Scotland in the Early Middle Ages Puns

Hello, I am curious about how societies generally reacted to epidemics or pandemics during late antiquity, the Middle Ages, and Early Modernity.

Did societies in late antiquity and the Middle Ages have a clear idea of what was occurring during epidemics? Did these societies implement their own lockdowns? How much did epidemics in general disrupt their societies? Or to ask something slightly different but related, how flexible were the societies of late antiquity and the Middle Ages? Did they try to push through them without change? Or did they react flexibly to the changing circumstances? Of course, I understand that the various reactions will depend upon the nature / mortality rate of the epidemic and the circumstances of the society.

Lastly, to ask a very speculative question, do societies with different societal structures, such as ancient societies or feudal societies as opposed to capitalist societies, react differently to epidemics / pandemics? Of course, there is a huge variety of reactions within capitalist societies themselves, but I am just curious if we could make conclusions about general tendencies.

Thanks!

The population of France/Gaul at the time of Caesar was I believe around 5 mil. In 600 ad it was at about 7 mil. Why were the Gauls able to send tens of thousands of men to war (battle of Alesia) and later it was mostly small battles. Same in Britain, they could send thousands of men against the romans but later on during the Viking conquest 1000 men was seen as a large army.

Just curious to see if there is interest in a game title centered around the fall of rome and the early barbarian kingdoms. I've been looking at the time range of roughly 400-800AD, but anything specifically set during the 1st millennium AD would be an interesting experience for me.

I know there are mods to ck2 that start the game in 476 AD, and charlemagne DLC starts the game in 769AD, but let's be honest, there is nothing really that would immerse you into the European Dark Ages. Which I think is a shame because its an interesting time and a big potential for a game. Think about it, the fall of Rome, the Huns, the Avars, the Arians, the Slavs, the Lombards, Muslims, Old Bulgaria, Byzantine reforms, Anglo-Saxon invasion and conquest, Irish reneisance, the Frankish feuds are just a cherry on a cake. I would love to see concepts like tribalism, nomadism, fiefdoms, Imperial territory and the theme system properly developed and exploited.

Does anyone else feel the same way? Or are we just gonna pretend the world stopped existing for a couple hundred years?

couldn’t find any account of arabs living in western europe ( modern day england / germany ) afaik there must be some because someone brought the language with them back to Arabia, also how did the messengers talk to kings in europe while not being there before

I don't mean a coming of age story that I think is mostly grounded in adolescence. The books I have in mind are: The Neopolitan Novels that are in the first person and span decades from 5 to her 60's. Cecelia Ahren's Where Rainbows End that spans from teenage years into her 30's and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro that takes us from early Havisham days to the late years through Kathy's eyes.

I find these books so immersive and more importantly realistic because they show personal struggles/growth, how relationships of all sorts evolve overtime (how people including the protagonist change), how the environment they're in changes and so on.

These are my favorite books because of my attachment to them, its a journey grounded in soul-searching. Do you have books in mind similar to these? How do they affect you after finishing and putting the book down?

Am interested.

Cheers.

Put simply, if one village had a windmill to grind it's grain, how would it compare to a similar village which didn't?

Does industrialization of flour help support larger population?

I've heard that bakers were mostly an urban thing in the middle ages, and would essentially only exist to support populations large enough that households couldn't make their own bread. Was this similar for mills? Were mills and bakeries symbiotic?

Who commissioned windmills? Did the Manorial class commission them? Or did the peasants group together to build them? Did windmills have a roll in the distribution of wealth and taxes? (i.e. a windmill allows the landlord to profit/tac their peasants more due to saved labor)

Sorry typo in the heading: "Or did the Doom Book represent a new development in establishing the rule of law?"

Greetings history buffs,

As the title suggestions I'm trying to discover if anyone is aware of early examples of professional investigators of some kind. I'm aware that generally speaking this was not the norm in Europe until (I believe?) the 18th century or thereabouts. I know the early Anglosaxons had a Reeve which was a precursor to Sheriffs and that Spain later had Inquisitors who carried out religious duties but I'm curious if anyone is aware of some exception to the rule that they could perhaps point me to. Presumably, even feudal kings had some kind of informal spy network for gathering intelligence.

If not, perhaps some kind of position where an individual is empowered by the crown to travel and/or make judgements on their behalf? If anyone knows I figured reddit would. Thanks for any input :)

Have i even committed a crime? If so, what is my punishment?

The Guardian: Getting fit in middle age as beneficial as starting early – study. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/mar/08/getting-fit-in-middle-age-as-beneficial-as-starting-early-study

There are few things in life that give you the opportunity to wipe out decades of bad decisions (faking your death and moving to Costa Rica will most assuredly backfire), it's great to hear getting fit is one of the few.

If you're older, like me, hopefully this is a little more motivation to keep at it.

