When listening to stories from your grandparents, you realise how much the world has developed in their lifetime. Stepping even further back, have you wondered what it might be like to live in England in the year 1000 CE? With English being a global language, and many of its customs engrained in modern Western culture, understanding where it all started develops an appreciation for many things we take as ordinary. Providing some insight is the book ‘The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium: An Englishman’s World’, written by Danny Danziger and Robert Lacey.
The book is derived from the interpretation and research of an original Julius Work Calendar from the era. A calendar is something we all take for granted as it helps organise our lives and track celestial events. It’s important to note that while the Western calendar is globally recognised, it is merely one of many developed over the centuries, with several tied to religious celebrations. For example, with Easter coinciding with the start of Spring in England, its name and traditions have been influenced accordingly for that time of year.
The year 1000 was the period of Anglo-Saxons in England. It was interesting to learn about their Germanic origins, and how their culture and language were influenced by other communities such as the Vikings and Romans. The modern English language has developed over hundreds of years, and is now one of the most spoken languages in the world. English is continually evolving, with influences from technological progress and changes occurring independently in countries like the USA and Australia. It raises the question of how recognisable English will be to us in a few 100 years.
Every century has revolutionary developments that provide new practices within everyday life. In the eleventh century, the increased use of the abacus in England, a bead counting device for large calculations, altered the way we perceive mathematics. While there is a noticeable gap of capabilities between the abacus and modern computers, one could argue that it was a first step towards computers’ development. If we compare the advancement between the abacus and modern computers, it will be interesting to imagine what inventions our future will bring.
This short book provided a holistic history lesson with a storyline following the likely turn of events in the year 1000. A personal takeaway is that if we can understand how history has shaped modern society, we can better envisage where the modern world may be heading. Understanding why we use a certain word, or why we carry out an action in a particular way, can help inspire further change for our future.
Are you interested in learning more by reading this book?
Books for Thought 