MIDDLE AGES FABLES
Added on: 24th Jan 2016
EVERYBODY HAD A THATCHED ROOF
This one could almost pass for true. In fact, even castles had
thatched roofs. Come to think of it, some houses in England still have
thatched roofs today! Why? Because they worked. Thatched roofs
weren’t the leaky pile of straw you think they were.
THERE WAS NO FOOD AND EVERYBODY WAS STARVING
Of course there were famines, droughts, etc. but once again, we have
those today. In fact, one could argue that more people die of hunger
today than they did back then, thanks to the simple fact that there
are more of us. Hunger has always been with us, but so has
prosperity and injustice.
THE DEATH PENALTY WAS COMMON
Looks like not much has changed. Between the United States, China,
North Korea, and Iran the death penalty is still employed quite often
today. Okay, so it is true that most of the world has abolished it
but to think that the Middle Ages were unique in their application
of executions would be wrong. The method of execution was
typically far less humane, no myth there.
THE CHURCH STAMPED OUT ALL KNOWLEDGE
Not really, all the institutions of higher learning were almost
exclusively started by the Church.
KNIGHTS WERE SUPER CHIVALROUS AND VALIANT
While not all knights were created equal, as a whole they definitely
didn’t live up to their chivalrous legacy. Nobles even had to enact
an actual “code of chivalry” in the 13th century to keep their knights
from acting like drunken college kids when they weren’t out fighting.
PEOPLE DIED WHEN THEY WERE 35
It is certainly true that life expectancy was lower. But remember
that 30-35 was only an average. High infant mortality twisted things a
bit and if someone could reach their 20th birthday they actually
had a pretty good chance of reaching 50.
VIKINGS WORE HORNED HELMETS
They didn’t. The horns were the product of a 19th century
Scandinavian artists just adding some flair to their masterpieces.
PRIMAE NOCTIS
Primae Noctis is the idea that lords would have the right to sleep
with any peasant wife on the first night after her wedding
(like in Braveheart). However, there is not a single solid piece of
evidence documenting the historicity of this idea.
Comment on this