Modern books and films about the Middle Ages do not always truthfully tell about the daily life of ordinary people during that period. In fact, many aspects of life of that time are not entirely attractive, and the approach to life of medieval citizens is alien to people of the 21st century.
1. Desecration of graves
In medieval Europe, 40 percent of burials were desecrated. Previously, only cemetery robbers and grave robbers were accused of this. However, two recently discovered cemeteries showed that perhaps ordinary residents of the settlements did similar things. The Austrian cemetery Brunn am Gebirge contained 42 graves from the time of the Lombards, a 6th-century Germanic tribe.
All of them, except one, were dug up, and skulls were removed from the graves, or, on the contrary, “extra” ones were added. Most of the bones were removed from the graves using some kind of tool. The motive for this is unclear, but the tribe may have been trying to prevent the undead from appearing. It is also possible that the Lombards wanted to "acquire" the memory of their lost loved ones. This may be the reason why more than a third of the skulls are missing.
In the English cemetery "Winnall II" (7th - 8th centuries), skeletons were bound, beheaded, or had their joints twisted. Initially it was believed that this was some kind of strange funeral rite. However, there is growing evidence that such manipulations occurred much later than the funerals, perhaps because local residents believed that the undead might appear.
2. Evidence of marriage
Getting married in medieval England was easier than making soup. All that was needed was a man, a woman, and their verbal consent to marriage. If the girl was under 12 years old and the boy under 14 years old, their families did not give consent. But at the same time, neither a church nor a priest was required for marriage.
People often got married right where they reached an agreement, be it in the local pub or in bed (sexual relations automatically led to marriage). But there was one difficulty associated with this. If something went wrong, and the marriage was concluded one-on-one, but in fact it was impossible to prove it.
For this reason, marital vows gradually began to be taken in the presence of a priest. Divorce could only occur if the union was not legal. The main reasons included being married to a previous partner, being related (even distant ancestors were taken into account), or being married to a non-Christian.
3. Men were treated for infertility
IN ancient world Usually, in a childless marriage, the wife was usually blamed for this. It was assumed that a similar thing took place in medieval England. But researchers have found facts proving the opposite. From the 13th century, men also began to be held responsible for the absence of children, and medical books of the time discussed male reproductive problems and infertility.
The books also contained some strange advice for determining which partner was infertile and what treatment to use: both were required to urinate in separate pots full of bran, seal them for nine days, and then check for worms in them. If a husband needed treatment, he was recommended to take dried pig testicles with wine for three days. Moreover, a wife could divorce her husband if he was impotent.
4. Problem students
In Northern Europe, parents had the habit of sending their teenagers away from home into apprenticeships that lasted ten years. This way the family got rid of “a mouth that needed to be fed”, and the owner received cheap labor. Surviving letters written by teenagers show that such experiences were often traumatic for them.
Some historians believe that young people were sent away from home because they were disobedient and their parents believed that training would have a positive effect. Perhaps the masters were aware of such difficulties, since many of them signed a contract, according to which the teenagers taken for training had to behave in an “appropriate manner.”
However, the disciples received a bad rap. Away from their families, they resented their lives, and association with other troubled teenagers soon led to the emergence of gangs. Teenagers often gambled and visited brothels. In Germany, France and Switzerland, they broke up carnivals, caused riots and once even forced a city to pay a ransom.
Violent battles between various guilds constantly took place on the streets of London, and in 1517 gangs of apprentices sacked the city. It is likely that frustration led to hooliganism. Despite all the years of hard training, many understood that this was not a guarantee of future work.
5. Old people from the Middle Ages
In early medieval England, a person was considered elderly at the age of 50. British scientists considered this era a “golden age” for older people. It was believed that society revered them for their wisdom and experience. This was not entirely true. Apparently there wasn't even such a thing as letting someone enjoy their retirement.
Older people had to prove their worth. In exchange for respect, society expected older members to continue to contribute, especially warriors, priests, and leaders. The soldiers were still fighting and the workers were still working. Medieval authors wrote ambiguously about aging.
Some agreed that older people were spiritually superior to them, while others demeaned them by calling them “hundred-year-old children.” Old age itself was called “a foretaste of hell.” Another misconception is that in old age everyone was frail and died before reaching old age. Some people were still living well into their 80s and 90s.
6. Death every day
In the Middle Ages, not everyone died from widespread violence and war. People also died from domestic violence, accidents and too much indulgence. In 2015, researchers looked at medieval coroner's records for Warwickshire, London and Bedfordshire. The results provided a unique insight into daily life and dangers in these counties.
