A Sense of Doubt blog post #1706 - Medieval Peasants and You
This Twitter thread was too good not to copy and share.
Remember I am in low power mode. I was going to share the weekly hodge podge today after weeks without one, but GRADING HELL.
And so, this.
LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.
Where to begin with this? Let me try... /1 pic.twitter.com/J3shK588j2— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
1. Worked fewer hours? Perhaps, on average, but they were at the beck and call of their feudal overlords, whose requirements took precedence over their own.— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
They were also employed doing dangerous, arfduous work, with little support if they were injured. pic.twitter.com/3jnjRHj4bj
2. Longer vacations? Oh yeah, massive amounts of feast days, etc, but those feast days - with all kinds of festivities and/or observances - took a hell of a lot of work - cooking, preparation, travel, etc.— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Better be at church too. The lot of you. pic.twitter.com/rAwbRs5dMY
3. Had more sex? Arguable. In many peasant dwellings families slept in extremely close proximity, separated by a sheet, if not all in the same bed.— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Now they might have been cool with banging with the kids tucked in at the foot of the bed, but you? pic.twitter.com/eHIIHXWKC6
Also, two more points:— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
1. You really going to feel like a little action after between ten and fourteen hours work in fields, regardless of your health?
2. Primitive birth control and a significantly raised instance of infant mortality are kind of libido killers.
4. Had a bigger house? Don't know where you're getting that from.— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Anyway, peasant dwellings were often constructed with wattle & daub - literally consisting of shit.
There was no chimney, reeds on the floor and hell, it reeked - sometimes your animals joined you in there. pic.twitter.com/t0y8Dk5LhO
5. Had more testosterone? WTF?— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Even so, having more 'T' means exactly nothing if your main concerns are continuance of food supply, protection from raiders, and the final destination of your soul.
You won't have time to lift, bro! pic.twitter.com/cmWlkLUetP
6. Ate better food?— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
They were at the mercy of what they had - spoiled grain lead to ergot poisoning and similar, unrefrigerated meat carried parasites and disease.
The bread they made ground their teeth down, with grit from milling - medieval skulls bear this out! pic.twitter.com/syAE3w2WaJ
7. Paid less taxes?— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Peasants often had to rent land in money, or kind (produce). They then often had to offer 10% of their produce to the church. That adds up to a considerable sum.
They were also often required to work without pay either on the land of their lord, or church. pic.twitter.com/9K0Pexz4zC
Go find one of the tithe barns across England, usually adjacent to abbeys, and you'll see just how much these institutions skimmed off the peasantry. pic.twitter.com/jjvrAn5Dar— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
8. Rarely saw their boss?— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Perhaps, especially if they were crusading, or slaughtering their rival's peasants (fair game).
'Prima noctae' might be a myth, but your boss could do whatever he wanted, with little repercussion - including maiming and killing. pic.twitter.com/Qah9YKf0Gz
9. Okay, I'll give you 'crazy harvest festivals'. That they did. pic.twitter.com/IEyAMb4LsG— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
10. Never heard of feminism?— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Sorry to break it to you, but medieval European history is full of instances both of women having surprisingly advanced rights in certain areas, but also triumphing over patriarchal structures - there's a whole thread in that! pic.twitter.com/A7z5UlAjUJ
Look, bro, @johnsolomonbain, I know the modern world makes your dingus pucker, and women terrify you, but you (and I) would last five minutes in the medieval period as a peasant, before you were begging to come home.— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
Go talk to academic historians.
This ain't it, m'lud. /FIN
— The lamentable fate of Mike Stuchbery 🎃🍷 (@MikeStuchbery_) October 19, 2019
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1910.20 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1569 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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