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Author Topic: What would you have been in the medieval age?  (Read 46297 times)

Sir Wolf

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #15 on: 2010-08-13, 17:23:51 »
worm food? hehehhe

i would have to say I'd be in the military. I'm a decent builder and tradesman though so at least I could build myself a hut if needed be :)

Sir William

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #16 on: 2010-09-13, 16:27:14 »
Being multi-ethnic, I probably would not have been born back then.  LOL  All kidding aside, most likely a serf or slave, working someone else's land for the sustenance of me and mine until conscription and absorption by the armies of the time and given a small pension of land upon retirement to work.  If I survived the conflict, that is.
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Lord Dane

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #17 on: 2012-09-09, 10:49:53 »
Absolutely would have been a "Sovereign Lord" as I would use & abuse my vast knowledge to my own advantage to rampage & spread my tyrannical oppression across the realm. Defeating all who dare defy me with the most heinous methods of torture. Defiling all women of their honor by any forceful means of seduction in order to satisfy my lustful needs ensuring I have a land of bastard children with them all.  :P 
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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #18 on: 2012-09-09, 12:17:58 »
Absolutely would have been a "Sovereign Lord" as I would use & abuse my vast knowledge to my own advantage to rampage & spread my tyrannical oppression across the realm. Defeating all who dare defy me with the most heinous methods of torture. Defiling all women of their honor by any forceful means of seduction in order to satisfy my lustful needs ensuring I have a land of bastard children with them all.  :P

Uhm, yikes?
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Sir Sorbus

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #19 on: 2012-09-09, 17:06:58 »
Frustratingly, given some thought, I could be any number of things. It's probably easier to list some categories I'd have to fit under, and see what is left over as a common denominator.

Independant - I'm not one for the military, or to eagerly bow to orders.
Stealthy - I'm not really a brute force kind of guy.
Secretive - My intentions are my own, and it's far easier to listen in on things if people don't know you have a predetermined opinion on things.

My thought, from this, would be a bard/vagabond/rogue/mercenary type of thing.
Vagabond/Bard: I prefer not to work FOR anyone if I can help it, as it puts high levels of limitations on what one can and can't do. That being said, I do need a dayjob, and music back then was well-valued. I'm a singer, ocarinist and guitarist in life, so I'd probably be the stereotypical vocal/lute combo. I'd travel a lot, and I love to tell stories - and where else but your local tavern to exchange music/stories, and listen in on rumours.
Rogue: I don't generally tell people my intentions, and have a tendency to eavesdrop - though never on personal things, or things people would specifically not want me to hear. I tune those out. I personally can pick pockets, pick locks, move silently/hide, and I'm more of a sneaky rapier kind of guy (being an epeeist) than a long-sword head chopper.
Mercenary: Well, not really being just a thug, I'd be more like the A-Team/Leverage type deal, choosing the jobs that I agree with morally. Why else would I avoid working for someone other than to do things on my own terms?

So my thoughts are that I'd be a secretive vigilante type. Yes, I'd be batman. :P

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #20 on: 2012-09-10, 02:51:10 »
Well, Quarantillo (my last name) is small group of forty in Italian, which probably means my ancestors got their name for leading a Condottierro (Italian Mercenary) force of 40 lances. So anytime about the 14th and 15th centuries, I'd be in or leading a force of men-at-arms about central Italy, fighting for the various City-states. (Barring the whole diabetes thing, which would put me under in under a month or so)
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Lord Dane

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #21 on: 2012-09-10, 12:59:42 »
Absolutely would have been a "Sovereign Lord" as I would use & abuse my vast knowledge to my own advantage to rampage & spread my tyrannical oppression across the realm. Defeating all who dare defy me with the most heinous methods of torture. Defiling all women of their honor by any forceful means of seduction in order to satisfy my lustful needs ensuring I have a land of bastard children with them all.  :P

Uhm, yikes?

