{{cite web|url=http://www.buravi.com/place/noted/pura-tirta-empul.html|title=Pura Tirta Empul|publisher=Burari Bali|access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref> Its bubbling water is the main source of the Pakerisan River.

=== Roman Empire ===
{{Main|Thermae|Ancient Roman bathing}}
[[File:Roman public baths Dion 1.JPG|thumb|right|Ruins of a Roman bath in [[Dion, Greece]], showing the under-floor heating system, or [[hypocaust]]]]
The first public thermae of 19 BC had a rotunda 25 metres across, circled by small rooms, set in a park with an artificial river and pool. By AD 300 the [[Baths of Diocletian]] would cover {{convert|140000|m2|ft2}}, its soaring granite and porphyry sheltering 3,000 bathers a day. Most Roman homes, except for those of the most elite, did not have any sort of bathing area, so people from various classes of Roman society would convene at the public baths.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/924682988 |title=Daily life in ancient Rome : a sourcebook |date=2016 |others=Brian K. Harvey |isbn=978-1-58510-795-7 |location=Indianapolis |oclc=924682988}}</ref> Roman baths became "something like a cross between an aqua centre and a [[Amusement park|theme park]]", with pools, exercise spaces, game rooms, gardens, even libraries, and theatres. One of the most famous public bath sites is [[Roman Baths (Bath)|Aquae Sulis]] in [[Bath, England]].

Dr. Garrett G Fagan, a professor at [[Pennsylvania State University]], described public bathing as a "social event" for the Romans in his book ''Bathing in Public in the Roman World''. He also states that "In Western Europe only the Finns still practice a truly public bathing habit."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/professors/professor_detail.aspx?pid=152 |title=Professor Garrett G. Fagan – Audio & Video Lectures |publisher=The Great Courses |access-date=2014-05-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Fagan | first = Garrett G.  | title = Bathing in Public in the Roman World | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=R6tz_TzSVkAC| isbn = 0-472-08865-3 | year = 2002 }}</ref>

=== Muslim world ===
{{Main|Hammam}}
[[File:Baños de Vakil, Shiraz, Irán, 2016-09-24, DD 36-38 HDR (32585522971).jpg|thumb|The changing room or vestibule of the [[Vakil Bath|Vakil Hammam]] in [[Shiraz]], [[Iran]] (18th century)]]
Public bathhouses were a prominent feature in the [[Islamic culture|culture of the Muslim world]] which was inherited from the model of the Roman ''[[thermae]].''<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|editor-last=M. Bloom|editor-first=Jonathan|chapter=Bath|editor-last2=S. Blair|editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref><ref name="Sibley">{{cite journal|last=Sibley|first=Magda|title=The Historic Hammams of Damascus and Fez: Lessons of Sustainability and Future Developments|journal=The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Marçais|first=Georges|title=L'architecture musulmane d'Occident|publisher=Arts et métiers graphiques|year=1954|location=Paris}}</ref> Muslim bathhouses, also called hammams (from {{langx|ar|حمّام|translit=ḥammām}}) or "Turkish baths" (mainly by westerners due to the bath's association with the [[Ottoman Empire]]), are historically found across the [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], [[al-Andalus]] (Islamic [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]]), [[Central Asia]], the [[Indian subcontinent]], and in [[Central Europe|central]] and [[eastern Europe]] under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]]. In Islamic culture the significance of the hammam was both religious and civic: it provided for the needs of [[Ritual purification|ritual ablutions]] (''[[wudu]]'' and ''[[ghusl]]'') but also provided general hygiene and served other functions in the community such as meeting places for socialization for both men and women.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Sibley" /><ref name=":052">{{Cite book|last1=Sourdel-Thomine|first1=J.|title=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|last2=Louis|first2=A.|publisher=Brill|year=2012|editor-last=Bearman|editor-first=P.|chapter=Ḥammām|editor-last2=Bianquis|editor-first2=Th.|editor-last3=Bosworth|editor-first3=C.E.|editor-last4=van Donzel|editor-first4=E.|editor-last5=Heinrichs|editor-first5=W.P.}}</ref> Archaeological remains attest to the existence of bathhouses in the Islamic world as early as the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad period]] (7th–8th centuries) and their importance has persisted up to modern times.<ref name=":052" /><ref name=":0" /> Their architecture evolved from the layout of Roman and [[Greek baths|Greek]] bathhouses and featured a similar sequence of rooms: an [[Apodyterium|undressing room]], a [[Frigidarium|cold room]], a [[Tepidarium|warm room]], and a [[Caldarium|hot room]]. Heat is produced by [[Furnace (house heating)|furnaces]] which provide hot water and [[steam]], as well as smoke and hot air passing through [[Hypocaust|conduits under the floor]].<ref name="Sibley" /><ref name=":052" /><ref name=":02" /> The process of visiting a hammam was similar to that of Roman bathing, albeit with some exceptions such as the absence of exercise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aquariussauna.com/turkishbath.htm|title=About Bath Houses, Turkish Baths and Sauna Culture and Bath Resources|publisher=Aquariussauna.com|access-date=2014-05-21}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== In Judaism ===
[[File:Temple Beth-El (Birmingham) mikveh.jpg|thumb|A contemporary mikveh at the [[Temple Beth-El (Birmingham, Alabama)|Temple Beth-El]] synagogue in [[Birmingham, Alabama]]]]
Public baths in Judaism, unlike the ritual bath (''[[mikveh]]'') which is used for purification after [[tumah and taharah|defilement]], are used only for enhancing bodily cleanliness and for pleasure and relaxation. On ''[[Tisha B'Av]]'', the [[Fasting|fast day]] marking the commemoration of the [[Second Temple]]'s destruction, Jews are not permitted to visit the public bath house.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maimonides |author-link=Maimonides |title=Sefer Mishneh Torah - HaYad Ha-Chazakah (Maimonides' Code of Jewish Law) |publisher=Pe'er HaTorah |volume=2 |date=1974|location=Jerusalem |page=359 [180a] (Hil. Ta'aniyot 5:6) |language=he |oclc=122758200 }}; cf. [[Joseph Karo]], ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'' (''Orach Chaim'' 554:1)</ref>

