What happened in the world in the Middle Ages? We know there was a plague, a witch hunt and a lack of hygiene. For example, some have also heard about strange women in the lakes, distributing invincible swords to brave warriors (although this is already from a not entirely historical area). But in the Middle Ages there were other strange events, which will now be discussed.
Death sentence
In 897, the new Pope Stephen VI ordered the excavation of his predecessor, Pope Formosa, from his grave. He did not stop there and subjected the corpse of Formos to a full-fledged trial. During the meeting, Stefan literally screamed at the corpse, recalling all his past crimes (for Pope Formosa, not the corpse, of course). Some believe that this was done in order to divert attention from his own atrocities, others - that he just went crazy.
In any case, Pope Formosus was posthumously found guilty, stripped of his papal title, cut off his fingers on his right hand and threw his body into the Tiber River. Some reported that the long-suffering corpse subsequently surfaced and began to work miracles. Stefan, however, ended up in prison and was mysteriously strangled, and by whom, it is unknown.
Animal trials
Incredible but true: animals were held morally responsible for crimes such as assault and murder. They began to be tried for this in 824 and ceased only in the 18th century. Animals found guilty were executed by burning or hanging. In some cases, they were ordered to leave the city for good.
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In the 16th century, Bartholomy Chassen rose to fame in a high-profile trial, where he advocated for a pack of rats on trial for a massive invasion of the city. Pigs were often subjected to litigation, for example, a herd of pigs that killed a man in 1379 (only three of them were executed, apparently as a warning to others). In total, at least two hundred animals in history have been executed for various crimes.
Jews in Deggendorf
According to the official version, the Jews in the town of Deggendorf tried to steal communion bread from the church in order to desecrate it. But then Jesus and the Virgin Mary appeared before them, and the Christians took the bread from the Jews and returned it to the church. But another version says that in 1338 there was a crop failure, and the Christians invented a story about bread to justify further events.
And the following happened: the townspeople staged a massacre of all Jews. Moreover, the massacre in Deggendorf turned into massacres in nearby towns, until the church stopped this chaos.
Children's Crusade
Everyone has heard of the Crusades, a series of wars undertaken by the Catholic Church to return the Holy Land to Christians. But few people know that the children's Crusade was undertaken in the same era.
12-year-old Stephen had a vision of Jesus who told him to go and fight. The boy began to look for supporters, even reaching the King of France Philip, asking him for support. He wisely advised Stefan to go home. But he still managed to recruit companions: thousands of children responded to his call, and they all went to the Holy Lands. It is not known for certain what happened, but few of them returned home: some of the children died in a shipwreck. It is believed that the ships they hired were wrecked, and the navigators who picked them up took the hapless crusaders to Egypt and Rome.
Cases of cannibalism
Of course, the thought of eating someone is not a very good idea. But it is not known what would have happened if we were in a situation where this is the only way to survive. Therefore, discarding prejudices, let's get acquainted with some famous cases of cannibalism.
In 1098, the crusaders massacred the soldiers defending the Muslim city of Maarra. The city itself was besieged. It was winter, supplies were depleted, and strength was also running out. As a result, the crusaders boiled and ate the bodies of most of their slain opponents.
Cannibalism often occurs during famine, when thousands die of starvation. Among the countries where these incidents often took place in the Middle Ages are Ireland, England, China and Egypt.
Medieval football
It turns out that the semblance of this game, beloved by millions, originated in the Middle Ages. The essence of the game was primitive: to hit the ball so that it reaches a certain goal. The only rule is not to kill anyone during the game. For the rest, do what you want. These are the times. There is an interesting version, according to which, the first "ball" was the head of a certain Danish prince, who learned from his bitter experience that the British were not so easy to capture.
The country's authorities discouraged the game, offering the townspeople to do something useful like archery. Some kings tried to ban it altogether, but nothing came of it: people loved football with all its bruises, wounds and accidental deaths.
Excommunication and Tithing
The Church loved to impose taxes on the population, which believers and respectable people tried to pay regularly. Most often, the tax was one tenth of the earned and was called tithe. They accepted it in the form of money or goods. Poor people used to pay tithes in grain, seeds, food, and even livestock.
However, if the tax was not paid, then the defaulters were sentenced to excommunication. It should be noted that excommunication was usually punished for crimes such as heresy and adultery. Failure to pay tithing was equated with just such acts. The excommunicated were declared a kind of boycott, which led to isolation, hunger and death, since they could not even find a job.
God knows his own
A few more words about the Crusades - but this time in a different format. In 1209, Pope Innocent the third announced a Crusade … to France.
The reason was the following: in the south of France, a new religious movement was formed - the Cathars. They adhered to Christian beliefs, but with some variations, for example, they believed that God has a dual nature, combining good and evil. In addition, they considered it strange to worship the object with which the Lord was killed - the cross.
Of course, the Christian church could not forgive such an encroachment on its dogmas, and the knights went to the south of France. When the military commander Simon de Montfort was told by the soldiers that they did not know which of the population of the attacked region belonged to the heretics, he replied: “Kill everyone. God knows his own. Thousands of people have died.
Expulsion of Jews from England
After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Jews were invited to the country. The country's ruling elite has established extensive business ties with the Israeli people, and they have become quite rich. However, this did not at all like the common population, whose poverty only increased every day.
Finally, in 1290, a royal decree was issued, according to which all Jews were forcibly expelled from the country. The poor have been credited with a long list of atrocities, including performing bloody sacrifices. The entrance to the country was reopened for them only in 1655, but who after this would want to return?
Cat hunting
Black cats are associated with something mystical and sinister for a reason. The beginning of this attitude was laid by Pope George IX, who once announced that the devil himself is embodied in black cats when the witches call him. The Pope described in great detail the rituals carried out, including the spells with which Satan must be invoked (ironic people may even wonder how he knew this so well).
In general, a hunt for cats was declared, not inferior to the persecution of witches. In some parts of Europe, this led to their almost complete disappearance.
Author: Maxim Ewald