I was at a rummage sale before the holidays and I picked up a book with an intriguing title and cover. It was called The Keeper of the Crystal Spring by Naomi and Deborah Baltuck. It’s not the kind of book I usually read, but I found myself engrossed in the story and I was totally transported to another time and place.
It was the story of a healer living in a tiny village in England during the Medieval period. It was a detailed yet romanced account of village life, of serfs and lords and of the ultimate triumph of the goodness of man.
It really made me reflect on how we have evolved very little in the last 1000 years. Even though we have made vast technological advances and we do have many more comforts than our forefathers did… most of us are still modern day serfs and our struggles and joys are still quite similar.
After reading the book, I wanted to learn more about the Medieval times and popular uprising so I headed over to Wikipedia. One passage caught my attention…
Before the 14th century, popular uprisings were not unknown (e.g., uprisings at a manor house against an unpleasant overlord), but they were local in scope. This changed in the 14th and 15th centuries when new downward pressures on the poor resulted in mass movements of popular uprisings across Europe. (…)
There were five main reasons for these mass uprisings including 1) an increasing gap between the wealthy and poor, 2) declining incomes of the wealthy, 3) rising inflation and taxation, 4) the external crises of famine, plague and war, and 5) religious backlashes.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_revolt_in_late_medieval_Europe
I find it totally fascinating to realize that we are reliving history. I wonder what the history books will say of our time. Perhaps they will simply cut and paste the paragraph above.
Although it should be easier today, thanks to the net, to stand together and speak with one voice, somehow I think that we have become separate as we face our common challenge. As our village has become larger, we have stopped trusting and helping each other. (for the most part)
We often think that our problems are unique but they are not. We are far more similar then we are lead to believe and the wars that are being waged today stem from those we waged yesterday.
I highly recommend you read the full wikipedia entry that can be found here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_revolt_in_late_medieval_Europe .
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Be well
