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

6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes

Medieval Europe. Where unbathed, sword-wielding knights ate rotten meat, thought the Earth was flat, defended chastity-belt wearing maidens, and tortured their foes with grisly gadgets. Except... this is more fiction than fact. So, where do all the myths about the Middle Ages come from? And what were they actually like? Stephanie Honchell Smith debunks common misconceptions about the time period. [Directed by Avi Ofer, narrated by Christina Greer, music by Stephen LaRosa]. 

Popular images of filthy, ignorant medieval Europeans eating rotten meat and inventing bizarre torture devices are mostly the products of later imagination. Medieval people bathed regularly, prized fresh food, and preserved ancient knowledge in monasteries and universities. Legends like the Iron Maiden or chastity belts originated in satire or much later periods, not in medieval reality. The so-called 'Dark Ages' were in fact a time of cross-cultural exchange, gradual progress, and vibrant daily life.