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One opinion:
Not important at all. Most people had a bath once a year if that. It was a very dirty time all the way around. There was no running water so that means that to get hot water for a bath that someone had haul water from a water source, heat it, and them put it in some sort of tub. There was also no privacy for people and people didn't wash clothing as well. I saw one little painting of Henry VIII in Warwick castle ( this is after the middle ages, but it reflects what I am talking about). The painting was only of his bust with his hands in the forefront and it was his hands that I found most interesting. The artist had painted what he saw and he saw a man in red velvet with fur and a big hat on, but he also saw hands that were embedded with grime and dirt. The fingernails were broken or with dirt under them. He had painted it with such detail that you knew that this man was not clean.
A differing opinion:
Bathing was very important during the Middle Ages. Cleanliness was considered an important Christian virtue, and being clean was very important for social status, even among the poorer people. Rich people owned their own bath tubs, which were filled with hot water by servants. Poorer people used public baths, if they lived in town or in a village that at them. People who had no access to baths bathed in brooks or ponds.
During the early Renaissance, people began to believe that bathing was unhealthy. They learned to clean only those parts of their bodies that showed, and depended on changing clothing to clean the rest. Wealthy people could afford to change clothing regularly, and could also afford perfume, which had become popular.
The idea that the Middle Ages were a time when people were dirty and smelly seems to have arisen in the Renaissance, a time when it was popular to demean medieval people.
There is a link below to the section of an article on bathing that deals with the history of bathing in Western Europe.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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In the middle ages most important musicians were?
The most important musicians during the Middle Ages were priests and those who worked for the church.
What was the most important economic resource during the Middle Ages?
oil
Which activity was most important in the middle ages?
Sex, murder, and farming are all equally important in the middle ages
What Paint type was used by the ancient Egyptians Greeks and Romans and very popular during the Middle Ages?
Tempera was important to all these groups. Oil paints were invented in the middle ages.
What was the middle ages trial?
During the middle ages, heresy trials were called inquisitions.
What were the bathing habits during the midddle ages?
Bathing was very uncommon during the Middle Ages. Basins were provided for hand washing in dining halls and hospitals, and bathing was conducted in barrels, but only for the nobility.
Why was religion important during the middle ages?
Because religion was so important during the Middle Ages, most people owned Bibles.
Why were pilgrimages important during the middle ages?
i cant
In the middle ages most important musicians were?
The most important musicians during the Middle Ages were priests and those who worked for the church.
What was the most important spice during the middle ages?
The most important spice during the Middle Ages was black pepper. It was a very valuable commodity in the European spice trade.
What two things did people base their scientific ideas off of during the middle ages?
The idea that the people in Middle Ages did not wash is based on two misconceptions and myths. Firstly, after doctors claimed bathing was harmful hence people avoided washing too regularly. Secondly, the Christian moralists and churchmen in Middle Ages warned against excessive bathing.
Why was Christianity important to people during the Middle Ages?
i guess
What is the modern myth about bathing in the middle ages?
There is a widespread belief that people did not bathe in the Middle Ages. This myth arises because bathing went out of practice during the Renaissance, when people worried that it was unhealthy and rich people could afford perfume. Since we have a tendency to regard the Renaissance as a period of improvement, we often ascribe anything about it that was unpleasant to the Middle Ages. During most of the Middle Ages, however, people regarded cleanliness as next to godliness, and kept themselves very clean. There is a link below.
Because of what during the Middle Ages do you have good manners?
It depends who "you" are. By modern standards, people in the middle ages would seem boorish, rude, and filthy. Most of our social ettiquette dates from after the middle ages. In the east, bathing was more common in the middle ages, but other practices (such as bathroom... things...) were disgusting pretty much everywhere.
What was the most important economic resource during the Middle Ages?
oil
Why is the plauge not apparent today then the middle ages?
Because, in the middle ages bathing was thought to be a disgusting thing. During all that time that the plague was spreading around and killing people, it could have been cured by just soap and water.
During the middle ages What religion dominated the middle east?
The dominant religion in the Middle Ages depended on where you were. In most of Europe, it was Christianity, and in the Middle East and North Africa, for most of the Middle Ages, it was Islam. There were places where both were about equally important, such as Spain.
