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Jun. 12th, 2008 06:47 pmThere are a couple of discussions elsewhere on the web, dealing with popular perceptions of the Middle Ages. They're not theoretical dicussions - they're people saying how they'd cope if they were dumped in the year 1000 CE*.
The strongest impression I got from these discussions were first, that most people don't realise how very little they know about the Middle Ages and second, most people don't recognise how little they know about what they know.
Someone said, for instance, that they'd make it rich making and selling soap. Soap was known and used in the year 1000, and by the thirteenth century was exported from certain centres as an industrial product. But popular notions of the year 1000 said that people never bathed and of course, popular notions are truly accurate as indicators of how people lived.
I want to know if the person who said they'd make soap know how to make soap and how to get rid of strange underscents and how to make different types of soap and where to source ingredients and how to light a fire... at least they were more realistic than the person who wanted to live by inventing the handgun.
Anyhow, I'm inspired to prepare a short course or something on this topic. This is a continuation of my perpetual preoccupation with other peoples' zombie ancestors.
Watch this space.
* CE is the same counting as other peoples' AD, but I think it's cheeky to say "In the Year of the Lord" when I am, in fact, Jewish. Most of you know this, but it bears repeating. If you'd rahter (if you think it's wrong to use the dates without using the nomenclature), I can translate all dates in this blog into the Jewish calendar.
PS I'm less impossibly snarky, but still a bit on the "I shall be difficult if you push me" side. It will pass.
The strongest impression I got from these discussions were first, that most people don't realise how very little they know about the Middle Ages and second, most people don't recognise how little they know about what they know.
Someone said, for instance, that they'd make it rich making and selling soap. Soap was known and used in the year 1000, and by the thirteenth century was exported from certain centres as an industrial product. But popular notions of the year 1000 said that people never bathed and of course, popular notions are truly accurate as indicators of how people lived.
I want to know if the person who said they'd make soap know how to make soap and how to get rid of strange underscents and how to make different types of soap and where to source ingredients and how to light a fire... at least they were more realistic than the person who wanted to live by inventing the handgun.
Anyhow, I'm inspired to prepare a short course or something on this topic. This is a continuation of my perpetual preoccupation with other peoples' zombie ancestors.
Watch this space.
* CE is the same counting as other peoples' AD, but I think it's cheeky to say "In the Year of the Lord" when I am, in fact, Jewish. Most of you know this, but it bears repeating. If you'd rahter (if you think it's wrong to use the dates without using the nomenclature), I can translate all dates in this blog into the Jewish calendar.
PS I'm less impossibly snarky, but still a bit on the "I shall be difficult if you push me" side. It will pass.