Am I Richer Than King Richard I?

neverdespairgirl

Kennyboy66 wrote: »

I thought men where a little taller in 11th Century (5' 8")

Average height then fell by about 3 inches over the next 800 years (Wellingtons army scum of the earth and all that)

http://historymedren.about.com/b/2004/09/15/tall-medieval-men.htm

I looked at that - but can't get a link to the actual study. So I don't know what geographical area they were looking at.

Wharram Percy showed an average male adult height of 5 ft 6. London's was a little less, 5 ft 5, I think.

There were very tall people, of course - King Edward I was also known as "Longshanks", and was probably about 6ft 3. The Victorians dug his skeleton up and measured it, IIRC.

geneer

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Generation Whine.

Spoken like someone from the "me" generation.

zagubov

People either ate too much meat and were big (and in those days being fat was sign of wealth) or too little meat and were small.

Having more protein might make it easier to fight off infections but if you were wealthy you'd probably be indulging in activities which would expose you to more infection so there wouldn't be that much benefit. You'd also be more able to travel to wherever the diseases were waiting for you.

That's before we even talk about inbreeding.

StevieJ

zagubov wrote: »

Oh and the general best way to bury nostalgia for previous lifestyles or golden ages is to repeat the mantra "anaesthetic dentistry"

I guess rotted teeth roots would have caused many blood infection deaths, NDG would have been alright though

zagubov

The more I'm thinking about it the more sure I am that we're unimaginably richer, but maybe not in money

We've access to a wider range of flavours, textures etc. of food and drink
We can travel safely to more countries and get back intact
We can take part in a wider range of sports including ones such as skydiving that wouldn't even be possible.
We can see a wider variety of natural wonders including the variety of plants and animals
We have access to more education and learning
We have access to more works of art and literature
We can see more shows and entertainment performances
We have access to more music and can be entertained by more musicians, even after they've died.
We have better medical treatment
We can have our pain and suffering eased more effectively
If relatives are ill, no matter how distant, we can send our voices to them in real time and we can be by their side in days if not hours
We can expect more years of life to do these things

lostinrates

zagubov wrote: »

The more I'm thinking about it the more sure I am that we're unimaginably richer, but maybe not in money

We've access to a wider range of flavours, textures etc. of food and drink
We can travel safely to more countries and get back intact
We can take part in a wider range of sports including ones such as skydiving that wouldn't even be possible.
We can see a wider variety of natural wonders including the variety of plants and animals
We have access to more education and learning
We have access to more works of art and literature
We can see more shows and entertainment performances
We have access to more music and can be entertained by more musicians, even after they've died.
We have better medical treatment
We can have our pain and suffering eased more effectively
If relatives are ill, no matter how distant, we can send our voices to them in real time and we can be by their side in days if not hours
We can expect more years of life to do these things

all of this, and yet....I wonder if there was the same ennui, the same slight raise of eyebrow, the lack of valuing things and the same disposability....isn't the opposite of those a ''richness'' in itself?

The richest must be those that have all the above and really, really appreciate it with lack of cynism and a sense of gratitude. Sadly, I am not one of those.

avantra

Generali wrote: »

I can be in Jerusalem in half a day,.

You must be joking Oz to Israel is half a day?! It takes the entire day from Bristol to Ben Gurion and this is on Israeli passport flying ezjet, imagine if I had to stand in the foreigners queue with you and the medieval king it would probably take me even longer as the Israeli security stuff will go all medieval on my ar sss:p:eek:

fc123

Generali wrote: »

I thought it was 1968.

What was Richard I's generation called I wonder?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

I'm Generation X, and I've always assumed it to be late 60's til early 80's.

From Wiki.....

London newspaper The Guardian cited Generation X birth years as falling between 1965 and 1982 and referred to it as the "'me generation' of the Eighties."[28]

The Telegraph cited Generation X birth dates as falling into a longer time span (1965-1985) [29], whilst the The Independent estimated an earlier range of birth dates (1963-1978) compared to other writers or researchers.[30]

A BBC News article about a lack of "mid-career volunteers" in their 20s provided a Generation X age range, which, in 2007, would suggest birth years that fall between 1962 and 1982.[31]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X

:j Yay I am generation X but I wouldn't consider us the 'me' generation but I can see where the term came from. I definately don't feel like a boomer at all. I think of my neighbours (60's) and parents (70's) as pure boomer.
In fact, our neighbours are having a ball at the moment after his parent passed away recently. They sold the house and never seem to be in anymore what with hols and trips and so on.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Generation Whine.

Naughty Hamish made me lol though.

Can't think of name for Richards ....too late for my brain.

zagubov

Unlike Richard I

We have swift transport that's relatively safe.
We can travel from town to town without fear of attack
If bored we have endless distractions
We have vast libraries of literature available to us.
We can have vast numbers of foreign languages translated for us.
We have access to knowledge that genuinely affects how long we'll live and in what good shape we'll be.
If we suffer terrible injuries we can be restored or even have body parts replaced to help us live longer with our loved ones.
We can have children safely that will have healthy childhoods.
You can be fortified with immunity to plagues that terrified our parents
We have very little chance of dying accidentally or violently.
We have no fear of any foreign invading army.
We have safe food drink and medicine if we want it.
If our senses are faded with age we can have them restored.
If we die from certain conditions we can be swiftly revived
If our religion doesn't fulfill us, there's a thousand others.


Don't get me started!

We've massive opportunities for joy and pleasure and escape routes from pain sorrow and suffering

The big trick is you probably need to compare our current lives with past ones to see how lucky we've got otherwise we'd take it for granted.

neverdespairgirl

avantra wrote: »

You must be joking Oz to Israel is half a day?! It takes the entire day from Bristol to Ben Gurion and this is on Israeli passport flying ezjet, imagine if I had to stand in the foreigners queue with you and the medieval king it would probably take me even longer as the Israeli security stuff will go all medieval on my ar sss:p:eek:

You can go through the Israeli queue if you don't have an Israeli passport, but the people you're travelling with do.

Then you get a lot of curious questions about the idea of mixed-marriages.......