09-14-2006, 01:34 PM
That's why they call them the Dark Ages.
I took that Gildas reference ("under the protecting wings of their parents") as a simile. Of course, as you and other have pointed out before, Gildas was no historian, and wasn't trying to be.
My work is in the Sixth Century, which if anything is more obscure--because less amenable to the extrapolations you suggest, than the Fifth. On the other hand, that dearth licences more artistry.
Thanks for the help. If you do start a soft stirrup thread, my first question would be: if they're as useless as implied above, why did they exist? Or did they?
I took that Gildas reference ("under the protecting wings of their parents") as a simile. Of course, as you and other have pointed out before, Gildas was no historian, and wasn't trying to be.
My work is in the Sixth Century, which if anything is more obscure--because less amenable to the extrapolations you suggest, than the Fifth. On the other hand, that dearth licences more artistry.
Thanks for the help. If you do start a soft stirrup thread, my first question would be: if they're as useless as implied above, why did they exist? Or did they?
"Fugit irreparabile tempus" (Irrecoverable time glides away) Virgil
Ron Andrea
Ron Andrea