In the Middle Ages, plague, cholera, dysentery and other epidemics raged in Europe, claiming millions of lives. A significant role in this was played by the dirt, unsanitary conditions and complete lack of hygiene that reigned around.
Hygienic procedures, elevated to a cult in ancient times, with the spread of Christianity in Europe, were recognized as a harmful excess. Body care was considered a sin, and baths were harmful to health, since they expanded and cleansed the pores of the skin, which, according to the then existing ideas, would inevitably lead to serious illness and even death. Christian preachers urged the flock not to wash, for spiritual cleansing takes precedence over the washing of the body, which distracts from thoughts of God, and besides, in this way it was possible to wash off the holy grace received at baptism. As a result, people might not know the water at all or not wash for years, and one can imagine what kind of smell came from them.
Crowned persons and courtiers, ordinary townspeople and villagers - no one cared about personal hygiene and cleanliness of the body. The most they could afford was to lightly rinse their mouth and hands. Queen Isabella of Castile of Spain was proud to have washed twice in her entire life: at birth and on her wedding day. The French monarch Louis XIV was horrified by the need to wash, so he also took a bath only twice in his life and exclusively for medicinal purposes.
The aristocrats nevertheless tried to get rid of the dirt with the help of a perfumed rag, and from the smells they showered the face and body with aromatic powder and carried bags of herbs with them, and also abundantly watered with perfume. In addition, wealthy people often changed their underwear, which was believed to absorb dirt and cleanse the body. The poor, on the other hand, wore dirty clothes, since, as a rule, they had only one set of them and could wash them, unless they got into the rain.
Unwashed bodies attracted many insects. However, in the Middle Ages, lice and fleas were held in high esteem, were considered signs of holiness and were called "divine pearls." At the same time, they caused a lot of anxiety, so all kinds of flea traps were invented. Also, this function was performed by small dogs, ermines and other animals, which can be seen in the hands of the ladies depicted on the canvases of the artists of that era.
The situation with the hair was sad: if it did not fall out as a result of the widespread syphilis at that time, then, of course, it was not washed, but generously sprinkled with flour and powder. Therefore, at the time of the fashion for grandiose hairstyles, the heads of the court ladies were densely inhabited not only by lice and fleas, but also by cockroaches, and sometimes mouse nests were also found.
There was no idea about oral hygiene in the Middle Ages, therefore, by the age of 30, the average European had no more than 6-7 teeth or none at all, and the rest were affected by various diseases and slowly but surely rotted.
Natural needs in medieval Europe went wherever they could: on the main staircase of the castle, at the wall of the ballroom, from the open window sill, on the balcony, in the park, in a word, wherever the need overtakes. Later, annexes appeared on the walls of houses and castles, which served as a toilet, but their design was such that feces flowed onto the streets and sidewalks. In rural areas, cesspools existed for this purpose.
When chamber pots came into use, their contents began to be poured out of the window, while the law ordered three times to warn people passing by about this, but incidents often happened, and passers-by got "troubles" directly on their heads. In the presence of a fireplace, it was he who absorbed the waste of the inhabitants of the house.
Considering the approach to hygiene that existed in the Middle Ages, it should not be surprising that by the age of 30-40, Europeans looked decrepit old men and women with rough, wrinkled and ulcerated skin, sparse gray hair and an almost toothless jaw.
