6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes - Stephanie Honchell Smith

Translator: Laura Nogueiras Gómez Reviewer: Mario Cal

Medieval Europe.

A Europa medieval.

Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat,

Onde fedorentos cabaleiros comían carne podre,

thought the Earth was flat, defended chastity-belt wearing maidens,

crían que a Terra era plana, defendían doncelas con cintos de castidade

and tortured their foes with grisly gadgets.

e torturaban inimigos con macabras ferramentas.

Except... this is more fiction than fact.

Porén, isto é máis ficción que realidade.

So, where do all the myths about the Middle Ages come from?

De onde veñen os mitos sobre a Idade Media?

And what were they actually like?

Como era esta época?

The “Middle Ages” refers to a 1,000-year timespan,

A «Idade Media» refírese ó período de 1 000 anos

stretching from the fall of Rome in the 5th century

desde o s. V, có fin do Imperio romano,

to the Italian renaissance in the 15th.

ata o s. XV, co Renacemento.

Though it’s been applied to other parts of the world,

Aínda que se aplica a outras partes do mundo,

the term traditionally refers specifically to Europe.

o termo refírese a Europa en particular.

One misconception is that medieval people were all ignorant and uneducated.

Hai un tópico que retrata a xente medieval como ignorante e inculta.

For example, a 19th century biography of Christopher Columbus

Por exemplo, unha biografía de Cristovo Colón do s. XIX

incorrectly purported that medieval Europeans thought the Earth was flat.

supuxo que os europeos medievais crían que a Terra era plana.

Sure, many medieval scholars describe the Earth as the center of the universe—

Moitos eruditos medievais colocaban a Terra no centro do universo,

but there wasn't much debate as to its shape.

mais a súa forma non se discutía.

A popular 13th century text was literally called “On the Sphere of the World.”

Ata unha obra do s. XIII titúlase «A esfera do mundo».

And literacy rates gradually increased during the Middle Ages

As taxas de alfabetización aumentaron durante a Idade Media

alongside the establishment of monasteries, convents and universities.

xunto á creación de mosteiros, conventos e universidades.

Ancient knowledge was also not “lost”;

E os coñecementos ancestrais non se perderon,

Greek and Roman texts continued to be studied.

os textos gregos e romanos seguíanse a estudar.

The idea that medieval people ate rotten meat and used spices to cover the taste

A idea de que se comía carne podre e especiada para disimular o sabor

was popularized in the 1930s by a British book.

popularizouna un libro británico na década de 1930,

It misinterpreted one medieval recipe

que entendeu mal unha receita medieval.

and used the existence of laws barring the sale of putrid meat

Tomou a existencia de leis que prohibían a venda de carne podre

as evidence it was regularly consumed.

para xustificar que se consumía adoito.

In fact, medieval Europeans avoided rancid foods

De feito, os europeos medievais evitaban os alimentos rancios

and had methods for safely preserving meats,

e coñecían maneiras de preserva-la carne

like curing them with salt.

como curala con sal.

Spices were popular.

As especias eran populares,

But they were oftentimes pricier than meat itself.

pero adoitaban ser máis caras cá propia carne.

So if someone could afford them, they could also buy unspoiled food.

Se podías mercar especias, podías mercar comida fresca.

Meanwhile, the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet

Ademais, no s. XIX o historiador francés Jules Michelet

referred to the Middle Ages as “a thousand years without a bath.”

referiuse á Idade Media coma «mil anos sen un baño».

But even small towns boasted well-used public bathhouses.

Porén, ata as aldeas presumían de ter baños públicos.

People lathered up with soaps made of things

A xente usaba xabóns de moitos tipos,

like animal fat, ash, and scented herbs.

con graxa animal, cinsa e herbas aromáticas.

And they used mouthwash, teeth-scrubbing cloths with pastes and powders,

Tamén usaban enxaugadura bucal, teas para lava-los dentes con cremas e pos

and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.

e especias ou herbas para ter un bo alento.

So, how about medieval torture devices?

E os métodos de tortura medievais?

In the 1890s, a collection of allegedly “terrible relics of a semi-barbarous age”

Na década de 1890, unha colección de «reliquias dunha época case bárbara»

went on tour.

foi exposta.

