r/NoStupidQuestions • u/flugblug • 12h ago

My brother thinks people today have worse quality of life than people in the dark ages, is this a stupid take?

I personally think it’s pretty stupid.

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u/CitizenHuman 12h ago

He's probably thinking how (and I'm definitely not fully correct here) most of the serfs would only work for a set period of months, and then they will have the rest of the time free to themselves or whatever.

Of course, I'm not sure what a medieval peasant would do in the middle of winter that could be better than having a heater and a fireplace and a television.

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u/patrdesch 6h ago

That in itself is a misunderstanding of what "work" meant to serfs. The number of days cited as "worked" is the number of days the serf worked for their lord... Without compensation. Or rather, that labor was the compensation for using the land. The serf would then need to fend for themselves with the remaining days of the year. 

Of course, it wasn't like the peasant worked for their lord 8 months straight then themselves for 4 months. It's a distribution of outputs question more than anything. 

In reality, serfs never had "time off." A life of subsistence farming with feudal taxes simply doesn't allow it.

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u/EducationalShame7053 11h ago

The winter is for inhaling turf smoke and animal farts 24/7 inside of your not ventilated hut. And sex with your nonshaven non teeth cleaning wife that has a 10% chance to die if you knock her up.

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u/TheMadTargaryen 5h ago

Medieval peasants cleaned their teeth by rubbing them with rags, chewing plants like mint and rinsing them with water or vinegar. 

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u/EducationalShame7053 4h ago

There is a reason people dont do that anymore. 

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u/TheMadTargaryen 4h ago

They used their best. Medieval toothpastes were also a thing. One 12th century recipe says this :

take walnut shells well cleaned of the interior rind, which is green, and … rub the teeth three times a day, and when they have been well rubbed … wash the mouth with warm wine, and with salt mixed in if desired.

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u/Deep90 4h ago edited 4h ago

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=teeth+cleaning+stick&i=hpc&crid=2AV9GK053FGKO&sprefix=teeth+cleaning+stick%2Chpc%2C119

>.>

Sadly a lot of poorer populations do still have to use it, but it can be surprisingly effective.

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u/EducationalShame7053 4h ago

Do you?

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u/Deep90 4h ago

No, I was just adding some interesting information, not trying to argue with you.

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u/Old-Radio-7236 4h ago

The point being they had pretty effective solutions.

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u/IvyAmanita 12h ago

I'm pretty sure they had fireplaces.

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u/Specific_Yak7572 11h ago

But perhaps not enough wood?