4 ms·

Instead of the conveniences of modern technology, they had servants. They lived a life of full service, comparable to the most expensive modern hotels. They h

Instead of the conveniences of modern technology, they had servants. They lived a life of full service, comparable to the most expensive modern hotels. They had "running water" -- as in servants would run and fetch the water. There was nothing inconvenient about the king's access to water. It would be served to him. How do you get your water?

phone8675309 5y ago
Fat lot of good that does when you die from a simple infection that penicillin can fix or keel over from a heart attack that is survivable in the modern age.
- DarylZero 5y ago
  Look, I'm not saying that everything was better in the medieval ages. But people who think that their own modern lifestyle is comparable to a medieval king are lying to themselves. They heard a dumbass meme and never thought about it critically. Modern working class people in the wealthy nations do have better _medical care_ than medieval kings did. That doesn't justify broad statements about "lifestyle."
  - Jensson 5y ago
    > But people who think that their own modern lifestyle is comparable to a medieval king are lying to themselves. Medieval kings still ate poor food, you can see it on their teeth, they often had gravel etc in the bread wearing down the teeths etc. The houses, food and clothing, sanitation etc the kings had back then would be illegal to even offer to poor people toady.
    - DarylZero 5y ago
      According to historian André Castelo, on one particular occasion, [Napoleon's] cuisiniers roasted no fewer than 23 chickens in close succession (Napoleon couldn’t possibly dine on reheated food) until the emperor finally deigned to put his quill down and spare a few minutes for his meal.
      - Jensson 5y ago
        Having lots of raw resources doesn't mean you had high quality end products. Also Napoleon wasn't a medieval king, the medieval ages ended 500 years ago, things were much better 200 years ago when Napoleon lived. When I lived on the minimum my government allows I could still buy higher quality raw ingredients than kings had access to 500 years ago and cook my own meals that are higher quality than was possible back then. It wont be as fancy, no, but it is better in every other regard, and I got access to the different wares year round while they had to account for seasons, spices basically non existent etc.
        DarylZero 5y ago
        Why the hell would you think your raw ingredients were higher quality than a KING's?
Thorrez 5y ago
Was the water cold? Filtered well? Yes, food and drink was probably better for them, because technology related to those can be replaced by manpower. For air conditioning, healthcare, lighting, or travel they had problems. > How do you get your water? I takes me a few seconds to get cold, pure water from my fridge. The bigger benefit of running water I think is hygiene. I doubt they would have a hot shower. A hot bath would be possible for the king, but not other people. A lot of the servants would probably stink, and the toilets were holes in the side of the castle that went into the street. I think it smelled quite bad.
- DarylZero 5y ago
  Hot baths without running water were available to ordinary people. They would boil water on a stove and put it into the bathtub. The big problem with your argument here is that it's special pleading. You just focus on some technologies that weren't available then. You don't even make an attempt to show that these very few specific things somehow dominate "lifestyle." I think having full service everything, and no labor obligations, including architects who can build buildings (and know how to make them be cool in summer!) is very much more important to characterizing lifestyle than any specific technology.
  - Thorrez 5y ago
    >Hot baths without running water were available to ordinary people. Everyone once in a while, yes, but not for everyday people.[1] >"lifestyle." You're right, it does depend on the definition of lifestyle. Some people consider travel to be central to a fancy lifestyle, and that would be hard in the past. >no labor obligations Most people on HN likely have no physical labor obligations from employment. We have cushy programming jobs, and many can afford to eat out/order delivery every day and hire a cleaning and laundry service. I can get anywhere nearby in a fast and comfy car, not having to deal with a slow, bumpy, drafty, horse-smelling carriage. I don't even have to walk up stairs, I can take an elevator. The king has the responsibility of running a kingdom. That sounds pretty stressful to me, much more so that my programming job. [1] https://www.quora.com/How-often-did-people-in-the-Middle-Ages-bathe https://www.quora.com/How-often-did-people-in-the-Middle-Age...

phone8675309 5y ago

Fat lot of good that does when you die from a simple infection that penicillin can fix or keel over from a heart attack that is survivable in the modern age.

DarylZero 5y ago
Look, I'm not saying that everything was better in the medieval ages. But people who think that their own modern lifestyle is comparable to a medieval king are lying to themselves. They heard a dumbass meme and never thought about it critically. Modern working class people in the wealthy nations do have better _medical care_ than medieval kings did. That doesn't justify broad statements about "lifestyle."
- Jensson 5y ago
  > But people who think that their own modern lifestyle is comparable to a medieval king are lying to themselves. Medieval kings still ate poor food, you can see it on their teeth, they often had gravel etc in the bread wearing down the teeths etc. The houses, food and clothing, sanitation etc the kings had back then would be illegal to even offer to poor people toady.
  - DarylZero 5y ago
    According to historian André Castelo, on one particular occasion, [Napoleon's] cuisiniers roasted no fewer than 23 chickens in close succession (Napoleon couldn’t possibly dine on reheated food) until the emperor finally deigned to put his quill down and spare a few minutes for his meal.
    - Jensson 5y ago
      Having lots of raw resources doesn't mean you had high quality end products. Also Napoleon wasn't a medieval king, the medieval ages ended 500 years ago, things were much better 200 years ago when Napoleon lived. When I lived on the minimum my government allows I could still buy higher quality raw ingredients than kings had access to 500 years ago and cook my own meals that are higher quality than was possible back then. It wont be as fancy, no, but it is better in every other regard, and I got access to the different wares year round while they had to account for seasons, spices basically non existent etc.
      - DarylZero 5y ago
        Why the hell would you think your raw ingredients were higher quality than a KING's?

Thorrez 5y ago

Was the water cold? Filtered well? Yes, food and drink was probably better for them, because technology related to those can be replaced by manpower. For air conditioning, healthcare, lighting, or travel they had problems. > How do you get your water? I takes me a few seconds to get cold, pure water from my fridge. The bigger benefit of running water I think is hygiene. I doubt they would have a hot shower. A hot bath would be possible for the king, but not other people. A lot of the servants would probably stink, and the toilets were holes in the side of the castle that went into the street. I think it smelled quite bad.

DarylZero 5y ago
Hot baths without running water were available to ordinary people. They would boil water on a stove and put it into the bathtub. The big problem with your argument here is that it's special pleading. You just focus on some technologies that weren't available then. You don't even make an attempt to show that these very few specific things somehow dominate "lifestyle." I think having full service everything, and no labor obligations, including architects who can build buildings (and know how to make them be cool in summer!) is very much more important to characterizing lifestyle than any specific technology.
- Thorrez 5y ago
  >Hot baths without running water were available to ordinary people. Everyone once in a while, yes, but not for everyday people.[1] >"lifestyle." You're right, it does depend on the definition of lifestyle. Some people consider travel to be central to a fancy lifestyle, and that would be hard in the past. >no labor obligations Most people on HN likely have no physical labor obligations from employment. We have cushy programming jobs, and many can afford to eat out/order delivery every day and hire a cleaning and laundry service. I can get anywhere nearby in a fast and comfy car, not having to deal with a slow, bumpy, drafty, horse-smelling carriage. I don't even have to walk up stairs, I can take an elevator. The king has the responsibility of running a kingdom. That sounds pretty stressful to me, much more so that my programming job. [1] https://www.quora.com/How-often-did-people-in-the-Middle-Ages-bathe https://www.quora.com/How-often-did-people-in-the-Middle-Age...