h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Originally, Hell was an acronym for Happiness, Euphoria, and Lively Laughter.



(Pinched from http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/)

Well, Mr D., the nobility may have needed a son to inherit land, titles, etc., but the serfs still needed sons. They had to have somebody to work their land. Some free serfs did own the land they worked and they were able to pass the land on to their sons.

Serfs did get married, with vows often being exchanged at the church door as it was the most public place in a village, followed by a nuptial mass. If a man promised to marry a woman, got her pregnant and refused to marry her, the woman could claim breach of promise. Regardless of 'common law', if a child was born out of wedlock, a fine could be levied - on the woman, regardless of whether the father of the child had broken a promise to marry.

All of which is totally useless, except possibly to start an argument over medieval practices and laws.

It could be a useful fact when looking at pictures in an art museum as often in medieval wedding pictures the bride is depicted as being pregnant.

However, this would apply to the nobles as the serfs probably couldn't afford to have an artist paint their wedding portraits.

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Daughters could work the land too. The Middle ages weren't as gender biased as many people think they were (yes, women were often viewed as a lower than men but they were allowed to do things other than sew and pop out babies, that idea is a Victorian invention). Oh and there's no such thing as a free serf. You were a serf or you were free.

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Never said they didn't, just that Common Law Marriage allowed them (anyone in fact) to have the good stuff whilst waiting for the formal bit to happen.

Not trying to cause an argument, merely attempting to correct what I saw as a factual error.

Incidentally, according to W*kipedia the English word "serf" is derived from the Middle French "serf". Whodathunkit?

-It could be a useful fact when looking at pictures in an art museum as often in medieval wedding pictures the bride is depicted as being pregnant. -

Actually, the pregnant look was fashionable then. Dresses were cut to fit over specially made pillows. It signified that the woman was married.

Maidens sometimes wore dresses made to expose the breasts. There is a funny story of Queen Bess causing some discomfort for some foreign dignitary by wearing such a dress. She was over sixty at the time.

Daughters worked the land, and they could even inherit. I admit, though, that my use of the word 'serf' was wrong.

Here in the states, a common law marriage can be established as easily as saying "Hey, we're married". Basically if you say you're married and act like you're married, you're married.

The big surprise for these folks is when they discover that there is no such thing as a common law divorce!

~*~The Middle ages weren't as gender biased as many people think they were (yes, women were often viewed as a lower than men but they were allowed to do things other than sew and pop out babies, that idea is a Victorian invention).~*~

Actually, it's a Greek invention. Ancient Greece was probably the most sexist society that's ever existed on Earth. Worse, even, than the Victorians.



~*~Oh and there's no such thing as a free serf. You were a serf or you were free.~*~

Also not /quite/ true. There were "free men", serfs, and slaves. Technically serfs were free to do as they wished, but they had somewhat fewer rights than "free men" did, and they had to work the Lord's farm as opposed to their own more often. Slaves, obviously, were slaves, and all three of these classes received the blanket term of "peasants".

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Ah, right... I meant that the Mediaeval women-as-property thing was largely a Victorian invention. Should've been a bit clearer. Gender inequality has been going on ever since Caveman noticed that Cavewoman had ladybumps.

Nope, wrong again. There's no way to tell when it comes to Cavemen because there are no records, but in the earliest known Western civilizations, Ancient Egypt in particular, women had equal status to men within their own social class; they were payed equal amounts to the men in their households, and could take on whatever jobs men could. I don't personally know for certain about the Mesopotamians, but I think it was largely equal for them too. It wasn't until about 2,000 years later (in 800 B.C.) that the Ancient Greeks became the first Western civilization to be significantly sexist, as I've already said. Sexist ideas in subsequent centuries were inherited from them, including treating women as property. You see, in Ancient Greece, marriage was mostly a business arrangement between a teenage girl's father and a 30-something-year-old man. (Typically, the girl would be 14-16.)



Don't feel bad; I'm in the middle of a Western Civilization class at my university.

Yes... well done... I *know* there are no records from that long ago. It's all pointy rocks and cave paintings. Just making the point that I was well aware of sexism being far, far older than the Victorians.

And I don't feel bad, why would I? I've had a student get all pedantic about a tongue-in-cheek statement. I've had far worse from far more qualified.

I was only trying to be friendly.

Maybe, and I'm sorry if I've offended you, but you came across as pedantic and arrogant.

This post has been removed.

Useless fact: The immediately preceding portion of this thread has become somewhat rancorous.

I go away for the weekend and look at the mess y'all have left the place?


Robert Altman's M*A*S*H (1970) is considered to be the first mainstream Hollywood film to feature the word, .

It was used as an emphatic adjective.

I recently read the blurb on a film where they give "guidance" about why the film has received the rating it has - you know the sort of thing "contains frequent bloody violence". This one said "Contains frequent strong language, once very strong..."

Why not just say "contains 15 fecks and one count"?

That sounds like a good band name for me.

>> It was used as an emphatic adjective

There's a neat rhetorical term for using strong language as adjectives, adverbs and so on. It's "intensifier". For example:

"What are you bloody well doing round here? I bloody told you to bloody well stay away because I'm bloody fed up with you and your bloody stupid opinions!"

The word "bloody" is used to modify verbs as well as nouns, and it's there to intensify them, to make them stronger. Intensifiers are more or less interchangeable:

"That's very nice!" "That's bloody nice!" "That's nice!"

And that's a useless fact.

The colour of the rings on the Olympic flag are, from left to right, top to bottom:

Blue, Black, Red
Yellow, Green

Not sure what use you could have for that piece of knowledge except to, as my mother did once, point out that 'look, they hung up the flag the wrong way' (it hung on a wall)...