For example, death from... a pig was real. In 1322, two-month-old Johanna de Irlande died in her crib after a sow bit her on the head. Another pig killed a man in 1394. Cows have also been responsible for the deaths of several people. The largest number of accidental deaths were due to drowning, coroners said. People drowned in ditches, wells and rivers. Domestic murders were common.
7. This cruel London
As far as bloodshed goes, no one wanted to move the family to London. It was the most violent place in England. Archaeologists examined 399 skulls dating from 1050 to 1550 from six London cemeteries for people of all classes. Almost seven percent of them showed signs of suspicious physical injuries. Among them, the majority were people aged 26 to 35 years.
The level of violence in London was twice that of any other country, and the cemeteries showed that working class men faced constant aggression. Coroner's records showed it was unnatural large number The murders took place on Sunday evenings, when most people of the lower class spent their time in taverns. It is likely that drunken arguments often occurred with fatal results.
8. Reading preferences
In the 15th-16th centuries, religion penetrated into all spheres of people's lives. Prayer books were especially popular. Using a technique that detects shades on the surface of paper, art historians realized that the dirtier a page was, the more readers were attracted to its content. Prayer books helped us understand what our reading preferences were.
One manuscript listed a prayer dedicated to Saint Sebastian that was said to be able to defeat the plague. Other prayers for personal salvation also received more attention than those intended for the salvation of another person. These prayer books were read daily.
9. Skinning cats
In 2017, a study found that the cat fur industry had also spread to Spain. This medieval practice was widespread and both domestic and wild cats were used. El Bordellier was a farming community 1000 years ago.
Many medieval finds were made in this place, including pits for storing crops. But in some of these pits they found animal bones, and about 900 of them belonged to cats. All the cat bones were dumped in one hole. All animals were between nine and twenty months old, which is best age in order to obtain a large, flawless skin.
10. Deadly striped clothes
Striped clothing becomes fashionable every few years, but in those days, wearing a smart suit could get you killed. In 1310, a French shoemaker decided to wear striped clothing during the day. He was sentenced to death for his decision. This man was part of the city's clergy who believed that the stripes belonged to the devil. The pious townspeople also had to avoid wearing striped clothing at all costs.
Documentation from the 12th and 13th centuries shows that the authorities strictly adhered to this position. It was considered the attire of social outcasts, prostitutes, executioners, lepers, heretics and, for some reasons, clowns. This inexplicable hatred of stripes still remains a mystery, and there is not even a single theory that can adequately explain it. Whatever the reason, to XVIII century the strange disgust sank into oblivion.
BONUS
This is the time of the great migration of peoples, crusades, the Mongol invasion, the opening of the Great Silk Road and the Renaissance period. We present interesting facts about the Middle Ages that are even impressive.
In the Middle Ages, buttons were first used not only as a decorative element of clothing, but also as a practical detail with which these clothes were fastened. It symbolized wealth and luxury. The more buttons on an outfit, the higher the status of its owner. King Francis I of France sported a suit with 13,600 buttons sewn on it.
Glasses were invented in the Middle Ages. Moreover, the “ancestors” appeared first sunglasses. In 12th century China, judges wore dark plates of smoky quartz. This was done in order to hide the expression in the judge's eyes from those present. And in the 13th century, glasses appeared in Italy that improved vision.
The tradition of clinking glasses appeared in the Middle Ages. At feasts, poison could be added to glasses of wine to get rid of the enemy. When the mugs hit each other, the liquid from one mug overflowed into the other.
Thus, the poisoner's poison could get into his dishes. Clinking their glasses, those present at the feast confirmed that there was no poison in the liquid. A refusal to clink glasses was considered a great insult and the beginning of enmity.
1493 is the year of birth of the Snowman, a funny companion of a snowy and frosty winter. The famous Italian sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti first sculpted such a figure from snow in 1493. In the Middle Ages, the Snowman was an evil and terrifying companion of winter. They used to scare naughty children. And only by the 19th century the Snowman became kind and cheerful.
Spices in the Middle Ages in Europe were very expensive. For example, 450g nutmeg could be purchased for one cow or four sheep. Spices served as currency and a means of accumulating capital; they could be used to pay for purchases and pay fines. They were on the road for 2 years to get to Europe. Spices were the reason for new crusades, new voyages and significant geographical discoveries.
