The Year 1000 : What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium

The Year 1000 : What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium by Danny Danziger, Robert Lacey is a brief, light, easy-to-read overview of life in the year 1000 in England. I found the book very interesting and amusing, and not at all boring, as history can sometimes be. The book describes living conditions for average people at that time. There were no engines of any kind, so there was no noise from any engines. There were no written documents for people to read; 99 percent of the people were illiterate. There was no knowledge of sanitation or the cause of disease, and lifespan was about 40 years. Life was filled with terrible odors; barnyards were adjacent to houses, and dung was used as insulation. There was no coffee, tea, or sugar, and no potatoes. Some of the main issues of the day included the establishment of a calendar, and the annual date for Easter. Food was scarce at certain times of the year.

Reading the book reminded me that people at that time had no idea what the year 2000 might be like, and I suspect that we do not have any idea what the year 3000 might be like. For some years, I have thought about change in the world, and it has been my impression that slowly, inexorably, the world is improving. It also seems to me that the pace of change and improvement is accelerating, and vastly improved communication seems to me to be leading the way to the accelerated change. The Internet alone has had led to enormous changes, as has television. To me, the Internet has brought about the greatest change that has occurred in my lifetime. It has opened up communication among all people, increasing knowledge and understanding and friendship.

Change is usually led by youth, who don't want to be tied to the past; they want things to be better. They are not as afraid of change as older people are. I have thought for a long time that the old in society have to die, or at least step aside, before change can occur and progress made.

This little book also reminded me how brief our lives are in the grand scheme of history. If you think about the totality of history, or even the past 1000 or 2000 years (a mere drop in the ocean of all of history), our lives are miniscule, a mere speck in time. However, when added together, we all add to the change that is occurring.