Medieval Facts

In 1386, a pig in Falaise, France was publicly executed by hanging for killing a child. The pig was even dressed in human clothes for the execution.

One punishment for an adulterous wife in medieval France was to make her chase a chicken through town naked.

The letter 'X' became a symbol for a kiss because in medieval times, when many people couldn't read or write, they would sign documents with an X and then kiss the mark to show sincerity—much like swearing on a Bible.

The state sport of Maryland is Jousting.

In 1518, a "dancing plague" struck Strasbourg, Alsace, where hundreds of people danced uncontrollably in the streets over the course of a month. Some dancers collapsed from exhaustion, strokes, or heart attacks, and contemporary accounts suggest several died. The cause remains unexplained to this day.

Recently, archaeologists excavating in the old medieval town of Odense in Denmark uncovered 700-year-old barrels of poop - and, to their surprise, they still smelt.

A “butt” was a Medieval unit of measure for wine. Technically, a 'buttload' of wine is about 475 liters, or 126 gallons.

Medieval courts put animals on trial for real. A sow in Falaise, France was dressed in a jacket and breeches in 1386 and hanged in the market square for attacking a child. Rats, weevils, and beetles got court-appointed lawyers. One French jurist, Bartholomew Chassenée, built his whole career defending rodents.