Barbara Tuchman says the widespread apparently juvenile behavior of medieval Europe should be considered in light of the fact that most of active society was in fact people in their teens and twenties
Which on the one hand is like one of those things that’s obvious once it’s pointed out
But also its funny to think there was a whole historians’ tradition of being like “why were medieval kings so overemotional” until Tuchman clears her throat and goes… “Ahem… Have you ever met an eighteen year old boy” and then everyone’s like “oooooh”
oh my god
My father calls this his “drunk teenager theory of history”
*medievalist briefly considers day-drinking*
This is anything BUT obvious. What count as “appropriate” demonstrations of emotion, and appropriate levels of maturity, are historically and culturally determined. And to quote myself on this (because I will be forced to rebuff Barbara Tuchman till the day I die, I suspect):
AHEM. Sorry, but… Barbara Tuchman is a journalist, and this theory is part of a long tradition (in which professional historians are absolutely complicit) of infantilizing the Middle Ages, modernity’s “other.” Because our conflict resolution methods are so much more “mature” now, and the ways of expressing emotion judged “normal” in contemporary western societies are a standard according to which we can decide that medieval kings were “overemotional.” Shoutout to Dorothy L. Sayers for recognizing this fallacy in her introduction to The Song of Roland:
“There are fashions in sensibility as in everything else. The idea that a strong man should react to great personal and national calamities by a slight compression of the lips and by silently throwing his cigarette into the fireplace is of very recent origin.”
There’s a lot of nuanced, interesting work being done now (and that’s been ongoing/growing for the past 20 years or so) on medieval emotions, and their expression in literature and in everyday interactions, as well as in medieval academic discussions. This blog reports on it often; other (short, readable) articles on the topic can be found here and here and here.
Is a little critical evaluation too much to ask? I’m more than happy to offer recs for accessible histories of medieval culture. If you encourage contemporary young men to be in touch with their feelings and reject toxic masculinity, don’t be upset with medieval leaders for crying and kissing their friends (and lovers, but that’s another whole post, probably.) “Apparently juvenile behavior” grumble grumble. Ask me about emotional kings; I love them.
Sincerely, A Tired Medievalist.
Mental image of the day:
Darth Maul in modern clothes. Black t-shirt with slogan or geeky image, unbuttoned black or dark plaid shirt, leather jacket. Black jeans, boots (combat boots or knee-high boots). Hands shoved into the jacket pockets, glaring at someone (the viewer, or maybe someone off to the side).
…. And yes, if someone were able to help me with doing the makeup, I would cosplay this, because I have all of the above.
(And speaking of cosplay, I need to find where I left the bag with the Snape robe project, and finish the repairs/trim on it.)
deshima
replied to your post “*hugs you* You sound like you were so much a better person than I was…”
you get full aneasthesia for wisdom teeth removal?? In Europe I only ever heard of using local aneasthesia unless the patient is expected to be unable to hold still for whatever reason, which works perfectly fine and at least spares you the usual grogginess or worse nausea *shudder* associated with full aneasthesia.
I actually had the option, and went with full anaesthesia because I flat out panic at needles where I can’t see them going in. At the time. It’s since gotten worse*.
So, anaesthesia it was, and they took care of not just the wisdom teeth, but some fillings that needed done while they were in there, because it was better for my mental health that way.
(And honestly, with my reaction to anaesthesia, grogginess and nausea were not an issue. I metabolize it quickly, and I am combative when coming out, and then… nothing.)
*mostly because the other dentist in that practice decided to try to tell me that I couldn’t have needed the mouth block I requested when he needed to put a local in to deal with a filling, because I did just fine. And never mind that my hands ached from gripping the arms of the chair so hard, or that the mouth block creaked I was biting down so hard, and the only reason he didn’t get hit was because I was holding onto the chair that hard, and had gone absolutely rigid with panic.
Now I have to be able to not only see the needle go in, I have to be the one to say, “now” about it being slid in.
*hugs you* You sound like you were so much a better person than I was coming out of anaesthesia. I’m glad things went well, and you’re home safe. :)
I’m really curious how you reacted coming out of it now, Morgyn.
From what I was told, I was the emotional one with the occasional nonsensical need to either scream or laugh. I was crying *a lot*, but I was also in a really good mood!
😀 Being in a good mood is probably better, even with the random screaming or laughing.
I came out of the anaesthesia very rapidly, and was striking out at anyone and anything around me before I even managed to pry my eyes open, and would not stay laying down while it finished wearing off. Which took about five minutes before I was able to walk out of the office. At which point, I was about as coherent and sociable as I usually am when I first wake up, which is to say, coherent is a vague yes, sociable is a hard no.
I spent the ride home making grumbly growly noises, and was not allowed to make my own eggs or prepare my own drink when Alys got me home, which involved a detour by a pharmacy for the pain meds (which I never took, because tylenol is on my list of nope, even if it’s combined with an opiod). I didn’t speak much to the pharmacist.
I spent the rest of the day on the couch, watching… nature documentaries, I think. And drinking small sips of not-water and eating cold eggs in tiny bites. Alys went home at the end of the day, and I don’t remember if I slept on the couch, or if I slept in the loft in the second bedroom in the house, or if I’d already been able to move into the apartment at the time.
