The idea that medieval people only bathed very rarely may itself not entirely be accurate. Parish rolls - which record births, deaths, marriages etc. throughout the medieval period - show that a surprisingly normal cause of premature death in Medieval England was by drowning while bathing in a river - not exactly 'regular' but definitely commonplace enough to not be deemed particularly remarkable. To extrapolate from this, bathing may have been at least a semi-regular occurence for most people, but just not to the extent that we have today.

More can be written on it, but you may be interested in the FAQ section "Menstruation" . In the app, it's near the bottom of the Science FAQ page. /u/chocolatepot provided most of the answers, /u/historianjen was the interviewee on podcast episode 32 (Early Modern Medicine & Women's Health), and more answers featured /u/Gorrest-Fump , sunagainstgold, Aelintari, and colevintage.

This is not to discourage discussion -- further questions, data, and debate are welcome.

I'm sorry, but I've not found any previous postings that are really strong concerning the frequency of medieval bathing. (Podcast 62 is titled "Cleanliness and Hygiene in the Early United States", though.)

As has been already stated the idea that people in the middle ages didn't wash regularly is almost entirely wrong. We must also consider that one does not have to have a bath in order to wash. In the premodern era taking a bath required considerable effort, having to heat large amounts of water in small batches taking a long time and a great deal of firewood or other fuel. Therefore taking regular baths was the preserve of those rich enough to have the money and time to do so. However even though the average person may have only have had a handful of baths a year that does not mean they did not wash. Most people in the Middle Ages washed every day using a bowl of water and a cloth and people also made good use of rivers in the warmer months of the year as has been previously stated.

As to how women dealt with their periods they did it in much the same way as women do now. They used pads made of linen which were drawn between the legs and held in place with a girdle (women did not usually wear any form of underwear in this period as their numerous long skirts made it unnecessary.)

Although it is not the medieval period, Sara Read's book 'Menstruation and the female body in early modern England' is an excellent reference for understanding how women dealt with periods in the premodern period https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137355027