GOTCHA!!  :P Seriously, my family surname "DePaolo" is very Italian. I would imagine I would be working the family fields of the vineyards of northeastern Italy (Veneto) or northwestern Tuscany region (around Genoa or Piedmont) as my relatives do to this day. Anyone want a brand name cava?? pinot grigio?? Although I would imagine my family had a good noble life in each of their principalities as they were self-sustaining with the family lands even during the middle ages.

I would have been more suited for something in a 'service' role to the state. Whether military or something associated.
« Last Edit: 2012-10-23, 23:21:31 by Lord_Dane »
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Sir Sorbus

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #22 on: 2012-09-10, 17:26:21 »
Heritage-wise, I'm so multicultural that I myself wouldn't have existed, being English/Irish/Hungarian/Croatian/Something else.
But going off of family histories, my deep-rooted English side, the Strettons, were primarily guards of Nottingham, so that's probably where I'd be were I one of my English ancestors. My Hungarian/Croatian side is of gypsy origin, so that would likely be the case there. I'm not sure on Irish medieval history, so I'm not sure about that side. My final quarter is pretty much unknown. Noone knew where my grandfather came from to the day he died, but it was suspected he might have been Jewish.

merc3065

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #23 on: 2012-09-10, 20:13:08 »
Heritage wise I would have been military or of the religious persuasion.

My dad was military (retired 43 years active service) so I would be entitled to his rank at some point.
Religious because somewhere along the lines on my dad's side there was an Ayatollah in Northern Asyria, that and his mum's parents were from Northern Asyria (Lebanon).

Dad is also a Member of the Order of St John, so I'm sure that's something interesting to go by.

I work for the military as a public service member so pretty sure military life of some sort for me.

Thorsteinn

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #24 on: 2012-09-18, 21:04:56 »
In that period of time I would be very very dead.

See I was born with a lethal birth defect. ;)

Other than that I believe I would have been part of the middle class IIRC my family was involved in business in Russia for many centuries.

In Ireland I would have been a Farmer.

My SCA personae is of a descended Scandinavian Rus who "trades" along the Volga River.
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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #25 on: 2012-09-18, 22:30:42 »
I would rather be in medieval ages, I could see myself as a soldier or blacksmith considering both of those I find interesting

Silvanus

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #26 on: 2012-10-23, 02:17:19 »
I was a Medieval Studies major, and have always been drawn to those times. For the longest time, I fancied myself as a 'wandering scholar' - a goliard . In those times (11th - 13th centuries) students did not often pursue their degrees in a single university, but went wherever their interests (or their lusts) took them. Say from Oxford to Bologna to Paris.... If you have a chance, read some of the songs of the goliards - irreverent, funny, tragic, and often erotic. But then came the Crusades, and my natural lust for blood overwhelmed my intellect. So, even though I would have been of low birth, I would have taken the Cross and gone forth to the Holy Land, entering into the military service of some Templar knight, baron or lord, hopefully carving out a small place for myself in the region where Christ walked and rose from the dead, and earning forgiveness for my many, many sins. That was one of the glories of Crusade - a man is not who he was born, but what he has it in himself to be. (Guess what film that is from!)
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Lord Dane

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #27 on: 2012-10-23, 13:20:05 »
I was a Medieval Studies major, and have always been drawn to those times. For the longest time, I fancied myself as a 'wandering scholar' - a goliard . In those times (11th - 13th centuries) students did not often pursue their degrees in a single university, but went wherever their interests (or their lusts) took them. Say from Oxford to Bologna to Paris.... If you have a chance, read some of the songs of the goliards - irreverent, funny, tragic, and often erotic. But then came the Crusades, and my natural lust for blood overwhelmed my intellect. So, even though I would have been of low birth, I would have taken the Cross and gone forth to the Holy Land, entering into the military service of some Templar knight, baron or lord, hopefully carving out a small place for myself in the region where Christ walked and rose from the dead, and earning forgiveness for my many, many sins. That was one of the glories of Crusade - a man is not who he was born, but what he has it in himself to be. (Guess what film that is from!)

