Many people love getting to know things about the Middle Ages, an exciting period of history that fascinates most. It was a time when often, people relied on their imagination and bred a lot of superstitious beliefs in order to make sense of their world. But what are superstitious beliefs? Simply put, these are beliefs that certain things or actions will bring bad or good luck. It was usually based on faith in magic or a perceived supernatural world.
The Dark Ages may be gone, but these superstitions still live on. In today’s world, they are usually picked up from mouth to ear. How many do you know? Read on and find out some of them.
To have a Royal touch
This was the belief that French and English monarchs possessed the power to cure diseases. It emerged from a time when people believed that the sovereign had divine power and in turn it also validated the belief that God had chosen kings to rule. During grand ceremonies, kings often touched people affected by diseases and these people were given gold coins that acted as amulets.
The evilness in Brussels sprouts
Lurking evil in Brussels sprouts comes from the belief that tiny demons hid between the leaves of these sprouts and could be swallowed by anyone who ate them. This could lead to the person falling ill or getting a stomachache. To drive out the evilness people cut a cross sign in every sprout.
Blessing after sneezing
This is one of the most common beliefs of our time that originated from the Middle Ages. The basis of this belief was that sneezing was an opportunity for Satan to enter the body. Therefore, blessing after sneezing was a way to help avert this. In addition, people back then believed that someone could actually spit their soul when they sneezed. To help keep the soul in, people often said ‘God bless you’ and covered their faces.
Throwing salt over your shoulder
There is a belief that spilling salt is bad luck. However, when you throw some over your shoulder it wards off this bad luck. The origin of this spans from a time in the Dark Ages when salt was a precious commodity with medicinal properties. When spilt, this meant that it could no longer be used and therefore gave evil spirits an opportunity to strike. Throwing some over the shoulder helped to blind the evil spirits.
Don’t break a mirror
For some people breaking a mirror only means cleaning up the mess, while for others this is seven years of bad luck. Originating in times of the Roman Empire and widely used in the Middle Ages, mirrors reflected the soul and causing any damage to the mirror could also shatter the soul. The seven years were mainly because Romans believed in renewal after this period had elapsed. It’s not all doom and gloom though, as the pieces can be buried under the moonlight thus preventing this bad luck.
Conclusion
Clearly, the Medieval Ages were a fascinating period and plenty of things have been inspired by it, movies, books music and even games! You can re-live this historic time and Play n Gos Book of Dead slot.
There are plenty more beliefs that date back to the Middle Ages, and some of these still play a great part in people’s lives as they try to avert bad luck or attract good luck. The fear of number 13, touching wood, tossing pennies in water and a bride’s garter have been carried on to this day. Regardless of how true these beliefs are, they may well be passed on to generations to come.