At the Gondwana land period, what was happening in the oceans?
Just curious - so no grain, no fruit on land - anything to eat in the sea?
Just curious - so no grain, no fruit on land - anything to eat in the sea?
Herbs and plants in medieval times used medically
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Thank you guys for helping me with this. Thank you M Louise too for the roots and tubers recommendations, I'll definitely look into it.
Really glad I found this forum site! I'll start a new thread later regarding supercontinent geography, as per benbenberi's point on weather patterns, geographical features and the like.
Again, many thanks for the invaluable help!
Really glad I found this forum site! I'll start a new thread later regarding supercontinent geography, as per benbenberi's point on weather patterns, geographical features and the like.
Again, many thanks for the invaluable help!
There were fish. And ammonites (some of 'em pretty big) and various arthropods. And seaweeds. And there were animals on land (mainly reptiles, but only the meagerest beginnings of mammals).
caw
To further lead the discussion away from herbs - technically, you couldn't say that Gondwanaland had "only the meagrest beginnings" of mammalian life. One of the earlier branches of reptiles was the synapsids, or "mammal-like reptiles," who flourished in the Triassic until the dinosaurs arose and suppressed them until the dinosaurs' own extinction.
Going back to medieval poisons, don't forget the mineral poisons, such as arsenic, which was used for many purposes, including cosmetics, in the medieval period.
Going back to medieval poisons, don't forget the mineral poisons, such as arsenic, which was used for many purposes, including cosmetics, in the medieval period.
Thank you for reminding me Twick!
Thinking back to medieval times, I can, at the top of my head, remember some horrible health hazards such as having mercury and lead in paint, cosmetics and cutlery. Shiny plates aside, heavy metal poisoning doesn't do any good to your life expectancy huh?
If I'm not mistaken lead was used because it produces white yes?
Thinking back to medieval times, I can, at the top of my head, remember some horrible health hazards such as having mercury and lead in paint, cosmetics and cutlery. Shiny plates aside, heavy metal poisoning doesn't do any good to your life expectancy huh?
If I'm not mistaken lead was used because it produces white yes?
That's a little simplistic. The synapsids, notably the cynodonts, got hammered big-time by the Permo-Triassic extinction event (belioeved to have been caused by the ginormous Siberian Traps volcanic event), and were reduced to near-zero, which opened the door wide for the dinosaurian line to fluorish. It's a little unclear as to when the first things that could be called true mammals appear, although we're pretty confident they came from the cynodont line. As for the term "synapsid", you and I and even Donald Trump are still synapsids; the term has to do with the organization of bones in the skull (how many holes you have in your head, and where they are located). No modern reptile lines are synapsid; only mammals are. All other modern reptiles are euryapsids, except for turtles, which are anapsids. Birds are also euryapsids, including the damn woodpecker who is right now hammering at the siding on my house. Then, just for fun, there are the diapsids, which include all the ancient marine reptile lines like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs and ichthyosaus, which are all extinct.
How do I know thie? Comes from teaching introductory geology classes at the local uni.
caw
That's a little simplistic. The synapsids, notably the cynodonts, got hammered big-time by the Permo-Triassic extinction event (believed to have been caused by the ginormous Siberian Traps volcanic event), and were reduced to near-zero, which opened the door wide for the dinosaurian line to fluorish. It's a little unclear as to when the first things that could be called true mammals appear, although we're pretty confident they came from the cynodont line. As for the term "synapsid", you and I and even Donald Trump are still synapsids; the term has to do with the organization of bones in the skull (how many holes you have in your head, and where they are located). No modern reptile lines are synapsid; only mammals are. All other modern reptiles are diapsids, except for turtles, which are anapsids. Birds are also diapsids, including the damn woodpecker who is right now hammering at the siding on my house. Then, just for fun, there are the euryapsids, which include all the ancient marine reptile lines like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs and ichthyosaus, which are all extinct. Theory is that they were mutant diapsids.
How do I know thie? Comes from teaching introductory geology classes at the local uni.
caw
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The great thing about fantasy is that you can make it up as you go providing you keep to certain basic laws.
Having said that, naming something that is recognizable in this world can get you into trouble. Gondwanaland for instance or even Pangaea would be trouble because now you have an association with a period that people are familiar with. As stated above, your have the fauna and flora to contend with.
Make up your own name with your own world, climate etc.
As for plants, get a book on herbs. Or take a name of an herb that is poisonous then change the name slightly. This way people will be familiar yet not and you can explain the actual effects of this herb in your story.
Using a time where only ferns and fungi are available brings up another problem. What would people eat there? For certain plants to exist the amount of carbon dioxide might be different. Would humans thrive in such a climate? There is a reason why we were not around at that time.
Have fun with your writing and good luck.
Having said that, naming something that is recognizable in this world can get you into trouble. Gondwanaland for instance or even Pangaea would be trouble because now you have an association with a period that people are familiar with. As stated above, your have the fauna and flora to contend with.
Make up your own name with your own world, climate etc.
As for plants, get a book on herbs. Or take a name of an herb that is poisonous then change the name slightly. This way people will be familiar yet not and you can explain the actual effects of this herb in your story.
Using a time where only ferns and fungi are available brings up another problem. What would people eat there? For certain plants to exist the amount of carbon dioxide might be different. Would humans thrive in such a climate? There is a reason why we were not around at that time.
Have fun with your writing and good luck.
Dinosaurs, reptiles and birds are diapsids, not euryapsids (which are all extinct, the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs). Current thinking is that turtles are descended from diapsids and the skull type is a regression rather than from anapsid descent.