Same movie where this quote comes from..."What God requires of you is here (pointing to his brain) and here (pointing to his heart) and what you choose to do with them everyday will make you a good man.....or not".  If the Crusades emphasized anything (in this movie and historically), it was the difference between man's conflict with himself and that of his world in the eyes of religious zealots only concerned over their own selfish indignation and lust for power in the name of God. That conversation with Balian emphasized the wisdom of 'free-will' in matters of conscience & morality comparatively to what is perceived as the 'root evil of men'. Truly pious men driven to God's teachings under 'Christendom' follow their own path to enlightenment (by believing in one's own good nature), seeking acceptance as opposed to tolerance, & recognizing our own frailties as mortal men in order to find divine virtue through those teachings. The trials of a man's soul in terms of 'faith' are weighed by his own words and judged by his own actions.   

For that quote alone, I respect & see the wisdom of the Hospitalliers (at least in the movie). 'Indifference' should be expected amongst men but it should not be what causes us to war with each other. It is better to show 'acceptance' of others for their views as the means to find peace with each other & within ourselves. Tolerance only carries resentment & is a forced acceptance that will eventually lead to conflict. Through this means can man truly find his faith and value in what he believes. Absolutely one of my favorite movies. :)
« Last Edit: 2012-10-23, 14:22:39 by Lord_Dane »
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Silvanus

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #28 on: 2012-10-23, 19:26:09 »
I was a Medieval Studies major, and have always been drawn to those times. For the longest time, I fancied myself as a 'wandering scholar' - a goliard . In those times (11th - 13th centuries) students did not often pursue their degrees in a single university, but went wherever their interests (or their lusts) took them. Say from Oxford to Bologna to Paris.... If you have a chance, read some of the songs of the goliards - irreverent, funny, tragic, and often erotic. But then came the Crusades, and my natural lust for blood overwhelmed my intellect. So, even though I would have been of low birth, I would have taken the Cross and gone forth to the Holy Land, entering into the military service of some Templar knight, baron or lord, hopefully carving out a small place for myself in the region where Christ walked and rose from the dead, and earning forgiveness for my many, many sins. That was one of the glories of Crusade - a man is not who he was born, but what he has it in himself to be. (Guess what film that is from!)

Same movie where this quote comes from..."What God requires of you is here (pointing to his brain) and here (pointing to his heart) and what you choose to do with them everyday will make you a good man.....or not".  If the Crusades emphasized anything (in this movie and historically), it was the difference between man's conflict with himself and that of his world in the eyes of religious zealots only concerned over their own selfish indignation and lust for power in the name of God. That conversation with Balian emphasized the wisdom of 'free-will' in matters of conscience & morality comparatively to what is perceived as the 'root evil of men'. Truly pious men driven to God's teachings under 'Christendom' follow their own path to enlightenment (by believing in one's own good nature), seeking acceptance as opposed to tolerance, & recognizing our own frailties as mortal men in order to find divine virtue through those teachings. The trials of a man's soul in terms of 'faith' are weighed by his own words and judged by his own actions.   

For that quote alone, I respect & see the wisdom of the Hospitalliers (at least in the movie). 'Indifference' should be expected amongst men but it should not be what causes us to war with each other. It is better to show 'acceptance' of others for their views as the means to find peace with each other & within ourselves. Tolerance only carries resentment & is a forced acceptance that will eventually lead to conflict. Through this means can man truly find his faith and value in what he believes. Absolutely one of my favorite movies. :)

I am glad that KoH is one of your favorite films, Lord Dane. Mine as well. The actor who portrayed Salahadin should have been nominated for an Oscar. Unbelievable that the movie did not do as well as other Ridley Scott films here in the US. If you have not yet, you should watch the director's cut of the film. About an hour was taken out of the theatrical release. The only part that for me was problematic was his portrayal of the Templars.
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Sir William

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Re: What would you have been in the medieval age?
« Reply #29 on: 2012-10-23, 20:01:31 »
Silvanus, KoH is a favorite of mine as well- in fact, I implore anyone interested in viewing it to view the Director's Cut as opposed to the theatrical version.  What did you not like about his portrayal of the Templars?
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