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Medieval heating

 
pollinator
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An interesting range of heating
 
Rocket Scientist
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Nice ideas, but many of them are not really techniques used in medieval times in Europe. I have studied medieval domestic architecture for decades, and there are few if any references to them in publications.

Large windows with glass were not a thing aside from upper class dwellings in later period. South facing windows were not a regular practice, but might exist where convenient.
Animal quarters in or adjacent to the house were only common in certain poor regions, early period, or where essential to survival.

Underfloor heating by stones heated in the central hearth would require structural features that are not in evidence in any European context. It would require massive continuing effort to work in practice. Korea had and still has the ondol, with a firebox under one end of the house and smoke channels running beneath the raised stone floor. The Roman hypocaust essentially fell out of use with the fall of Roman civilization. Masonry stoves were developed in the 16th-17th century and later in eastern Europe as firewood became scarcer.

Stone walls are excellent in areas with large daily temperature swings, but in European winters, they would just be a constant heat sink. Wood and wattle and daub are okay as insulators, but not major help in keeping warm in leaky houses. Cob would actually have some degree of insulation value. Wall hangings in upper class buildings helped keep heat from being lost.

Brick or stone floors were generally upper class, and wood on ground floors was not general practice. Absent money for masonry, the ground floor was ground, with rushes spread for comfort.
Thatch is a good insulator, and if done right can last for generations. Its major drawback is fire spread, which caused it to be banned in many cities.

Enclosed beds were a later or upper class development, and certainly helpful.
 
master pollinator
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It was fun to watch, with lots of good ideas.

That said, it's fair to call it an entertainment product rather than a serious history of the time. The historical re-enactment folks had lots of fun wearing helmets rather than the knitted woolen caps that people actually wore.
 
pollinator
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Maybe some of these were happening in other parts of the world at that time, after all there's a whole world out there besides Europe.
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Riona Abhainn wrote:Maybe some of these were happening in other parts of the world at that time, after all there's a whole world out there besides Europe.


That's fair. The way it's presented in this video is pretty specific though. Interesting ideas, but they have taken some pretty big liberties.
 
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