The Great Unwashed: Did Nobody in the Middle Ages Ever Wash?

A whole thousand years of history, and supposedly not a single proper bath. That's the Middle Ages everyone pictures: filthy, smelly, people so scared of water they thought a wash might kill them.

Cass is certain. Then Pip starts counting, the public bathhouses, the soap-makers' guilds, the medieval writers nagging people to stay clean, and asks one awkward question: which century is that scary "nobody washed" quote actually from? A romp through cherry-picking, and why "a long time ago" is exactly where bad facts love to hide.

Got a myth you want us to put on trial? We'd love to hear it, email hello@thetruthisweirder.com.

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