10 facts you (maybe) don't know on the Middle Ages
1. The Middle Ages span 1000 years
The Middle Ages are a period of European history that reaches from about 500 AD to 1500 AD.
It is difficult to mark a specific date for beginning and end of this period but traditionally, the beginning of the Middle Ages is marked by the fall of the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus and its more contested end by the death of the King Charles VIII in 1498 (although some historians prefer to use the victory of the Ottomans over the Venetians at the Battle of Zonchio in 1499).
The Middle Ages can be subdivided into three more specific periods: The Low Middle Ages, the Classic Middle Ages and the High Middle Ages.
2. Animals could be put on trial
In the Middle Ages, an animal committing an offense, crime or damage could be accused and judged in a trial just as a human would. Thus, pigs, sows, cows and other animals and insects (rats, flies, grasshoppers, moles, fish, etc.) have been tried and sometimes sentenced for committed offenses.
Thus, in this illustration from "The book of days: a miscellany of popular antiquities", it is possible to see a sow and her piglets during a trial held in 1457. The sow was found guilty of the death of a child while her piglets were apparently acquitted.
3. Courtly love
This term, romanticized to a great extent by literature and cinema, was perhaps not quite so romantic. Most medieval nobility marriages were often loveless unions intended solely for financial gain and socio-political stakes. Therefore, to avoid ending up leading a completely miserable life, medieval nobles fulfilled their romantic desires in “courtly love”.
Courtly love allowed lords and ladies to practice the elements of love regardless of marital status. These involved dancing, laughing and even holding hands. Sex, however, was strictly forbidden and reserved for one’s spouse. Courtly love was so popular that a list of rules was drawn up, including: "Marriage is no real excuse for not loving."
4. The origin of the piggy bank
In the Middle Ages, dishes and pots were made with a kind of orange clay called "pygg". When people had savings (which must have been rare anyway!), they put their money in a pot (read; a coin bank) made of clay, therefore, a pygg bank.
In the Saxon language, the word pygg sounded like “pug” but with the transformation of the pronunciation of the letter, it slowly became “pig”. In Old English, the word to describe the farm animal was “picga” which was pronounced “pigge”, which later became “pig” over time and we even came to forget that the term was supposed to refer to terracotta…
5. Mandatory archery training
In 1252, England passed a law requiring every man between the ages of 15 and 60 to train regularly with a longbow. The reason was simple: the bow was an extremely important weapon in the war effort. Due to its unwieldy nature, the government took the decision to make regular practice of the longbow mandatory, to ensure that everyone was prepared!
6. Hallucinogenic bread
In summer, during the period between the end of winter and the harvest in the fall, grain could be scarce. During this period, some people occasionally used old rye to make bread. Stored rye could sometimes develop mold and ergot, a fungus (from which LSD is derived by the way) which, even when cooked, can cause strong hallucinations and in some cases, gangrene or even death.
7. Market vigilance
You had to be vigilant at the market to avoid scams of all kinds! For example, a sack of wheat could well be filled with 75% rotten grain and a 25% surface section of fresh grain to give the impression of a full sack! Furthermore, some less scrupulous merchants could sell “elixirs” with healing properties which were actually infused water!
There were also people who offered games of chance (dubious chance at best) to lighten the purse of those credulous enough to get caught!
8. Middle Ages utensils
Being a culinary blogger, I am inevitably interested in the tableware of the time. Although this aspect tends to vary from one country to another, from one region to another and according to social status, it’s largely agreed upon that the most used cutlery, regardless of location, are the knife and the trencher.
The knife is, above all, a personal object that you bring with you during the meal. Its appearance was often a status symbol for its owner. Thus ornate and/or intricate knives were often the property of wealthier people.
With varied appearances and materials, the trencher is in fact a representation of the modern plate. Sometimes pewter, sometimes wood or even made of stale bread, it was used to accommodate what was eaten. In the case of stale bread, when the meal was finished, it had absorbed the cooking juices and was often shared and eaten. No wasting!
9. The toll’s ancestor
The entrance to large fortified cities were often toll booths. Entry into the city was free for residents but a tax was charged to merchants wanting to do business there.
The same went for some bridges. These tolls were used to maintain the road network and the maintenance of bridges.
10. Rap battle forebears
In the Middle Ages, there were events where poets and troubadours exchanged insults in poetic jousting. Some sources mention the existence of such games since the 5th century, thus making the “partimen” for 2 participants and “tourneyamen” for 3 participants (these are the names given to these events) the official ancestors of the “Rap Battle”.
