You see these Hollywood epics with for example Keira Knightly shooting a bow (king arthur) and I can't help but think "would'nt women in that time period have armpit hair?" Does anyone have insight into where this practise started and how it spread to be almost a norm? Thank you!
For the Islamic and European Christian worlds, I've discussed the medieval/early modern roots of the practice here:
A glimpse:
And Henri de Mondeville, the early 14th century French surgeon, has quite a lot to say in his Surgery about women removing body hair! He reports that women like to remove all the hair below their heads. While he is quick to say he disapproves, he is equally sure that medical practitioners ought to be involved or must at least give advice in order that they do it as safely as possible.
Can I ask a follow up? How did they shave?
Did everyone just shave everything with a knife? That seems super fucking scary in today's time.
You may be interested in my answer to When did it become the social norm/standard for women to shave their legs completely? regarding early 20th century depilation.