Signal Boost: How tall were the people of Medieval England?

[ljwrites]

the-history-girls posted: The History Girls: STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS: How tall were the people of Medieval England? by Elizabeth Chadwick

So often when the matter of the height of medieval people is discussed on online forums, there is a notion that they were stunted and small.

From the archaeological evidence this is far from the truth. Yes they had food insecurity due to periods of famine caused by weather and war and animal sickness, but when all was going well, the men and women of medieval England were of the same height more or less as the people of the early and mid 20th century.

I did not know this! It changes how I think about historical height, that's for sure.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

I like these History Grls.

[ljwrites]

If you like daily posts about history they'd definitely be up your alley. They're a little bit Western Europe centric but they do talk about history elsewhere, like the Theseus novel review I sent you, and I find it useful for the methodology and common material facts (basic ones like "peasants lived in small crappy houses") that apply to my own very different region/era of interest.