Medieval Height Often Reached 170-173 Cm in Northern Europe

ByJames McCallef
northern europe: Archaeological dig revealing medieval human skeletons

People in the Middle Ages were not uniformly shorter than people today, or even shorter than people in later centuries; the best skeletal evidence shows strong regional variation, with early medieval northern Europeans often as tall as or taller than many populations in the 1700s and 1800s. New Light on the “Dark Ages” The simple “medieval people were tiny” story does not fit the data from excavated skeletons or long-run reviews of European stature. The biological standard of living in Europe during the last two millennia

A good shorthand answer is that many medieval European men seem to have averaged around 170-173 cm in the better-studied northern samples, while women were lower by the usual sex difference in stature; but there was no single “medieval average” for all of Europe. New Light on the “Dark Ages” That variation matters because height is partly a biological receipt for childhood nutrition and disease burden, in other words, how well a society let bodies grow. The biological standard of living in Europe during the last two millennia

What the skeleton data show is surprisingly uneven. A Cambridge review of northern European evidence argues that men in the early Middle Ages were “tall by modern standards,” often reaching the low 170s cm on average. That puts them above many later European populations before modern improvements in sanitation, food supply, and public health pushed average heights up again in the 19th and 20th centuries. The biological standard of living in Europe during the last two millennia

That does not mean everyone in medieval Europe was tall. A 2023 Scientific Reports study measured 549 skeletons from Milan spanning roughly 2,000 years and found a more local pattern: stature was relatively high in the Roman era, declined into Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, then recovered later. A Nature news summary notes that this fits a broader point in European history: height rose and fell with local conditions, not with a neat “ancient short, modern tall” line.

One useful derived comparison: if one medieval male population averaged 172 cm and another later population averaged 167 cm, that is a 5 cm gap, about two inches. That is large enough to see at the population level, and it is a reminder that “later” did not automatically mean “taller.”

Why height changed over time is not mysterious, even if the exact local story often is. Reviews of the historical record tie stature to a bundle of factors that moved together: The biological standard of living in Europe during the last two millennia

  • food quality and calorie supply
  • exposure to infectious disease
  • inequality in access to resources
  • urban crowding and sanitation

That is why some post-Roman rural populations could do relatively well, while some later urban populations did worse. Cities created wealth, but for a long time they were also very efficient disease machines.

The longer-run record backs up the same point. A Springer review of stature from roughly 10,000 BC to 1000 BC found large swings across place and time in both Europe and the Near East, linked to subsistence, mobility, and health environments. Human height has never moved in a straight line. Medieval Europe sits inside that bigger pattern, not outside it.

So were people shorter in the 1800s? Often, yes, at least compared with some early medieval northern European groups. The European Review of Economic History survey describes a long period in which average European heights were depressed before rising sharply in the modern era. Industrialization eventually helped, but early industrial cities were rough places to grow up.

And were people shorter 2,000 years ago? There is no one answer. In Milan, Roman-era individuals were taller than some later medieval groups, but other regions show different trajectories. Stretching back through time to measure the Milanese The honest answer is the least tidy one: height tracked local living conditions more than broad labels like “Roman,” “medieval,” or “modern.”

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

Were people in the Middle Ages shorter?

Not uniformly. The best evidence says medieval height varied a lot by region and period, and some early medieval northern European groups were relatively tall. New Light on the “Dark Ages”

What was the average medieval height?

There was no single all-Europe average. In the better-studied northern samples, male averages often fall around 170-173 cm, but local results differ.

Were people shorter in the 1800s?

Often yes, especially compared with some early medieval northern Europeans. Average height in parts of Europe remained depressed into the early modern and early industrial periods before modern public health improvements raised it again. The biological standard of living in Europe during the last two millennia

Were people shorter 2000 years ago?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. The Milan skeleton series shows Roman-era people could be taller than later medieval populations in the same region, but other parts of Europe followed different paths. Stretching back through time to measure the Milanese

References

Further Reading

Last reviewed: 2026-06