MikeVanPelt wrote:Catherine_Puce wrote:And for the blue blooded it was a reality. There was so much inbreeding among the noble familly that genetic sickness started to be common. At the end of the feudal period, most noblemans was cursed of familly illness.
As Londo Molari said, "When the family tree becomes a familly bush, you can't hide as much under it."
The Catholic Church experimented with marriage rules that barred intermarriages out to 4th cousin. I'm guessing it helped a bit but ennobling more commoners would have helped more.