In the [[Minor tractate]] ''Kallah Rabbati'' (chapter 10), the early [[Sages of Israel]] instructed on what should be the conduct of every Jew who enters a public bath. Before a Jew enters a public bath, he is first required to offer a short prayer unto God, requesting that no offensive act befall him there.<ref name="BabylonianTalmud">[[Babylonian Talmud]] (vol. 16: ''Avodah Zarah'', ''Eduyoth'', ''Horayoth''), appendix, Tractate ''Kallah Rabbati'' (chapter 10), p. 55a in the [[Or haChaim|Or Hachaim]] Institutions edition (in Hebrew)</ref> He is also instructed on which clothes he is to remove before entering the bath itself, with the item that puts his body at the most exposure being the very last thing removed.<ref name="BabylonianTalmud"/> When entering a public bath, a Jew is not permitted to greet his neighbor with a verbal salutation, and if another person should greet him audibly, he is to retort: "This is a bath house."<ref name="BabylonianTalmud"/> Once inside, he is forbidden to sit in a [[fetal position]] upon the marble floor, such as one who puts his head between his own legs while sitting upright (others explain the sense as exercising the body);<ref name="BabylonianTalmud"/> nor is he permitted to rub or scratch another person's limbs with his bare hands, but may use an extended device to scratch another bather's back.<ref name="BabylonianTalmud"/> Furthermore, he is not permitted to have his "limbs broken" (a kind of stretching of the muscles, or [[massaging]]) while lying on the marble floor in the bath house.<ref name="BabylonianTalmud"/><ref>{{Citation |title=Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature |editor-last=Jastrow|editor-first=M. |editor-link=Marcus Jastrow |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |place=Peabody, Mass.|year=2006|page=1517|oclc=614562238 }}, s.v. {{Script/Hebrew|שבר}} I (end)</ref> These strictures were enacted in order to discourage developing any close bond and connection with another bather that might, otherwise, lead to inappropriate behavior while both men are naked. In addition, bathing with one's biological father, with one's sister's husband (brother-in-law) and with one's rabbi are all prohibited.<ref>{{cite book|last=Eisenstein|first=Judah D.|author-link=Julius Eisenstein |title=A Digest of Jewish Laws and Customs - in Alphabetical Order (Ozar Dinim u-Minhagim) |publisher=Ḥ. mo. l. |year=1970|location=Tel-Aviv|pages=250{{ndash}}251 (s.v. מרחץ)|language=he|oclc=54817857}} (reprinted from 1922 and 1938 editions of the Hebrew Publishing Co., New York)</ref>