Mona Lisa, or Gioconda, in the mysterious painting by Leonardo da Vinci is the ideal woman of the Middle Ages. In the 15th century, the fashion was for a high forehead, lack of eyebrows, pallor, and round faces and figures. Many fashionistas of that time specifically completely plucked their eyebrows and shaved their foreheads.
Other interesting facts about the Middle Ages can be found in the film.
According to the church decree, the wife had to behave modestly and quietly during sexual intercourse, that is, lie quietly, move as little as possible, not make sounds, etc., of course, her nightgowns were not taken off. And then one day the husband, returning home from hunting late at night, went to his wife’s bedroom and fulfilled his marital duty.
It must be said that the wife behaved as usual, that is, she was cold and silent, and in the morning it turned out that she had died in the evening, while her husband was hunting. This story reached the pope himself, since the unfortunate man was not satisfied with the usual confession and went to atone for his sin in the Holy City. After which a decree was issued in which women, during the performance of marital duties, were supposed to show signs of life from time to time. In short, the church lifted the ban on absolute female passivity, without denying great restraint.
In fact, sexual prohibitions and regulations permeate not only the Middle Ages, but the entire history of mankind. Priests and legislators, thinkers and revolutionary figures have exhausted many tons of clay, papyrus, parchment and paper, trying to explain to people how, with whom, when, for what and under what conditions one can or cannot have sex.
And in the Middle Ages, this trend was simply global.
This is a time that we call “dark,” and we gleaned many basic ideas about sex and morality from them, obscurantist and terrible, carrying these ideas as the banner of the triumph of morality.
In those days, a person’s sexual life was under the constant control of priests. The vast majority of types of sex were called the capacious word “fornication.” Adultery and fornication were sometimes punishable by death and excommunication.
But, at the same time, these same controllers - the priests - were very curious about the intimate life of a person, they really wanted to know what was happening in the beds of the laity. Spurred by curiosity, theologians left a lot of descriptions and evidence, thanks to which we have at least some idea of what sex was like in the Middle Ages.
Here are 10 facts about sex in the Middle Ages.
1. Courtly love: You can look, but don't you dare touch
The Church forbade openly demonstrating sexual interest, but allowed that love could have something in common with sex.
Courtly love is usually understood as the relationship between a knight and a beautiful lady, and it is very desirable for the knight to be brave, and for the object of his worship to be inaccessible.
It was allowed to be married to someone else and be faithful, the main thing was to under no circumstances show reciprocal feelings for your knight. You could be pale and weak, sadly bow your head and sigh, only hinting to the knight of reciprocity.
2. Adultery: Keep your pants buttoned up, sir.
For those who took the dictates of Christian morality seriously, sex did not exist at all. Sexual intercourse was only permissible within marriage. Premarital or extramarital affairs were punished very cruelly, up to and including the death penalty, and the Church also often acted as judge and executioner.
But it was not only about Christian laws. Marital fidelity was the only in a reliable way for men of noble origin to be sure that their children are really theirs. There is a known case when the French king Philip, having caught his own daughters in relations with some of his vassals, sent two of them to a monastery and killed the third. As for the guilty courtiers, they were executed in a brutal public execution.
The Church also dictated exactly how people should have sex. All positions other than “missionary” were considered a sin and were prohibited. Oral and anal sex and masturbation were also strictly prohibited - these types of contacts did not lead to the birth of children, which, according to purists, was the only reason for making love.
Violators were punished severely: three years of repentance and service to the church for sex in any of the “deviant” positions. Just tell me, how did they find out? Did you voluntarily tell them during confession? Something like this: Share with me, my son, how did you get a wife at night?
However, some theologians of that time proposed assessing sexual contacts more gently, for example, placing acceptable positions in the following order (as sinfulness increases): 1) missionary, 2) on the side, 3) sitting, 4) standing, 5) from behind. Only the first position was recognized as godly; the rest were proposed to be considered “morally questionable,” but not sinful. Apparently, the reason for such softness was that members of the nobility, often obese, were unable to have sex in the most sinless position, and the Church could not help but meet the sufferers halfway.
The Church's position on homosexuality was firm: under no pretext! Sodomy was characterized as an “unnatural” and “ungodly” activity and was punishable in only one way: the death penalty. Lord, what did the monks do in their monasteries?
