Did The Dark Ages Exist? (NEW CONCEPTS)

[Hatty]

In the spirit of Christmas ghosts, Yule = ghoul, from the Hebrew gul meaning circle or wheel (of the year).

Choughs as an armorial device have more kudos than ravens or jackdaws, Cornwall being the premier royal dukedom. Newly-promoted commoners like Thomas B or W knew what they were about.

[Hatty]

[Mick Harper]

Just walk us through the real/unreal events of (let's say, what we call ) the fourth century.

[Mick Harper]

I expect you knew this (I didn't) but the reason thirteen is unlucky is because there are thirteen (28-day) lunar months in the year but only twelve 'solar' ones (of 28, 30 and 31). So the Romans/ Christians/ etc declared the Megalithic moon system to be 'bad'.

On the other hand it is the lunar one that (presumably) generates the seven (ie seven times four equals 28) and that is lucky. Go figure. As far as I know, nobody has worked out what 'weeks' are. Why do we have them and why are they seven days?

PS Is the 'baker's dozen' -- thirteen counts as twelve -- worth exploring?

[Hatty]

Baker's dozen refers to 'penny loaves'. The Megalithic link is that these are tolls which folklore interprets as the only way you can count the number of stones in a stone circle is to put a piece of bread on top of each stone.

The custom remains in a non-mathematical way as scattering hot pennies to children on holy days.

[Hatty]

What orthodoxy says is lunar is northern and solar = southern. Obviously. The (eventual) dominance of the solar calendar presumably indicates the power shift but it took a long time and even now isn't universal.

[nemesis8]

Deleted

[Mick Harper]

Why does everybody always get the Fibonacci series wrong? It's 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13.......... But anyway you are saying that we are dealing with two different mathematical juntas, one based on Fibonacci (addition) and the other on factors (multiplication). Yes, very well, proceed.

[nemesis8]

People readily believe what they want to believe. (Ceasar)

[Ishmael]

Post something with an actual thesis or I delete these posts.

[Mick Harper]

Please do not overstep your powers, Ishmael. I would greatly appreciate your reinstating these posts. If you wish to delete something, or threaten to do so, please confer with the editors first.

If Nemesis deleted the posts perhaps he might care to say why.

[Ishmael]

I didn't delete them. He did.

I don't want to shut him up. I want to see what he has to say and wish he would get around to saying it!

[Mick Harper]

Well, kindly moderate your tone to its usual level, ie vulgar abuse. Nemo, take no notice of the poltroon (well, perhaps just a little) re-post your posts and surge on to pastures high. Or of course you can be scattered by the first whiff of grapeshot, it's a matter for you. But consider what I have to put up with on the Applied Epistemology thread and still I battle through. Or I might give up. It changes day to day. That's Applied Epistemology for you: no a priori strategies!

[N R Scott]

I was reading that!!! I felt it was going somewhere.

[Hatty]

It's very appropriate though for a 'Dark Ages' thread. Some half-remembered scraps will resurface perhaps in a different context but no-one can retrieve the original posts. Let's hope Nemesis hasn't croaked his last.