2004-03-03
Medieval Cosmology
You know, I often wonder if people realize how things change over the centuries. I don�t mean things like our grandparents have seen come into being � TV, Jets, CD player and all that. I mean in the basic way people think. Mores � philosophies. Hell, entire religions have evolved over the past 1500 years. Why, I remember back in 1349 �. Oh wait � sorry got carried away there hehe.Seriously though � things that used to be considered scandalous are commonplace now. And things WE consider to be scandalous were common practice �back in the day�. How do these things change? I mean, if all those people proclaiming their idea of absolute right and wrong from their pulpits are, in fact, correct � how can they be changed if they�re that fundamental to our existence?
They can�t � IF they�re truly fundamental. Which, I suppose, is my point. Everything is mutable.
What does seem fundamental, however, is that people will ultimately do what�s best for them. Not for the whole, but for them. Maybe not for them, personally; but their family, their kingdom, or their church � at the expense of anyone else not of that select group. What people do in the name of altruism is, at base, selfish. It�s expected of them, it feels good to them, whatever. Rarely is there such a thing as a totally altruistic person. (But I�ll save that subject for an Ayn Rand discussion LOL)
In Medieval times (European), the Church wanted people illiterate, so they could better control their beliefs. They didn�t want people to speculate or question. So they made rules. Political rules. That�s rules that were based solely on politics, and not scripture. They even rewrote scripture, editing and re-translating out anything that didn�t fit in their paradigm of �church over all�. They made priests unable to marry because they didn�t want them dying and having heirs to inherit the wealth � this way the Church got it all. Then they made them take vows of celibacy, because they didn�t want a bunch of little bastards running around who might pop up and claim an heir�s rights.
What we now consider horribly scandalous, demanding a full, invasive governmental investigation, was once considered to be the norm. Good lord look at the lives of the Popes! Child molestation (wasn�t considered that then, just pedophilia), homosexuality, beastiality � you name it and a Pope somewhere probably practiced it. And many of these people who today would be considered psychotic, sociopathic, or otherwise insane, and would probably be among the homeless street people we pity and abhor, were canonized. Now, if a man of the cloth so much as pats a kid on the back, he might as well just hang up his priestly garb. Parents are afraid to discipline their kids for similar reasons. Go figure.
Take some of the value differences:
� today, suicide is considered a cop out - and weak. Back in the day, people suicided as a matter of honor. Better that than be captured alive and bring shame or poverty to your family, who would have to pay ransom or themselves be shamed. Better to take that Knight�s Leap over a cliff than be dishonored by being taken hostage. Never mind what the ASPCA would have to say about jumping a horse over a cliff�
� today, child labor laws are in force. Back in the day, if you could, you did � regardless of your age. It was not a completely uncommon practice to sell a child off into servitude in order to both better the child�s life and feed the rest of your family. This was not something the world embraced lovingly, but it wasn�t something for which to be jailed.
� today, one isn�t considered adult until (in the USA) the standard age of 21 (although age specifications are rather arbitrary, some being 18, some 16, some 21 and others even older, depending on whether you�re discussing alcohol, tobacco, firearms, driving a potentially lethal automobile, or being able to decide on your own whether or not to marry or sign a lease). Back in the day, people were generally married before they reached 21, and grew up drinking wine. Romeo and Juliet were something like 12-14 years old. Kings and Queens were occasionally well under the age of 30. All that history you read was accomplished by many who today would be required to still be attending High School.. Now, however, governments don�t believe that even those they proclaim to be adults can make their own decisions on what they are allowed to do.
� today, we consider education, housing, Federal aid and nearby shopping malls to be inalienable rights. Back in the day you swore fealty to a Lord for the right to work for him. Theoretically, he returned the favor by providing you protection, shelter and food. Of course this didn�t always happen, but it doesn�t always happen today either. The point here being that what was once considered to be a privilege is now considered a right.
� today, we censor anything in a song or movie that might offend the sensibilities of the young, the old, the infirm, the different � yet in days of yore, the songs were about death, fornication, murder, rape, plunder and the glories of war. To top that off, many are put to bright, happy-sounding tunes in lilting notes. One of my favorites is a light happy brisk tune all about a rape, and how the lady then ran to the king for reparation, who ordered the guy marry her � but who got the best of the deal? She was an Earl�s daughter and the man in question was the son of a blacksmith. Now what does that say? Heh. Then the one about the murderer who came in, killed everyone in the house, and was hanged. Happy notes about blood all over the place, and now they�re gonna hang him. Woohoo! People just didn�t THINK the same then as they do now. And as much as the Church held sway back then, everyone was highly religious and devout then, too ... just like we are now *cough*.
Violence was commonplace, so no one thought much about it ... no one blamed TV or video games for some young and impetuous knight out to prove himself. He went and killed a few dozen peasants, plundered a village or two, forcefully took a few women and came back with riches and fame ... he was a hero. Now, people in the armed forces, following orders, are courtmartialed for doing what they're told. TV and video games portraying violence are blamed when Johnny goes berserk.
Speaking of violence ... what on earth makes people thing that protecting people from something makes them less likely to fall victim? What the hell are we innoculating people for, then? Let's wrap everyone up in masks and bubbles so they don't get diseases. Instead, we vaccinate them with that very same disease, so they can build up a resistance. So why does this not follow for other things? You want a kid to grow up peaceful? Show him what it really looks like when someone is shot, knifed or blown apart. When he's done puking I expect he won't be so ready to go out and commit mayhem. And if he thinks it's cool, well ... that kid has problems that protecting him from violence isn't going to fix.
So, back to the mutability of morals and such ... given how different we as a society have become over the last, say 1000 years � who the hell thinks they can tell me they have the one and only, up righteous and for sure answer to all things � all others being sins against their various gods � and expect me to not at least snicker quietly to myself??
Ah well
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