Fake news in the Middle Ages: 10 legends that stand the test of time

Before dark web conspiracy theories, people had the tavern. Information in the Middle Ages traveled slowly, mutating with every retelling. What we now call urban legends back then were terrifying theological myths that thousands accepted as facts. Discover ten of the most famous medieval legends that shaped the worldview of Europe for centuries.

In the mid-13th century, there was a rumor that a woman had successfully disguised herself as a man, climbed the ranks of the Catholic Church, and reigned as Pope for several years in the 9th century.

According to the legend, John Anglicus was in fact an exceptionally brilliant English woman who mastered theology. Her secret was supposedly uncovered during a papal procession through Rome, when she went into sudden labor and gave birth right in the middle of the street. While modern historians believe the story is just satire or folklore, it was widely accepted as historical truth during the late Middle Ages.

The urban legend of a noble outlaw who outsmarted the corrupt sheriff of Nottingham and stole from the rich to give to the poor began circulating in oral ballads around the 14th century.

Modern audiences know him as a cheerful hero in green tights, but early medieval versions of Robin were much grittier, violent, and anti-clerical. Historians have spent centuries looking through court records trying to find a definitive Robin Hood. Most conclude he was a complex figure, the medieval manifestation of rebellion against an unfair system.

Originating in the late 12th century through the French romances of Chrétien de Troyes, the Grail was described as the sacred chalice used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, and later used to collect his blood during the Crucifixion.

The legend claimed that this vessel possessed miraculous healing powers, granted eternal youth, and provided infinite food. It became an obsession across Western Europe. Knights and nobles genuinely believed the Grail was hidden somewhere in a secluded castle, waiting for a perfectly pure warrior to find it.

Did a heroic king once rule Britain from a golden castle called Camelot, surrounded by a Round Table of knights? The legend of Arthur was popularized in the 1130s by Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain, a mixture of vague fragments of real 5th-century Celtic warlords and doses of pure fiction.

Arthur became the gold standard for medieval chivalry. The urban legend expanded to include his magical sword Excalibur, the wizard Merlin, and the tragic betrayal by his queen, Guinevere. The myth was so powerful that English monarchs, including Edward I, used Arthurian imagery to legitimize their rule, even claiming to have discovered Arthur’s tomb at Glastonbury Abbey in 1191.

The idea of a magical spring capable of reversing aging and curing all sickness is an ancient one, but it became a dominant urban legend during the Middle Ages. The myth was blown up by the Alexander Romance, a fictionalized collection of stories about Alexander the Great that circulated in Europe at the time.

According to these tales, Alexander and his armies searched for the "Water of Life" on the outer edges of the known world. Medieval travelers and mapmakers speculated that this fountain existed somewhere in India or the mythical lands of the East. This legend laid the groundwork that, centuries later, would drive Spanish explorers like Juan Ponce de León to hunt for it in the Americas.

Medieval life was deeply preoccupied with sin, demonic temptation, and the supernatural. When people experienced terrifying nightmares or sleep paralysis, they didn’t have modern psychology to explain it. Instead, they blamed the incubus and succubus.

An incubus was a male demon believed to prey upon sleeping women, while a succubus was a female demon that seduced men. These entities weren’t just folklore, they appeared in serious medieval theological texts. Church scholars even argued about how these demons operated, warning that they could steal human material to create monstrous offspring.

Following the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel in the 8th century BCE, ten of the twelve Jewish tribes vanished from the biblical narrative. In the Middle Ages, this historical mystery became a geopolitical urban legend.

European Christians and Jews alike shared the thought that the Ten Lost Tribes were living out past the edges of the mapped world. They were said to be trapped behind the mythical Sambation River, a river made of stones and sand that only stopped flowing on the Sabbath. A major component of this legend was the fear or hope that these millions of hidden warriors would one day cross the river.

The Wandering Jew is one of the most tragic urban legends of the time, first appearing in written European chronicles around the 13th century. The story goes that a Jewish shoemaker or guardsman named Cartaphilus (or Ahasuerus in later versions) taunted Jesus as he carried his cross to Calvary, telling him to hurry up. Jesus supposedly replied: "I am going, but you will wait until I return."

As a result, the man was cursed with immortality and doomed to walk the earth without rest until the Second Coming of Christ. Throughout the Middle Ages, people across Europe claimed to have met this sorrowful traveler, describing him as a knowledgeable man who spoke every language.

In the year 1212, a wave of religious hysteria swept through France and Germany. The resulting story became one of the most heartbreaking urban legends of the era: the Children’s Crusade. The popular tale stated that thousands of unarmed children, inspired by visions, marched toward the Mediterranean Sea, believing the waters would part for them so they could peacefully reclaim Jerusalem. When the sea failed to part, corrupt merchants supposedly loaded them onto ships and sold them into slavery in North Africa.

Beginning in the mid-12th century, rumors spread of Prester John, a wealthy Christian king who ruled a utopian empire somewhere in the heart of Asia or Africa.

The legend reached a peak when a forged letter, supposedly written by Prester John himself, circulated among European monarchs. The letter described a kingdom with rivers filled with gold, the Fountain of Youth, and a mirror through which the king could see his entire empire. During the Crusades, European armies hoped that Prester John’s legions would march from the East to save them.

Secret uses

There’s a hidden microphone in your phone, and here’s where it is

You’ve probably twisted a bread bag closed, filled up your car, or pulled a sheet of aluminum foil from the box thousands of times without giving it a second thought. But many of the everyday objects we’ve used for decades have clever features that most people never notice. From the tiny pocket on blue jeans to the little arrow next to your gas gauge, these hidden designs have practical stories behind them, and once you know them, you’ll never look at these familiar items the same way again.

