Many misconceptions about the medieval period stem from the fact that the average person doesn’t even know when the medieval period was. To most laypeople, the entire span of time between the fall of Western Rome and the Industrial Era is considered “medieval.” This is an incredibly broad stretch of history that can actually be divided into two distinct eras. The latter of these eras—spanning from the late 15th to the early 19th centuries, depending on the region—is often referred to colloquially as the Renaissance, the Colonial Era, or the Enlightenment. Most historians, however, use the broad term “Early Modern Era.”

Interestingly, many misconceptions about the medieval period actually originate in the Early Modern Era. For example, the famously gruesome methods of torture and execution often associated with the medieval period largely belong to the Early Modern Era. In comparison, torture and execution in the medieval period were relatively simple and practical. Similarly, in relation to the article, it was the people of the Early Modern Era—not the medieval period—who had truly questionable hygene.

There are a few key reasons why hygiene declined in the post-medieval world. The main factor was the rapid growth of urban centers, which led to nearby waterways becoming polluted with human waste. With clean water harder to obtain, people bathed less frequently. The introduction of sugar from the New World into the European diet also wreaked havoc on oral hygiene, and it took centuries for proper dental practices to develop. Finally, as the article points out, there were many widespread misconceptions about hygiene and its role in preventing disease, particularly with regard to the much-feared Black Death.

In short, William the Conqueror was likely a well-groomed man, while George Washington probably stank.

Star Trek is popular among left-wing turbonerds, aka Lemmys primary demographic. There was also a big push to join Lemmy on r/StarTrek after Reddits API controversy.

And Cyberpunk

Whales, Elephants, and the other Great Apes are all likely to go too, and they don’t deserve it. Humans brought this on ourselves, but the loss of peaceful intelligent life is a true tragedy.

About to be a total Doomer, but I would just like to remind everyone that the current effects we are seeing are due to carbon pumped into the atmosphere 30 YEARS AGO! And emissions have only increased since then.

As a millennial, it’s been a hard reckoning that greed and evil truly won before I was born. There was nothing I could ever have done about it. All I can do is just ride it out. In a way, I am privileged. I’ve always had an interest in history, how fortunate I am to witness it’s end.