37 minutes ago
https://www.sciencenorway.no/culture-his...es/2732829
EXCERPTS: Written sources tell us that both kings and ordinary people complained about rubbish and unpleasant smells in towns during this period. “In Trondheim, as well as more generally in medieval towns across northwestern Europe, residents began demanding that their towns be better maintained,” says Christophersen, who is professor emeritus of historical archaeology at NTNU University Museum.
But were these demands met? To find out, the researchers examined discoveries from earlier excavations in Trondheim and analysed 127 skeletons recovered from three different cemeteries.
The investigations show, in part, that life in the town was harsh. Child mortality was extremely high in the poorer part of town. More than 60 per cent of the skeletons from this area show signs of physiological stress. This means that people went through periods when they had too little food and food of poor nutritional quality. As a result, they may have stopped growing for periods of time, developed perforated eye sockets, white spots on their teeth, and bowed legs.
At the same time, the research reveals that considerable efforts were made to look after both the town and its inhabitants. In fact, it turns out that most of the waste in medieval Trondheim was transported outside the town, right from its earliest beginnings.
Christophersen explains that the waste that remained in the town was used to level streets and building plots. "That's the main reason why there is waste in the town. It was part of construction projects," he says.
Latrine waste, meaning sewage, was emptied into designated latrine pits on private properties. But as the population grew, the authorities decided that the foul-smelling latrine waste should be transported out of town.
The waste was then mixed with manure and spread on fields to grow food. This had consequences. Roundworms, parasites that can live in our intestines for years and cause disease, thrive particularly well in manure. They found their way into food and back into people. Analyses show that almost the entire population was infected with roundworms.
The inhabitants of Trondheim also began draining surface water from the town very early on, according to one of the doctoral researchers involved in the project. This included a network of drainage pipes running across streets, a system that must have required cooperation among residents, Christophersen points out.
They fetched clean drinking water from a large stream just outside the town. “They quickly realised that the groundwater was unsuitable because it was either too salty or contaminated,” says Christophersen. “They did the best they could with the resources and knowledge available to them.”
Infant mortality in Trondheim at this time was around 50 per cent. It declined somewhat in the period leading up to the Reformation, most notably among the elite in Kaupmannastretet.
In the cemetery belonging to the affluent district, just over 20 per cent of people could expect to live to between 35 and 55 years of age. During the 16th century, this rose to just over 30 per cent.
In the poorer part of town, around 35 per cent could expect to reach an age between 19 and 50. By the 15th century, this had risen to 50 per cent. If you reached the age of 55, you were extremely old, according to the osteologists involved in the project who have studied the human skeletons.
[...] Historians have traditionally argued that the idea of public authorities assuming responsiblity for the welfare of society did not emerge until the 17th century. That is incorrect, according to Christophersen.
“One of our main findings is that concerns about public health and environmental conditions were being addressed in towns right from the very beginning,” he says. “The traditional view is that people were left to fend for themselves in medieval towns. They were not.”
There is little doubt that medieval towns struggled with filth and unpleasant smells. As well as disease and poor diets, as the new study clearly shows.
But the myth that the Middle Ages were a backward period characterised by stagnation and a lack of development is wrong, Christophersen insists.
“It was during this period that we got libraries, hospitals, and a range of public institutions. The legal system was developed, and new moral norms for social interaction emerged. We got spectacles and clocks and all sorts of other things. It's an incredibly important period that was far more nuanced and complex than many people would have us believe,” he says.
[...] When it comes to debunking myths about filthy medieval towns, Hegdal is sceptical. He explains that for a long time, there has been a trend in research to argue that the Middle Ages have been misunderstood and were not really a ‘dark’ age.
But conditions really were bleak, Hegdal insists, pointing to the archaeological evidence from Oslo that he has personally helped investigate. "Our findings show beyond any doubt that filth was a completely unmanageable problem. Perfectly usable roads were swallowed up by it. People tried to pull up planks for reuse and had to build new walkways on top of the existing ones," he explains, adding:
"Sanitary conditions were absolutely appalling. And especially in cold countries, life must have been indescribably hard."
