Bobby and I woke early on this day to try to squeeze in the Tynemouth Castle and Priory--literally a five-minute walk down the street from Sharon and Kirsty's flat--before Kirsty's dad Joe picked us up to go to Raby. Despite the lady in the castle shop being quite certain that the castle would be open yesterday--today at the latest--it was still
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On the other hand, it has been suggested that on the whole medieval people were a bit shorter than we are today. If you look at suits of armor and such from about 1000-1500, you see that most would not fit a person from our era. However, this fact is actually hotly debated in the medieval history community as other studies that have examined skeletal structures indicate that medieval people were just as tall as we are today! In fact, while some suits of armor would not fit because they are so short, others would not fit because they are so big!
You can read more on this here if you are interested: http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/medimen.htm
The diet of the medieval person from about the 11th-15th century was surprisingly good because of favorable climate changes in Europe that positively influenced agriculture. This certainly supports the idea that medieval people were as tall as we are today. The jury is still definitely out on this one, but we do know that small doorways were common throughout medieval architecture (whether you are talking castles or mere tenant lodgings).
A final possibility is that they were built so small and narrow for defensive purposes. If the castle was breached it would be much easier to defend the higher ground if your enemy had to ascend a short and narrow passageway through a small door. You could essentially bottleneck them as they made their way to the upper floors.
In all, I think all three possibilities are valid. I hope this helps!
Staindrop is a rather curious name isn't it? Seems kind of funny: I am Lord Such and Such of Staindrop. I bet that got quite a f
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When the guide said that medieval people were the same height as we are today, I was a bit skeptical - not only was it the first time I'd heard this, but I'd seen the armour and clothing you mentioned and they did (generally) seem smaller. Anyway! It's a great debate and I guess we'll never know the answer for sure. Even the medieval people probably had a few Yao Mings among them (well, not a Chinese guy. I don't think that happened so much in medieval England).
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On another note, this is seriously awesome. You know how Dawn and I are contemplating completing our upper-lever (masters/PhD work) in the UK? We did some quick down and dirty research and found that the University of Stirling had programs in medieval/renaissance literature for Dawn, and a PhD program in, get this, Scottish medieval history for me! We are going to get real serious fairly soon about the feasibility of doing this so who knows, in a few years we could all be a short train trip away from each other!
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That is exactly why Dawn was talking about putting the Goldens on a boat. If we are able to do it, we certainly want to bring the boys along! Just think, they could have playtime with their cousin Maggie!
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Curious English names - they can be (often are) really silly. I remember the Monty Python skits where they read letters-to-the-editor the funniest part of which were the ridiculous, but perfectly plausible, surnames of the writers. One of my favorite geekish pastimes of my childhood was combing through our small-town telephone directory with my sisters for silly English names. Even from a very narrow sampling we found a lot of highly ludicrous ones.
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The revolution in agricultural methods that occurred in the early medieval period (around 1200 or so), vastly improved individual diets as grains, fruits, and vegetables became more prevalent. This certainly contributes to the theory that medieval people were not significantly shorter than modern people.
However, the flip side to this argument is that there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that scurvy was fairly prevalent during the Middle Ages. Since scurvy is caused by a lack of fruits/veg in one's diet, this sort of negates the notion that medieval diets were well-balanced and nutritious.
The question is wide open because the information is SO conflicting. On the one hand it seems that food, including fruits and veggies, was readily available. On the other hand, the apparent susceptibility of individuals to scurvy suggests that they didn't always eat a nutritious diet.
You just have to love the puzzle that is historical research! When you think you answer one question, ten more pop up in its place.
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