Myths about the Middle Ages: What You Know about Medieval History May Be Wrong

I am an amateur historian, and I have visited many medieval sites, read thousands of pages of original documents including household account books, shipping and packing inventory lists and more, studied and put into practice dozens of medieval techniques for working with fabric, chemicals, and much more, and yet I'm amazed at the amount of misinformation there is out there. Once people find out that I love medieval history, they will gleefully assail me with all sorts of misinformation about the Middle Ages and refuse to be convinced otherwise, no matter what proof I provide. So I thought I would take a few minutes of everyone's time to correct many of the myths about the Middle Ages, and show something of how medieval people really did live.

The Middle Ages was a period of time from roughly the Fall of Rome in 476 A.D. to the Fall of Byzantium in 1453 A.D., almost a one-thousand year period. The Middle Ages is not the same as the "Dark Ages." And, in fact, recent scholarship has discovered that even the "Dark Ages" were not that dark--that era of history was merely called "dark" because historians had so little information about the time period that they were unable to shed light on it. Few documents survive from the so-called "Dark Ages," and many of the documents that survive from the Middle Ages are buried in private collections, or not otherwise readily available even to established scholars. In addition, there is no directory or catalogue of what manuscripts and documents actually exist, and where they are--so that most scholars must simply go to a region and start hunting for likely (and often unlikely) places where such documents might be stored.

Myths about medieval clothing abound, as you can see at any Renaissance faire or collection of Hallowe'en costumes, as well as on just about any "historical" movie or television show. Here are some of the most common myths about medieval clothing and the truth.

Myth: Medieval people (except the nobility) wore brown-coloured, rough clothing.

Fact: Every housewife in the Middle Ages knew all about plant dyes, and could dye fabric almost every colour of the rainbow, and then some, using local plants. In fact, laws were passed to forbid the wearing of some colours to any but the noble classes; this would have been completely unnecessary had there been no plant dyes available to the lower classes. Spinning and weaving were prized skills, and many ordinary people were quite deft spinners and weavers. Linen and wool were cheap and readily available, and were often mixed together to form fabrics such as "linsey-woolsey." Cotton was expensive, but available after the Crusades, as was silk. Pile fabrics such as velveteen and corduroy were well-established during the Middle Ages. Knitting and crocheting were popular occupations for women.

In addition, there was another social class besides the royalty, the nobility, and the peasantry. The Middle Ages saw the formation and rise of the middle class, and like many middle-class people today, middle-class medieval people were anxious to appear wealthy and important, so their clothes would imitate those of the classes above them, but with less-expensive materials.

Myth: Medieval clothes were poorly-fashioned.

Fact: Medieval clothing was extremely well-fitted. Surviving medieval clothing shows extensive alterations and the use of gussets and other devices to custom-fit clothing to the individual. Surviving iconographic evidence shows medieval tailors fitting garments with precision.

Myth: Medieval clothing did not have buttons.

Fact: Surviving iconographic evidence suggests that buttons were well-known, and shows functional button closings on clothing as far back as 800 A.D. Buttons exist from well before that time. What did not exist was the modern buttonhole: instead, buttons were used to fasten clothing by means of a loop, which is still used today on fashionable and expensive clothing.

Myth: Medieval clothing had no pockets.

Fact: Medieval clothing from all periods of the Middle Ages shows evidence of both patch and inline seam pockets, where an unsewn portion in the seam of a partially surviving garment suggests that a pocket was fashioned into the seam.

Like every other aspect of medieval life, myths about medieval food abound. Rest assured, you would find something you like in medieval food, and many of our modern dishes are based on medieval recipes!

Myth: Food was plain and not cooked well, and had few ingredients.

Fact: Medieval recipes were full of exotic spices, subtle flavourings, and presented in elaborate fashion--and not just in the courts. Even "simple" meals contained a variety of ingredients; some dishes, consisting of ingredients primarily eaten by ordinary people, list more than thirty ingredients in the recipes. Common spices in medieval recipes include galangal, which is native to Thailand. In fact, a single medieval recipe sometimes has more ingredients than the average family eats in a week, including many ingredients that have now fallen into disuse, such as lovage, amaranth, lemon balm, sorrel, and borage.

Myth: Sugar was not available in the Middle Ages.

Fact: Sugar was brought to Europe at the end of the 11th century, during the First Crusade.

Myth: Medieval peasants starved (or did not eat meat, or did not eat fresh fruit or fresh vegetables).

Fact: Even the poorest of the medieval people were fed far more than merely subsistence food. Most of the people of all classes had a varied and healthful diet, including meat, fruits, vegetables, honey, and some spices, as well as fresh herbs. The true peasants were fed at the monasteries, and ate at least as well as the monks did. In addition, many of the nobility gave away their leftovers to the poor, which would mean that the really poor ate exactly the same food that the nobility did. Almost everyone grew at least some of their own food, and since all farming in the Middle Ages was organic farming, and European soil was quite rich in nutrients, the food was very nutritious, the more so for its freshness.

