For some reason, I want to blame the History Channel for this
Comment on Medieval people had bathhouses & did not all die before 35...
Akasazh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Also waste was collected, urine was used in the textile industry and shit as fertilizer.
Furthermore beer was generally the main drink, but not because water was tainted. Water is essentieel for existence, and keeping a clean water supply was very important. Poisoning a well was a capital offense.
Beer was better preservable in barrels then water, and more interesting in flavor. In a world with little choice (no coffee, tea or soda) it’s not strange it was preferred by many.
Yet it’s s pervasive myth that beer was the only healthy option.
nagaram@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Akasazh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s been way longer. The ‘dark middle ages’ stuff is mostly from the 19th century. Folks like Edward Gibbon were sitting about Rome and it’s legacy as being the epitome of civilization, comparable to the conremporary post emigrant enlightenment civilization.
The middle ages where painted as particularly stupid and filthy. It needed to be, cause nineteenth century society was the epitome of filthy, with crowded cities with the human first for the industrial revolution.
Therefore the dark ages, where mankind were ignorant and unaware of the benefit of modern hygiene had to be even worse, right?
That’s where most of our mutual understanding of that period comes from, and it’s rather silly. I’m not saying the middle ages where the cleanest era in human existence, that would most likely be when there were very few of us. But the common picture is flawed af
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago Nah I heard it before the history channel existed
VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The alchohol content also meant it was sterile, and it was much weaker than modern beer so they weren’t sloshed all the time.
Akasazh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Not exactly. Mutliple bacteria thrive in alcoholic beverages (certainly sub 20% abv) when exposed to air (there were no air-tight storage solutions yet). The alcohol they made was far from sterile, as it would have been kept in barrels and they are ideal places for colonies to hide and be rekindled. Luckily most of the bacteriae that form in that manner are actually not unhealthy (like vinegar or pediococcus (feet bacerium)) or too bad tasting. If you look up Belgian wild ales you’ll find a whole amount of people who go crazy for those kind of beers.
The brilliant part is that the algae and bacteriae that make water taste nasty when put in a wooden barrel, make beer taste better, hence me saying it keeps better. And the alcohol content would be less. But people drank a lot of water too. It’s free and falls from the air and from streams and doesn’t involve boiling. It’s way to convenient and way too important for people to ignore.
Futhermore, you need good water to make good beer. Almost every brewery will praise their wellwater.
kestrel7_7@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Thank you for saying this, I get sick of this one. Also I think most of what people were drinking historically was more “small beers” like modern kvass or kombucha with 1-2% alcohol. People weren’t just getting fucked up all the time.
Akasazh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah, I just finished writing another comment in this thread that breaks down part of that myth in more detail. But it’s pervasiveness is so extreme, just like the ‘flat eath’ myths and general medieval ignorance and cruelty.
Viceversa@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Are you from France or something? 🤔
Akasazh@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The Netherlands