00:00So many people think the medieval era was considered to be a dark and irrational time
00:07with primitive people who had no idea about technologies and were hopelessly superstitious.
00:14What a myth!
00:17Historians across the world have spent years and years trying to prove people were different
00:21then.
00:22This false story spread probably because some people complained about the quality of literature
00:27from that time and claimed they couldn't find the historical sources they needed.
00:37In reality, the middle ages was anything but dark.
00:40It was a pretty cool time of philosophy, innovation and works of art that became legendary.
00:46That's when eyeglasses came into the game.
00:49It was a time of progress with inventions such as movable type, heavy plows and mechanical
00:55timekeeping.
00:57These three things later set the base for the industrial revolution and the age of enlightenment.
01:03It was a great time for artists too.
01:06Guilds helped them rise from humble backgrounds.
01:09They could master different forms of art such as tapestry, illuminated manuscripts and sculptures.
01:15They kinda set the stage for the renaissance.
01:18And things weren't just happening in Europe.
01:20China worked on navigation and perfected the compass, African kingdoms engaged in complex
01:26trade and civilizations thrived across the Americas.
01:33All people from the middle ages believed the earth was flat.
01:37Nope!
01:38Literally all medieval scholars thought our planet was a sphere.
01:42Well it's just that they believed it was perfectly round.
01:45Well now, we know it's slightly elliptical.
01:49One scholar even managed to figure out the radius of our planet using mathematics.
01:54And he was off only by 19 miles!
01:58In the 19th century, everyone spread the word about how those who lived in medieval times
02:04thought our planet was a flat board because it seemed like a good example of how backwards
02:09they were.
02:11Many blame a very popular American writer from that time, Washington Irving.
02:15He wrote a book that was read like a biography of Christopher Columbus, even though it was
02:20mostly fiction.
02:22And one of those made-up sections even mentioned so-called experts who claimed the earth was
02:27flat.
02:33Medieval people did not really live past 30 years old.
02:36That's not completely false, it's just that most people interpret it the wrong way.
02:42This doesn't mean someone was considered old or had one foot in the grave after they
02:46turned 30.
02:48If a person from those times managed to reach adulthood, they often lived to be 60 or 70
02:53years old.
02:54No one thought they were old until they turned at least 50.
02:58It's just that life expectancy rates were way lower back then because people had fewer
03:02chances to survive in the earliest years of their lives.
03:06There were lots of diseases they couldn't cure like we can these days.
03:12People from the Dark Ages were filthy most of the time.
03:15So not true!
03:17Sure they didn't really understand that germs caused diseases like people from the
03:2019th century did.
03:22But the common story that they didn't wash themselves and were constantly dirty doesn't
03:27hold water.
03:28In reality, they enjoyed taking baths both outdoors and indoors.
03:33They made and used soap at home, but also loved to visit bath houses.
03:43Toothbrushes existed only in medieval China.
03:46But people in Europe kept their teeth clean with a cloth.
03:50They would occasionally use natural remedies so their breath was fresh and their teeth
03:55remained white.
03:57Back then, people even had hand-washing rituals before meals, especially those who were rich.
04:03It's not that peasants didn't wash their hands, but those from aristocratic circles used lavish
04:08lavatories and minstrels would sing them a song while they were washing their hands.
04:13If those rich fellas were dining with the king, they would wait for him to wash his
04:17hands before sitting down.
04:19That's how they would show him he was powerful and important.
04:23Many historians think such traditions started to fade around the 16th century when people
04:27began using forks instead of their cleaned fingers.
04:34This takes us to the next one.
04:37Medieval people didn't use cutlery.
04:39That's another myth.
04:41They did eat some things using their fingers, but not everything.
04:45Spoons and knives were pretty common, and the invention of the fork goes all the way
04:49back to the 4th century in the Byzantine Empire.
04:53In the 11th century, forks were a common thing in Italy.
04:56Plus, other European countries started adding them as part of their tableware as well.
05:03People didn't travel back in the Middle Ages.
05:06Nope, not really.
05:07It's not like they were born, grew up, and passed away without ever leaving one place.
05:12Of course, they didn't have the same ways to travel like we have today.
05:16But there are still plenty of records that show that many people traveled around.
05:21They would even move to other places across their country.
05:25Humans are curious to get to know the world around them no matter what time they lived
05:29in.
05:30Peasants across Europe would visit monasteries and churches, or would go on pilgrimages.
05:36Whether those were in their country or overseas.
05:43Medieval knights were very slow because of their heavy armor.
05:46Now that's a misconception!
05:49Mark Twain had a fun book called A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
05:55His main character lives in the 19th century, but after a fight, he loses consciousness
06:00and wakes up in medieval England at the time of King Arthur.
06:05This book also became the source of many misconceptions people in the US had about
06:10medieval times.
06:12Twain described how this guy was running in circles around a knight who had trouble even
06:17moving under his heavy armor.
06:20This idea is funny, but it's not actually true.
06:24Knights wouldn't have been able to go into battles or do much of anything if their armor
06:28had really been such a burden, turning them into turtles.
06:33High-quality plate armor from those times weighed up to 60 pounds max.
06:38It was distributed well across the body of a man who had been preparing for the battlefield
06:42for almost his whole life.
06:44So a knight in his armor could climb, run, and perform the rest of the athletic activities
06:50with only a couple of restrictions.
06:56And no, witch trials were not that common in medieval times.
07:00They did occur to some extent, but most of these stories are exaggerated.
07:05Up to the 14th century, the world didn't know or think too much about the idea of witchcraft
07:10and witches.
07:12But as the Middle Ages were coming to an end, some started having ideas that certain people
07:17were working with demons and dark magic.
07:21There are official records of witch trials and even certain books that talked about the
07:25dangers of them.
07:27This craze about witchcraft was something that mostly happened between the 16th and
07:3218th centuries in North American and European societies.
07:36That was the time when tens of thousands of people were accused of being witches and faced
07:41the worst destiny for that.
07:44Fear of that remains even today, but there are more chances for people to face their
07:48end after being accused of witchcraft now in the 21st century than in the whole Middle
07:53Ages.
07:57Many believed doctors had worn strange outfits back in the Middle Ages.
08:02You've probably seen the Halloween costume called the Medieval Plague Doctor.
08:07It's a pretty weird and even a bit scary leather outfit with a mask that has a big beak.
08:12The descriptions mostly explain how doctors would wear this as a protection back in the
08:17mid-14th century when the Black Death struck Europe.
08:21It's just that no one wore it in medieval times, though!
08:25This outfit wasn't drawn or mentioned until the 17th century.
08:29Some doctors in France and Italy might have used it for a while, but after everyone started
08:34mocking them, they probably just gave up.
08:38That's it for today!
08:40So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
08:44friends!
08:45Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!
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