Hegdal argues that, taken as a whole, the research from Trondheim also demonstrates this. "It paints a rather grim picture of health conditions, in which malnutrition, diseases, and injuries caused by physical strain were widespread," he says... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: Written sources tell us that both kings and ordinary people complained about rubbish and unpleasant smells in towns during this period. “In Trondheim, as well as more generally in medieval towns across northwestern Europe, residents began demanding that their towns be better maintained,” says Christophersen, who is professor emeritus of historical archaeology at NTNU University Museum.
But were these demands met? To find out, the researchers examined discoveries from earlier excavations in Trondheim and analysed 127 skeletons recovered from three different cemeteries.
The investigations show, in part, that life in the town was harsh. Child mortality was extremely high in the poorer part of town. More than 60 per cent of the skeletons from this area show signs of physiological stress. This means that people went through periods when they had too little food and food of poor nutritional quality. As a result, they may have stopped growing for periods of time, developed perforated eye sockets, white spots on their teeth, and bowed legs.
At the same time, the research reveals that considerable efforts were made to look after both the town and its inhabitants. In fact, it turns out that most of the waste in medieval Trondheim was transported outside the town, right from its earliest beginnings.
Christophersen explains that the waste that remained in the town was used to level streets and building plots. "That's the main reason why there is waste in the town. It was part of construction projects," he says.
Latrine waste, meaning sewage, was emptied into designated latrine pits on private properties. But as the population grew, the authorities decided that the foul-smelling latrine waste should be transported out of town.
The waste was then mixed with manure and spread on fields to grow food. This had consequences. Roundworms, parasites that can live in our intestines for years and cause disease, thrive particularly well in manure. They found their way into food and back into people. Analyses show that almost the entire population was infected with roundworms.
The inhabitants of Trondheim also began draining surface water from the town very early on, according to one of the doctoral researchers involved in the project. This included a network of drainage pipes running across streets, a system that must have required cooperation among residents, Christophersen points out.
They fetched clean drinking water from a large stream just outside the town. “They quickly realised that the groundwater was unsuitable because it was either too salty or contaminated,” says Christophersen. “They did the best they could with the resources and knowledge available to them.”
Infant mortality in Trondheim at this time was around 50 per cent. It declined somewhat in the period leading up to the Reformation, most notably among the elite in Kaupmannastretet.
In the cemetery belonging to the affluent district, just over 20 per cent of people could expect to live to between 35 and 55 years of age. During the 16th century, this rose to just over 30 per cent.
In the poorer part of town, around 35 per cent could expect to reach an age between 19 and 50. By the 15th century, this had risen to 50 per cent. If you reached the age of 55, you were extremely old, according to the osteologists involved in the project who have studied the human skeletons.
[...] Historians have traditionally argued that the idea of public authorities assuming responsiblity for the welfare of society did not emerge until the 17th century. That is incorrect, according to Christophersen.
“One of our main findings is that concerns about public health and environmental conditions were being addressed in towns right from the very beginning,” he says. “The traditional view is that people were left to fend for themselves in medieval towns. They were not.”
There is little doubt that medieval towns struggled with filth and unpleasant smells. As well as disease and poor diets, as the new study clearly shows.
But the myth that the Middle Ages were a backward period characterised by stagnation and a lack of development is wrong, Christophersen insists.
“It was during this period that we got libraries, hospitals, and a range of public institutions. The legal system was developed, and new moral norms for social interaction emerged. We got spectacles and clocks and all sorts of other things. It's an incredibly important period that was far more nuanced and complex than many people would have us believe,” he says.
[...] When it comes to debunking myths about filthy medieval towns, Hegdal is sceptical. He explains that for a long time, there has been a trend in research to argue that the Middle Ages have been misunderstood and were not really a ‘dark’ age.
But conditions really were bleak, Hegdal insists, pointing to the archaeological evidence from Oslo that he has personally helped investigate. "Our findings show beyond any doubt that filth was a completely unmanageable problem. Perfectly usable roads were swallowed up by it. People tried to pull up planks for reuse and had to build new walkways on top of the existing ones," he explains, adding:
"Sanitary conditions were absolutely appalling. And especially in cold countries, life must have been indescribably hard."
Hegdal argues that, taken as a whole, the research from Trondheim also demonstrates this. "It paints a rather grim picture of health conditions, in which malnutrition, diseases, and injuries caused by physical strain were widespread," he says... (MORE - missing details)