Was medieval/Renaissance European hygiene really as bad as some say and everyone walked around very unclean and smelly?

by test0314
Vespertine

These links should not discourage further responses, but here are some earlier answers which may be of interest:

u/sunagainstgold on [Is it true that baths and personal hygiene were considered dangerous for your health during the 16th/17th century in Europe?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5tzvng/is_it_true_that_baths_and_personal_hygiene_were/)
and
Given the prevalence of lice, fleas, and bedbugs and lack of modern hygiene and extermination methods, were medieval people constantly itchy? What methods could be used in the middle ages and/or Renaissance to kill the bugs or relieve bug bites?
and
Do we have any idea how many changes of clothes would an English peasant have in the High Middle Ages? How big of a deal was it when your clothes suddenly got severely damaged?

u/notepaperpen on What was hygiene like in medieval times? A relevant extract from a book they reference can also be found here.

Answers from u/colevintage here and here (the latter including a link to an AskHistorians podcast on the subject).

More in a following comment as it's only possible to credit three users per comment.