From the Hoax:
- Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no
wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so
all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in
the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the
animals would slip and fall off the roof-hence the saying "It's
raining cats and dogs."
The Facts:
Most peasant cottages and many town buildings had thatched roofs -- which, rather than being simply "thick straw-piled high," were constructed of carefully, tightly woven straw, brom, heather, reeds or rushes.1 When properly devised, thatch was (and still is) very good at keeping out the elements, including rain, snow and hail.
Unfortunately, thatch could be an attractive abode for such uninvited guests as small rodents, insects and birds, it was subject to rot relatively quickly in wet weather, and in dry weather it posed a fire hazard. On the other hand, it was cheap and easy to construct, so cottages could, and did, get a new thatch roof when the old one ceased to provide adequate shelter. Most peasant housing was fairly impermanent in any case, and cottages were usually completely rebuilt every generation or so.2
While it is quite possible that a cat would jump up on the roof to hunt vermin, he would not "live" there, nor would dogs or other small animals. Have a look at a thatch roof, and you'll see that there is really no place for an animal as large as a cat (let alone a dog) to remain comfortably "in the roof." This is simply one of the sillier claims of the hoax.
Alas, the origin of the phrase "raining cats and dogs" is currently unknown. Its first known use in print was in the seventeenth century, but it may go back a few hundred years before that. Michael Quinion explores several theories at his World Wide Words site.
If you have any further sources for this phrase, please feel free to post them on our bulletin board.
Next: Canopy Beds
Return to Introduction.
Notes
1. Gies, Frances & Gies, Joseph, Life in a Medieval Village (HarperPerennial, 1991), p. 34.
2. Ibid, p. 88.
