- Peasants: Were they rich or poor? by mouseclick
15 y
3,049 7 Messages Shown
Blog: Truth is an incremental process
While driving through the Brittany region of France last year, I noticed how many lovely cottages were coming on the market at cheap prices, with acres of land.
My knowledgeable travel companion advised me that they were owned by peasants, who were dying of old age and many such houses were now coming on the market, as their siblings had chosen a city lifestyle.
On looking up the meaning of peasant, I found, on wikipedia:
"A peasant is an agricultural worker who subsists by working a small plot of ground. The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside. The term peasant today is sometimes used in a pejorative sense for impoverished farmers."
It goes on to say "Since it was the literate classes who left the most records, and these tended to dismiss peasants as figures of coarse appetite and rustic comedy, the term "peasant" may have a pejorative rather than descriptive connotation in historical memory"
I have looked up other websites and find that peasants are often referred to as "lower class". I have doubts about that. There seems to be a wealth of information here http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=g792333888~db=all
but I am not sure how accurate and unbiased it is. No time to read.
If you look at modern day studies, such as that by Robbins, you will see that people who live off the land have very high moral values and lead happy lives well into their centenary years.
Maybe they were the rich ones. Perhaps the rich French siblings may do better to keep the country cottages, and grow their own food.
I wonder how good French broadband is in rural areas?
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- Re: Peasants: Were they rich or poor? by Willowley
15 y
1,186
Hey Steve,
As a kid growing up I had always been taught in school that a peasant was a poor farmer in the French and English Countryside. They were described as being poor or not having many worldly goods and also it was said they were looked down on by the "higher class" or people with more money.
As an adult I can see where this thinking is very flawed. When you really think about wealth and riches in life it's about so much more than money. A person could have all the money in the world and have a disease with no cure and to me that would be the height of being poor.
I think the peasants of old were probably so rich in their happiness and contentment and I don't think they were what we call lower class, it's just they didn't have any need for all the things the "higher class" people needed to make them feel happy and content. I think the history books have it wrong.
We have a lot of Amish people living where I live and they have shunned all the modern conveniences like electricity, TV's, telephones and the like. They work the land, grow what they eat, sheer the sheep and spin their thread, make their clothes, they are a community of people who support and love one another. If a house or barn burns down or something happens to one of their homes they come together as a community to build a house or a barn in a day with no one getting paid, they just do it as a group. To me they seem to be very happy and content but some look down on them as being "simple" or "dumb" or "poor" but really nothing could be further from the truth. They are not burdened with all the day to day stresses most of us encounter in our lives but live a content, happy, and peaceful life.
So I think you are right the peasants of old were probably the rich ones!
Willow
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Willowley
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- Re: Peasants: Were they rich or poor? by mouseclick
15 y
1,240
Thanks for reminding me about Amish people, I saw those in that Harrison Ford film "Witness", so I thought I'd check them out I found this http://www.800padutch.com/atafaq.shtml
which says:
"The movie, "Witness", portrayed Amish lifestyle fairly accurately in what was shown, but it portrayed a very limited segment of Amish lifestyle. The Amish people have had a lot of reservations about Witness. The plot seemed to be inconsistent with the lifestyle and culture of the Amish. It was filmed in the geographical area of the Amish, but not on an Amish farm. The actors and actresses in the movie were not Amish."
I also see they are Christian and rely a lot on biblical quotes, and they seem a bit isolationist and serious, and boring. I tend not to trust people who start quoting the bible when they want you to behave in a certain way. The respect should be there without reference to a book, as per my recent post about the Abkhasian people http://www.curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1367418#i
They wear plain clothes and say things like "The Amish feel these distinctive clothes encourage humility and separation from the world. Their clothing is not a costume; it is an expression of their faith." That all sounds a bit dull. But I may be wrong, and I am sure they would look down on me anyway!
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- Re: Peasants: Were they rich or poor? by Willowley
15 y
1,012 1 of 1 (100%)
Yes it is true they are Christians and according to them they feel it necessary to live separate from the rest of the population. They feel they would be tainted if they were lumped in with the rest of us. However, they really don't look down on us or the ones around here don't, they just don't partake of our lifestyle.
I don't at all agree with their beliefs for being a Christian. They believe that everything that happens in their lives is God's will whether it's good or bad and I guess when you believe and accept that it makes for a peaceful life. The way I look at it is they live in bondage to their faith, they don't have the complete freedom I have as a Christian. The clothes they wear makes them stand out from the rest of us and it is a expression of their faith.