Myth: There was no fruit or vegetables available in the wintertime.

Fact: With the establishment of trade routes, as well as the mild climate in the south of Europe, (the "Mediterranean climate"), fruit and vegetables grew lavishly from the end of March through the end of November. Most people preserved fresh fruits by drying them or storing them in cool conditions ("root cellars") and therefore fruits and vegetables were still available, even in the coldest months. Lemons, limes, and oranges were preserved in olive oil, and many other fruits were preserved in vinegar or alcohol.

Myth: Food was not stored properly and people ate bad food.

Fact: Medieval people stored their food in exactly the same way that people all over the world stored their food until the invention of home refrigeration in the middle of the twentieth century. Spices cannot disguise bad food, although spices can prevent food from going bad as quickly as it would otherwise. Medieval recipes which address bad food start by telling the cook to cut away and dispose of any spoiled parts of the ingredients.

Myth: Poor people lived in shacks. Rich people lived in castles.

Fact: Towns were a well-established feature of the Middle Ages, and city planning and building codes were known and enforced. In the countryside, a lord might live in a castle; his serfs and vassals might live either inside or outside the castle complex. Almost everyone had a well-built, sturdy house (many medieval houses in cities are still inhabited today).

Myth: Thatched roofts let in rain and insects.

Fact: Thatched roofs made in the seventeenth century are still prized today for their warmth and excellent construction. How much better shape would a new roof have been in, rather than one four hundred years old?

Myth: The animals lived in the house with the people.

Fact: While some animals may have been taken in at night on the coldest nights of the year, both for the added warmth they provided to the occupants (whence the phrase "Three dog night") and to protect the valuable animals from frost, even rural residences had stables and barns.

Myth: Medieval furniture was crudely fashioned.

Fact: A visit to any museum will disprove this. Medieval people loved decoration and beauty, and every possible household item, from a comb or a waffle iron to a "puzzle chest" was intricately decorated. (A puzzle chest is one that can be opened only with one or more secret latches.)

Myth: Medieval houses had openings for windows instead of glass.

Fact: Glassblowers were thriving in the Middle Ages, and all but the most rustic shelters had glass windows. The fact that few medieval windows survive does not mean that they did not exist.

Myth: Most medieval people did not know how to read or write.

Fact: while it is true that for many segments of society, reading was not a useful skill, in fact the monasteries routinely taught reading and writing, even to orphans. Not everyone who grew up in a monastery stayed on to become a monk--many students were educated in monasteries and decided not to take vows, left, and went on to other careers. Thousands of letters from the Middle Ages, written by ordinary people, citing ordinary concerns, survive today, proving that literacy was within the grasp of the average person. In fact, most medieval people had basic reading, writing and mathematical skills, even women, who had to be able to keep household accounts accurately.

Myth: Education was rare and not very good.

Fact: The first universities were recognized in the Middle Ages, although they had been teaching for hundreds of years before they were recognized. Medieval universities granted bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees. Some universities required tuition; many universities were free. The first law schools and medical schools were formally established in the Middle Ages and maintain their sterling reputations today. In fact, today's educational system is based largely upon the standards set by education in the Middle Ages.

Myth: All books were hand-copied.

Fact: Although many books were hand-copied, many printed books also exist. In most cases, people confuse the invention of printing with the invention of movable type. Printing existed long before movable type was invented, but because each printed page had to be carved by hand out of wood, page by page, books, whether hand-copied or printed, were rare and expensive.

Myth: Medieval books were all done on skin; paper was unknown.

Fact: Paper was known previously; books were rare and expensive, because they either had to be written by hand, or a block of wood carved out by hand for printing multiple times, and therefore books were printed on more durable materials than paper. Paper was made out of bark and other plant materials, but it was not until the invention of movable type that paper was considered suitable for the cost of producing a book. Rather, paper was used for disposable records, flyers, personal letters, and the like.

Myth: All medieval music was religious.

Fact: Although the Church has the best record of preserving musical works, and therefore a large part of surviving manuscripts from the Middle Ages are sacred, thousands of secular works are preserved in manuscript form, and cover everything from political satire, to military or historical ballads, to love songs, and many other subjects. Medieval people were interested in the same kinds of things modern-day people are interested in!

Medieval people also loved to dance, and we have surviving dance manuals from the Middle Ages--and yes, they had music to dance to!

Myth: All medieval music was written only for instruments (or only for singers).

Fact: Medieval music was written for every possible combination of instruments, or voices, or both. The period of the Middle Ages was a time for innovation, in many different forms, and musical instruments were no exception!

