Topic ID: 12153
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Snoink
Snuggly
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 Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 7:08 am Post subject: Sheep, Weaving, and Serfdom |
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Okay! I need three major things of information for my newest project! If anybody can help, I will love you forever. Or something like that.
1. Sheep
Do any of you have any personal experiences with sheep? Have you experience in herding them? Do you know about it, for some bizarre reason? I'm particularly interested in how you take care of them, what feed and grass they usually eat, and generally just information to raise sheep.
2. Weaving
Okay, so we have a lot of sheep in this story, no? This brings way to the next thing. I need my characters to be able to use this wool. They have to be self-sufficient, spinning the wool into a product they can actually use, making thread, and then weaving this material into clothes and blankets and fabric. Unfortunately for me, this is set in medieval times, so I have to know the old way to do this.
I am interested in any experiences you've had with any of this, or just general experiences.
3. Serfdom
This is a little more complicated. Since this is set in medieval times, there is feudalism going on. If anybody has any information relating to how lords acted and how serfs were treated, I would love you to death. Any information would be lovely here.
Also, I have a question. The term "feudalism" didn't come about until the French used it, to make fun of medieval societal structure. What should I call it? Patronages? Lordships? Vassalships? Something else? Any brainstorms on that would be quite helpful.
Thanks a lot in advanced!  |
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Shafter
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| Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, I don't know... too much about any of this, but I'll do my best.
My brother worked at a greenhouse/farm for a couple of years, and he got experience with exactly one sheep. Apparently, sheep are stupid. I mean, like dumber than any mammal should be. They stare blankly, they're directionless, they don't learn anything by repetition (as opposed to cows, which will move toward the barn instinctively at the end of the day), they're just really, really stupid. (It gives you a new perspective on why God is always comparing us to sheep!) As for herding them, I'm afraid I can't help you there, except for this: Be careful when herding them near water, because they fall in and drown. Dumb sheep!
As for weaving, I really don't know. I think it's time to Google it and see what you get.
Oh... drat. I like the word feudalism. Of course, if it's a fantasy story you could go ahead and use it, but if not...
Anyway, all that I really know about feudalism is that the country was own in large chunks by the lords. They owned the castles, which were the places everyone went when war threatened. Otherwise, the different castes of people under the lord had smaller and smaller pieces of land and less and less power. The lowliest serfs were basically slaves. And ultimately, everything belonged to the lords. If you shot a deer without his permission, you could be put to death.
So yeah, that's all I know about sheep and feudalism. Hope it helped! |
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sabradan
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| Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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| I have some experience with sheep/goats/etc from my days on the Kibbutz in Israel. Ask me specific questions and I may be able to help you answer them (or find someone who can) but then again, I may not. We'll see. |
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