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Odd Medieval Practices That Seem Too Strange to Be True

Khalid Elhassan September 28, 2023 31 min

Medieval - The 1457 trial of a sow and her piglets for murder in Savigny, France — The 1457 trial of a sow and her piglets for murder in Savigny, France. Chambers Book of Days

The Middle Ages Were Not as Drab As Movies and TV Led Us to Believe

Movies and TV often incorrectly depict the medieval era as drab and devoid of vibrant colors. Quora

If we go by modern depictions of the Middle Ages in movies and on TV, we would have to conclude that the period must have been a pretty drab one. Just about everybody is shown clad in dull brown clothes, occasionally broken by a bit of black thrown into the mix. Buildings are either plain brown wood for the lower classes’ dwellings, or unadorned stone gray for the castles of the aristocratic elites or the churches and cathedrals of the usually brown-clad clergy.

Unlike Hollywood's depiction, actual medieval people liked vibrant colors — Unlike Hollywood’s depiction, actual medieval people liked vibrant colors. Quora

The reality however is that medieval people did not restrict themselves to shades of brown and black. Instead, they tried to get as colorful as they could whenever possible. People back then liked to take a paint brush to anything that couldn’t move, and liked to pack as many colors into their wardrobe as possible. Those with means decorated their walls with vibrant tapestries and frescoes. Clothes often had a splash of color by way of trim, or the whole thing might be dyed.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.