10 Times Movies Made Us Believe Historical Myths That Were Absolutely Not True

We're here to warn you not to blindly believe everything you hear

Maryjane

• Published in Film & TV
• February 10, 2023

A few tall tales will inevitably emerge along the road and spread swiftly in a field that thrives on imagination and the ability to suspend disbelief, whether or not the stories originate from reliable sources. These tales quickly spread among actors, critics, and fans of a variety of enthralling, well-known films that are broadcast onto the big screen, becoming acknowledged parts of moviemaking lore.

But we're here to warn you not to blindly believe everything you hear, particularly when it comes to show business. Can Hollywood films teach us more about the past? Yes, I would agree and I'm sure you agree too.

The large screen is the best way to bring history to life. Popular movies spark interest in history and contain a wealth of factual material, yet they frequently fudge the truth in order to present a more entertaining story.

Due to the fact that the audience prefers spectacle to absolute realism, the movie industry regrettably doesn't always depict life as it actually occurs. So, in order to know where the truth ends and the lie starts, one would need to know their history quite well.

In light of this, we've gathered 10 of such historical myths for you to examine. Most of them you might have undoubtedly believed to be fact but truth is that they're not.

1. We’ve all seen the movie where the leader of the warriors gives a speech to the warriors before the battle begins, but that’s not true

In such a situation, with the presence of tens of thousands of men, how could his voice be heard? Smaller armies had battle speeches of this size; with bigger armies, the generals would speak to their men in blocks or send out messages.

But this wouldn’t look as epic on the big screen.

2. Knights didn’t go around kissing hands.

The empty hand kiss became particularly popular in some countries until the Victorian era. In fact, there have been mixed reactions to this move.

3. It’s likely that you’ve seen movies where ladies in the Victorian or medieval eras have long, flowing hair, but this wasn’t the case in reality

In reality, women covered their hair, braided it, and wore it up since displaying long hair was viewed as impolite and a sign of immorality and temptation. This was especially true for women who were married.

Unmarried women and girls were permitted to let their hair hang a little looser, although even in the Victorian era, this was frowned upon.

4. Although it was generally believed that people born in the Middle Ages would only survive until their 30s, this was not always the case

Diseases, a high newborn mortality rate, a lack of modern treatment, the plague, and starvation all contributed to reduced life expectancy. However, this does not imply that you passed away the minute you turned 30.

In fact, assuming you made it through infancy, you may anticipate living to be between 62 and 70 years old, which is a reasonably average age.

5. Maybe you’ve seen a medieval movie where a commoner was covered in pus and black. It is true that the health situation was not as good as it is now, but Hollywood movies portray it as much worse than it really is.

6. Anyone who has watched Braveheart is aware that the Scots wore kilts. But it took another 300 years before kilts were even invented.

7. We perceive Pocahontas’ protagonist as a mature lady. Pocahontas actually first encountered the colonists and John Smith when she was a young kid, between the ages of 10 and 12.

8. Spartans actually wore armor.

Due to films like 300, we commonly see Spartans as sporting loincloths and capes. They could have finally given up their body armor, but that was definitely not the case initially.

Going into battle, a Spartan soldier, or hoplite, wore a large bronze helmet, breastplate and ankle guards, and carried a round shield made of bronze and wood, a long spear and sword. Spartan warriors were also known for their long hair and red cloaks.

9. Quite frankly, there is no sword in existence that can realistically penetrate plate armor

If you swing a sword at someone in solid plate armor, the most you’ll do is dent it and even that will only happen if you happen to be extremely strong and wielding an extremely large sword.

10. Although the first dinosaurs are thought to have emerged some 245 million years ago, dinosaurs with feathers have been dated to only 180 million years ago

In the 1990s, the first dinosaur fossils with what seem to be feather-like features were discovered. Then came further revelations.

According to certain research published in 2011, all dinosaurs may have possessed feathered coverings on some or all of their bodies, similar to how all mammals have hair, even though not all mammals have hairy coats.

The narratives do, in fact, lend a certain air of mystique or charm to the undertakings to which they are related. However, all good things must come to an end, and it is now time to recognize that these specific examples of cinematic history are only somewhat more real than that recurrent dream you keep having about the dancing lemon. 

Maryjane