Step into the time machine, dear travelers, as we embark on a fascinating journey to the mysterious Middle Ages. A period shrouded in tales of knights, castles, and epic battles, it holds secrets that still captivate our imaginations today. From astonishing advancements to quirky customs, the Middle Ages were a tapestry of both brilliance and peculiarity. So, don your armor, adjust your chainmail, and let’s traverse the cobblestone streets of history to uncover 15 captivating facts that will transport you straight into the heart of the Middle Ages. Prepare to be enthralled by the wonders and peculiarities of this remarkable era that shaped the world we know today!
1-5 Fun Facts About Middle Ages
1. During the Middle Ages, spoons and knives were used, but forks took longer to become popular. In medieval England, men considered forks a “feminine affectation” and preferred to eat using their fingers.
2. In medieval times, animals were sometimes put on trial for various crimes, ranging from trespassing to murder. If found guilty, many of these animals were hanged or burned at the stake.
3. Medieval men used the length of their footwear to indicate social status, and some shoes became so long that they needed reinforcement with whalebone.
4. Rent payments in medieval times were not limited to money. Landlords were open to alternative forms of compensation, and they gladly accepted eggs, ale, grain, and even eels. Apparently, eels were the currency of the rivers in England, so you could literally pay off your debts with a slippery fish.
5. Criminals in the Middle Ages sometimes faced peculiar punishments, such as wearing animal masks or badges detailing their crimes. For instance, someone guilty of perjury might wear a badge depicting two red tongues.
6-10 Interesting Facts About Middle Ages
6. Forget about civilized divorces; in certain parts of Germany back then, couples settled their marital disputes through combat. Yes, you heard that right. They would duke it out, with the husband having to stand in a hole to make things “fair.” It was like a medieval version of “Husband vs. Wife: Trial by Combat.”
7. Some medieval women would pluck their eyebrows, eyelashes, and hairlines to accentuate their foreheads.
8. Cats, the beloved companions of today, were once considered minions of the Devil by none other than Pope Gregory IX. This declaration led to a full-scale feline purge across Europe. Cats were burned alive for public entertainment, especially black cats. It was Meow-ssacre!
9. The Codex Gigas is the largest-medieval manuscript in the world, and legend has it that it was written with the help of the Devil. A monk named Herman the Recluse in Bohemia promised to write all of the world’s knowledge in one night to avoid punishment for breaking his vows, and supposedly completed the task with Satan’s assistance.
10. Trepanning, a practice in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the skull, was believed in the Middle Ages to cure headaches and even expel evil spirits.
11-15 Shocking Facts About Middle Ages
11. Rat torture was one of the cruel methods used to torment people during medieval times. It involved placing a half-opened cage with a rat on the victim’s abdomen and heating it from above. The desperate rat would then burrow into the victim’s gut in an attempt to escape.
12. In South and Southeast Asia, particularly in India, enemy soldiers and even locals found guilty of crimes like tax evasion were sometimes executed by elephants.
13. Viking women weren’t to be messed with. They had more power than your average medieval woman. They had a say in choosing their marriage partners, owned property, could request divorces, and if a marriage ended, they could even reclaim their dowry.
14. Bran Castle in Transylvania, known as “Dracula’s Castle,” is associated with Vlad the Impaler, who was allegedly imprisoned there. Vlad, a ruthless ruler of Wallachia in present-day Romania, was believed to have killed 80,000 people and impaled 20,000 of them.
15. The 14th-century plague, known as the Black Death, resulted in the estimated death of 30 to 60 percent of the European population.
That’s it for this post guys, I hope you had fun while reading 15 Awesome Middle ages facts
Read More:
