ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises in a few pages more than 5000 years of history, during which soap, in its many realisations, dominated in the realm of surface active agents. It moves from its likely accidental discovery in Mesopotamia to the recognition of the effects and benefits it provided to its first uses for textile treatment (as reported in Sumerian records) or personal care (as reported in biblical reference). Since its discovery, soap became increasingly available either via trading or local production in the Mediterranean basin and even farther, reaching central Europe and the British islands. It deserved mention in an edict of the Carolingian Empire and in a later document recording products and technologies available at the time. The later Middle Ages saw the establishment of guilds regulating the production of soap, and apparently, its production increased to the point of attracting the interest of the fiscal authorities. In the documents available, there is no mention of what soap was used for, but the appearance of public bathhouses suggests that personal hygiene was now the driver. From here, the soap history is taken up in Chapter 3.
