The Bad Old Days

There are so many misconceptions about the Middle Ages that it's easy to spin a web of myths that get taken as fact by the untutored. Such was the case several years ago with a very popular email hoax that made the rounds. I believe it was intended as a joke (early versions were prefaced with text that said as much), but its original purpose has been lost in its many duplications. Even now, I occasionally come across a website that uses this joke to teach "facts" about life in medieval times. So here I present the feature, first published almost five years ago, that offers actual facts to counter the silliness of "the Bad Old Days."

• The Bad Old Days
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