What would you do if you were suddenly thrust back in time to the year 1008?

[Tenchiro]

Say you were transported back in time 1000 years while working under your sink (that is where the savvy keep their time portals) and appeared somewhere in the middle of Europe. Appearing there with whatever clothes and implements that are currently on your person.

I think the obvious way for an of us to start making a living would be in brewing. For all intents and purposes that was the only safe way to make water potable back then, and any of us could fit right in there. If you could get past the language barrier.

Latin would have been the spoken language, and I doubt many modern people have a working knowledge of the language, but with some doing many of us could at least get by with what we do know. If you could make your way to the British Isles, English was just coming into it's own but the dialects were very different than what we know.

In Europe, not getting yourself executed for sorcery or witchcraft would be very difficult. Even the clothes you would be wearing would be incredibly high tech and the colors in the average fabric today would not be something the average person then would ever see outside of nobility. You would be quite a bit taller, and much much healthier and cleaner than the average person. Your pearly whites would be a dead give away.

Barring all that how would you settle in to try to survive?

_________________________

Personally I would establish myself as a member of the clergy that way any "inventions" that I came up with could be explained as miracles. I would certainly establish boiled water to the local population, explaining that the heating process (probably from hot rocks) was gods way of cleansing it. The ash from the wood used to burn the wood could be used to extract lye and coupling that with fat from animals, milk or possibly tallow I could make soap and set the hygiene standards in the local area quite advanced for the time.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I'd be burned at the stake, hung, beheaded and cut into dog food all within my first five minutes.

 

[Evets]

Find my way to Belgium and become a GD monk, I reckon.

 

[Parker36]

Find my way to Belgium and become a GD monk, I reckon.

Plus that almost negates any language barrier problems

 

[david_42]

Probably die of some horrible disease.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Probably die of some horrible disease.

I died quicker than you!

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

I would kill all of you.

 

[Tenchiro]

Disease would definitely be a factor but if you are old enough to have a small pox vaccine you will be better off than most. Plus if you could keep clean and have boiled water you could all but ignore many of them. Not to mention you have a 1000 years of evolution dealing with those antibodies.

 

[Nerro]

Since when would Latin be the language? That would only be the case for the absolute upper layer of society which you would never ever get to see anyway, and the clergy. Both are groups you wouldn't/couldn't get into much (if any) contact with.

People would be speaking very early versions of french, occitan (now a dead language except for heavily modified versions such as basque), English that sounded more like Dutch than French (normans didn't invade untill 1066) and many local dialects that sounded like nothing much of anything.

The Church would be everywhere and would be a political movement like nothing else. People would be going off on actual crusades. Clothing would be entirely unlike the clothed you'd be wearing, you would bring with you materials like metal that never seems to rust and rubber, a material that Europeans hadn't even heard of back then.

You'd be blubbering about a country that won't even be discovered by civilized man for another 590 years.

You'd have teeth like nobody else in those days.

You would most likely be killed by the locals very quickly and even if you'd survive by some freak stroke of luck you'd very probably die of some disease within weeks.

In short, hope this never happens.

 

[arturo7]

Assuming one could stay healthy, I'd invent electricity and rule the world.

 

[Nerro]

Good luck generating it without a magnet. Where would you get the metals? Do you have any notion of what it takes to produce and purify metals? Nothing of what you require would be available/affordable back then.

 

[Tenchiro]

Good luck generating it without a magnet. Where would you get the metals? Do you have any notion of what it takes to produce and purify metals? Nothing of what you require would be available/affordable back then.

You could generate electricity easily enough with a Baghdad Battery, although the actual power output wouldn't amount to much.

 

[Evets]

I'd be burned at the stake, hung, beheaded and cut into dog food all within my first five minutes.

As well you should, my good man. As well you should.
(I've seen your posts in the debate section)

 

[DeathBrewer]

the first thing i would do is head into the woods to hunt down some rabbits and squirrels. get something to eat, make some furs and get some clothing for myself. perhaps make a spear and a bow and arrow (that might take a few tries) for future hunts of bigger prey. dig for roots, hunt for mushrooms...see what i could find to eat and cultivate and be sure to try the local berries in very small quantities to see if they are poisonous.

i'd find a nice corner in the middle of nowhere, build a little shack and brew beer-like concoctions and make food. i'd boil all of the water i used, cook my meat well and make sure i kept the place tidy to ward off disease.

if anyone happens by me, free food and beverages will suffice to keep my life, i'd think. i would have nothing of value, so i would probably be left alone. i would be seen as a mute as i would not utter or understand a word, and i could easily dirty my teeth if i knew someone was coming. no sense in brushing any more anyway.

in short, i'd try to survive until some ancient little lady wanders by that i could settle down with

 

[thataintchicken]

let's see. getting ready for work now...so if right this second I went poof...

in right pocket -- .85 cents in change and a bic lighter.
left pocket -- keys on a lanyard. 12 game tokens (gold colored).
My POS card attached to belt loop. Black nylon web belt. Nylon paramedic pouch holding a sharpie, 2 rolling writers and the Motorola SLVR.
wallet. Timex digital watch

pretty much dead as soon as I was spotted.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

let's see. getting ready for work now...so if right this second I went poof...

in right pocket -- .85 cents in change and a bic lighter.
left pocket -- keys on a lanyard. 12 game tokens (gold colored).
My POS card attached to belt loop. Black nylon web belt. Nylon paramedic pouch holding a sharpie, 2 rolling writers and the Motorola SLVR.
wallet. Timex digital watch

pretty much dead as soon as I was spotted.

But your Timex would be OK. They can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'

 

[ChshreCat]

Wenching. Lots and lots of wenching.

