Suppose that a medieval person from around the time of 1015 AD was teleported to the year 2015 AD while he/she was sleeping. When he wakes up what do you think will shock him about todays world? The medieval person could be anyone: a pesant, king, queen, etc. How do you think different people from that era would react to modern times?
What would a medieval person think of us?
- Thread starter Randoman01
- Start date
I imagine they'd be floored by the awe that would be inspired from seeing things such as sky scrapers and air planes. Radios and television. Microwaves and freezers. The Internet and the ensuing ability to communicate instantly with someone else on the other side of the world. The fact that people in general can now live to the ages of 60, 70, 80 and even 90 consistently.
Things that seem simple to us would be absolutely mind-boggling for someone from centuries ago.
Things that seem simple to us would be absolutely mind-boggling for someone from centuries ago.
I think they would be consumed by sheer awe or terror, and not be able to say anything. Not that you could understand medieval English to begin with anyway.
You can, a bit, if it's spoken out loud. Being able to speak certain modern European languages can help.Johnny Novgorod said:
...
but, as mentioned, the world would seem totally incomprehensible to someone from that long ago. Even a century's distance is pushing it.
This one seems much more realistic.Redlin5 said:
OT: They'd probably gawk around, scratch their lice-ridden arses and speak something along the lines of "Prayeth telleth, squire, whence doeth thou keepeth thy loom?"
Medieval people were great fans of looming.
EDIT: Then die of diseases.
He'd be like "Holy fuck you've got Super Mario 64 on handheld? And you can play as Yoshi? And the motherucking graphics are better than the goddamn original!?"
- Mar 17, 2012
- 5,950
- 14
- 43
- Country
- United States
I'd reckon they'd want to burn us at the stake for partaking in witchcraft
Perhaps we'd get infected with some disease
Either way, it would go medieval on our asses
Perhaps we'd get infected with some disease
Either way, it would go medieval on our asses
Early modern English, they'd be a few centuries too old for that.Barbas said:
(It would be interesting to watch them and see who (and for what reason) caused the first fight they got into)
Average lifespan back then was 40 years, so living a pious life or a purposeful life was more of a focus. They would see us as high class due to our sanitation standards and whatnot, but they would subconsciously view us as degenerates with less purpose and conviction.
It should be remember that that's just an average, and thrown off by the high infant mortality rate. If you made it to being an adult, your average life expectancy would be higher.the_dramatica said:
OTOH, having a pious or purposeful life is important when you are a downtrodden subsistence farmer, yeah.
I might be thinking of older times like Mesopotamia, but god was a pretty big deal.thaluikhain said:
Certainly, for various reasons.the_dramatica said:
Firstly, there might not have been much of a concept of not having a God being a big deal. It was jut the way things were. (Having said that, even in classical Greece philosophers speculated that deities might have been based on kings of previous generations and their stories have changed over the years)
It's also political useful for rulers to claim divine mandates. In fairness, if you believe deities are running the place, and you are a king, then obviously they want you to be a king, and everyone who complains should shut up.
As well as that, religion is one of the last things that can be taken away from someone. Doesn't matter how poor you are, you can sit on the very bottom of society with nothing, and still keep your faith. When it's the only thing you've got, it's the most important thing you've got. Doesn't hurt to know that there is a paradise waiting for you after the miserable life you are stuck with. You'll note religious fervour tends to increase in times and places of hardship.
Such a person would be frightened as all get-out by the noise. D'you realize that apart from war and rowdy parties, such people live their lives without great amounts of noise? Perhaps certain aspects of work count as well, but that's not the same as cars in gridlock, blasting radios, planes overhead, etc. And speaking of planes, your basic jumbojet would be thought of as a dragon. Hear the mighty roar as it flies overhead. Gets worse. To him (or her) all satanists are or metal players possessed by the devil, all goths are warlocks and blackguards, and don't get me started on cosplayers.
I suspect they'd be overwhelmed for a while once they got here. Just the sheer amount of differences in the world over 1000 years. Strangely, if they'd gone to the year 1515 they'd probably have a far easier time adjusting, at least for a common person. Sure, the language will have changed and some of the buildings would look a lot different, but life would more or less seem the same.
OTOH, the world of 2015 would be so totally different for someone from 1015 that they might as well have gone to another planet. Monarchies barely exist(and those that do are mostly ceremonial), Christianity has not only gone through a major split, it's also changed a fair bit from how it was even a few hundred years ago. That's even before getting to the fact that one can be an open atheist/agnostic in the western world and not get tortured/murdered for it. Life in general moves so much faster and the world is so much smaller(people in the middle ages generally didn't travel that much). Then there's the 1000 years of philosophy and cultural paradigms said person has missed.
