How dark were the Middle Ages? -

The Middle Ages were a dark period in history. This period was not just about dragons, righteous knights, and princesses. From 500 CE to 1500 CE, Europe was dominated by the Catholic Church, feudalism, famine, poverty, and death. 

From the fall of the Roman Empire until the beginning of the Renaissance period, Europe saw the rise of wacky medicine, abusive law practices, religious fanaticism, violence, and disease. 

From extreme weather events, to the demonization of animals and catastrophic disease outbreaks, this period of history had it all. For about 1,000 years we lived in a world where being alive was a victory on its own, let alone having a normal, comfortable life. Medieval times were very hard indeed.

In this gallery you'll discover some of the darkest events that plagued the Middle Ages. Click through and by the end of it, you'll be grateful for the world we have today. 

© Shutterstock

Black death -

The Plague was devastating in the Middle Ages. It is estimated that it wiped out around 60% of the entire population of Europe.

© iStock

Black Death -

An estimated 50 million people died from this catastrophic disease.

© Getty Images

There was no point in seeing a doctor -

Unless, of course, you wanted to die from the cure, instead of the disease. Bizarre practices included bloodletting and trepanning, which involved drilling a hole in the skull!

© Shutterstock

Witch hunting -

This was a big one in the Middle Ages. Thousands were killed during this period. Among other things, witches were also to blame for bad weather. Climate change? It’s all witches' fault, apparently.

© Public Domain

Animals on trial -

As odd as it sounds, animals were held accountable for their crimes. Some would be hanged or burned alive, just like human criminals.

© Shutterstock

Animals on trial - Apparently, pigs were among the worst offenders when it came to murders.

© Shutterstock

Cadaver Synod: a posthumous trial -

Pope Stephen VI ordered his predecessor, Pope Formosus’ corpse to "stand" trial on a number of accusations. He didn’t have much to say in his defense, as you can imagine, so he was found guilty.

© Public Domain

Cannibalism -

Famines in Europe have led to cannibalism. Starving Crusaders were also known to eat their dead enemies. In Egypt for instance, human flesh was even pickled and jarred.

© Shutterstock

Childbirth -

Giving birth was such a life-threatening event that many women were encouraged to write their wills before going though the process.

© Shutterstock

The Children's Crusade -

A 12-year-old boy who claimed that Christ had appeared to him, managed to persuade a group of children to embark on a crusade to the Holy Land.

© iStock

The Children's Crusade - Some of them died along the way, while others ended up in different parts of the world, some as slaves.

© iStock

Black cats are the devil -

In 1232, Pope Gregory IX wrote a letter called Vox in Rama (“A Voice in Rama”) to the king of Germany. The letter voiced his concerns about witches in northern Germany. The letter described the bizarre rituals, which obviously included a black cat. 

© Shutterstock

Cats are evil -

Cats were consequently persecuted and, at one point, almost extinct in Europe. But then rats proliferated and helped spread the plague. Karma, anyone?

© Shutterstock

Food could kill you -

Lack of refrigeration meant that other methods had to be used to preserve food. Salting, pickling, and smoking were just some of them.

© Shutterstock

Tableware could kill you -

But food could actually kill you slowly if you had a bit of money. If you had lead-glazed dishware, which could only be afforded by the wealthy, you would slowly be poisoned every time you ate. 

© Shutterstock

Bread could kill you -

Bread could also potentially kill you. Rye infected with a certain fungus could give you a disease then known as St. Anthony’s fire.

© iStock

St. Anthony’s fire -

Despite the epic name, this disease was what we now call ergotism. Symptoms included hallucinations, convulsions, and a burning sensation in the limbs.

© Shutterstock

Tithing -

You basically had to pay tax to the church. No money? No problem, just give them seeds, vegetables, animals, whatever you’ve got. Now imagine if you were a peasant and had virtually nothing.

© Shutterstock

Death penalty -

There were a lot more capital crimes in the Middle Ages, and not only would the penalty be death, usually torture was used too!

© Shutterstock

Medieval football -

Before modern football (both American and soccer), there was what is known as folk football, mob football, or Shrovetide football. Everyone could play and there were practically no rules!

© Public Domain

Wars and battles - There were a lot of small wars between rival kingdoms, and of course, men would be drafted to go fight for whatever cause they were forced to fight for.

© Getty Images

Wars and battles -

Though if they survived, these men would return home after 40 days at war. This is because peasants were needed to take care of the crops and animals back home.

© Getty Images

Traveling -

You only had two somewhat safe options to spend the night while traveling: a monastery or church, or you could stay at an inn. Though the latter would have you potentially sharing your straw bed with fleas and rats. 

© Shutterstock

Traveling - How about just camping? Not a good idea. You had two big problems: people wandering after dark who would have no problem in killing and robbing you, and of course, wild animals.

© Shutterstock

Traveling - Traveling was risky. People would do so in groups to ensure safety. Noblemen and clergy would have the advantage of having extra protection while traveling.

© Shutterstock

The Great Famine -

In 1314, Europe was hit by severe weather. Crops were destroyed and animals died in floods. In Britain alone, it’s estimated that 5% of the population died. 

© Shutterstock

Hunger was all around you, not just in the news -

Providing you have enough money, if something destroys your crop now, you can easily get food from elsewhere. Back then, that was that. It meant no food.

© Shutterstock

Religious freedom -

The last thing you would’ve wanted to do in the Middle Ages was to challenge the church. Unless of course, you wanted to be burned to death.

© Getty Images

Class -

Unless you were part of the exclusive 10% of medieval society, if you were to live in the Middle Ages, you’d probably be a peasant.

© Shutterstock

Class -

Life was hard as a peasant. They were poor, worked long hours for a lord, and more often than not had just one set of clothing. Their average life expectancy was between 25 and 30 years.

© Shutterstock

Childhood mortality -

Making it through childhood would have been a huge victory during the Middle Ages. It’s estimated that medieval infant mortality was around 25%. This means that one in four babies would die within one year after birth.

© Getty Images

Childhood mortality -

The mortality rate would drop to around 12.5% in children between the ages of 1 and 4. So making it to 5 was an important milestone!

© Shutterstock

Expulsion of the Jews -

Throughout the Middle Ages, Jews were expelled from a number of countries. Not to mention the Jewish communities destroyed by the Crusades.

See also: Weird and wonderful facts about the Victorian era

© Shutterstock