It’s easy to romanticize life in a castle: lavish feasts, grand festivals, and medieval tournaments often come to mind. While those events did occur, they were far from the whole picture.
Life in a castle was often uncomfortable, plagued by illness and lacking many of the basic comforts we take for granted today. Curious about the reality behind the myth?
Explore these less-than-glamorous aspects of living in a medieval castle.
The toilet was nothing but a wooden hole
Today, we rarely stop to appreciate the convenience of indoor plumbing—but in a medieval castle, that luxury was unheard of. Using the restroom meant sitting over a hole in a wooden bench, with waste dropping down into a chute or pit below.
The smell was far from pleasant, and privacy was virtually nonexistent. In fact, it wasn’t unusual for several people to use the same bench at once, as multiple holes were often built side by side for communal use.
There wasn’t much privacy
Much like the lack of privacy in castle restrooms, daily life within a medieval castle offered little personal space. Castles were typically designed with open floor plans, meaning most residents lived and worked in full view of one another.
While the lord and lady may have enjoyed private chambers, the rest of the household—servants, soldiers, and staff—had minimal privacy and were almost always in close contact with others.
Castles often housed 100 people
If you haven’t picked up on the theme yet, here it is plainly: life in a castle meant living in cramped quarters. Castles required a large staff to function—cooks, cleaners, guards, personal attendants—and all of them lived on-site, along with the royal family.
And it wasn’t just the king and queen or the lord and lady; extended family members often lived there too. With so many people packed into one space, privacy was a rare luxury. If you value personal space, medieval castle life probably wouldn’t have suited you.
Rats and mice were everywhere
No one enjoys having rats or mice in their home, but for those living in castles, these pests were a constant reality. The cold, dark, and often unsanitary conditions inside castles created the perfect environment for rodents to thrive.
While they might seem harmless or even cute to some, rats and mice were known carriers of deadly diseases that posed a serious threat to castle inhabitants.
Worse still, their abundance made them a grim tool for punishment, as rats were sometimes used as a method of torture in the dungeons due to their availability and low cost.
Prisoners were tortured
Now that you know rats were used in castle torture, imagine the many other gruesome methods designed to make a prisoner’s final days unbearably miserable. If the lord or lady ordered torture, there was little hope of escape—their word was absolute.
As for how rats were used, the method was particularly horrifying: the rodents were placed on or near the victim’s body, often inside a metal container, which was then heated.
In desperation to escape the heat, the rats would gnaw their way into and through the prisoner’s flesh, sometimes even into the intestines. A terrifying and brutal fate, indeed.
Lots and lots of booze
Not everything about castle life was grim. At least there was alcohol to drink. However, the reasons for drinking it were quite different from today. Water was often unsafe and contaminated, making it undrinkable unless it had been boiled.
Alcohol, on the other hand, helped kill germs, and beverages like beer, wine, and mead were widely available. Given the circumstances, it’s no surprise that most people opted for alcohol over questionable water, and who could really blame them?
Castles smelled bad
It might not come as a surprise, but castles generally smelled quite unpleasant. One major contributor was the primitive toilet system—wooden benches with holes that emptied into pits filled with waste.
On top of that, personal hygiene in the Middle Ages left much to be desired. Bathing was infrequent, especially for those who weren’t of noble status, and clean clothes were a luxury.
As a result, foul odors from both the environment and the people themselves were simply a part of everyday life.
The day started with the sun
Naturally, there was no electricity in medieval times, so castles relied on firelight from torches and hearths for illumination. However, firelight cast heavy shadows and required constant tending to remain effective.
As a result, the sun was the most reliable and efficient source of light.
Castle life was closely tied to daylight—workers would rise with the sun to make the most of its illumination, knowing that once it set, they’d be left with only flickering torchlight and dim fires to carry out their tasks.
