What you learned in school
History textbooks portrayed medieval Europeans as filthy people who rarely or never bathed. Students learned about the "Dark Ages" as a time of poor hygiene, ignorance about cleanliness, and widespread disease due to dirty living conditions. This reinforced the narrative of medieval backwardness versus modern enlightenment and progress.
What we know now
History classes taught that people in medieval times were dirty and rarely bathed, contributing to disease and poor health. Students learned about the "Dark Ages" as a time of poor hygiene and ignorance about cleanliness. Medieval people actually valued cleanliness and bathed regularly when possible. Public bathhouses were common in medieval cities. The wealthy had private baths, and even peasants bathed in rivers or with basins. The stereotype of dirty medieval people was largely created by later periods that wanted to emphasize their own "enlightenment" and progress.