Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middle Ages

Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by freshyill on Monday September 07, 2015 @12:41PM (#10182062)

I like how the kid butters him up a bit before just admitting that he's asking for beer money. Refreshingly honest.

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by sisl on Tuesday September 08, 2015 @06:16AM (#10184856)

The first one is more subtle, but he's even more brazen.

"For you must know that without Ceres and Bacchus Apollo grows cold."

Ceres is the goddess of fertility. Bacchus the god of booze.

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by freshyill on Tuesday September 08, 2015 @12:13PM (#10186558)

Yeah that's the one I was referencing. Ceres is also the goddess of agriculture and grains, so I figured he was asking for beer (Ceres) and wine (Bacchus).

Although your interpretation of Ceres would make this a much more interesting thing to write home to dad about.

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by Danieru on Monday September 07, 2015 @01:45PM (#10182296)

Of worthy note: "In the year 1400 he penned this imaginary letter from a student to his father:"

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by cfoobaz on Monday September 07, 2015 @04:07PM (#10182827)

So that particular letter was a parody?

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by knodi123 on Monday September 07, 2015 @11:07PM (#10183991)

Yes, that one was, although it's still medieval.

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by kosievdmerwe on Monday September 07, 2015 @11:51PM (#10184047)

Though parodies and satires still offer you an insight into the lives and state of minds of people back then.

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by stormbrew on Tuesday September 08, 2015 @03:08AM (#10184393)

That's the Eustache Deschamps one. The first one, which the article doesn't attribute and doesn't claim is imaginary, also makes a veiled reference via Bacchus, though.

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Re:Dear Dad, Send Money – Letters from Students in the Middl... by bzbarsky on Tuesday September 08, 2015 @11:34AM (#10186288)

You have to keep in mind that in the time period in question beer or weak wine was what you drank when you were thirsty a lot of the time. Safe drinking water was hard to come by.

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