" Worst Misconceptions About Medieval Life ..." Topic

… You'd Get From Fantasy Books.

"Some tropes are so ingrained in Medieval-inspired fantasy stories that it's tempting to think that they represent real aspects of Medieval life. But often these stories are just reinforcing myths and misconceptions about life in the Middle Ages…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Oh, I thought wizards, elves, rangers and hot chicks always banded together and went on adventures and stuff.

and don't forget the +5 lace of protection

Not a bad compendium for those who haven't read a lot of actual history of the period.

And a few tidbits for those who have.

Eventually, the late 15th century would give rise to the Spanish Inquisition, and we do see witches hunted down.

Curious it claims to clear misconceptions of medieval life, with a misconception about Renaissance life. The Inquisition, in Spain, wasn't worried with witchcraft, but heresy and crypto-judaism (i.e Jewish converts accused of practicing their former religion in secret). In all the history of the Spanish Inquisition, witchcraft was very secondary. Actually, until 1520s investigations for witchcraft were the remit of civilian courts, not the Inquisition. Afterwards, trials for witchcraft were few and far in between; many inquisitors took the approach that witches were, in reality, nothing but ignorant peasants that didn't deserve being executed.

Heretics, on the other hand… well, lets say that the Inquisition dealt with them with extreme prejudice.

In fact, the Inquisition was known to step in and ban witch trials at times, noting that they were persecuting innocent people. Oh, the irony.

needs more salt

There was a nice piece on the Inquisition a couple of years ago that was noted on National Review.

It pointed out that much of the current misinformation on the Inquisition (particularly the Spanish Inquisition) was the product of 19th Century British writers wit a bias against the Church.

Needless to say, witches had much more to fear in Protestant Germany than in Spain or other Catholic countries.

The worst common misapprehension about the middle ages is that people fought in "chainmail", which does not exist and never has.

What did people in the middle ages call chain mail then? Why do we call it chain mail now?

Mail. Until a silly Scotchman in the 19th century got it wrong.

Lack of wound infections?

Also meeting locals in the inn, at least in some places and times, inn keepers were not allowed to serve locals.

And economics – the treasure hauls in some games would probably be enough to cause so serious local if not national distortions!