Bathing was done in a wooden tub
If you were fortunate enough to get a bath in medieval castle life, it likely took place in a wooden tub that was moved from room to room. These tubs were often used by multiple people in succession, meaning the water was rarely clean, and privacy was minimal.
Still, if you weren’t part of the noble class, you bathed whenever the opportunity arose—regardless of how murky the water was or how slimy the tub walls felt. Cleanliness was a luxury, not a guarantee.
Castles were dark and cold
When castles were built, comfort wasn’t the top priority—defense was. These structures served primarily as strongholds designed to protect those within. Stone was the material of choice due to its strength, resistance to fire, and wide availability.
However, stone is a poor insulator, and the small windows—designed for defense rather than light—let in little sunlight. As a result, life inside a castle was often cold, dark, and far from cozy.
Seating at dinner was based on status
When dinner was served in the castle, the experience was far from equal. The lord and lady sat at the head of the table, where it was warmer, better lit, and far more comfortable. They were served first and enjoyed the most flavorful and appealing dishes.
In contrast, servants and lower-ranking residents ate at the far end of the table, where it was colder, darker, and the food was far less enticing.
Still, dining in the castle, no matter how modest the meal, was preferable to life outside the walls, where many townspeople had to scrounge for food on their own.
Festivals and feasts required lots of preparations
The responsibility of preparing large feasts and organizing festivals largely fell on the shoulders of servants and commoners. These tasks consumed most of their day, especially since meals were often served in a grand feast style every day.
Unfortunately, despite all their hard work, the servants rarely had the chance to relax or enjoy the meals and celebrations they spent so much time preparing.
Floors were covered in animal poop and grease
As you might have guessed by now, cleanliness wasn’t a strong point of castle life. Floors were often slick with grease and littered with animal droppings.
To combat the stench and mess, fresh herbs and reeds were scattered across the floors to absorb foul-smelling liquids and provide a more pleasant scent. While this method helped somewhat, it was far from ideal.
Historical accounts describe the scene when the soiled herbs were swept away: a grim mixture of “beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, excrement of dogs and cats, and everything that is nasty.”
The staff took care of everything for the Lord and Lady
This one likely won’t come as a surprise: if you were born into the noble class, you rarely had to lift a finger. Castles were heavily staffed to ensure that the needs of the royalty were met at all times.
From cooking and cleaning to dressing and serving, servants handled nearly every task. While life as a servant was demanding, many considered it a fair trade for the safety and shelter that came with living inside the castle walls.
Those kitchens caught fire
In the early Middle Ages, kitchen fires were a common hazard, largely because kitchens were often built from wood. With all cooking done over open flames, it’s no surprise that these structures frequently caught fire and burned down.
Over time, people began to recognize the risk and started constructing kitchens out of stone instead, greatly reducing the likelihood of such dangerous and destructive blazes.
They often visited the chapel
If you’re not particularly religious, this aspect of castle life might have been difficult to embrace. Most castles featured a chapel within their walls, primarily for the noble family to attend daily mass.
During the Middle Ages, religion was deeply woven into every aspect of life, especially within castles. Whether you were a noble or a servant, participation in religious practices was expected and largely unavoidable.
Stairs were built clockwise
Nearly every feature of a castle served a specific purpose—including the staircases. Spiral staircases were commonly designed to wind clockwise.
This wasn’t an aesthetic choice, but a strategic one: since most swordsmen were right-handed, attackers ascending the stairs would find their sword arms restricted by the inner wall, limiting their ability to strike effectively.
Meanwhile, defenders coming down the stairs had more space to swing freely with their dominant hand, giving them a clear advantage in close combat.
Lots of castles weren’t built for royalty
While kings and queens did reside in castles, there were far more castles than members of royalty. In many cases, castles were built by wealthy noblemen who wished to live in grandeur.
Well-established knights and influential figures who had earned the favor of the king or queen were often rewarded with land and wealth.
These rewards were frequently used to construct castles in the countryside, serving as both homes and symbols of their status and power.
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