(Also, nitrous oxide just tastes weird but otherwise does nothing for me, and while anaesthesia does knock me out quickly, that’s not entirely a benefit when I also come out of it quickly once it’s no longer being administered.)
… and now I’m trying to remember if I told my primary care or my pain doctor about my reaction to anaesthesia. Since I didn’t have either at the time the teeth came out, and I don’t remember if I put that in my notes that they got.
Can I Run a Tumblr-Based Fundraiser Because I Rented an Apartment to Idiots? i.e. You’ve Got To Be Fucking Kidding Me
Also known as: We’ve
lost a massive chunk of our income as of right now, but I’m not allowed to stab those responsible.Background:
Back at the end of 2006, the mate
and I bought this house/building—larger than I would have preferred, but needs
must (it had no effing mold and wasn’t tilting sideways like every other
properly I viewed). We also had a housemate who was helping us with the
expenses of having a mortgage on a house, so for a while, everything was fine.Yep, this is right before the
housing bubble and the economy both tanked. A house that purchased for a decent
value was suddenly $50,000 USD under water.Very long, ugly story short:
housemate turned out to be an abusive shitstain lowlife who left to go Happen
to another vulnerable person (I really hope she’s okay). We become dependent on
the mate’s income alone. I’d just had a baby, he’d just suffered a severe back
injury, and we also had a three-year-old.More History & Fundraiser Thoughts Under the Cut:
Would you ever write: au where Qui ends up training Leia, and approximately how many units of Regret (measured in alcoholic litres) does this make?
Qui-Gon Jinn teaching someone just as fucking stubborn as he is.
Just as holier-than-thou when it comes to Justice and Doing The Right Thing.
Just as determined to do things their way because the Force said so.
Just as hardcore to tell the ruling/governing bodies, Council or otherwise, to go take a flying fuck if they think said ruling bodies are wrong.
….
There is not enough alcohol in that galaxy.
…. I’m writing Force Ghost Qui-Gon teaching Leia how to be a Jedi (while Vader is trying to teach his daughter how to be a Sith) in my Jedi Leia AU? Which, granted, is a clusterfuck in itself, so. *shrugs and grins*
*hugs you* Getting your wisdom teeth out can be entertaining, but it feels so much better once they’re out. The stitches that they’ll put in your gums after will probably feel weird, and especially when you’re swallowing (I kept thinking I was going to swallow the stitches because the way they felt). You also might not be able to open your mouth enough for a spoon for the first day, so liquids are your friend if you can’t.
I can hardly open my mouth as it is, so it won’t be too big a change, I think? I’m looking forward to the part after where this painful pressure I’ve had for months finally hits the road. That’s worth a week of a liquid diet and then some.
Smoothies and water ahoy! I also had someone suggest miso soup and oatmeal. I think icecream is one too, but that stuff is so dang cold. Once I have a date, I’ll start compiling a proper supply, along with getting some days off of work and school.
The part that kind of got me was the fact that there will be holes. Like actual holes I’ll need to clean out with a syringe for a few weeks, and out of everything they’ll have to do, that grossed me out the most and I just can’t tell you why.
Sigh.
I wish I could get it done tomorrow, or Friday even, but I need to have a referral sent and that can take up to ten days, which doesn’t even take into account the surgeon looking at my file and calling me to schedule an appointment, which could take *another* ten days.
*SIGHS*
At least twenty more days of this. Joy. At least I have a reason if I’m particularly salty! *hugs back*
Huh. I wasn’t given any instructions to clean out the holes in my gums where my wisdom teeth were, though they did give me antibiotics for mine. (Of course, mine were removed not just because they were crowding the rest of my teeth and broke one, but because they were infected and trying to rot out of my mouth.)
Oatmeal would be good – personally I recommend something with cinnamon and nutmeg and cream and stewed peaches, if you’re not allergic or otherwise unable to consume one of those – though probably not in the first day or so. Eggs, if you can do scrambled, thinned out a bit with something, are also good, and add protein to things. Again, if they’re safe for you to eat otherwise.
And salt water rinse can be useful, ‘cause that’ll help with any leakage of blood, and also help keep infection from being a problem, because bacteria aren’t terribly fond of salt water or being rinsed away vigorously. You can add powdered clove to that to help with pain/soreness, if you want. 5:1 salt:clove at the strongest, and using a pinch at a time. Probably no more often than twice a day, with the clove. (That’s what I use for my teeth on a regular basis, though my additives of choice are sage and rosemary and thyme.)
Autism and Emotional Labour – Ada Hoffmann
Hugs for EVERYONE*
*hugs you all* Because today is a day for hugs, and I’m going to run out of spoons if I go putting hugs in everyone’s ask box.
Feel free to reblog this to give a hug to every one of your followers.
*who is comfortable with being hugged. If you do not like hugs or are uncomfortable with physical contact, or even just prefer not a hug from someone not a mutual friend, cookies or other snacks suitable for your dietary needs and restrictions.
There's a Mirror on the Wall 