The Amish in my area have a bakery that I used to frequent before I found Curezone and I have also had business dealings with them so I guess that's why I see them in a different light. They are nothing but nice and they don't walk around all pious and humble, the thing I do notice is that they seem to be at peace with their lives and truly happy. When you walk into their bakery they are laughing and joking between themselves but don't hesitate to interact and share the jokes with anyone who happens to be in the store. Sometimes they are singing when I would go into the store and they just keep singing and they don't mind when visitors in the store join in with them, I've stood and watched this happen. The Amish in my area do show respect for others not of their faith and don't try to quote scripture and convert others into their faith.
I would agree with you, that kind of lifestyle would be really dull and boring for me. I do see how simple and uncomplicated their lifestyle is and how happy they are. Another thing that makes them stand out around here is that they all have beautiful, huge houses with lots of land that they raise cattle on, some have a dairy. All their farms are extremely well maintained and are showplaces with very colorful flowers abounding around the houses.
Being in the building industry myself I've had many dealings with the Amish men that have a cabinet shop. The thing I really respect about them is they are honest to a fault when doing business with someone. I've used their cabinets many times in houses and they are the best quality of any around here and when they tell you something, you can take it to the bank so to speak and thats much more than I can say for the building trade in general.
Wow, after reading this through, it sounds like I'm defending them doesn't it? Ha ha, I guess it's just that I interact with them and have gotten to know them somewhat. They are a people of respect and integrity that are a pleasure to do business with. I also appreciate the fact they don't try to push their beliefs on me but they respect the fact I don't agree with them about their faith. Anyway, I wish more people in my area were as happy as the Amish are.
Willow
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Willowley
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- Re: Peasants: Were they rich or poor? by kerminator
15 y
1,107
Like your blog...
Do not understand your title or agree as to the discription of the TRUTH... But you have the right to use any title or write anything you want...
Please continue to blog excellent items, as we follow writing!
See Ya, Kermit
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kerminator
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- Re: Blog title by mouseclick
15 y
949
Thanks Kermit. I wasn't sure what the blog was going to be about when I started it, and I am not used to blogging, so I couldn't figure out a title. So I thought in terms of my general aims, to find the truth or whatever.
The title stems from a book I like, called the Shack. The original wording was taken from a conversation between "god" (papa) and "Mack". However it's a bit of a strange book, with god being more like the Oracle in the Matrix. In the book god (or papa) is a black woman that likes cooking. I substituted the word "freedom" for "truth", because truth is my aim, not freedom, though maybe both are the same. Here is the conversation, and the quote is at the end...
“You knew I would come, didn’t you?” Mack finally spoke quietly. “Of course I did.” She was busy again, her back to him. “Then, was I free not to come? Did I not have a choice in the matter?”
Papa turned back to face him, now with flour and dough in her hands. “Good question—how deep would you like to go?” She didn’t wait for a response, knowing that Mack didn’t have one. Instead she asked, “Do you believe you are free to leave?” “I suppose I am. Am I?” “Of course you are! I’m not interested in prisoners.
You’re free to walk out that door right now and go home to your empty house. Or, you could go down to The Grind and hang out with Willie. Just because I know you’re too curious to go, does that reduce your freedom to leave?”
She paused only briefly and then turned back to her task, talking to him over her shoulder. “Or, if you want to go just a wee bit deeper, we could talk about the nature of freedom itself. Does freedom mean that you are allowed to do whatever you want to do? Or we could talk about all the limiting influences in your life that actively work against your freedom. Your family genetic heritage, your specific DNA, your metabolic uniqueness, the quantum stuff that is going on at a subatomic level where only I am the always-present observer. Or the intrusion of your soul’s sickness that inhibits and binds you, or the social influences around you, or the habits that have created synaptic bonds and pathways in your brain. And then there’s advertising, propaganda, and paradigms. Inside that confluence of multifaceted inhibitors,” she sighed, “what is freedom really?”
Mack just stood there not knowing what to say. “Only I can set you free, Mackenzie, but freedom can never be forced.” “I don’t understand,” replied Mack. “I don’t even understand what you just told me.”
She turned back and smiled. “I know. I didn’t tell you so that you would understand right now. I told you for later. At this point, you don’t even comprehend that freedom is an incremental process.”
So that's why I chose it I suppose.
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