The Middle Ages have taken on a legendary status, but modern entertainment often blurs the lines between fact and fiction. This era of European history was shaped by the rise and fall of kingdoms, the spread of Christianity, and countless wars and rivalries.
It’s time to set the record straight and separate the myths from the reality.
Archers drew arrows from a quiver on their backs, even going barefoot while shooting.
Forget what TV shows have taught you—medieval archers typically wore their quivers at their belts, not slung over their backs. It made grabbing an arrow much quicker and more practical.
Many also went barefoot, relying on their toes for extra grip and stability when lining up a shot.
Knights did not strictly adhere to a code of chivalry.
Knights weren’t always the noble, honorable figures we imagine today. They were raised and trained for battle, and warfare was their primary skill.
Driven by a desire for power and wealth, many often misused their abilities. The chivalrous image we know largely comes from romanticized medieval literature.
Armor was not as heavy as is popularly believed.
A full suit of steel plate armor typically weighed between 15–25 kilograms—less than what modern firefighters carry and similar to the loadout of today’s soldiers.
Contrary to popular belief, this armor wasn’t rare.
In fact, during the 15th century, around 60–70% of French troops fought on foot wearing full armor, as did English soldiers during the Wars of the Roses.
The Iron Maiden was not a real torture device.
This human-sized iron box lined with interior spikes—often imagined as delivering a slow, agonizing death—has an uncertain place in actual history. While it’s a chilling image, its use may be more myth than fact.
Likewise, infamous methods like the rack or public beheadings weren’t as common as many believe. Most condemned prisoners typically faced the hangman’s noose.
Maps did not commonly display “dragons” on unexplored regions,
While modern portrayals of the Middle Ages often focus on monsters and mythological beasts, the people of that era were far more concerned with real-world dangers like criminals and the threat of war.
At most, maps from the time might label certain areas as hazardous—but not because of fantastical creatures.
People in the Middle Ages consumed their meals using cutlery.
People in the Middle Ages weren’t uneducated savages, and cutlery wasn’t exclusive to royalty. Spoons, in fact, are among the oldest known utensils.
Archaeological finds date them back to around 1000 BCE in Ancient Egypt, where they were crafted from ivory, wood, and slate.
Bronze and silver spoons have also been uncovered in regions once ruled by the Greek and Roman Empires.
Flails were rarely used as weapons that some historians believe they are entirely fictitious.
Flails, with their spiked heads connected to handles by chains, were designed to strike around shields or bypass a parry. However, their practicality is heavily debated.
Many historians believe flails were either rarely used or even invented by later generations for dramatic effect.
Due to their unwieldy nature and inefficiency in real combat, they likely saw little actual use—though pop culture, like Game of Thrones, certainly made them look far more deadly than they ever were.
The burning of witches was not common.
The image of women being routinely burned at the stake for witchcraft is largely exaggerated. In reality, such executions were not widespread, and even the Catholic Church often opposed the practice.
When women were accused of witchcraft, they were more commonly sentenced to hanging rather than burning.
Islam and Christianity coexisted.
Despite periods of conflict, Christianity and Islam also experienced times of peace and cooperation during the Middle Ages. Christian and Muslim rulers often hired one another’s scholars, advisors, and even warriors.
Trade between the two cultures remained active, even amid battles, showing that coexistence was very much a part of the era.
Europe during the Middle Ages expected the world to end in the year 1000 CE.
January 1, 1000 was long rumored to be the date of the apocalypse, with stories claiming that people gave up their jobs, sold their belongings, and traveled to the Holy Land in anticipation of Christ’s return.
However, this narrative is widely debated.
In truth, most people at the time were focused on survival and relied more on practical common sense than unquestioning obedience to apocalyptic predictions from the Church.
Vikings did not drink from the skulls of their defeated enemies.
Many myths and legends have surrounded the infamous Vikings, but one of the more gruesome tales—that they drank from human skulls—lacks any real evidence.
In reality, Vikings were more likely to drink from animal horns, such as those from goats or cattle, rather than human remains.
No one was forced to drink wine and beer because of the lack of available clean water.
Communities during the Middle Ages invested significant effort and resources to secure access to clean drinking water. For a long time, the lack of references to water in historical records led many historians to assume that people mainly drank wine or beer.
However, recent research shows that clean water was highly valued and carefully managed, even if it wasn’t often mentioned in surviving texts.
Mounted knights were not as crucial to the outcome of battles.
The role of cavalry in the Middle Ages has often been overstated. Knights were never the main force in armies—they were simply too costly to deploy in large numbers
Instead, the bulk of medieval European armies consisted of foot soldiers.
Columbus was not the first European man to “discover” the Americas.
The Vikings reached the Americas roughly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Historical consensus confirms that Norse explorers arrived by the late 10th century, beating Columbus to the New World by half a millennium.
Many people lived well into old age.
A common myth is that people in the Middle Ages died very young. In reality, many lived into their 50s and 60s.
The difference was that illnesses we consider minor or treatable today were often fatal back then.
Viking warriors did not wear armaments like horned helmets at all.
The image of Vikings wearing horned helmets is a myth—there’s no historical evidence they ever did. In fact, Vikings rarely wore helmets at all, and only one authentic Viking helmet has ever been found.
When they did wear helmets, they were typically made of iron or leather, chosen for their lighter weight and practicality.
People in the Middle Ages had good hygiene practices.
A person’s scent could greatly impact their social standing during the Middle Ages. Public saunas and bathhouses were widespread, and even London brothels mandated that patrons bathe before entering.
Contrary to popular belief, people in the Middle Ages were not unhygienic.
Women were not forced to wear chastity belts.
Chastity belts were originally intended as a satirical commentary on society’s obsession with female purity and virginity. While they symbolized enforced chastity, the designs were often exaggerated—and yet some took the concept far too literally.
People in the Middle Ages did not believe the world was flat.
Greek scientists as early as the 6th century BCE understood that the Earth was spherical—a fact that remained widely accepted throughout the Middle Ages.
Contrary to popular belief, the Church also taught that the Earth was round during this period.
Europe was ethnically diverse during the Middle Ages.
After their expulsion from Spain, Jewish communities spread across Europe and North Africa. At the same time, migrants from Central Asia settled in Eastern Europe, establishing communities in areas like modern-day Russia, Ukraine, and the Caucasus.
While tensions and discrimination existed, racial slavery was not part of this period, and many communities managed to coexist peacefully.
