Hello, Marius;

17 Aug 04 01:26, Marius Bendiksen wrote to Robert Bull:

 MB> Actually, it seems Viking men could not choose a woman's role in
 MB> general, only when they chose to become Seidmenn (wizards).

It sort of sounds a bit like Christian monks, as if they were striking a 
bargain to do without a part of life that's vital to most people in order 
to be closer to the Othwerworld...

 MB> expected to rally with the men in case of emergencies such as fires,
 MB> attacks, etc.. as well as laying down their lives for the regular
 MB> women and children.

 MB> There is a reason for the term "maiden of the shield".

Clearly, a very serious decision.

 >> seem to be getting taller.  I'm not so sure they're right; some
 >> mediaeval lead coffins in the crypt of a local castle look far too
 >> small for today's people.

 MB> Currently, selection favours attractive sheep and vicious wolves.
 MB> Neither advances our species as a whole, since we're past the
 MB> hunter-gatherer phase.

I see what you mean, although there are occasions where it's not 
immediately obvious, such as a peacock's tail being presumably a sign of 
fitness, rather than being in itself a useful adaptation.  What you're 
saying here is that selection is breeding more attractive individuals, but 
that that's not an adaptation to evolutionary pressure and indeed could 
become a destructive factor if world conditions were to throw humanity back 
to something closer to subsistence.

 MB> When the men wanted to build a warship to go raiding, the lady of the
 MB> land could refuse, because she ran the finances, and had the key to
 MB> the treasury.

I recently read another New Scientist article which said that they also 
built the warship's propulsion system.  The sails were made of wool, not 
flax/cotton (as I imagine most sailcloth is made of?) and experiments made 
at the Danish Ship Museum showed that those wool sails could propel the 
ship 10% faster than other materials they could have used, and also allow 
it to sail closer to the wind.  The downside was that making the sail was 
immensely labour-intensive.  Apparently in Christian times, they kept the 
sails in the church when not wanted.

 MB> Yep. "If you came to the Internet looking for civil, intellectual
 MB> conversation and debate, you came to the wrong place." - Unknown

Good thing some of us are still here  :-)

     Regards,

              Robert.

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