SC - 'lightly fizzy' drink?'

[CBlackwill@aol.com]

Ras replied to me:
> stefan at texas.net writes:
> << For those unaware of the charcoal burning, this was the prime fuel
>  used in iron work and by latter period it was often difficult to find
>  good timber in England because the land had been so deforested by
>  cutting it for charcoal. >>
> 
> Also the forests never fully recovered after William the Conqueror laid waste 
> to the land. 'Laying waste to a land was just as devastating as an atom bomb. 
> Three days of riding in any direction would not find a single living thing. 

Which referances are you using for this? I haven't heard of William burning
forest land. I doubt there is a reason to do this. It is much easier to
burn villages and crops than immense forests. A large part of England
was still covered in dense forests at this time.

Also, only certain areas of England were damaged severely in putting down
the revolts. Had the damage been wholesale across all of England you 
would not have seen the discrepancies between areas that show up in the
Domesday Book. I think the Domesday Book also specifically mentions the
damaged areas and that they were still recovering. Their idea of what
"not find a single living thing" covers is probably a lot narrower
than ours. They may have just mean domesticated animals and people.

"three days of riding" probably means a circle of about sixty to ninety
miles in diameter. Still a fairly large area. But it might not have
meant in a circle either, but just along the main road itself. 

Another point. "Never fully recovered"? Even the area around Mount
St. Helens is showing quite a lot of rebirth, in less than a quarter
century. And I bet even the Normans couldn't come close to the
distructive power of that volcano.
- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****