Notice I'm not even getting into the technology, which would no doubt be seen for the most part as some sort of magic(Regards to Arther C. Clarke).
You'd probably have to slowly acclimate the poor dude for weeks before actually showing him around, though how one catches up on 1000 years of change I can only begin to imagine.
I imagine what their station in life before would make some difference. I can only imagine a king coming forward in time and realizing that not only did his bloodline die out/get kicked off the thrown centuries before, but also finding out that nobody in the western world really cares for monarchies as a system of government anymore. And of course, the fact they have gone from having absolute power in their country to being just another guy on the street(more akin to an immigrant then anything else).
OTOH, the world of 2015 would be so totally different for someone from 1015 that they might as well have gone to another planet. Monarchies barely exist(and those that do are mostly ceremonial), Christianity has not only gone through a major split, it's also changed a fair bit from how it was even a few hundred years ago. That's even before getting to the fact that one can be an open atheist/agnostic in the western world and not get tortured/murdered for it. Life in general moves so much faster and the world is so much smaller(people in the middle ages generally didn't travel that much). Then there's the 1000 years of philosophy and cultural paradigms said person has missed.
Notice I'm not even getting into the technology, which would no doubt be seen for the most part as some sort of magic(Regards to Arther C. Clarke).
You'd probably have to slowly acclimate the poor dude for weeks before actually showing him around, though how one catches up on 1000 years of change I can only begin to imagine.
I imagine what their station in life before would make some difference. I can only imagine a king coming forward in time and realizing that not only did his bloodline die out/get kicked off the thrown centuries before, but also finding out that nobody in the western world really cares for monarchies as a system of government anymore. And of course, the fact they have gone from having absolute power in their country to being just another guy on the street(more akin to an immigrant then anything else).
Olde English looks(and presumably sounds) a lot like German.Barbas said:
Probably has something to do with waves of Angle/Saxon "immigrants" around that time period.
Oh, yeah, that's a very good point. The psychological effects of noise is important, to the extent that various military forces would use horns and so on because the enemy would simply not be used to hearing things so loud.FalloutJack said:
Dunno...a cosplayer often won't seem weirder than someone in modern clothes. They'd probably not understand the sumbology of goths at all, and just see someone wearing black.FalloutJack said:
Wasn't the same happened with Captain America in the Movie and Comics [I think]?
He/She will be like:
"I got that reference."
"Shithead? What's a shithead?"
But yeah in more serious note:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance or Death
He/She will be like:
"I got that reference."
"Shithead? What's a shithead?"
But yeah in more serious note:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance or Death
There would be a massive culture shock.
The noise as mentioned above would verge on the maddening. Cars and trucks would be seen as rather frightening and demonic things from the combination of noise and them moving around without any apparent physical action. seeing glass everywhere would be a real treat as it was rare and pricy in medieval times.
Our general lack of faith and piety would be disturbing and likely even upsetting or angering.
I see no mention in here about light. The light pollution in cities is driving me nuts as it is, how would it be for someone who is used to living in much darker nights. We generate light by flicking a switch. You needed to go through a bit of a process just to get a spark back then and you needed to use that spark to light a taper that was then used to light a lamp or fire.
On the topic of fire, just how fucking magical would central heat be to someone from back then? Or a modern stovetop for that matter?
in the end, if they were able to get past the problem with atheism they would have (biggest barrier IMO) they would probably be thrilled at the modern conveniences. Terrified at the ability to communicate thousands of miles remotely and instantly (phones and radio were pretty magical 100 years ago much less 1000) as it would be witchcraft. But I think the light and noise pollution would drive them nuts. they just were not used to either at all.
The noise as mentioned above would verge on the maddening. Cars and trucks would be seen as rather frightening and demonic things from the combination of noise and them moving around without any apparent physical action. seeing glass everywhere would be a real treat as it was rare and pricy in medieval times.
Our general lack of faith and piety would be disturbing and likely even upsetting or angering.
I see no mention in here about light. The light pollution in cities is driving me nuts as it is, how would it be for someone who is used to living in much darker nights. We generate light by flicking a switch. You needed to go through a bit of a process just to get a spark back then and you needed to use that spark to light a taper that was then used to light a lamp or fire.
On the topic of fire, just how fucking magical would central heat be to someone from back then? Or a modern stovetop for that matter?
in the end, if they were able to get past the problem with atheism they would have (biggest barrier IMO) they would probably be thrilled at the modern conveniences. Terrified at the ability to communicate thousands of miles remotely and instantly (phones and radio were pretty magical 100 years ago much less 1000) as it would be witchcraft. But I think the light and noise pollution would drive them nuts. they just were not used to either at all.