If we look back to see how far humanity has grown, we’ll see the ages of stages of evolution that changed us from barbaric cave-dwellers to civilized humans. But it’s not like civic behaviour dawned on us in a moment. Human history is filled with moments that will leave us speechless – either in amazement or disgust.
When we take a look at the past, we find lots of interesting things. The Medieval Era in the history of mankind lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It was an era where faith and science, each found their way to humanity. That was the time when many huge empires rose and collapsed – the events that led to the differences between Rationalism and Romanticism.
Let’s turn the pages of history and find out the deep and dark truths about the Middle Ages.
1. Sad truth behind Peasantry.
Being a peasant, back in the day, was a tough, miserable life. They barely had any control or authority over their own lives. You were bound to work for your lords for years, and you were given a small plot of land, where you were supposed to grow food for your family as well as feed the cattle.
2. Peasants could set themselves free.
Yeah, but it wasn’t as easy. If you were caught after running, you’d be severely punished. However, if you could run and hide for more than a year and reach another town, you could become a freeman of that town.
3. Marriage was quite simple.
All you had to do was to recite certain lines in presence of a witness, and BOOM! You are bound in a nuptial bond – whether the venue is a hall, woods, streets or even a tavern.
But it changed once the Church started to intervene in nearly all the aspects of their lives.
4. Black Death was one of the biggest pandemics humanity has seen.
It resulted in deaths of around 200 million people in Europe in the years 1346–1353. Originating from Asia, Black Death is believed to come to Europe via Silk Road, and took down 30-60% of Europe’s population at that time.
5. Peasants had cleaner teeth.
Though this sounds like a good thing, the reality behind it isn’t as positive. Since they didn’t have access to the sweet desserts that their lords enjoyed, they had lesser tooth decays to worry about.
6. Binge-drinking was a serious problem.
Apparently, Black Death wasn’t the only epidemic spreading across the European continent. People were drastically consumed by alcoholism. People conveniently mistook alcohol to protect from diseases. This took a more serious turn when they believed it so blindly, that they started to drink themselves to death.
7. Football was considered violent and was banned in England.
Back then, it was rather a “Mob Football” with an unlimited number of people hustled for a pig bladder, used as a ball. There were very little rules and people went quite further than a shoulder push to get the ball. Because of the ruckus caused by it, King Edward II placed a ban on the violent sport in 1314.
8. There were no pavements to walk on.
People used to walk on bare earth… on a good day! Generally, the ‘bare earth’ was covered with human and animal waste, from shit on streets to food waste.
9. Peasants did have some authority.
Power over minor local issues was devolved to a council of peasants who would decide small details such as land disputes. The smart ones were able to, sometimes, take over the properties their owners.
10. The common folk had weird customs.
Most of the Middle Age was shaped by Christianity. But still, there are a few curious rituals, that didn’t harm the religion, and were too fun to be discarded by the church.
Some included lighting up wooden barrels to them down the hill and throwing of wheat over the heads of the newlyweds.
11. The Lord of Misrule.
Being an idiot was a community service. Every year the peasants would elect someone to be a Lord of Misrule. He was made to wear a paper crown and was celebrated as the fool of the community.
12. Poor didn’t have the luxury of Anesthetics.
Back in the days, Anesthetics were only reserved for the lords and higher-ups, when it came to medical attention. The poor had to stay conscious during the whole ordeal of surgeries, bearing the pain.
14. Too much blood was considered bad for health.
Doctors believed that the internal fluids – blood, bile, and phlegm, should neither be too little nor too much. That’s why they bled their patients regularly relieve them from the excess blood.
15. Horoscope was held higher than health.
Astrologers were highly respected among the people of medieval ages. Even doctors had to consult a person’s horoscope before his treatment. They could also predict the harvest as well as the personalities of your children.
16. Many medicines were based on superstitions.
Medical diagnoses usually involved astrology and other wild theories and were ‘treated’ by equally ridiculous treatments. For example, bloodletting was considered medically helpful for ‘any illness’ as the removal of ‘bad blood‘ from your body.
17. The origin of the Piggy Bank.
However money saving was quite a foreign concept for peasants, they’d save what money they could in pots made from a type of clay called Pygg. This is where we get the term ‘piggy bank‘.
18. Chastity belts were made for women.
A chastity belt was worn by women to prevent sexual intercourse. Along with a protection from rape, it was also used to ‘maintain faithfulness to their husbands.‘ It was one of the ‘anti-temptation device‘ by crusaders.
19. Sheep dung was a contraceptive.
Back when contraceptive pills weren’t a thing, sheep excreta was used achieve the same results. Not just that, a sponge soaked in lemon juice and inserted into the vagina also passed as a contraceptive measure.
20. Not all authors were writers.
As ironic this might sound, most of the population couldn’t read or write. But through experience, they had the immense knowledge to be shared. So, they had the ancient version of voice recording – a Scribe, who’ll write down the author’s dictation.
21. Shops didn’t have names on the outside.
Since most of the people weren’t able to read or write, there was no point in having billboards and hoardings for advertisements. Hence, the shop owners chose to present a model of their skills, like painting thread and needle for a tailor, or an anvil for a smith, instead.
Do you recall all the shops in the medieval games you used to play? Well, now you know why there were symbols in front of shops and not a banner.
22. Bad breath was a valid reason for divorce.
There are records of women who had a divorce for something as trivial as a bad breath. That means, having a morning breath could ruin your relationships. Good luck with waking up next to each other.
23. Farm animals were very small.
Medieval-time farm animals were small and often unhealthy. A full-grown bull was only slightly larger than a modern calf, and sheep were about a third of the size they are today. Generally, fleece yield was sometimes less than one pound per sheep.
24. Animals could be convicted for crimes.
25. Old bread could kill you!
In the conditions of food shortage, people had to reserve to eating old rye. This usually led to similar effects as of LSD. And just like any other regular drug, it’s overuse could potentially kill you.
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