Medieval Swear Words: What People Really Said in the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net

Medieval people swore differently from modern audiences, using terms for bodily functions and related slang more casually. Offensive words by today’s standards could appear in everyday contexts, including place names, children’s reading materials, and common descriptions of animals. Medieval English also included crude personal names that would be considered unacceptable now. A key distinction was that taboo-function words did not carry the same perceived power beyond their literal meaning, so they were less restricted in polite conversation. In contrast, insults involving God, saints, or sacred objects were more likely to provoke outrage and punishment. Some modern profanity also appeared early as personal names in medieval records.

"People in the Middle Ages swore very differently from us. Words that modern audiences consider deeply offensive were sometimes treated casually, while insults involving God, saints, or sacred objects could provoke outrage and punishment. Some historians have looked into the topic, such as Melissa Mohr, the author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing. In her chapter on medieval England, Mohr explains that people back then did not have much of an issue with describing bodily functions in ways that we might find less appropriate."

"Mohr explains, "generally, people of medieval England did not share our modern concept of obscenity, in which words for taboo functions possess a power in excess of their literal meaning and must be fenced off from polite conversation...Medieval people were, to us, strikingly unconcerned with the Shit." Even the word 'fuck' first appears in medieval England as a name. Records from the year 1310 refer to a man named Roger Fuckebythenavele who lived in Chester - see The earliest use of the F-word"

"Going into a city you might find a street called 'Shitwell Way' or 'Pissing Alley'. Open a medieval textbook to teach reading to children and you might find the words arse, shit or fart. If you saw ants crawling around you would most likely call them 'pisse-mires'. Even some names, like Rogerus Prikeproud or Thomas Turd, seem to have been acceptable to medieval men and women."

"Even the word 'fuck' first appears in medieval England as a name. Records from the year 1310 refer to a man named Roger Fuckebythenavele who lived in Chester - see The earliest use of the F-word. Everyday Medieval Slang Here are a couple of examples of words that we might not use when chatting with our parents, but seem to have been okay in a medieval setting: Sard - Before the word fuck existed, sard was the word people in medieval England used to describe having sex."

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