A Connecticut yankee in King Arthur's Court, redux.

Apr 05, 2016 00:03

So, tomorrow morning, you wake up in King Arthur's England. Let's skip some of the obvious major problems, somehow magically, you DO speak olde english ( Read more... )

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prester_scott April 5 2016, 09:35:33 UTC
The whole bit about medieval people being so superstitious that they'd take you for a demon or a witch just because you're dressed funny? Pretty much bogus. Propaganda written by the smug intelligentsia of the "Enlightenment" era. For a better read on medieval culture, watch Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (yes, the Python Terry Jones).

Also, maybe getting too much into it, but the approximate year makes a big difference in a number of ways, not least technology. For instance, if you're thinking of a post-Imperial Arthur (6th c.) they may not have had stirrups; if you're thinking of a very late Arthur (14th+) they have longbows and full plate armor and perhaps guns.

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ford_prefect42 April 5 2016, 11:45:54 UTC
Well, I was taking it a little beyond "dressed oddly". The fabrics we wear today are different, the closure mechanisms were not invented yet, the styles might seem obscene, or there might have been a thousand other problems with showing up in year 1000 england dressed in modern clothes.

And, yeah, let's go with 1000 ad.

I will watch medieval lives.

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marycatelli April 5 2016, 12:26:59 UTC
The button/buttonhole were invented in medieval times, so that's a good one to introduce.

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coercedbynutmeg April 5 2016, 18:13:17 UTC
Lensmaking would be freaking awesome (and necessary for my myopic self) but I don't know anything aside from the most basic aspects of concave/convex lenses. I'd hope to make friends with the glazier.

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ford_prefect42 April 6 2016, 01:14:38 UTC
Good one!

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