Medieval well-being hacks show our ancestors were keen on health

Hygiene

Despite the stereotypes, medieval people were interested in hygiene and believed that dirt could cause disease – especially if it produced bad smells. Consequently, the medieval authorities employed street cleaners, organised rubbish collections and provided public toilets, to help keep people safe. And ordinary people were quick to complain about nuisance neighbours. In 1450, a Londoner named Thomas Cornwaleys took six local butchers to court after they dumped “dung, intestines, and other disgusting matter” in his garden, endangering the lives of his entire household.

Medieval people also liked to keep their clothes and bodies clean. The wealthy had the best facilities – by the early 1350s, Edward III’s Westminster bathroom had both hot and cold running water. And they could afford expensive perfumed soaps and oils, to make bathing a more pleasurable experience.

But many households owned a large wooden tub, which could be filled with hot water heated over the fire. Town-dwellers might enjoy a trip to the public baths, and in the summer, many people bathed and did laundry in lakes, rivers and streams. Teeth cleaning was also important, and most people also used toothpicks and rubbing cloths to remove “slime and residues” which could damage their teeth. Tooth powders and mouthwashes – many of which included ingredients such as mint, which are still used in modern dental products – were also popular.

Though medieval people didn’t count calories, they certainly understood the dangers of eating too much or too little and the benefits of a balanced diet. However, because they categorised foods as hot or cold, wet or dry (rather than as high in protein, or low in fat), their understanding of what this meant could be very different to ours.

For example, whereas we see fish and fresh fruit as healthy options, medieval people thought that they were very cold and wet – this meant that they would generate large quantities of phlegm, and must only be eaten well cooked and (in the case of fish) with warming sauces. Chicken, which was moderately warm, easy to digest, and extremely nourishing, was seen as a much better option.

By our standards, medieval people drank a lot of alcohol. Poor people got much of their nutrition from ale, and doctors thought wine was the healthiest drink of all – to the extent that some even advised giving it to babies. Nevertheless, drunkenness was frowned upon, since it was both a sin and the cause of all kinds of health problems, from insomnia to memory loss. Consequently, wine was often diluted with water which, contrary to popular belief, was widely drunk in the Middle Ages, often boiled to make it safe.

Exericse

Medieval people also shared our belief that exercise was an important part of a healthy lifestyle or, as the English medical expert John Mirfield put it, exercise is “one of the highest and noblest things that can be applied to the human body for the prolongation of life and the regulation of health”. It was widely believed that physical activity produced benefits including sweating (which removed unpleasant superfluities from the body), better digestion, toned limbs, and a sharper mind.

Almost any activity which involved movement and/or deep breathing could count as exercise – including singing or travelling by boat. But walking, which moved the whole body and was accessible to all, was seen as the best form of exercise.

When the Valencian physician Peter Fargarola’s teenage sons went off to university, in Toulouse in 1315, he urged them to go for a brisk walk, or even a run, every morning and evening. Others played ball games, practised wrestling and archery, went swimming, or used bone skates to enjoy winter games on the ice. And for those who preferred to exercise in the privacy of their own homes, climbing ropes or lifting heavy objects (such as big sticks or large stones) were good options.

Getting outdoors

Like their modern counterparts, medieval doctors were particularly enthusiastic about outdoor exercise, which exposed a person to fresh air and the relaxing effects of being in nature, as well as encouraging reflection of the glories of God’s creation. They were also interested in the health benefits of gardens, with the ideal outdoor space including a lawn (because green is a soothing colour, which refreshes the eyes), fragrant flowers (because pleasant smells restore and invigorate the body) and water features (because the sight and sound of moving water is relaxing).

Consequently, everyone was encouraged to go outside – including the melancholy, whose physicians often prescribed regular walks. Monks and nuns, whose religious devotions typically kept them indoors, were also encouraged to walk and “enjoy the pure air” in the monastery grounds – some were even allowed to go on short countryside retreats for the sake of their health.

But not everybody benefitted from getting outdoors. In 1108, Gerard, the Archbishop of York, went outside “to enjoy…a more healthful breeze, freshened by the sweet scent of flowers” – and promptly died.

Sleep

While exercise was good for the body, it was also important to take time to rest, and especially to sleep. Most experts thought that the average adult needed six to eight hours a night. Sadly for night owls, the idea it was better to rise early was already well established. In the late fourteenth century Italy, Margherita Datini’s letters to her merchant husband Francesco included frequent warnings that he must not work late into the night.

On one occasion, she begged him, “for the love of God, stop this staying up late because it is very bad for you”. Napping during the day was also frowned upon. Like us, medieval people often struggled to get to sleep and shared our concern with sleep hygiene. In an age before central heating, warm nightclothes (including nightcaps and slippers), heavy bed coverings and thick bed curtains were vital to protect the sleeper from the cold.

Some people used calming substances such as camomile to relax them at bedtime, while others prayed or listened to music. When the fourteenth-century Castilian nobleman Don Juan Manuel developed stress-related insomnia, he had a servant read to him at bedtime, which helped him to fall asleep.

Mental health

As these strategies suggest, medieval people were well aware of the mind-body connection. In fact, though we assume that our preoccupation with mental health is a new phenomenon, many of our distant ancestors struggled with still-familiar problems such as depression and anxiety – including the aforementioned merchant Francesco Datini.

Prone to bouts of melancholy and unsettling dreams throughout his life, he also worried obsessively about everything from the state of his business to the Black Death. Others suffered from the consequences of chronic stress, including a Yorkshire monk called Matthew. Writing to a friend in the early thirteenth century, he complained that his monastic duties were too much for one elderly man, and would surely soon kill him.

Medieval doctors agreed that a “sorrowful heart often brings people to the end”, urging patients to avoid things which would cause negative emotions, such as arguments, funerals, and depressing stories. Instead, they must try to be happy. Some thought that this could be achieved by eating mind-altering substances such as saffron, though one Welsh recipe book urged against consuming too much “in case you die of happiness”.

A safer option was to make time for the activities which still cheer us up – such as reading, listening to music, or spending time with friends and family. That’s something we can all agree with.

• Katherine Harvey is the author of The Medieval Guide To Healthy Living, published by Reaktion Books Ltd, priced £20 and out now.