I'm doing the middle ages in History

[Mass_Liberal]

by far the coolest period in History. Despite myself I'm all caught up in the castles, the sieges, the treachery, and the swords. Too damn cool.

[Xithras]

1. I've always found middle aged people to be pretty boring

/putting on asbestos underwear


Oh, and don't forget these things while reminiscing about the wonders of the middle ages:

The crusades.
Arbitrary mass executions.
Nonstop war.
Zero civil rights.
Tyrannical kings.
Raging disease.
Starvation.
Oppressive religious structures.
No education.

[Fenris]

2. That's what makes them fascinating

I for one, think he has a point. Medieval history is one of the best loved periods of history, even with all of its faults.

I love the Vikings. Fascinating people. And not all of Europe was like that Xithras. Iceland had a proto-republic and nearly none of the things you mentioned.

[Xithras]

3. Iceland was a unique case

Geographically isolated from the rest of Europe. No kings to answer to. No overreaching religious structures to keep them in line. No neighbors to invade...or to invade them. No trade or population migration to introduce new diseases. Relatively small population. Limited resources. Hostile weather.

The people of Iceland had one choice...cooperate or perish. They chose cooperation, and struck on the most equitable solution they could come up with. For your average European, however, life was little more than muddy, backbreaking slave labor punctuated by the occasional war.