[Ravensfort] THE MEDIEVAL TWENTIETH CENTURY

David R. Hoffpauir env_drh at shsu.edu
Wed Apr 13 15:02:56 PDT 2005


Not my intent to suggest that sodbusting was an element of medieval life. 
My words were more in line with the notion of strapping an animal to some 
plowing contraption and heading off with the intent planting, sowing and 
ultimately eating something in the wake of one's efforts.

True the Romans did such.  The first real improvements to the practice were 
the implementation of an improved harnassing, which is very period, and the 
invention of the "horse-drawn hoe" about 75-100 years out of period.

As much as anything, I think the old man liked it....he had a friggin 
tractor, but using the mule took longer and that kept my Grandma out of his 
ear, longer.....  I still remember that mule, froze stiff in the barnyard, 
one winter.  They used the tractor to drag him off....  talk about irony.

regards,
dsd

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kief av Kiersted" <sirkief at hotmail.com>
To: <env_drh at shsu.edu>; <ravensfort at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 8:26 PM
Subject: RE: [Ravensfort] THE MEDIEVAL TWENTIETH CENTURY


> Heilsa Mr. Hoffpauir...
>
> To a certain extent that is true... However, the "cut-off date" precludes 
> us, as SCA members, from "peering into the future". I would suggest that 
> the steel plow and the concept of the "sodbuster plow" were not developed 
> until the middle of the 1800's as the US expanded on to Great Plains... 
> Not Middle Ages or Renaissance at all...but a result of the Industrial 
> Revolution and expansion of technology....
>
> No disrespect to your Grandfather...mine was using a hand pushed plow to 
> garden with until just before his death in the 1960's...




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