In the words of our favorite uncle, Uncle Tupelo,

Time won't wait/Better open the gate/Get out start what needs to be done

Book suggestions about Kings/Queens and/or vampires in the late Middle Ages, early renaissance era with dark magical touches. Well written, not too cheesy - ik hard to achieve - somewhat subtle

Hello everybody,

I'm currently looking for suggestions for non-fiction books that depict what life was like in Scotland throughout the Middle Ages. I'm mostly interested in the High-Late Middle Ages, but I'm thoroughly interested in all of the history throughout the Middle Ages in Scotland. The focus for the books I'm looking for would be all aspects of life throughout this time period. I'm interested in knowing about society, clothing, food, marriage, feuding, etc.

If any of you know of good, detailed books that shed light on this topic, I would be so grateful for any suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

I’ve found some books about life in a Medieval town/city/castle, etc but they are focused around the years 1000-1400 and I’m looking for something a little earlier than that.

I’d love some accounts on what life most likely was like in Britain around 500-900 roughly.

I study philosophy and as I study theology for some research, came up with a question.

Main contemporary mainstream layman ideas of Christianity have this kind of idea that Christianity's message is love, it's all that really matters, or something along those lines. Indeed, the idea that God is love, respect thy neighbour, and all that is the "core" or "important" part of Christianity.

As I read theology, it seems like this aspect is overemphasised to some extent by some groups.

What was the core message of Christianity in the early Middles Ages?

Wikipedia says that his name is Flemish in origin, but does not give its etymology.

EDIT: of this statement's sources I've been able to find one. Helpfully it says that 'the continental dim. form Fresechin ... will be dealt with in a later paper.' Earlier it says something about Frisians, so perhaps the element Fre- is of the same origin as the name of the people?

More specifically: I'm trying to figure out when steel started being reliably usable instead of purer forms of iron. Cursory research (on Wikipedia) informs me that the plate armour of the late middle ages and the renaissance were made of steel. Looking into the development of iron and steel prodcution, in England specifically, seems to imply that homogenous steel was only available with the development of puddling in the 18th century. Were weapons and armor before that made from blister steel? Wrought iron? Both? If so, how common was each kind? I am an absolute amateur so if the question contains false premises, I apologize and am looking forward to being corrected. :)

It is my understanding that slavery was around since recorded history among all ethnic groups and mostly victimized people from neighboring groups (like different tribes for example). Then around 1000 AD slavery died out in Western Europe... What was the driving force that made slavery ok again for "Christian" Europeans in the 16th century?

Since I read that racism (among people with different skin colors) was not common in ancient Rome or Greek, my initial thought was that a misunderstood forms of Darwinism (racism) could have justified slavery again. But Darwin wasn't born until the 19th century....

Hey guys,

I was wondering if there are any books about muslims living on christian territory in the early middle ages? I have found plenty about christians living on muslim territory, but not vice versa. Was that just not a thing? was there no muslim minority in any christian country back in the days? If you know any book regarding this topic id be very glad.

Thanks in advance

Late Antiquity – Early Middle Ages are a turbulent time for the Balkans as a whole. Precisely these years are the years the Albanian language begins to crystallize from its predecessor and the Tosk – Gheg dialectal split is already present. It was during this era that the Slavic tribes would pour onto the lands of the Roman Empire, first the peoples known as Croats and then the Serbs. Interaction with the latter, as well as other Slavic folk, would have profound effects on the history of Albanians for the centuries to come, which we live to see to this day. Under these circumstances and interaction, the first elements of the Songs of the Frontier Warriors (Cikli i Kreshnikeve) are born, giving us an insight on how Albanians might’ve witnessed the events unfolding. Though sources on Albanians during this time are scarce, by studying linguistics and elements found in these epic songs, we may be able to puzzle a rough picture of the time.

In order to better understand the situation in the 6th and 7th century, we must take a step back for an overview of the people known as Proto-Albanians – our ancestors, a thraco-illyrian peoples living north of the Ancient Greeks. By the 1st century BCE, the Romans already possessed a strong presence in the Balkans. Following their invasion, it seems that Proto-Albanians receded in the mountainous regions, possibly contracting in territory, leaving the coastal lands to Latin speakers. This is noted by the overwhelming Latin vocabulary regarding sea wildlife and seafaring in general. An important number of native words have however survived, including the word for sea itself, gills, ship, raft, fins, etc...indicating that it wasn’t entirely alien to Proto-Albanians.

Latin begins to have a profound effect on the language, significantly shaping it, to the point where today 30-60% of our lexicon is of Latin origin. The sound patterns of inherited words are those in which Latin spoken around the 1st century BCE. Between this and the 5th century, a dialectal split begins to emerge in Proto-Albanian, the Gheg-Tosk split, showing that Albanians inhabited roughly the same areas as today.

Fast forward to the 6th century, Slavs begin to settle in the heartland of the Balkans. These ravaged areas become the homeland for these people hailing from Central and/or Eastern Europe. The early interaction between Albanians, now a tribal mountain people, having inherited an oral code of honor and the new settlers, has been etched i