=== Christian world ===
[[File:Hausbuch Wolfegg 18v 19r Badehaus.jpg|thumb|A bathhouse, c. 1475–1485]]
Despite the denunciation of the [[mixed bathing]] style of Roman pools by [[early Christian]] clergy, as well as the pagan custom of women bathing naked in front of men, this did not stop the Church from urging its followers to go to public baths for bathing,<ref name=" Squatriti ">{{cite book |last= Warsh |first= Cheryl Krasnick |others=Veronica Strong-Boag |title=Children's Health Issues in Historical Perspective |year=2006 |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|quote= ... Thus bathing also was considered a part of good health practice. For example, Tertullian attended the baths and believed them hygienic. Clement of Alexandria, while condemning excesses, had given guidelines for Christian] who wished to attend the baths ...|isbn=978-0-88920-912-1|page=315}}</ref> which contributed to [[hygiene]] and good [[health]] according to the [[Church Father]], [[Clement of Alexandria]]. The [[Christian church|Church]] built public bathing facilities that were separate for both sexes near [[Christian monasticism|monasteries]] and pilgrimage sites; also, the [[popes]] situated [[Bathing|baths]] within church [[basilica]]s and [[monasteries]] since the early [[Middle Age]]s.<ref name="Mary Thurlkill ">{{cite book |last=Thurlkill |first= Mary |title=Sacred Scents in Early Christianity and Islam: Studies in Body and Religion |year=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|quote= ... Clement of Alexandria (d. c. 215 CE) allowed that bathing contributed to good health and hygiene ... Christian skeptics could not easily dissuade the baths' practical popularity, however; popes continued to build baths situated within church basilicas and monasteries throughout the early medieval period ... |isbn=978-0-7391-7453-1 |pages=6–11}}</ref> Pope [[Gregory the Great]] urged his followers on the value of [[bathing]] as a bodily need.<ref name="Paolo Squatriti ">{{cite book |last=Squatriti |first= Paolo |title=Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000, Parti 400–1000 |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|quote= ... but baths were normally considered therapeutic until the days of Gregory the Great, who understood virtuous bathing to be bathing "on account of the needs of body" ...|isbn=978-0-521-52206-9 |page=54}}</ref>

Great bathhouses were built in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine centers]] such as [[Constantinople]] and [[Antioch]],<ref>{{citation | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan |editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan | title = Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1=Kourkoutidou-Nikolaidou|first1=Eutychia|last2=Tourta|first2=A.|year=1997|title=Wandering in Byzantine Thessaloniki| url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Wandering_in_Byzantine_Thessaloniki.html?id=TmXqAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>{{rp|87}} and the [[popes]] allocated to the Romans bathing through ''[[diaconia]]'', or private [[Lateran]] baths, or even a myriad of monastic bath houses functioning in eighth and ninth centuries.<ref name="Paolo Squatriti " /> The [[pope]]s maintained their baths in their residences which described by scholar Paolo Squatriti as " luxurious baths", and bath houses including hot baths incorporated into Christian Church buildings or those of monasteries, which known as "[[Hygiene in Christianity|charity baths]]" because they served both the clerics and needy poor people.<ref name="ASpiritualHistory" /> Public bathing were common in mediaeval [[Christendom]] larger towns and cities such as [[Paris]], [[Regensburg]] and [[Naples]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Middle Ages: Facts and Fictions|first=Winston |last= Black|year= 2019| isbn=  978-1-4408-6232-8| page =61 |publisher=ABC-CLIO|quote=Public baths were common in the larger towns and cities of Europe by the twelfth century.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Perception and Action in Medieval Europe|first=Harald|last=  Kleinschmidt|year= 2005| isbn=  978-1-84383-146-4| page =61 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer|quote=The evidence of early medieval laws that enforced punishments for the destruction of bathing houses suggests that such buildings were not rare. That they ... took a bath every week. At places in southern Europe, Roman baths remained in use or were even restored ... The Paris city scribe Nicolas Boileau noted the existence of twenty-six public baths in Paris in 1272}}</ref> Catholic religious orders of the [[Augustinians]]' and [[Benedictines]]' rules contained [[ritual purification]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The English Spa, 1560–1815: A Social History|first=Phyllis|last= Hembry|year= 1990| isbn= 978-0-8386-3391-5|publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press}}</ref> and inspired by [[Benedict of Nursia]] encouragement for the practice of therapeutic bathing; [[Benedictine]] monks played a role in the development and promotion of [[spa]]s.<ref name=ASpiritualHistory>{{cite book | title = Water: A Spiritual History| first =Ian |last=Bradley | year =2012| isbn= 978-1-4411-6767-5|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing}}</ref> [[Protestantism]] also played a prominent role in the development of the British [[spa]]s.<ref name="ASpiritualHistory" />
[[File:Βυζαντινό λουτρό Άνω Πόλης 1788.jpg|thumb|[[Byzantine Bath (Thessaloniki)|Byzantine Bath]] in [[Thessaloniki]]]]
Roman style public baths were introduced on a limited scale by returning [[Crusades|crusaders]] in the 11th and 12th centuries,<ref>Wheatcroft (2003) p. 73.</ref> who had enjoyed warm baths in the Middle East. These, however, rapidly degenerated into [[brothel]]s or at least the reputation as such and were closed down at various times. For instance, in England during the reign of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], bath houses, called ''bagnios'' from the Italian word for bath, were set up in [[Southwark]] on the river [[Thames]]. They were all officially closed down by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] in 1546 due to their negative reputation.