Myth: Medieval people smelled bad because they didn't take baths. (Some sources stated that people got married in June because they had just had their yearly bath.)

Fact: Household account books that survive from the Middle Ages show that medieval people from every country loved to take baths. They may have washed once a week, or once every ten days, but most bathed daily. Many medieval towns had common bathhouses, and according to their account books, they did a lively business throughout the year. Medieval bathhouses were often built on surviving Roman designs, and had both heated and cool baths as part of an elaborate bathing ritual. (And yes, they washed their hair and combed it, too! Medieval combs were carved by hand out of wood, and were taken care of as any prized appliance would be. In fact, medieval combs were often decorated with marquetry, ivory, mirrors, and gems--just a hint of how valuable medieval people thought a comb was to them!) In addition, archaeological expeditions have brought to light nail cleaners and ear cleaners from the Middle Ages, so it is clear that medieval people cared about being clean.

Myth: Medieval people didn't take care of their teeth.

Fact: Even people in the earliest civilizations chewed sticks to clean their teeth and keep their breath sweet. Medieval people lacked the kinds of processed food available to most people today, and so their teeth were not exposed to some of the cavity-causing foods that are widely eaten today. Many medieval people not only cleaned their teeth, but took care to make sure that their breath was sweet-smelling by chewing such herbs as parsley and mint.

Myth: Medieval people did not use soap.

Fact: Soapmakers' guilds existed before 600 A.D.

Myth: Medieval peasants lived horrible lives, were slaves, and worked all day every day without a break.

Fact: Even the peasants in the Middle Ages could count on anywhere from eighty to a hundred and fifty holidays a year--all religious festivals. Most were celebrated with hearty feasts and drinking. Medieval people loved games and most of their games are still played today. In addition, they loved music and dancing, and we have music from medieval dances in surviving manuscripts. In addition, except for the very poorest, most medieval people worked an average of six hours per day.

Myth: Most people in the Middle Ages did not live past 35.

Fact: The statistic is that the average life expectancy at birth was 35. This means that if you have 100 people, you add up all their ages at death, and divide by 100, and the average is 35. Many people died of childhood diseases, many died at birth, and many died from farm accidents or military skirmishes. However, if you managed to survive until your twelfth birthday, you had a fairly good chance of living to a ripe old age. That is because your chances of living to a certain age change at every age attained.

Myth: There was little or no medicine in the Middle Ages.

Fact: Schools of medicine were established in the medieval era. Training was given to barbers to become surgeons and to remove diseased organs (just because you wouldn't trust your barber today to do it doesn't mean these medieval barbers were not highly skilled). Herbs that medieval people used to treat diseases have, in fact, been shown to have healthful and curative properties, and medieval scientists were highly trained in observation, and they invented the modern scientific method. The Roman Catholic Church did not prevent or condemn human dissection, and there are many medieval treatises on medicine. Some of the theories are outdated, but the facts stated in the treatises remain as valid today as they were a thousand years ago.

Myth: Medieval people did not care about manners (or threw bones on the floor, or something).

Fact: The first surviving printed etiquette manual dates from the Middle Ages.

Seriously? They had to live there, and rubbish smells, regardless of what century you live in. Medieval people took baths to prevent themselves from smelling; why would they live in a house that smelled? In fact, medieval people put fresh herbs on the floor to keep their houses smelling sweet.

Myth: Medieval society was organized under a feudal system.

Fact: This is based on an interpretation of one book, by a group of sixteenth-century French lawyers, who evaluated the book solely in terms of whether law had ever existed to cover certain conditions. In fact, increasingly well-organized governmental records refute the whole notion pretty solidly. At best, the current notion of a feudal system is an idealized form, and was implemented sporadically and not in an organized fashion.

Myth: There were only a few classes of people: slaves, peasants, serfs and landowners.

Fact: There were also speculators, investors, tradesmen, artists, performers, merchants, and many more classes. In fact, the Middle Ages saw the rise of the middle class, and unions (trade guilds). The burghers' houses that survive are showpieces of consumption and comfort. Medieval entrepreneurs established the first factories. The sumptuary laws (dictating what people could legally wear) recognized a minimum of seven different social classes.

Myth: Medieval people did not progress very much until the Renaissance.

Fact: Medieval people knew about the basic principles of engineering, and were keen observers of the world around them. Medieval inventors improved all kinds of engines, from waterwheels to wells, and medieval scientists carefully noted the properties of plants and animals, improved agricultural methods to provide better crop yields, and built buildings which were not surpassed in height until the invention of reinforced concrete in the nineteenth century.

Part of the reason for this is that medieval people were paid in a local currency, which tended to lose value over time. Therefore, medieval entrepreneurs tended to invest in capital improvements in their businesses, and to hire scientists and engineers to do research, because the entrepreneurs wanted to get the most value for their money.