Yeah, I got diapsids and euryapsids bassackwards. Shoulda looked it up to make sure, rather than relying on chronologically advanced memory cells.
caw
@Lishana
Lead was in pewter - so plates, tankards, buttons, equivalent of costume jewellery. Heavy metal poisoning causes brain damage and it is a slow death. Lead compound - gave white. Would have to go and look up which lead compound. All part of having a really white complexion (to prove you were not a tanned peasant). Lead also in water pipes. The Romans went for the extra whammy of storing wine in lead lined caskets which made it sweeter - lead acetate tasting sweet if I remember the story correctly (worth checking that, I've not.)
Lead was in pewter - so plates, tankards, buttons, equivalent of costume jewellery. Heavy metal poisoning causes brain damage and it is a slow death. Lead compound - gave white. Would have to go and look up which lead compound. All part of having a really white complexion (to prove you were not a tanned peasant). Lead also in water pipes. The Romans went for the extra whammy of storing wine in lead lined caskets which made it sweeter - lead acetate tasting sweet if I remember the story correctly (worth checking that, I've not.)
Bolero, I vaguely remember something about children licking paint or painted walls because they tasted sweet. Definitely not worth the slow death.
I'll try to research more into health hazards in medieval times, just to get a general sense of life expectancy and the culture surrounding hygene there. Thank you very much everyone!
I'll try to research more into health hazards in medieval times, just to get a general sense of life expectancy and the culture surrounding hygene there. Thank you very much everyone!
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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)
We recently watched the 3 part set on the Middles Ages brought out by The Teaching Company.
IIRC, mortality was VERY high for children. If you got to age 20 however, you had a good chance at living to age 60, but not much beyond. The High Middle Ages being the best for longevity, because food production was high and the plagues hadn't set in yet.
Hygiene in the Middle Ages was quite a bit better than we tend to think. There were bathhouses. And they were popular.
Few people ate off plates (and I'm not sure if any did). What you ate off of would be a trencher, which is to say, you'd eat off the crust section of a baguette. (Someone can correct here, I think this is right, but am not sure.)
Syphilis was not yet around in Europe.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
We recently watched the 3 part set on the Middles Ages brought out by The Teaching Company.
IIRC, mortality was VERY high for children. If you got to age 20 however, you had a good chance at living to age 60, but not much beyond. The High Middle Ages being the best for longevity, because food production was high and the plagues hadn't set in yet.
Hygiene in the Middle Ages was quite a bit better than we tend to think. There were bathhouses. And they were popular.
Few people ate off plates (and I'm not sure if any did). What you ate off of would be a trencher, which is to say, you'd eat off the crust section of a baguette. (Someone can correct here, I think this is right, but am not sure.)
Syphilis was not yet around in Europe.
Blessings,
Siri Kirpal
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When in the Middle Ages? Also, where? Hygiene, health hazards, and life expectancy varied a great deal depending on when and where you are in the Middle Ages. As did medicinal herbs.
Small anecdote: Around the 800-900s, ibn Fadlan, a Muslim emissary, was complaining about how dirty the Norse were--what with their heathen, pagan ways of bathing only once a week.
At approximately the same time, John of Wallingford, a Saxon abbot, was complaining that the Norse were so clean and smelled so much better, that they were luring the good, Christian Saxon lasses to marry them instead of the nice Christian Saxon lads--what with their heathen, pagan ways of bathing, washing their clothes, and combing their beards and hair. So hygiene is very relative.
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Please read and abide by the forum guidelines, folks.
I don't have the spoons right now to go through the thread. Please focus on facts that could be useful to the OP.
I don't have the spoons right now to go through the thread. Please focus on facts that could be useful to the OP.
Medieval in Europe covers everything from c. 400 to c. 1485, depending on who you ask and what geographic area you're looking at.
For plants in Medieval Ireland see Fergus Kelly. Early Irish Farming. (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2000. ISBN 1855001802.
For plants in Medieval Ireland see Fergus Kelly. Early Irish Farming. (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2000. ISBN 1855001802.
For medieval health hazards, an exceptional resource is Barbara Hanawalt, The Ties That Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England, which is based largely on a set of 3000+ accidental death inquests (mostly 14c, some cases earlier or later).
Among her findings, accidental deaths of young children: the largest killer of young boys was drowning in a pond or stream, while young girls died from falling in the fire in the house. Boys were out in the fields with their fathers; girls were home with their mothers; sex roles were well defined.
For adults, alcohol was typically involved in a death. Falls, brawls, & assorted doing-stuff-while-impaired. People were exactly the same in 1300 as they are today, they just had an all-organic artisanal lifestyle.
Among her findings, accidental deaths of young children: the largest killer of young boys was drowning in a pond or stream, while young girls died from falling in the fire in the house. Boys were out in the fields with their fathers; girls were home with their mothers; sex roles were well defined.
For adults, alcohol was typically involved in a death. Falls, brawls, & assorted doing-stuff-while-impaired. People were exactly the same in 1300 as they are today, they just had an all-organic artisanal lifestyle.
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Of course accidental deaths won't cover deaths from illness, which would probably, as today, be greater than accidental.
Here's a discussion of post-medieval London death reports during the Plague Years http://www.stardestroyer.net/Mike/blog/medieval-death-in-london/, but covering many other causes of death. While some of the terms sound strange today, it appears the authorities did try to keep careful records even when the rate of plague deaths would have made most people simply scream and run.
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Very true. The death rate among infants and young children was horrendous - overall, up to 1/3 died before age 5. Diarrhea & illnesses that are trivial or easily treated today were rapidly fatal. Anything that we treat with antibiotics today would have been deadly to many. The diseases we vaccinate for now were major killers. A minor wound could lead to gangrene or tetanus. People, particularly but not exclusively the poor, suffered terribly & often died from nutritional deficiencies. (It's easy to develop scurvy, for instance, when it's been a long winter and you've had no access to fruits or vegetables for months.) Everyone was riddled with parasites.