7 weird things people believed in the Middle Ages

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Bulls with a built-in flamethrower, worms as punishment for sins and heartless witches that take away the most important thing from men.

1. You can grow a dwarf man in a pumpkin

In ancient times, famous personalities such as Pythagoras and Aristotle formulated a doctrine called spermism, or preformism. According to her, new living creatures are formed from their tiny copies, which are in the organisms of their fathers.

During intercourse, a man places such a copy in a woman, and she develops in her. And the lady herself is not particularly needed - well, except perhaps as an incubator.

Since microscopes were invented only at the end of the 16th century, and it occurred to scientists to examine sperm in them even later, this theory prevailed for centuries. And in the Middle Ages it was considered undeniable.

Since everything needed to create a miniature person was already in the sperm, the then smart people came to the conclusion that it is possible to give birth to a child without the participation of a mother. This theory appeared in the writings of the alchemist Paracelsus.

In theory, it should have turned out to be a creature similar to a person, but smaller in size - up to a maximum of 12 inches (this is 30 centimeters). The creature was called "homunculus" and was to be fed with human blood.

Here's a detailed recipe:

Take a man's semen and leave it to rot first in a sealed pumpkin, then in a horse's stomach for 40 days, until something starts to live, move and pound there.

De natura rerum by Paracelsus, 1537

Insulation pumpkin can be placed in horse manure. Why? The alchemist reasoned something like this. Children come from women. Women are warm. Horses are also warm, so they are able to carry foals. Horse manure has the temperature of a horse - for some reason, Paracelsus did not think that it could cool down in 40 days. This means that manure can replace a woman's womb. Is it logical? It is logical.

Naturally, no one succeeded in growing a homunculus. But the alchemists really tried.

2. There is a bull emitting fiery intestinal gases

The creation called "Bonacon" was first mentioned in the ancient book "Natural History" by Pliny the Elder. In the Middle Ages, Greek and Roman scientific works were highly valued, because trusting the wisdom of ancestors is more reliable than trying to figure it out yourself.

Therefore, the fact that there is a bull in the world, from the anus of which napalm beats, the scientists of that time did not doubt for a second.

In medieval bestiaries Bonacon 1.

2. is a creature living in Asia that looks exactly like a bull. And this cloven-hoofed animal has a problem: the horns are bent back, so that the beast, if it wants to, cannot hurt anyone. The fact that rams have everything in exactly the same way and this does not in the least interfere with their effectiveness in battle, somehow they did not think.

But the power of the bonacon is not in the horns. And the fact that he knows how “at a distance of 3 acres to emit excrement from his belly, the heat of which sets fire to everything he touches. Thus, he destroys the pursuers with his fiery vapors."

It was believed that bonacon lives on the territory of Galatia (this is modern Turkey). So, if you are there and see a cow, do not approach her from behind. You never know.

3. Witches kidnap male genitals to tame them

In the 15th century, a German monk and part-time inquisitor of the Dominican Order, Heinrich Kramer, who also uses the pseudonym Henrikus Institor (Latin for "merchant in trifles"), wrote a manual on calculating and destroying sorcerers and witches. He called it Malleus Maleficarum ("Hammer of the Witches").

This fascinating treatise describes 1.

2. all the terrible and cunning tricks that the damned witches repair. Kramer also mentioned the witchers, but in passing, because women-sorceresses will be more dangerous. The fact is that…

Witches, as described in Malleus Maleficarum, steal penises from men at night, among other things.

That is, they do not send damage or powerlessness, but literally take away with them, leaving an empty space. Once - and no. Kramer also admitted the possibility that witches simply make the organ invisible, but the complete abduction hypothesis seems more likely.

Why do witches need male genitals? And they kept them like pets, in specially equipped nests, fed them with oats and rode on them like on horses. Kramer claims that "reliable witnesses" told him that one witch had 20 or 30 of these pets in a box.

However, adds the inquisitor Heinrich, the witch, in principle, could have mercy and return the stolen. Once a man approached a witch and asked for his organ. She replied: “Persuaded. Climb up that tree and get the one you like best from the nest. " When the satisfied peasant came back down with the booty, the sorceress stopped him: “Don't touch this one. He is the parish priest and I need him. Put it on it's place".

What a blessing that these days, to have such a pet, you do not have to resort to witchcraft. It is enough to look into a specialized store.

Perhaps the myth originated from a mental illness called "cultural syndrome." With this disorder, it seems to men that their penis has disappeared, while in women, not only the genitals, but also the breasts, “disappear”. What can I say? The witches were stolen. Obviously the same.

4. Menstruation gives women superpowers

Another misconception that originally appeared in Pliny's notes (this learned man clearly did not trouble himself with checking theories), and was later replicated in medieval treatises as an immutable truth. It says that menstruation is a very dangerous phenomenon, and not for the woman herself, who, as you know, is a “vessel of sin,” but for the pious citizens around her and their property.

So, it was considered 1.

2. that menstruating women can kill bees with a glance and in their presence the wine turns sour. And also crops perish, the fruits of trees fall to the ground and rot, knives become dull, mirrors turn dull, ivory turns yellow, and dogs go berserk, and their bites become poisonous.

Iron and bronze (yes, she too) rust, and the air is filled with terrible miasma. Moreover, the ants, seeing the girl in "these days", run away from her, trembling with fear.

And you cannot even let such women into the church, otherwise you will expect trouble.

But there were pluses to menstruation. For example, it was believed that at this time women are able to drive away thunderclouds. And part of the blood that does not leave the body heats up, coagulates and turns white under the influence of hot air. And turns into breast milk. Here.