If you own an iPhone, you’ve probably noticed the tiny black dot next to the rear camera. It’s small, so people tend to assume it’s another camera sensor or even part of the phone’s design. The small hole found near the camera bump on every iPhone is actually a rear microphone.

It captures clearer audio when you’re recording videos and helps reduce background noise during FaceTime and regular phone calls. If you own an iPhone Pro model from the iPhone 12 Pro onward, you'll also see a larger dark circle. That’s the LiDAR scanner, which sends out invisible infrared light to create a 3D map of your surroundings. It helps the camera focus faster in low light, powers Apple’s Measure app, and makes augmented reality features much more accurate.

Whether it's a holiday dinner, an anniversary, or simply a nice meal with friends, you’ve probably held a wine bottle and noticed the deep indentation in the bottom. Many people tend to think the deeper the indent, the fancier the bottle.

That indentation is called a punt, and it’s been a part of the bottle-making for centuries. Originally, it helped strengthen hand-blown glass bottles, making them less likely to crack under pressure. Today, it still adds structural stability, particularly for sparkling wines, while also giving servers a comfortable place to rest their thumb when pouring, though some say it helps collect the sediment as wines age. In any case, a deeper pun doesn’t automatically mean a better or more expensive bottle.

Almost every driver has experienced that awkward moment at the gas station. You pull up to the pump, step out of the car, and suddenly realize the fuel door is on the opposite side.

To help prevent exactly that situation, many modern vehicles include a small arrow next to the gas pump symbol on the dashboard’s fuel gauge. The arrow points towards the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler door is located. It’s a small detail on the dashboard, yet once you notice it, you’ll never have to circle the pump again.

All elevators look pretty much the same. Bigger or smaller, they all look similar, a gray box with a mirror and buttons. But if you pay close attention, you may notice there’s a small round opening near the top of the door.

That opening is a keyhole used by trained maintenance technicians and emergency responders. With a special elevator key, they can manually unlock the landing doors when repairs are needed or if passengers become trapped inside. The system allows professionals to reach the elevator safely without damaging the doors or relying solely on electrical controls. Hopefully, most of us will never need to see it in action. But in an emergency, that tiny opening becomes one of the most important parts of the system.

If you’ve ever stood in the bread aisle comparing loaves, you’ve probably noticed the colorful plastic clips or twist ties holding the bags shut. Contrary to what many think, they’re not simply a part of the packaging.

For many bakeries and grocery stores, the colors indicate the day a loaf was delivered or baked. While the exact color schedule can vary between bakeries and regions, employees use the system to quickly spot older inventory and rotate fresher bread to the back of the shelf. That way, customers are more likely to pick up the freshest loaf available.

Whether you wear jeans every day or only pull them out for yard work, you’ve probably noticed the tiny extra pocket tucked inside one of the front pockets. It’s too small for a phone and not very useful for loose change, but there’s a reason for it.

Back in the 1800s, when Levi Strauss & Co. created rugged denim pants for miners, ranchers, and cowboys working across the American West, pocket watches were commonplace. Workers needed a safe place to carry their watches while riding horses, so that little pocket was designed specifically to protect the watch from damage. Pocket watches disappeared, but the tiny pocket became such an iconic part of blue jeans that manufacturers have continued including it for well over a century.

Almost everyone has had the same frustrating experience. You pull on a sheet of aluminum foil, and suddenly the entire roll slides out of the box and lands on the kitchen counter.

That’s exactly why major manufacturers such as Reynolds introduced the small side tabs, known as end locks, in the mid-1990s. By pressing the tabs inward, they hold the cardboard roll in place like built-in axles. This keeps the roll from sliding out of the box, makes it much more stable as you pull, and helps the serrated edge cut a cleaner, straighter sheet. It also reduces waste by preventing the foil from bunching up or tearing unevenly. It’s a simple design, yet useful as it can get.

Every household has pens lying around for all kinds of purposes. And most of them have a common feature, a hole in the cap, which isn’t simply part of the design.

BIC and other pen manufacturers included the opening as a safety feature. If someone, especially a child, accidentally swallows a pen cap, the hole can allow a small amount of air to pass through, reducing the risk of complete airway blockage while emergency help is on the way. The design became part of border efforts to improve consumer product safety after choking incidents drew attention to the danger of small plastic objects.

If you grew up sewing or watching somebody do it, you probably remember the classic tomato-shaped pincushion sitting beside the sewing basket. Hanging from it was a tiny red strawberry that looked like nothing more than a cute finishing touch.

In reality, that little strawberry has its own job. Instead of soft stuffing, it’s filled with emery, a gritty material made from crushed abrasive minerals. Running pins and needles through it helps polish away tiny spots of rust, smooth rough edges, and keep the points sharp enough to glide through fabric more easily.

Think back to the first time you learned to type. Maybe it was at work, or on a family computer. Wherever it was, someone probably told you to keep your fingers on the "home row." That’s exactly why the F and J keys have tiny raised ridges.

The bumps let your index fingers find the correct starting position by touch alone, allowing you to type without constantly looking down at the keyboard. The technique, known as "touch typing," is widely credited to American court stenographer Frank Edward McGurrin, who demonstrated it in 1888. As typewriters became more common, manufacturers experimented with different ways to help typists orient their hands, and by the mid-20th century, companies such as IBM standardized the subtly raised plastic bars that remain on nearly every keyboard today.