The image of the Middle Ages with total piety, pious monks and noble knights in castles, writing sonnets to their beautiful ladies, took shape in the early Renaissance and, in a sense, is still present. But behind a beautiful image is always a less attractive truth.
Out of need
In medieval Europe, there was no sewage system, and therefore there were no public toilets. The traditions themselves, attitudes to hygiene were different. Many people know that, for example, it was considered the norm to meet needs right on the street, and chamber pots were poured out of the window on the heads of passers-by. But this is what the commoners did. And what about the noble people?
In the early Middle Ages, toilets were not provided at all in the planning of palaces and castles, so as not to spoil the luxurious decoration and luxury of the apartments with the view of latrines. Therefore, all the nobility and servants relieved themselves wherever they could. Naturally, the stench was incredible, it was necessary to somehow solve the problem. Later, in the castles of the Middle Ages, wealthy owners could afford to have special rooms for the implementation of natural needs. Such rooms in England were called wardrobes. They represented an inclined gutter for the discharge of feces or protruded noticeably from the walls, due to which the excretions were thrown outside the castle walls into the moat, without touching the masonry.
In castles, there were both single and double toilets, and even with three open cubicles. People of that time were not embarrassed by the presence of "neighbors". Ladies sometimes carried a water-bottle with them - narrow pots that were convenient to slip under fluffy skirts. Needless to say, the smell of feces is something that greeted a person of the Middle Ages from birth and did not let go until his death.
Who doesn't drink ?
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In the Middle Ages, drinking was common, and historical records show that drinking was one of the cultural traits of that era. Documentary evidence suggests that the Anglo-Saxon population of England was particularly prone to abuse; there are more references to drunkenness and binge drinking here than in the rest of Europe. However, there is no reason to believe that the inhabitants of continental Europe drank significantly less. In the Gallic chronicles of the Merovingian dynasty, there are many scenes of public drinking, where drunk people are portrayed with unsightly directness, lying in the streets in puddles of their own vomit or committing acts of violence. Drinking bowls with traces of ale and wine, found in graves throughout France and southern Germany, indicate an advanced wine culture.
As the Christian Church expanded its influence over the peoples of Europe, it not only contributed to the development of winemaking, but also faced the fact that many believers, both men and women, drank too much and too often. As one of the main drinks in the text of the Bible and an integral part of church rituals, wine demanded a positive attitude, and questions of drunkenness and abuse were difficult to resolve.
There were complaints in the church that people refused to give alms to the poor, they told them: "Go in peace, God will grant," although they themselves drank expensive wine. The blasphemous drunkards would toast to the angels and saints, and then they would get drunk and commit immoral acts. The clerics were no better than the laity in this respect. According to contemporaries, Bishop Kautin of Tours often "got so drunk with wine that only four men could carry him away from the table." And Gregory of Tours complained that the monks spend more time in taverns than praying in their cells. What to do, drinking culture is an integral part of Europe.
