Old age began at 60 in the Middle Ages and, contrary to popular belief, a surprising number of people reached that birthday and surpassed it. Remedies for wrinkles and hair loss, plus a wealth of advice on food, sleep, exercise, mental stimulation and sex was available to those needing it in their later years.
Advice for (medieval) old age
Words by Katherine Harvey
- In pictures
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Contrary to popular belief, not everyone died young in medieval Europe, and those who reached adulthood had a reasonable chance of surviving into their seventh or eighth decade. In some early 15th-century Italian towns, around 15 per cent of the population was over 60; a few decades earlier, Petrarch claimed that “octogenarians and nonagenarians are common”.
Old age was usually considered to begin at around 60, although not everyone agreed: the French physician Bernard de Gordon suggested that it started at 35.
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Ageing was seen as a natural process which resulted from the diminution of the body’s natural heat and moisture; once both were used up, death occurred. Discussions of old age focused on familiar symptoms of physical and mental decline, such as deafness, mobility issues and memory loss – all of which were attributed to the dominance of cold and dry humours in the elderly body.
An anonymous 11th-century scribe complained: “Now old age drags me, subdued, to my end… my vision is fading, headache is increasing, my teeth are falling out, my limbs are trembling, my powers are completely diminishing.”
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A weak stomach was another common side effect of the ageing process, so older people were advised to eat and drink in moderation. Suitable foods included poultry, cheese and honey. Wine, which warmed and moistened the body, was considered to be medicinal, although drunkenness was to be avoided.
Warm baths had similar benefits, and should therefore be taken on a weekly basis – although it was important not to get cold afterwards. And warm, comfortable clothes were also important, especially in the winter when the elderly were vulnerable to catarrh.
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Sleep was good because it humidified and strengthened the body, but it was bad to be lazy. Regular, gentle exercise such as walking, riding or ball games were considered particularly suitable. The Florentine politician Donato Velluti (1313–70) attributed the longevity of his ancestor Bonaccorso di Pietro (d. 1296) to his habit of taking daily walks, even when he was very old and frail. A man who was too weak for such activities would benefit from a hanging bed, so that he could be rocked like a baby in its cradle.
Physical and mental health were closely related, so it was important to keep the mind active and the spirits raised with conversation, music, storytelling, and even maths problems.
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Whereas we see menopause as a prolonged process, and recognise that female fertility declines over time, medieval people assumed that a woman could conceive until her periods stopped. Male fertility lasted longer, to about 70, but intercourse was potentially detrimental to the health of older men.
Indeed, it was sometimes doubted that the elderly were even capable of having sex: in 1451, 70-year-old John Langley of Worcester and his 50-something servant Joan White were cleared of charges of immorality “by reason of their age, all power of committing such things… being taken from them”.
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The evidence suggests that most people continued working for as long as they could, although few were as durable as Hélie Bernabé of Périgueux, who worked as a goldsmith into his 90s. In the countryside, the over-60s were sometimes exempted from physical tasks such as bringing in the harvest. Old men could ask to be excused from civic duties such as jury service, especially if they were also infirm.
But the elderly were not automatically considered to be deserving of charity, and only a lucky few received pensions. Consequently, medieval workers were advised to save for their old age.
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Many old people were cared for by their family, in accordance with Church teachings. Wealthier individuals might pay to live in a religious house, or could transfer their property to a named individual in return for accommodation and care: the agreement made between Arnd of Louvain and his caregiver guaranteed him food, fire and clean clothes. If the retiree was neglected, a court could intervene.
People without relatives or resources were especially vulnerable, though. In 15th-century Dijon, a childless couple named Jaquot and Jaqoubte le Roy became bedbound in old age, and complained that the neighbours who fed them also stole from them.
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Just like us, medieval people fretted about hair loss (which they tried to prevent by oiling the head and taking baths) and wrinkles (which they might tackle by cleansing and exfoliating the skin, or eating vipers). They also tried to stave off old age through healthy living: it was thought that too much food, sex or bloodletting could all shorten an individual’s life, as could emotional trauma and lack of sleep.
The Fountain of Youth and a Hunting Scene. Source: V&A.
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Because ageing was seen as the result of declining natural heat, many anti-ageing techniques were designed to give the old person an infusion of youthful warmth, such as drinking breastmilk or pigs’ blood. Pope Innocent VIII (head of the Catholic Church 1484–92) was even rumoured to have consumed the blood of three young boys.
The wealthy might also resort to magical elixirs, many of which contained potable gold, in their quest for eternal (or at least longer, healthier) life.
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Not everyone hoped for a long life: Abbot Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955–c. 1010) wondered why so many people wished for longevity, since few lived past 80 without significant illness and pain. The Church encouraged old people to accept their inevitable fate and to prepare their soul for death by focusing on pious activities such as prayer and almsgiving.
When the Tuscan merchant Francesco di Marco Datini (c. 1335–1410) was nearing the end of his life, his friends urged him to put his worldly affairs in order “so that you may give the whole of this short time to God entirely”.
Just like us, medieval people tried to stay fit and active for as long as possible. Nevertheless, many eventually faced the physical, emotional, and practical challenges of old age, and an individual without a good support network (or substantial financial resources) might struggle in their final years. In these respects, medieval experiences of old age were not so different from contemporary ones.
About the author
Katherine Harvey
Dr Katherine Harvey is a medieval historian based at Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of ‘The Fires of Lust: Sex in the Middle Ages’ (Reaktion, 2021), a Sunday Times Paperback of the Week. Her writing has appeared in publications including BBC History Magazine, History Today, The Sunday Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Atlantic.