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Medieval Europe is several hundred years, a load of different societies at any given time, social strata within these societies. And even then, are sources reli
by wisty 7y ago
Medieval Europe is several hundred years, a load of different societies at any given time, social strata within these societies. And even then, are sources reliable? If a lot of writers in a time period write that people don't bath enough, is that a sign that everyone is concerned about hygiene, or a sign that people aren't concerned about hygiene?
- joe_the_user 7y agoIndeed, all that is made more challenging given that "ordinary life" was often not considered a subject that should be written about any detail. I recall a description of medieval literature often involving "the acts of kings" written as just as a sequence of events. I think in many societies, there often wasn't much effort put into "telling people what they already knew" and instead writing involved records of big events or accounting entries.