Is it true that medieval Europeans almost did not wash?

There is a stable stereotype that in the Middle Ages people did not adhere to any hygiene rules and almost never washed. We decided to check if this is really so.

Information that medieval people neglected washing, can be found in regional And federal Media, on Popular entertainment Portalseven in specializing on history publications. Internet users in Blogs, some They saythat hygiene was completely considered a sin. Often the myth of medieval Europe UseTo emphasize the cleanliness of people in Rus'.

First of all, it is necessary to understand what the Middle Ages are. So most often called period European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, that is, approximately V - XV centuries. This term Introduced Italian humanists who wanted to emphasize that the past millennium was a time of darkness and ignorance, while they themselves sought to revive culture and science in accordance with the ideals of antiquity.

As for hygiene in the Middle Ages, she really could hardly meet modern standards - and this is understandable, because with rare exceptions people of that time did not have a water supply. To take a bath, it was necessary to train water and heat it - it was difficult, long and costly. But did they really not wash at all? Historians do not agree with this.

Washing hands before eating and after it was Distributed Both the nobility and the peasants. At that time, they at that time mainly with their hands, so it was a fairly important rule. During royal feasts, washing hands was even part of etiquette. Medieval text of the XIII century about the rules of behavior at the table Les Contenances de Table It gives such advice to the readers: "Let your fingers be clean and your nails are well -groomed."

As for washing the body and taking the bath, of course, the kings had more opportunities for high -quality hygiene. So, the English king John is likely, going on a trip, I took it A bath and a bathhouse with him. Eduard III later and at all Equipped In his palace in Westminster, water supply with hot and cold water. Emperor Karl the Great Very Love To take baths, do physical exercises in the water and often invited to join his sons, friends and courtiers, and sometimes guard and servants, so sometimes 100 people were in the water, or even more. In his case, this was not only part of the hygiene, but also a form of entertainment. Moreover, this was entertainment not only for royal persons. In medieval cities, there were public Banswho also served as the center of attraction of the townspeople, where they came to wash, and at the same time exchange news, eat and drink. Often such baths also performed the function of brothels.

Public baths Described In memories Alexandra Nekama, an English writer and theologian who lived in the XII century in London and Paris. There could be several dozen in the capitals of the baths, but existed They are in small cities, and they were often located in bakery and used the heat of their stoves to heat water. In medieval Paris, the baths were a profitable business, the banners made up Guild With your own rules. So, for example, a banner pledged not to allow prostitutes, nor lepers, nor tramps, nor other “vile” people in a bathhouse. However, as we see from other historical sources, the rule of prostitutes was often neglected.

In the book "Cleanliness: personal hygiene history»Historian Virginia Smith She traced the stages of hygiene development in different countries. A significant part of the book also occupies the study of medieval purity standards. So, she writes that campaigns in the bathhouse were part of religious rituals (for example, washed before large church holidays, such as Easter) and traditions (for example, washing the bride and her friends on the eve of the wedding). By the 15th century, in Europe, visiting baths was as popular and ordinary as several centuries later - a visit to restaurants: people came there to talk, have fun, eat and wash.

Certainly, It is worth notingThat hundreds of people went through public baths daily, and the water was not changed so often, so the question of how much such hygiene procedures were actually effective is open.

Visiting public baths was quite commonplace for people of that time - so much so that the church even considered it its duty to give some explanations on this subject. One of the medieval church authors of the 13th century He wrote Such instructions: "The one who washed in a bathhouse with his wife and other women and saw them naked is supposed to fast on bread and water for three days." In general, although the church could not encourage debauchery, which often took place in the baths, it was quite favorable to washing as a whole. Pope Grigory I, who lived in the VI century, I called Christians do not neglect hygiene. With large monasteries, often worked Public baths for pilgrims and parishioners.

There were baths where it was possible not only to wash, but also to improve health - they had baths with thermal and others as if healing waters. Medieval text De Balneis Putelanis Describes 37 such healing baths located in the Italian city of Prezcuoli. Medieval author Mino de Manneri Offered As many as 57 recipes of healing baths - during pregnancy, traveling, for elderly people, etc., of course, not every day went to the baths, but they supported hygiene and at home. In a medieval didactic poem Regimen Sanitatis Salenitanum The author advises the readers as soon as they got out of bed, immediately wash their hands and eyes with cold water, and then brush their teeth.

With hygiene oral cavity Medieval people, too, was quite good. They brushed their teeth quite often, using various abrasive plant pastes and wine or vinegar solutions with different rinsing herbs. Karies, oddly enough, was a rather rare problem in the Middle Ages, but not because of good hygiene, but because of nutrition: there was almost no sugar in the diet.

By the way, Castilian soap, which can now be found in stores, was invented in the Middle Ages - it was created on the basis of soap brought by crusaders from Aleppo. By 1500, Castilian soap spread almost throughout Europe. Anyone who could not afford such soap, Used Impurious products, for example, mixed ash with fat, used a click or a plant with a soap.

In part, the spread of the myth of the Middle Ages as a “dirty” period was facilitated by stories about European monarchs, who rarely washed. So, for example, the queen Isabella Castilian She allegedly boasted that she took a bath only twice in her life. However, firstly, this does not mean that she did not support hygiene in other ways, and secondly, historians in general They doubt it In the veracity of this fact. In addition, this dispersed historical joke testifies precisely the exclusivity of such a phenomenon - be it the norm of that time, there would be nothing to brag about here.

In fact, They think Historians, the decline of hygiene and baths occurred in the XVI - XVIII centuries, in the era of the early New Age, and not in the Middle Ages. Then it spread opinionIt is harmful to washing, since diseases fall into the body through expanded pores. Perhaps this was due to syphilis, who began to spread in Europe and which could easily be infected in public baths, even if you really get there.

We turned for a commentary on the medical historian, candidate of historical sciences Stanislav Merceminsky. He confirmed our conclusions and added that significant regional differences played an important role in this issue. In particular, in Northern Europe there was a bath tradition - up to the point that the Saturday was called a bath day in the ancient nosmicandine (Oldonorwegian) language (Laugardagr) What implies weekly washing.

Thus, hygiene in the Middle Ages on average was really much worse developed than now. Nevertheless, people of that time still tried to keep the body clean, although they had to make quite a lot of efforts for this. Only very rich persons could afford to take baths regularly, but for the poor there were public baths. The texts of this historical period contain advice to maintain the body clean, in book illustrations there are images of baths and wash procedures. It is worth noting that the Middle Ages is a fairly large period covering almost a thousand years, and the attitude to cleanliness has changed during this time. However, it is impossible to say that people did not wash and did not observe elementary hygiene massively.

Body image: Master of the Codex Manesse (Additional Painter I), Public Domain, Via Wikimedia Commons

Most of the untruth

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. "Cleanliness: History of Personal Hygiene" V. Smith (English)
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