A great number of the castles had moats: into which was deposited human waste. Indeed, many latrines or bog-holes were placed to sit out and over the castles' walls.

You could of course also use said places as crossbow or arrow slits but the main reason for said latrines was that it would make crossing or wading through the moat a nasty adventure for any enemy.

As well, the demographics of the Middle Ages is skewed by infant mortality rates, which were huge. IOW, if you survived your childhood, you had a good chance of making it to, pardon the pun, middle age.

Also, most people were not living in castles. Most were farmers living in small villages and therefore did not live in cities like London where a lack of cleanliness did indeed lead to catastrophic plagues.

Indeed, the rush to leave cities during plagues led to the country estate where it was hoped one was safer from pestilence and indeed one often was.

So, that the Middle Ages were 'dark ages' is a 'bum rap'. And of course superstition ruled and so too did medical quackery like bleeding, but so too did naturopathy and herbal healing...like using willow bark as aspirin.

For centuries the guy who collected the dung of the day used a horse drawn cart, called a honey wagon, which picked up the 'honey pots' left outside peoples' homes.

Honeywagon...resurrects the Bard's words 'A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet. '

Good topic...thanks for writing it.