The scene from Jacquouille la Fripouille where the character repeats "Jour ! Nuit ! Jour ! Nuit ! Jour ! Nuit !" while playing with the electricity in Béatrice de Montmirail's salon is one of the most iconic in French cinema. This moment has become closely associated with the image of a medieval man, often depicted in popular culture as a caricature with blackened teeth, dirty clothes, and crude manners, as seen in the film Les Visiteurs. However, contrary to common misconceptions, medieval men and women placed significant importance on personal hygiene, including dental care. Many medical treatises and etiquette guides from the period emphasized the importance of cleanliness. Bathing was a central part of society, with water considered purifying. Although full-body bathing was not yet common, people cleaned their faces, hands, and feet daily. Inside homes, cleanliness was a priority. However, outside, the situation was different. Without proper waste management or sewer systems, streets and public squares were filled with fecal matter and refuse, leading to the spread of diseases. This contrast between cleanliness indoors and filth outdoors contributed to the perception that medieval people were dirty, despite their efforts to maintain hygiene. According to Danièle Alexandre-Bidon, a medieval historian and curator of the exhibition L’hygiène au Moyen Âge at the Tour Jean sans Peur in Paris, the idea that medieval people neglected hygiene was "literally rejected without any proof by some 19th-century historians." She points to Jules Michelet, who wrote in La Sorcière: "The war that the Middle Ages declared against the flesh and cleanliness bore fruit. More than one saint is praised for never washing even his hands. And how much less the rest!" The misconception that medieval people cared little for hygiene was based on a reality from the very early Middle Ages, where dirt did exist. However, by the Carolingian era, baths were found in all monasteries. This ancient reality, limited to some saints or hermits, was "projected onto a thousand years of the Middle Ages and on the entire population," she notes. These stereotypes were reinforced by a lack of understanding of medieval daily life. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that historians and archaeologists began to study this area through "material culture" and the examination of hygiene accessories. In the 1980s, the first studies on medieval medicine, cleanliness, and thermalism emerged, revealing the importance of hygiene during that period. "Cleanliness was everywhere and always, bathing was common," Alexandre-Bidon asserts. "The idea of being dirty or smelling bad repelled the medieval world, especially the upper classes and urban bourgeoisie." Knights had to purify themselves before being knighted, priests had to wash their hands before serving mass, and surgeons had to wash their hands before performing operations, as they worked in the name of God. At that time, purity was equated with cleanliness. "Today, we still say 'pure water' to mean it is drinkable and clean," she notes.