That turns out to be the case about so much of history! The more you know, the less you'd be willing to trade. Just thinking about what a dent it made in my quality of life when our bottom-floor apartment was getting sewer gas so the bathroom always smelled faintly of sewage... or living through the winter before central heating! To say nothing of modern medicine (yes, I want to work in a scriptorium, but would I even have survived to adulthood to reach the scriptorium?).

The Renaissance especially though - it features a dazzling profusion of early modern innovations and advances and art that we want to know more about, so that can look really convincing until you start to look a bit closer.

I'm glad you mentioned her just now though! Maybe this is just what I've been looking for to read next alongside all the old stuff.