Martin Bond
Sep 8, 2018 · 2 min read

“The average person born in 1000 CE could be dropped in their village 400 years later and perfectly understand every teenager and every adult”.

This statement is factually incorrect. Over the 400 year period from 1000 CE there were considerable social changes taking place in England. For instance, the status of women changed with the invention of the business woman and the greater say of women in society .

The serf system was falling apart, with most agricultural workers now getting paid for working the lord’s land.

Marriage had been largely formalised by the church. (In 1000 the church never concerned itself with marriage, you were married because you and your partner told a witness that you were married, and it could take place anywhere, including the pub).

In 1000 the monastic life was greatly respected, with monks leading lives of poverty and chastity. By 1400 the monasteries were hated. For instance during the 14th century there was open hostility between the townspeople and monks of Bury St Edmunds which, over one year, became violent, including the killing of the Abbot. The reason was all the privileges, particularly of taxation, that the monasteries had accumulated. In Bury you couldn’t do anything without the Abbot taking his cut.

Of course, by taking the year 1000 you are including the period before the Norman invasion. The imposition of the feudal system by the Normans replaced the Anglo-Saxon society which was very different again, but I’m excluding that change.

During those years even those you would consider the average person would change. Much of this would be brought about by the black death, but by no means all of it. By 1400 the feudal system was falling to pieces.

Martin Bond

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Socialist interested in sexual politics.