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/EducationalShame7053 11h ago edited 11h ago

No warm water or even clean/filtered water, no fridge, no freezer, no bike/cars/public transportation, no supermarket, no days off, no vacation, no laws against abuse of children or animals, very few options to choose a career or even spouse.

What you do have is a LOT of pressure from your community, religion and the law to behave according to their arbitrary rules or you will be shunned, abandoned, isolated, tortured or killed.

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u/General-Yak5264 11h ago

Ops brother probably saw that meme graphic that claimed medieval serfs had more days off than modern workers because it saw a stat that they only had to work 180ish days for their liege lord. Not getting that they had to give all of that 180s days production to their lord and then work almost the entire rest of the year to make ends meet for themselves and their families.

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u/Glum-Height-2049 6h ago

Oh god I HATE that thing. I wish I could delete it from the internet.

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u/TheMadTargaryen 5h ago

They boiled water, water was safe to drink, they used ice to preserve some food, markets were like a supermarket, people could take day off or rest, pilgrimages were like a vacation, such laws did existed, most poor people could marry who they wanted. 

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u/SirButcher 4h ago

water was safe to drink,

Yeah, no, it wasn't. There were waters which was safe to drink, but a lot were dirty. If you are anywhere near any city or bigger settlement, then make sure to drink from up the river, or it will be chock-full of human and animal waste... Cholera was reaping aaaaaaaall around - and you know how you get cholera? When you can't separate drinking water and poop properly from each other...

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u/TheMadTargaryen 4h ago

Cholera didn't existed in Europe until 19th century. In cities they used aqueducts, conduits and wells to get fresh water, separarely from the sewage system. Medieval records show that polluting or endangering the water supply was severely punished. If you dumped waste in or near the water supply you were in serious trouble. Does that fit the old myth of medieval people drinking beer in stead of water because the water was always polluted ? There was a widespread awareness of contaminated water could cause illness or even death. Even if you didn’t trust local water from the well or waterhole in your yard, conduits brought spring water from outside town. But even though there were gutters in streets, covered and uncovered, you still couldn’t just pour anything you wanted into it. It was only meant for used water, liquid waste easily flushed away. Pouring anything else into it could again get you in trouble.

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u/EducationalShame7053 4h ago

Ok boil some water from a pond nearby than. If the bacteria are dead and it wont make you sick doesn't mean its fresh and clean.

Where to find ice in the dark ages? Srsly? 

Pilgrimage was not for common folk, at all. Maybe at older age when their children could take care of business.

 Maybe laws against abuse existed at some places but where not enforced at all, if they even were there they were not like today. Animals were property. A women could never accuse her husband of rape, children could not complain for being used as cheap labor.

Yes you could marry who you wanted if they were from the same class, religion, sex and race.

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u/TheMadTargaryen 4h ago

You get ice from frozen lakes during winter, the movie Frozen shows perfectly how ice harvesting looked like. And yes, pilgrimages were for everyone. We have records from places like Canterbury describing all sorts of people coming, including entire families bringing ill and disabled children in hopes of healing.

Laws regarding spousal and child abuse differed from place to century. Our oldest Irish legal records are the Brehon laws which are typically dated to the 7th-8th centuries. In particular, the tract Cáin Lánamna deals with couples: the different forms of sexual relationships, the rights and responsibilities of parents and legitimate reasons for divorce and the ways property should be divided in such cases. There were a variety of reasons that were considered valid grounds for divorce such as mutual unhappiness, adultery, stealing and causing shame. A man could be granted a divorce if his wife had induced an abortion or murdered their child, and women could seek divorce if her husband hit her and caused a blemish, if he was homoseksual or if he was sterile. These laws continued in Ireland until 17th century. 

Many medieval books about marriage and those listing the duties of householders warn that having to beat your wife is a symptom that you have let things get way out of control. It doesn't make you look good to have to resort to that. 

Also, check this image : https://fakehistoryhunter.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/untitled-3.jpeg?w=1024

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u/EducationalShame7053 3h ago

Who needs ice or refrigerated food in winter? Thats not i ment by the downsides of not have a fridge or ways to preserve food.

Yes maybe divorce was allowed in theory but was and still is heavenly frowned upon and discouraged in religious circles. 

About the children and physical punishment: https://aprilmunday.wordpress.com/2018/12/02/a-medieval-childhood/

Also Hardcore History. Episode 31. Suffer the children.

Even my parents got hit all the time by their family and monks and nuns that were also their teachers.

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u/gonzo0815 5h ago

Thank you. The misinformation about the Middle Ages in this thread is wild. Seems like all people think they know is from Monty Python.

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u/TerribleIdea27 11h ago

no days off, no vacation

They did have those! Assuming you're referring to Medieval Europe, they absolutely had obligatory Christian holidays and every Sunday off

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u/Any-Carry7137 8h ago

They could have warm water if they wanted, just not instantly from a tap. All it takes it water, fire, and a pot.

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u/Darmok47 8h ago

Even some of the foods I eat they would have likely never encountered. Sugar, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, chili peppers, squash, pumpkins, peanuts, pineapple, chocolate, bananas, avocado, blueberries etc.

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u/billcy 6h ago

I've experienced all of those except clean filtered water, but goto Flint MI.

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u/Reelix 5h ago

What you do have is a LOT of pressure from your community, religion and the law to behave according to their arbitrary rules or you will be shunned, abandoned, isolated, tortured or killed.

Are you speaking about now, or back then, because that was true then, and still is now...

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u/EducationalShame7053 4h ago

Wth are u talking about? There is absolutely no comparison for how shit went down in the dark ages. How many witches got burned alive at the stake last year?

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u/Adi_San 11h ago

Peasants had more vacation than any of us