Mediaeval Mythbusting

[George K]

https://triskeleheritage.triskelepublishing.com/mediaeval-mythbusting-blog-2-the-man-who-invented-the-spiral-staircase-myth/

Fighting on Spiral Staircases

The story goes that all spiral* staircases in castles turn clockwise so that primarily right-handed defenders, fighting downwards, would have an advantage over attackers whose weapon would be impeded by the newel post. It is a particular favourite of tour guides, appears in castle guidebooks (Hodgson & Wise 2015, 46) and interpretation panels (for example at Arundel Castle, West Sussex), has been included in many popular texts (Mortimer 2009, 160), gets incorporated into television documentaries, is widely present in internet articles and is liberally recited by members of online discussion forums.

[Horace]

That myth was minding its own business and never did anything bad to anyone.

[George K]

@Horace said in Mediaeval Mythbusting:

That myth was minding its own business and never did anything bad to anyone.

Ah, wrong! It was perpetuated by (presumably) White guys, so there's that. Never forget to look for the harm.

[89th]

I bet if when @Aqua-Letifer invents a time machine, his first trip will be to solve something uber specific like this. POOF! Aqua appears in the 13th century. Finds the nearest castle and with haste goes to the nearest spiral staircase and asks the nearest knight, "why do they turn clockwise?" To which the knight responds... "what the fuck is a clock?"

[Aqua Letifer]

@89th said in Mediaeval Mythbusting:

I bet if when @Aqua-Letifer invents a time machine, his first trip will be to solve something uber specific like this. POOF! Aqua appears in the 13th century. Finds the nearest castle and with haste goes to the nearest spiral staircase and asks the nearest knight, "why do they turn clockwise?" To which the knight responds... "what the fuck is a clock?"

My list:

1. I wanna know who the fuck wrote "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." Beowulf's easy, it was just written down by scribes familiar with the story to preserve it. Gawain's an anomaly in content, form, theme, time period and vocabulary. None of it makes any sense. It'd be like someone native to the Huli tribe, today, writing the Canterbury Tales.
2. Speaking of Chaucer, I'd like to know who bumped him off.
3. The Book of Kells. Just, the Book of Kells.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K Hmm, seems like a reasonable theory and not a myth. Another thing that was mentioned in Ireland was that the stair steps had different step heights, which would also slow down someone trying not run up the stairs. I cannot think that was just an accident.

Also, in some of the castle towers, the lower windows were small and narrow. As I was told, this was to decrease the chance of arrows going through. And higher up, the windows were more normal.

Anyway, it is an interesting questions.

Like in the picture below.

[George K]

@taiwan_girl said in Mediaeval Mythbusting:

Hmm, seems like a reasonable theory and not a myth.

I agree, but this guy's numbers belie that.

But, yeah, small and narrow windows make a lot of sense.

More:

Yes: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/medieval/medieval-staircases.html

No: https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/12/18/no-medieval-staircases-werent-designed-to-give-right-handed-defenders-an-advantage/

Yes: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/609669/why-medieval-castle-staircases-ran-clockwise

A somewhat related story:

We were always told to mount horses from the horse's left side. That's how horses are trained, and if you try to mount of the "off" side, some will object.

(I was able to mount Simon from either side - he was such a good guy)

The reason for this has to do with swords. If you're a knight, or a cavalryman, your sword was usually on the left side. So, when you put your left foot into the stirrup, the sword would not swing over the horse's rear, potentially startling him.