Among them: the Iron Maiden, which fascinated viewers with its spiked doors—

Entre elas estaba a dama de ferro, que fascinaba o público cos seus cravos.

but it was fabricated, possibly just decades before.

Mais parece que foi un invento con só décadas de antigüidade.

And there’s no indication Iron Maidens actually existed in the Middle Ages.

Non hai rexistros da súa existencia na Idade Media.

The “Pear of Anguish,” meanwhile, did exist—

Pola contra, a «pera da angustia» si que existiu,

but probably later on and it couldn’t have been used for torture.

pero máis adiante e parece que non se usaba para torturar,

It may have just been a shoe-stretcher.

senón para ensanchar calzado.

Indeed, many ostensibly medieval torture devices are far more recent inventions.

A verdade é que moitos destes aparellos son invencións recentes.

Medieval legal proceedings were overall less gruesome than these gadgets suggest.

Os procedementos legais do medievo eran menos espantosos:

They included fines, imprisonment, public humiliation,

había multas, encarceramentos, humillación pública

and certain forms of corporal punishment.

e métodos de castigo físico.

Torture and executions did happen,

A tortura e as execucións tamén existían,

but especially violent punishments, like drawing and quartering,

pero os castigos máis violentos, coma ser azorrado e desmembrado,

were generally reserved for crimes like high treason.

reservábanse para crimes coma a alta traizón.

Surely chastity belts were real, though, right?

Os cintos de castidade serían reais, non?

Probably not.

Pois non.

They were first mentioned by a 15th century German engineer, likely in jest,

O primeiro en mencionalos foi un enxeñeiro alemán no s. XV,

alongside fart jokes and a device for invisibility.

de broma, con chistes de peidos e aparellos de invisibilidade.

From there, they became popular subjects of satire

Desde entón, convertéronse nun tema satírico

that were later mistaken for medieval reality.

que acabou por confundirse coa realidade medieval.

Ideas about the Middle Ages have varied

As ideas sobre a Idade Media variaron

depending on the interest of those in later times.

en función dos intereses das outras épocas.

The term— along with the pejorative “Dark Ages”—

O termo, e o pexorativo «anos escuros»,

was popularized during the 15th and 16th centuries

foi popularizado nos s. XV e XVI

by scholars biased toward the Classical and Modern periods

por académicos con preferencias polas idades Clásica e Moderna,

that came before and after.

a anterior e a posterior.

And, as Enlightenment thinkers celebrated their dedication to reason,

Os pensadores ilustrados celebraban o uso da razón

they depicted medieval people as superstitious and irrational.

e retrataban o medievo coma unha época supersticiosa e irracional.

In the 19th century, some Romantic European nationalist thinkers— well—

No s. XIX, certos pensadores románticos europeos

romanticized the Middle Ages.

idealizaron a Idade Media.

They described isolated, white, Christian societies,

Describían sociedades illadas, brancas e cristiás,

emphasizing narratives of chivalry and wonder.

e salientaban narrativas cabaleirescas e marabillosas.

But knights played minimal roles in medieval warfare.

Porén, os cabaleiros pouco facían nas guerras medievais.

And the Middle Ages saw large-scale interactions.

A Idade Media tamén viu interaccións a grande escala.

Ideas flowed into Europe along Byzantine, Muslim, and Mongol trade routes.

As rutas de comercio bizantinas, musulmás e mongois traían ideas consigo.

And merchants, intellectuals, and diplomats of diverse origins

Ademais, mercadores, intelectuais e diplomáticos de diversas orixes

visited medieval European cities.

visitaban as cidades medievais europeas.

The biggest myth may be that the millennium of the Middle Ages

O maior mito é que o milenio da Idade Media

amounts to one distinct, cohesive period of European history at all.

é un período diferenciado e cohesivo da historia europea.

Originally defined less by what they were than what they weren’t,

Antes menos definida polo que era que polo que non,

the Middle Ages became a ground for dueling ideas—

a Idade Media converteuse nun campo de batalla de ideas,

fueling more fantasy than fact.

máis fantasiosas que reais.