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Early Middle Ages were probably a point in history where Europeans were at their highest level in terms of overall health and quality of life. Antiquity and Re

Early Middle Ages were probably a point in history where Europeans were at their highest level in terms of overall health and quality of life. Antiquity and Renaissance were both overcrowded, urbanized, with bad living conditions and worse food.

hermitcrab 2y ago
>Early Middle Ages were probably a point in history where Europeans were at their highest level in terms of overall health and quality of life. No antibiotics, modern sanitation, internet, refrigeration orcentral heating, not much education, massive infant mortality and no way to travel faster than a horse. I don't see how that equates a high quality of life. Would you swap places with them - given that you are far more likely to be a serf than an aristocrat?
- aldarion 2y ago
  "No antibiotics" - true "Modern sanitation" - only really necessary in cities. But 90% of populace lived in the countryside. My grandparents did just fine without any kind of modern sanitation. "Internet" - true, but also irrelevant for quality of life. "refrigeration" - completely unnecessary when you have fresh food. "central heating" - completely unnecessary as medieval houses weren't massive and could be heated just fine with a fireplace "not much education" - true... to an extent. "massive infant mortality" - true, but if you didn't survive infancy, you wouldn't worry about living in Middle Ages, would you? "no way to travel faster to a horse" - so not having something completely useless is relevant for quality of life? All and all, your objections a) completely miss the point and b) are kinda weird.
  - hermitcrab 2y ago
    So would you swap places?
    - aldarion 2y ago
      I don't know. I'm used to life as is, but I wouldn't be hurt if places got swapped.
anthk 2y ago
Food? Bread and cheap legumes and vegetables, if any. Meat was for the rich.
- aldarion 2y ago
  That is why I specified Early Middle Ages. Not much serfdom during that time, and there was a lot of food to go around due to low population density - and that included meat, and yes, even for the peasants. Also, you are wrong. Meat stews were not just eaten, but the mainstay of the medieval peasants diet: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/medieval-peasant-diet.html https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/medieval-peasant-die...

hermitcrab 2y ago

>Early Middle Ages were probably a point in history where Europeans were at their highest level in terms of overall health and quality of life. No antibiotics, modern sanitation, internet, refrigeration orcentral heating, not much education, massive infant mortality and no way to travel faster than a horse. I don't see how that equates a high quality of life. Would you swap places with them - given that you are far more likely to be a serf than an aristocrat?

aldarion 2y ago
"No antibiotics" - true "Modern sanitation" - only really necessary in cities. But 90% of populace lived in the countryside. My grandparents did just fine without any kind of modern sanitation. "Internet" - true, but also irrelevant for quality of life. "refrigeration" - completely unnecessary when you have fresh food. "central heating" - completely unnecessary as medieval houses weren't massive and could be heated just fine with a fireplace "not much education" - true... to an extent. "massive infant mortality" - true, but if you didn't survive infancy, you wouldn't worry about living in Middle Ages, would you? "no way to travel faster to a horse" - so not having something completely useless is relevant for quality of life? All and all, your objections a) completely miss the point and b) are kinda weird.
- hermitcrab 2y ago
  So would you swap places?
  - aldarion 2y ago
    I don't know. I'm used to life as is, but I wouldn't be hurt if places got swapped.

anthk 2y ago

Food? Bread and cheap legumes and vegetables, if any. Meat was for the rich.

aldarion 2y ago
That is why I specified Early Middle Ages. Not much serfdom during that time, and there was a lot of food to go around due to low population density - and that included meat, and yes, even for the peasants. Also, you are wrong. Meat stews were not just eaten, but the mainstay of the medieval peasants diet: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/medieval-peasant-diet.html https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2019/may/medieval-peasant-die...