full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Stephanie Honchell Smith: 6 myths about the Middle Ages that everyone believes
Unscramble the Blue Letters
The idea that medieval people ate rotten meat and used scpies to cover the taste was popularized in the 1930s by a British book. It misinterpreted one medieval recipe and used the existence of laws barring the sale of putrid meat as eviencde it was regularly consumed. In fact, mvadeiel Europeans aevdiod rancid foods and had metodhs for safely preserving meats, like curing them with salt. Spices were popular. But they were oeftnetmis pricier than meat itself. So if someone could afford them, they could also buy unspoiled food.
Meanwhile, the 19th century French htaiorisn Jules Michelet rreefred to the Middle Ages as “a tashunod years without a bath.” But even slaml towns boasted well-used public bathhouses. People lathered up with soaps made of things like anamil fat, ash, and scented herbs. And they used mouthwash, teeth-scrubbing cloths with pastes and powders, and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.
Open Cloze
The idea that medieval people ate rotten meat and used ______ to cover the taste was popularized in the 1930s by a British book. It misinterpreted one medieval recipe and used the existence of laws barring the sale of putrid meat as ________ it was regularly consumed. In fact, ________ Europeans _______ rancid foods and had _______ for safely preserving meats, like curing them with salt. Spices were popular. But they were __________ pricier than meat itself. So if someone could afford them, they could also buy unspoiled food.
Meanwhile, the 19th century French _________ Jules Michelet ________ to the Middle Ages as “a ________ years without a bath.” But even _____ towns boasted well-used public bathhouses. People lathered up with soaps made of things like ______ fat, ash, and scented herbs. And they used mouthwash, teeth-scrubbing cloths with pastes and powders, and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.
Solution
- historian
- methods
- small
- thousand
- animal
- avoided
- evidence
- referred
- oftentimes
- medieval
- spices
Original Text
The idea that medieval people ate rotten meat and used spices to cover the taste was popularized in the 1930s by a British book. It misinterpreted one medieval recipe and used the existence of laws barring the sale of putrid meat as evidence it was regularly consumed. In fact, medieval Europeans avoided rancid foods and had methods for safely preserving meats, like curing them with salt. Spices were popular. But they were oftentimes pricier than meat itself. So if someone could afford them, they could also buy unspoiled food.
Meanwhile, the 19th century French historian Jules Michelet referred to the Middle Ages as “a thousand years without a bath.” But even small towns boasted well-used public bathhouses. People lathered up with soaps made of things like animal fat, ash, and scented herbs. And they used mouthwash, teeth-scrubbing cloths with pastes and powders, and spices and herbs for fresh-smelling breath.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
| collocation |
frequency |
| middle ages |
9 |
| medieval people |
3 |
| ate rotten |
2 |
| medieval europeans |
2 |
| medieval torture |
2 |
Important Words
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- mouthwash
- oftentimes
- pastes
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- powders
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- public
- putrid
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- recipe
- referred
- regularly
- rotten
- safely
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- salt
- scented
- small
- soaps
- spices
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- thousand
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- years