In the 12th and 13th centuries, it was customary for sodomites to be burned at the stake, hanged, starved to death and tortured, of course, in order to “drive out the demon” and “atone for sin.” However, there is evidence that some members of high society still practiced homosexuality. For example, it was said about the English king Richard I, nicknamed “Lionheart” for his exceptional courage and military skill, that at the time of meeting his future wife he was in a sexual relationship with his brother. The king was also accused of “eating from the same plate” with the French King Philip II during his visits to France, and at night “sleeping in the same bed and having passionate love with him.”
5. Fashion: Is it a codpiece or are you just really happy to see me?
One of the most popular men's fashion accessories in the Middle Ages was the codpiece - a flap or pouch that was attached to the front of trousers to emphasize masculinity by highlighting the genitals. The codpiece was usually stuffed with sawdust or fabric and fastened with buttons or tied with braid. As a result, the man's crotch area looked very impressive.
Of course, the Church did not recognize this “devilish fashion” and tried in every possible way to prevent its spread. However, its power did not extend to the king of the country and his closest courtiers.
6. Dildos: Size to suit the sinfulness of desire
There is some evidence that artificial penises were actively used in the Middle Ages. In particular, entries in “books of repentance” - sets of punishments for various sins. These entries were something like this:
“Did you do what some women do with phallus-shaped objects, the size of which corresponds to the sinfulness of their desires? If so, you must repent on all holy holidays for five years!”
Dildos did not have any official name until the Renaissance, so they were designated by the names of objects that had an elongated shape. In particular, the word "dildo" comes from the name of an oblong loaf of dill bread: "dilldough".
7. Virginity and Chastity: Just Repent
The Middle Ages highly valued virginity, drawing a parallel between the chastity of a common woman and the Virgin Mary. Ideally, a girl should have protected her innocence as her main wealth, but in practice this was rarely achieved: morality was low, and men were rude and persistent (especially in the lower class). Realizing how difficult it is for a woman to remain chaste in such a society, the Church made repentance and remission of sins possible not only for non-virgin girls, but even for those who gave birth to children.
Women who chose this path of “purification” had to repent of their sins, and then atone for them by joining the cult of the Mother of God, that is, devoting the rest of their days to life and service to the monastery.
8. Prostitution: Prosperity
Prostitution flourished in the Middle Ages. In large cities, prostitutes offered their services anonymously, without revealing their real names, and this was considered an honest and completely acceptable profession. We can say that at that time the Church tacitly approved of prostitution, or at least did not try to prevent it.
Oddly enough, commodity-money relations in sexual relations were regarded as a way to prevent adultery (!) and homosexuality, that is, as something that cannot be avoided. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “If we prohibit women from selling their bodies, lust will spill out into our cities and destroy society.”
The most privileged prostitutes worked in brothels, fewer offered their services on city streets, and in villages there was often one prostitute for the entire village, and her name was well known to the residents. However, prostitutes were treated with contempt there; they could be beaten, mutilated, or even thrown into prison, accused of vagrancy and debauchery.
9. Contraception: Do what you want
The Church never approved of contraception, as it prevents the birth of children, but most of the church's efforts were aimed at combating “unnatural” sex and homosexuality, so people were left to their own devices in the matter of contraception. Contraception was seen as a minor moral transgression rather than a major sin.
10. Sexual dysfunction: Sick, take off your panties
If a man unknown reason could not have sex, the Church sent “private detectives” to him - experienced village women who examined his “household” and assessed general condition health, trying to identify the cause of sexual impotence. If the penis was deformed or there were other pathologies noticeable to the naked eye, the Church gave permission for divorce due to the husband’s inability to procreate.
Chastity belts.
This is a highly controversial point. I read in one magazine that they were invented later and existed for a very specific purpose: they were used during long trips so that bandits could not rape a woman.
But don’t think that the invention of the belt was dictated only by safety rules. Here's what the court archives of past centuries say about this.
In the 1860s, a Moscow merchant, “in order to save his young wife from temptation,” ordered the device from an experienced mechanic. The young woman suffered greatly from the belt, although “made diligently.” Upon returning from trips, the merchant staged wild scenes of jealousy and “taught his wife in mortal combat.” Unable to withstand the cruelty, the wife fled to the nearest monastery, where she told everything to the abbess. She invited the assistant police chief, who was extremely indignant. An investigator, a doctor and a mechanic were called. The unfortunate woman was freed from the terrible device and placed in the monastery infirmary for treatment.
