It’s Not All Knights and Shining Armor

Many people romanticize the Middle Ages, and they’re not to blame, considering the images propelled by legends of Merlin and Camelot. That being said, this time period wasn’t all about quests and honor. In reality, here are 20 hard truths about the Middle Ages you may have not expected.

1. Knights Were Honorable

Most people hold knights in the highest regard, associating them with good deeds and chivalrous quests. However, in reality, knights were noblemen with violent urges who often enjoyed warring.

2. Chastity Belts

The idea of chastity belts stems from a text dating back to the 14th century, but this was quickly debunked as a metaphor. Real-life chastity belts were made of padding, and there were no keys involved, which makes their true purpose debatable at best.

3. Flat Earthers

Denizens of the Middle Ages are often dismissed as uneducated, but in reality, there were plenty of advancements and discoveries being made during the period. In fact, people in the Middle Ages already knew the Earth was round, as this had been proven by earlier Greek scientists.

4. Height Disparity

There is a misconception surrounding the heights of those who lived long ago. This is mainly due to the abundance of shorter doorways, but in reality, these small passages were meant to help with insulation rather than height.

5. Short-Lived

There is a long-running assumption that people in the Middle Ages rarely lived past 30. However, it turns out people in the past had similar lifespans to our own, and misrepresentations had to do with the prevalence of childhood survival rates.

6. Rules of Chivalry

Chivalry refers to a set of rules that are often mentioned to this day. While many people try to live up to these codes, in reality, few knights actually practiced chivalry. Rather than worry about protecting the defenseless, most knights were little more than ruthless military men.

7. Clean Water

When it came to water, most people were able to differentiate between clean sources and dirty sources. This meant plenty of people drank water, and drinking ale was simply a social pastime.

8. Womanly Jobs

Surprisingly, there were many jobs in the Middle Ages that were reserved exclusively for women. This included trades such as making jewelry or weaving, which were considered feminine tasks.

9. Lack of Hygiene

When people picture peasants from the Middle Ages, they imagine people wearing rags and covered in dirt. In reality, baths were common, as people always preferred to be clean. This included swimming in the river or using damp clothes to wash up.

10. Church and State

The Middle Ages weren’t ruled by a strong sense of religion, as most people assume. While churches were prevalent, they weren’t actually all that strict. In fact, many churches encouraged philosophy and religious experimentation.

11. Rowdy and Mannerless

Perhaps due to associations with a lack of education, many think people in the Middle Ages lacked manners. In reality, food and dining were revered, and most people knew to avoid slurping and handling food in a messy fashion.

12. Tavern Availability

In most movies, a hero arrives at a tavern with a room always readily available to rent out. In reality, innkeepers were often busy, and rooms were few and far between. Most people turned to these taverns for food, drink, and an opportunity to gossip.

13. Married Young

Many people think girls were married off the moment they hit puberty, but this was very uncommon. Even when it did happen, the girls were not expected to consummate until a later age. Most people at the time considered young marriages to be scandalous and distasteful.

14. Unfashionable

Due to assumptions about hygiene and poverty, many assumed peasants had little time for fashion. But as in most time periods, there were trends and styles that shaped the fashion scene. These included men wearing leggings and women cinching their dresses with belts.

15. Selective Monasteries

Not anyone could join the monastery either. These positions were reserved for noble recruits. However, in later times, it became possible to achieve a monastery position after thorough schooling.

16. Unexpected Diversity

Despite what the movies lead you to believe, there was plenty of diversity in the Middle Ages. In fact, African and Middle Eastern ethnicities were common in the kingdoms, and there was intermingling between various religions.

17. Church and Science

Not only was the church not as strict as previously thought, but they actually encouraged the pursuit of science. In fact, they considered science to be natural philosophy and had no interest in burning anyone who studied it.

18. Peasants and Poverty

Not all peasants were slumming in poverty. In reality, lifestyles were very varied and conditional. Since many people were farmers, a bad harvest could indicate a troublesome year, but a good harvest correlated with abundance.

19. Fear the Witches

The people of the Middle Ages weren’t quick to burn women at the stake, and they weren’t as superstitious as you’d think. For example, women were encouraged to keep cats to handle rodents, and the Church encouraged scientific exploration.

20. Misleading Dark Ages

Many people consider the Middle Ages to be the Dark Ages, which leads to a sense of hopelessness and despair. In reality, the Middle Ages were full of light and learning and led to advancements in printing, gunpowder, and mechanical clocks.