Our contemporaries have not lived in ancient castles for a long time. And the interior in our homes has been completely transformed. But those who have been to such palaces on excursions probably paid attention to some of the features of sleeping places. The beds in the bedrooms are much shorter than what we're used to. This is often due to the fact that our ancestors were short. This is partly true. People in the Middle Ages were lower than we are today, but this does not mean that they were almost dwarfs. Growth had little to do with this bed size. It was just that people then slept in a sitting position.
To be more precise, their position during sleep was half seated. They were thrown back onto the pillows in a 45-degree angle. There were several reasons for the people of that time to behave this way.
1. The danger
As we know from history, legends, adventure novels, then times were turbulent and rather cruel. The robbers could break into the dwelling at any moment. When a person is lying, it is difficult for him to quickly react and resist enemies. And in a sitting position, this is much easier. Many then, during sleep, wrapped their hand around the hilt of the sword.
2. Superstition
At that distant time, almost everyone, without exception, was superstitious, and this played an important role even in how they slept at night. In some localities, there was a belief that some spirits could identify a living but lying person as a deceased, and therefore take away his soul.
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3. Health
Another opinion, which was prevalent in the distant past, was that it was necessary to sleep while sitting, as it is good for health. People believed that in a sitting position, blood does not rush in large quantities to the head, therefore, it will not work to die of a stroke or, as they used to say, a stroke. And some healers of that time were completely sure that this posture during sleep helped to improve mental abilities.
It is a well-known fact that in the Middle Ages the overwhelming majority of Europeans had diseases of the pulmonary system, which were then considered incurable. One of them was tuberculosis. Lying down, it was very difficult to breathe, and such a forced position (sitting) facilitated this process.
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4. the beauty
Very tall hairstyles were in trend back then. It often took several hours to build them, so they weren't changed very often. In some cases, ladies could wear this hairstyle for weeks. But it was very important to keep it in its original form, so noble ladies preferred to sleep while sitting, not lying down.
There were also such important persons who even received guests in the bedroom. So they emphasized their own superiority. Lying down, it was at least uncomfortable, but quite comfortable in a sitting position, leaning back comfortably on a mountain of pillows.
There is another version - many experts have researched that it was just fashionable to sleep in a sitting position then. Continuing the topic, read which 8 myths have long been debunked by historians.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/290520/54696/