I have oft heard it repeated that the human race has gotten taller in the last couple of centuries, and this is usually attributed to better availablity of food for us peons. Does this mean, that back in the middle ages when the average height was less, that the upper classes were taller than the peasants, due to having more food available, or was everyone just generally malnutritioned?
Well, as with almost all historical generalizations, the answer is “Depends on the time and the place”. In the case of average height, there’s been a ton of stuff written on the subject; overall, people have gotten taller, but to a degree that’s often exaggerated. It’s probably safe to say that, in medieval France or England, rich people probably got more protein in their early diet, and were likely to be taller.
ETA: With any luck, either I’ll have time to get into this in more depth, or somebody with more immediately available knowledge on the subject will be along. It’s one of those fun questions.