[Red Badger]

But if you look at paintings of the era, where the general population was depicted, they were not filthy dirty people.............

[nascarnation]

I suspect it varied by societal class.
But I’d easily believe the laborers only got a hot bath once a week or so.

[Drew68]

But if you look at paintings of the era, where the general population was depicted, they were not filthy dirty people

Byzantine art was not terribly refined.