Literacy and Underwear? Truth Can Be Stranger than Fiction
It’s common knowledge that kids are not keen on learning history—a reaction due, in no small part, to the dreary manner in which it is often taught. More's the pity—because the past is replete with amazing stories that would tantalize children—if they only had a chance to hear them.
If you would like to get your youngsters interested in the past, you may find that the telling of real tales goes a long way. For a start, you might share, with them, the following story.
Though it seems almost farcical, it was actually documented at a recent meeting of the International Medieval Congress in England.
Hundreds of years ago, when our European ancestors lived as peasants, they naturally wore outergarments, but undergarments were quite another matter. Basically, they did not exist. Then, starting around the 13th century, major changes took place as peasants left the land to move into the rapidly expanding towns. Once there, they were pressured into abandoning their rough and ready ways. This included covering what they had previously not thought of covering. So they adopted the practice of wearing underwear.
As inevitably happens, the garments wore out. But they were not to be discarded. On hand to rescue the fabric were the new class of bookmakers who rose during this period. They were in desperate need of supplies to make paper for their books and anxious to find something cheaper than the parchment that they had, up till then, been using. Lo and behold! The rags from discarded underwear cost much less than the parchment. The bookmakers happily took advantage of this opportunity.
With a cheaper product, more books could be made and sold. That is exactly what happened. As a result, literacy spread and was far more common in the Middle Ages than is commonly thought.
And it was all due to one of the early instances of recycling where rags were turned into reading.
