The phrases “blue blood” and “white bone” have long been used to refer to people of high descent. But why is it customary to say that? Do people of the second estate have any physiological differences from ordinary people, “from the plow”?

This question is of interest to many curious people, and therefore it is worth analyzing it in detail. To do this, you need to plunge into history and consider several facts, because there is no single answer to these questions, but there are several interesting theories.

The origin of the phrase: blue blood

This allegorical phrase appeared in the Middle Ages, in the heyday of chivalry and court intrigues, when the nobility significantly rose above the peasantry, in every way trying to emphasize this. The peasants were busy in the fields, in the summer they were all very tanned. To know, in principle, she adhered to the canons of beauty, within which paleness was one of the most important indicators of attractiveness. This emphasized the absence of the need to work, was an indicator of status. And the status in those days was proved by such details, because there was no modern workflow.

White skin as an indicator of social status

This was especially true for women who were hiding from the sun under umbrellas, using only closed bathing suits on the beach.

There was a fashion in cosmetics that bleached the skin - based on milk and dairy products, citrus plants - especially lemon.To know did everything possible in order to flaunt the snow-white skin through which the bluish veins of veins were visible. From here came these words - blue blood. They meant veins that were visible through pale skin, and whose colors were not visible through a tan.

Among the upper classes of society, tan in those days was considered something shameful - like, in fact, calluses on the hands. It was believed that all this can only be with a peasant woman who is engaged in manual labor, who simply has neither the choice nor the ability to remain pale-skinned, with gentle hands. The lady of high society could be ridiculed, condemned by those around her, abandoned by admirers because of such “labor marks”.

Interesting fact: overall, medieval canons of beauty look amazing to a modern person. The young ladies and ladies of high society valued pallor, a painfully thin waist, for the sake of which a girl wore corsets from an early age. There was a period when ladies shaved their eyebrows, and even hair, to raise their foreheads. Many layers of powder, which was created from toxic raw materials, were applied to the face. It is not surprising that girls fainted so often - which, however, was also considered a good form.

Blood purity certificate

There is another version of the origin of this phrase, which also dates back to the Middle Ages. It is believed that the early Italian aristocracy spoke of themselves this way, emphasizing the purity of their blood. It is worth recalling that this country was the invasion of the Moors, people more than black.The local aristocracy emphasized with these words the difference not only with the peasantry, but also with the Moors. For seven centuries, Spain resisted the invasion of the Moors. During this time, certain stereotypes were strengthened - of course, the local nobility considered themselves superior to newcomers, who also claimed power.

Some families considered it possible to intermarry with the Moors, but others refused such an opportunity that it became a matter of pride. Their blood was "blue", clean of foreign impurities, and there were no other people of other faiths in the family.

Does blue blood occur in nature?

The concept of blue blood is not so abstract. In fact, she really happens. Blood has a heavenly color in a small number of creatures, not connected in any way with the hereditary nobility. It is this color that it has in some arthropods and mollusks. The fact is that instead of hemoglobin, their blood contains hemocyanin, which plays the same role associated with oxygen transfer.

While hemoglobin is red, hemocyanin has a bluish tint, which gives a specific shade of blood to creatures in which the body is arranged accordingly. Hemoglobin contains iron, which provides red color, while hemocyanin contains copper, with its characteristic blue tint. But hemoglobin does a better job of oxygen transfer than hemocyanin. It captures it better in conditions of oversaturation and gives more effectively in case of deficiency. Therefore, red blood wins compared to blue.It benefits evolution through efficiency.

Thus, the concept of “blue blood” is associated with medieval notions of beauty and purity of blood. This is a kind of prejudice, because all representatives of the human race have a deep red color. Each person can boast of “blue blood”, that is, translucent blue veins of veins in the winter, if he does not go to the solarium, and for most people, the blue veins cease to be noticeable in the summer, when people spend a lot of time in the sun and inevitably sunbathe .