5. Mice, insects and worms are born from dirt

In the Middle Ages, the "theory of spontaneous generation" was extremely popular. According to her, mice, rats, frogs, snakes, worms, insects and other unpleasant creatures did not reproduce sexually, like all decent creatures, but appeared by themselves from sewage.

The doctrine of the birth of new living individuals from decaying matter, which was promoted by Aristotle and Pliny, was called "vitalism". According to Bishop Isidore of Seville, who lived in the 7th century, the Latin word mus ("mouse") is cognate with the word humus ("humus").

Naturally, Latin is a powerful argument in biochemistry.

Theologians Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas extended this theory by stating that pests and parasites emerge from the mud at the behest of the devil. Moreover, in hell because of the decay of sins, worms spontaneously arise that gnaw sinners.

However, Gerald of Wales in the XII century doubted that only unclean creatures are formed from the earth. After all, is it not from sea mud and silt on logs thrown out by the tide that birds such as white guinea fowls are born? This is direct evidence of the virgin birth! The churchmen fell in love with the idea.

But a little later, the theory was continued: if guinea fowls appear from mud, then their relatives are geese too. Then geese, like guinea fowls, are akin to fish, and they can be eaten during fasting.

Pope Innocent III did not like this state of affairs at all, and in 1215 he issued a decree that a goose is a bird, he cannot be in fasting. In mud and mud, only bad creatures start, but respectable ones do not. The Immaculate Conception does not need proof, and whoever doubts at least one of the above points will be judged as a heretic.

The teaching of vitalism was refuted only by Francesco Redi in 1668. He guessed to put a piece of rotten meat in a jar and cover with a napkin. The flies in the jar did not form (the napkin interfered), which means that spontaneous generation does not work. Before that, it had never occurred to anyone to conduct such an experiment.

6. Faeries regularly kidnap children and leave changelings in their place

In the Middle Ages, raising a child was another challenge. Even his loving parents, who could apply the strangest methods of care to him - of course, with the best of intentions, posed a certain danger to the baby. But there were even worse things - for example, fairies. This is the collective name for a wide variety of supernatural creatures: fairies, elves, pixies, trolls and others.

Yes, in modern fairy tales, these creatures are quite friendly. They turn creepers into princesses, give them cool pumpkin carriages and crystal shoes to boot - in general, they do all sorts of charity work.

But the medieval fairies were really wild and ferocious. They were just waiting for the right moment to stealthily snatch the child, whom the kind parents had left for just a second.

Some witches, and personally the devil, who, as you know, with fairies on a short leg, could participate in the abduction.

Why did the evil spirits kidnapping minors? The benefit of such an action is obvious.

The stolen item could be eaten, made into a servant or a toy, or raised and used for reproduction. Fairies love to interbreed with humans in order to diversify the gene pool.

Naturally, seeing that the baby is absent, the parents would immediately start looking for the missing person, and this evil was not needed. Therefore, the prudent trolls left a changeling instead of a real child. It was either an elf carefully disguised as a baby, or just an enchanted log that looked exactly like a baby.

The changeling usually died soon after. And the inconsolable parents thought that their baby died of natural causes, and was not kidnapped. But this monster could have grown up, turning into someone very cunning and malicious. This could not be allowed. And in order to quickly calculate the troll disguised as a child, a whole set of methods was used 1.

2..

For example, a changeling could be thrown into a fire - and then he will fly off into the pipe, returning a real child to his place. Or just beat - the evil brat will not stand such treatment and will tell you where the baby has gone. Finally, you can just take a closer look at it. If the bastard's teeth cut through at the wrong time, or the head is very hefty, or hair appeared earlier than expected, or even the beard breaks through - like a troll.

But there is also a more humane way to find out if you have a foundling. Do something incredibly stupid in front of him so that even a century-old goblin's jaw drops. For example, start eating porridge with shoes.

The troll, stunned by such a sight, will not stand it and say something like “What are you, mother? Does it show through at all in the attic?"

Can a child blurt out something like that? No. Get rid of him! However, it is not necessary for the baby to speak - it is enough for him to laugh. After all, children by themselves do not do this - unless they are not goblins under someone else's disguise.

The belief in changelings has been prevalent throughout Europe for centuries. Historians believe that she helped parents survive the death of their child. They were sure that a real baby lives in the land of fairies, and only the tossed doll died.

7. There are one-legged and dog-headed people

Chances are, when you say "monopod" you think of a camera stand. But in the Middle Ages, this term meant something completely different.

At that time it was believed that somewhere in India or Ethiopia there were people who had only one, but very large leg. Archbishop Isidore of Seville described them absolutely seriously in his treatise Etymologiae.

He mentioned that these creatures are incredibly fast - apparently, jumping on one leg is easier than running on two. In addition, Isidore gives their Greek name: σκιαπόδες - "shadow-legged". When the monopod, or sciopod, as they were also called, gets tired, he lies on his back, and his foot is covered from the sun.

The archbishop forgot to describe how he got up with only one leg after a rest.

Missionary Giovanni de Marignolli, who visited India in the 14th century, said that travelers from afar confused Hindus with traditional sun umbrellas with one-legged people, but this did not convince anyone.

Another mythical people who supposedly inhabited all of Asia are the cinephals, or psoglavtsy, people with the heads of dogs. The 13th century encyclopedist Vincent de Beauvais, who served at the court of King Louis IX, swore and swore that dog-headed tribes existed 1.

2. - this is known from reliable sources. Later they were mentioned by Marco Polo, calling the cinephals "cruel like great mastiffs."

It is likely that the myth of the Psoglavians appeared when Europeans first saw images and statues of the Egyptian god Anubis. Another option: some merchants or travelers met eastern tribes who wore headdresses that resemble a dog's head or were made of dog hair. And then some monk wrote something wrong, and away we go.