Another incident that happened around the same time ended tragically. A skilled mechanic put a similar belt on his wife when he went to the southern provinces to earn money. Neither he nor his wife suspected the pregnancy. After a certain time, relatives, concerned about the condition of the young woman, were forced to invite a midwife. The pregnant woman was already unconscious. Upon discovering the belt, the midwife immediately called the police. It took several hours to rid the woman of the terrible device. She was saved, but the child died. The returning husband ended up behind bars and returned home only a couple of years later... Full of repentance, he went to atone for his sin in monasteries and soon froze to death somewhere along the way.
Why were large holes made in the walls of many medieval churches?
Medieval churches in Western Europe were equipped with hagioscopes - special holes in the walls through which one could listen to what was happening inside and see the altar. This was done so that lepers and other sick people, as well as those excommunicated from the church, could see the service and not be deprived of spiritual consolation.
Whose clothes had more than 10,000 buttons sewn on them?
Buttons appeared long before our era, but were used only as decoration. Around the 12th-13th century, buttons became known again in Europe, but now they also had a functional meaning for fastening into loops, and not just a decorative one. In the Middle Ages, buttons became such a popular accessory that the status of the owner could be judged by their number on clothing. For example, on one of the outfits of the French king Francis I, there were 13,600 buttons.
Where was the gallows that could serve 50 people at a time?
In the 13th century, near Paris, a gigantic Montfaucon gallows was built, which has not survived to this day. Montfaucon was divided into cells by vertical pillars and horizontal beams and could serve as a place of execution for 50 people at a time. According to the creator of the structure, de Marigny, the king’s adviser, the sight of many decaying bodies on Montfaucon was supposed to warn other subjects from crimes. In the end, de Marigny himself was hanged there.
In what era was beer the most popular drink in Europe?
In medieval Europe, especially its northern and eastern parts, beer was truly a mass drink - it was consumed by people of all classes and ages. For example, in England, beer consumption per capita reached 300 liters per year, although now this figure is about 100 liters, and even in the leading Czech Republic in this parameter - a little more than 150 liters. The main reason This was due to poor water quality, which was eliminated during the fermentation process.
What expression about a futile task was literally carried out by medieval monks?
The expression “pounding water in a mortar,” which means engaging in a useless task, has a very ancient origin- it was used by ancient authors, for example, Lucian. And in medieval monasteries it had a literal character: guilty monks were forced to pound water as punishment.
Why does Mona Lisa have her forehead hair shaved and her eyebrows plucked?
In Western Europe in the 15th century, there was the following ideal of a woman: an S-shaped silhouette, an arched back, a round pale face with a high, clean forehead. To meet the ideal, women shaved the hair on their foreheads and plucked their eyebrows - just like the Mona Lisa in the famous painting by Leonardo.
Why were spices so expensive in Europe in the Middle Ages?
In medieval Europe, on the eve of winter, mass slaughter of livestock and meat procurement began. If meat is simply salted, it loses its original taste. Spices, which were brought mainly from Asia, help preserve it almost in its original form. But since the Turks monopolized almost the entire spice trade, their price was prohibitive. This factor was one of the motives for the rapid development of navigation and the beginning of the era of great geographical discoveries. But in Rus', due to the harsh winters, there was no urgent need for spices.
Who in the Middle Ages, having failed to conquer the castle, bought it?
In 1456, the Teutonic Order successfully defended the Marienburg fortress, withstanding a Polish siege. However, the Order ran out of money and had nothing to pay the Bohemian mercenary soldiers. This fortress was given to the mercenaries as a salary, and they sold Marienburg to those same Poles.
When were books in libraries chained to shelves?
In public libraries in medieval Europe, books were chained to the shelves. Such chains were long enough to remove a book from the shelf and read, but did not allow the book to be taken out of the library. This practice was widespread until the 18th century, due to the great value of each copy of the book.
Why did medieval ladies wear marten and ermine furs?
Medieval ladies from high European society wore fur-trimmed clothing or entire stuffed ermines, sables and martens over their dresses to attract fleas. Another way to combat these insects was special boxes with slots - flea traps. A piece of cloth soaked in resin, blood or honey was placed in a twisted box, and the fleas crawling inside stuck to such bait.
Why were the stairs in the towers of medieval castles twisted clockwise?
Spiral staircases in the towers of medieval castles were built in such a way that they were climbed clockwise. This was done so that in the event of a siege of the castle, the defenders of the tower would have an advantage during hand-to-hand combat, since the most powerful blow with the right hand can only be delivered from right to left, which was inaccessible to the attackers. However, if the majority of men in the family were left-handed, then they built castles with a reverse twist - for example, the fortress of the Counts Wallenstein in Germany or Fernyhurst Castle in Scotland.
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