In the past, there was no toilet paper to wipe yourself with after defecating, but instead people used moss, dry grass or tufts of straw, or other suitable material that was nearby.
A slightly more expensive variant was to carve a "røvsped", that is, a small wooden scraper, which you first cleaned yourself with, then wiped it off and hung it up. Røvsped were sometimes passed down through several generations from father to son and it was considered very noble to own one.
If you want to know more, you can read more about the history of toilet paper and its alternatives at:
https://slakthistoria.se/livet-forr/noden-har-ingen-lag-dassens-historia
https://popularhistoria.se/vardagsliv/hygien-halsa/nar-lort-sverige-borjade-bada-en-berattelse-om-badrummets-historia




