Random Historical Moments

On avoiding selling ourselves short

If you happen to belong to the "wrong" half of the human race there is quite a bit to say in favour of Western European culture (and Britishness in particular). Pre 50 AD British graves contain roughly 50:50 men and women. The Romans brought female infanticide leading to a 7% deficit of adult women. Christians believed that men and women were equally valuable in the sight of God, and the numbers of female children surviving into adulthood rose again as Christianity spread through the Empire. Anglo-Saxon girls had pretty much the same chance of growing up as their brothers. (Dorothy Watts, Women in Early Britain)

This charming equality did have some potential drawbacks; an Anglo-Saxon lady in her sixties might find herself required to leave retirement to take command of a war-boat, if all her adult male relations were either dead or captive.

posted by Brituncula @ 12:11 PM