 

[thataintchicken]

But your Timex would be OK. They can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'

true.

thing of it is... if I went back in time, and landed in Europe somewhere.
somewhere could be anywhere-- snowy peak, marshland -- perhaps in the middle of a fray.

I've had winter survival training and can cook, hunt and whatnot.
Finding shelter, water and food would be the first tasks.
once that was completed... I could move on to long term survival followed by wenching.

one would have to be careful of the locals, if any. My guess is they would not like the new stranger taking up residence.
even if you could cook and brew.

great before work topic tho

 

[Nerro]

You could generate electricity easily enough with a Baghdad Battery, although the actual power output wouldn't amount to much.

Where would you get the metals for the Baghdad battery? Even if you did get your hands on some moderately pure metal it wouldn't last all that long in your battery. And if you had such a battery what would you do with it? No lamps to light and no stereo's to pump up any jams with.

No no, you'd be utterly screwed.

 

[HBHoss]

I'd find a coconut and cut it in half (one that was brought by a migrating South African Swallow) and bang the 2 halves together and become the village idiot (easy transition for me) and since most people would just keep their distance and perhaps give me some scraps for making them laugh, I'd bide my time while creating a means of living.

 

[Nerro]

Or you could become a cynic and dispose of all items useless. This would include all clothes except perhaps for a small loincloth. You would consider the use of more words than necessary a shameful failure at simplicity and you would consider the use of a bowl when you have two perfectly usable hands pointless.

You wouldn't live all that long either but at least people would remember you.

 

[HBHoss]

Alternative to being the village idiot could be to look up a family member
Hugh De Tallebot Lord of Cleuville in France. My french just might be bad enough for them to understand me.

 

[VatorMan]

People would talk about me instead of that impostor Da Vinci.

 

[HBHoss]

I'd totally try and find the local alchemist/Merlin type dude and tell him to forget rying to change things into gold and instead make tequila gold.

 

[Nerro]

And then he would kill you/have you killed.

 

[WriterWriter]

It would also be interesting if you traveled back in time and appeared wherever your sink was. So OP I guess you would be in Rhode Island with the Narragansetts. Best to make your way up to Newfoundland and see if you could brew up a quick batch of, er, pine needle beer to trade with the Vikings. Maybe hitch a ride back with them!

 

[VatorMan]

I would be known as Vator long johnson. I would be a professional baby maker.

 

[HBHoss]

And then he would kill you/have you killed.

Ya, most likely. I'll stick to my original plan.

 

[HBHoss]

I would be known as Vator long johnson. I would be a professional baby maker.

Then you'd be known as Vator Long Johnson the Eunuch.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I might "invent" gunpowder & with the help of a blacksmith, firearms. I'd arm the vikings & help them to conquer North America. Bows, arrows & spears are no match for rifles, grenades & cannon. On the side I'd make wines & meads, trade raw materials & "invent" things from time to time. I'm pretty certain that after a few years I could retire an extremely wealthy land owner with a nice big castle & a cute, young, blonde Icelandic wife. Regards, GF.

 

[kappclark]

Maybe join is the battle of Hastings ? (except - wait ... that was 1066, so I would have missed it)

 

[GroovePuppy]

Wasn't 1008 before 1066?

Brewing is my only hobby that doesn't require technology. Same with my job. I could learn to play the lute. :rockin:

 

[blacklab]

Start crying when I realize my iphone has no bars...

 

[homebrewer_99]

I'd be burned at the stake, hung, beheaded and cut into dog food all within my first five minutes.

Me too, left handed, ya know...

 

[homebrewer_99]

Wenching. Lots and lots of wenching.

Owwwwww, me too!!!:rockin:

 

[homebrewer_99]

People would talk about me instead of that impostor Da Vinci.

DaVinci came much later...

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

We would all die in that situation. Even if you could scavenge for food, build shelter, and survive mountain man style, you would be found sooner or later and have some serious issues. I think your best chance would be to make the best weapon you could manage, then try to trade barter you clothing and possessions for something that could help you survive. Brewing would be impossible as it was a regulated trade and required a ton of equipment. Where are you going to find a kettle, hops, grain, etc....

dead dead dead, all of us.

 

[homebrewer_99]

It would also be interesting if you traveled back in time and appeared wherever your sink was. So OP I guess you would be in Rhode Island with the Narragansetts. Best to make your way up to Newfoundland and see if you could brew up a quick batch of, er, pine needle beer to trade with the Vikings. Maybe hitch a ride back with them!

If you're lucky maybe they'll name the new world after you too!!!

Writersylvania....:rockin:

 

[homebrewer_99]

We would all die in that situation. Even if you could scavenge for food, build shelter, and survive mountain man style, you would be found sooner or later and have some serious issues. I think your best chance would be to make the best weapon you could manage, then try to trade barter you clothing and possessions for something that could help you survive. Brewing would be impossible as it was a regulated trade and required a ton of equipment. Where are you going to find a kettle, hops, grain, etc....

dead dead dead, all of us.

I don't think it would be all that gloomy.

The Weihenstephan brewery didn't start until 1040...Reinheitsgebot, 1516... Beverly Hills, 90210, etc...

 

[Tenchiro]

We would all die in that situation. Even if you could scavenge for food, build shelter, and survive mountain man style, you would be found sooner or later and have some serious issues. I think your best chance would be to make the best weapon you could manage, then try to trade barter you clothing and possessions for something that could help you survive. Brewing would be impossible as it was a regulated trade and required a ton of equipment. Where are you going to find a kettle, hops, grain, etc....

dead dead dead, all of us.

Technically you could brew in a wooden barrel and just use hot rocks to boil the wort. Barley could be bartered for, hops you would have to hope to find some wild. Yeast, I dunno maybe barter for that as well from a local brewer. Technically you could make it but it would take some doing I am sure.