Life in the Middle Ages
- Thread starter Gaze
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The Normans were among the most influential people of western Europe and significantly influenced the modern era. At the crux of their cultural birth they were Norse. Of course they were more than that but that is, in my opinion, where this notion that their blood lines were better than anyone else's came from.
They assimilated quickly. 'Norman', i.e. Viking as an identity, was just an inheritance without meaning. It was a label. Their culture had greater relation to feudalism rather than paganism. It was only about marketing and perceived identity, not true identity.
I suspect that the notion of bloodline bears some truth. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, bloodline was of importance. That was 800 years after the invasion. And many other bloodlines survive to this day.
Yawn ...
so we can't talk about Henry II, once Duke of NORMANdy? Plantagenet empire? Amazing?
His rule changed the maps for much of the known world at that time. They used to look at Europe from the bottom up. Henry's empire turned it upside down. and that's just the maps. his courts of law were unprecedented.
His rule changed the maps for much of the known world at that time. They used to look at Europe from the bottom up. Henry's empire turned it upside down. and that's just the maps. his courts of law were unprecedented.
[MENTION=13999]Pleiades[/MENTION], you truly are a flower. 'Flower' is a French word brought by the Normans to England. That is what shaped Anglo-Saxon and French to merging into English. The original Anglo-Saxon word corresponding to 'flower' has been lost. In modern French, it is 'fleur'.
(Of if you want to bring it back further, you are from a distant constellation. :w: )
blossom (n.) 
c. 1200, from Old English blostm, blostma "blossom, flower, fruit," from Proto-Germanic *blo-s- (cognates: Middle Low German blosom, Dutch bloesem, German Blust), from PIE *bhlow-, extended form of *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom" (see folio). This is the native word, now largely superseded by bloom (n.1) and flower (n.).
c. 1200, from Old English blostm, blostma "blossom, flower, fruit," from Proto-Germanic *blo-s- (cognates: Middle Low German blosom, Dutch bloesem, German Blust), from PIE *bhlow-, extended form of *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom" (see folio). This is the native word, now largely superseded by bloom (n.1) and flower (n.).
yes yes..yea
Hic am so blithe, so brighit brid one brere
Quan I se that ende in halle
Yhe is quit of lime, loveli trewe
The is fayr and flur of alle
yes I want to bring it back farther.... William of Tolouse. Eleanor's grandfather. Eleanor..the grandmother of modern Europe.. merovingians ...all things post-roman but pre-renaissance
Hic am so blithe, so brighit brid one brere
Quan I se that ende in halle
Yhe is quit of lime, loveli trewe
The is fayr and flur of alle
yes I want to bring it back farther.... William of Tolouse. Eleanor's grandfather. Eleanor..the grandmother of modern Europe.. merovingians ...all things post-roman but pre-renaissance
They claim that the records of Atlantis will be made available in the future. Time to learn Basque language???
(Frankly, I am just guessing from what I have read.)
...but the thread says "Life" in the Middle Ages... ok everyday life..culture?
what's for dinner? http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/goderec.htm
:hungry:
what's for dinner? http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/goderec.htm
:hungry:
They claim that the records of Atlantis will be made available in the future. Time to learn Basque language???
(Frankly, I am just guessing from what I have read.)
do you mean Doggerland? I wish we knew more about Doggerland
The number zero, mathematics, trigonometry, and astronomical calculations (as we use them) came from pre-islamic Arabia (mostly Babylonia), Europe, and China. Bathing and flowing-water sanitation for urban populations, as an integrated system of civil engineering, was developed by the Romans way before the middle ages.
I can't understand why no one is crowing about culinary contributions: CHOCOLATE, COFFEE, VANILLA, AND POPCORN! (All from South/Central America).
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Yes indeed. Which mayans also developed independently anyway, way before they were colonized.
True. There is something kind of cool about mayan numerals:
I watched Apocalypto in highschool, which presented the last months, or years, of the mayan civilization before the spanish people came. It's a pretty vivid portrait of what may have happened there, i really, really, really liked it.
I went on my pilgrimage to Chaucer's resting place at Westminster Abbey.
"Whoa there! They may have quite commonly sacrificed and eaten children, but don't you dare suggest they weren't just as moral, intelligent, inventive and capable as Europeans!"
It's kind of funny that you're so politically correct.
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"In History of the Things of New Spain, Sahagún confesses he was aghast by the fact that, during the first month of the year, the child sacrifices were approved by their own parents, who also ate their children.
In the month Atlacacauallo of the Aztec calendar, children and captives were sacrificed to the water deities, Tláloc, Chalchitlicue, and Ehécatl. In the month Tozoztontli, children were sacrificed to Coatlicue, Tlaloc, Chalchitlicue, Tona. In the month Hueytozoztli, a maid, a boy and a girl were sacrificed to Cintéotl, Chicomecacóatl, Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl. In the month Tepeilhuitl, children and two noble women were sacrificed by extraction of the heart and flaying; ritual cannibalism in honor of Tláloc-Napatecuhtli, Matlalcueye, Xochitécatl, Mayáhuel, Milnáhuatl, Napatecuhtli, Chicomecóatl, Xochiquétzal. In the month Atemoztli, children and slaves were sacrificed by decapitation in honor to the Tlaloques."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sacrifice_in_pre-Columbian_cultures
So, what are your thoughts on decapitating children? What are your thoughts on parents slaughtering and eating their own children?
Here's another article that may pique your interest (not to do with the Aztecs, however):
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23496345
"Tests on three mummies found in Argentina have shed new light on the Inca practice of child sacrifice. Scientists have revealed that drugs and alcohol played a key part in the months and weeks leading up to the children's deaths. Tests on one of the children, a teenage girl, suggest that she was heavily sedated just before her demise."
"Dr Emma Brown, from the department of archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford, said: 'The Spanish chroniclers suggest that children were sacrificed for all kinds of reasons: important life milestones in the lives of the Incas, in times of war or natural disasters, but there was a calendar of rituals too.'"
"Dr Brown explained: 'From what we know of the Spanish chronicles, particularly attractive or gifted women were chosen. The Incas actually had someone who went out to find these young women and they were taken from their families.'"
So they sacrificed the prettiest and the smartest to satisfy their Gods. That can't be good for society. Have any thoughts about this?
You seem to be fascinated by the Aztecs. What do you find so interesting about them?