>It may be something cultural (he says, recalling those
>bizarre Westerns that involved sheep farmers vs cattle
>herders), but I suspect that the SFC are underestimating
>the importance of sheep and the shepherd. Or it may be
>as simple as thinking too much "the boy who cried 'Wolf!'"
>and not enough 23rd Psalm.
On the contrary, sheep (and pigs for that matter) are more important in the diet of the Heortlings than cattle. However, like many RW cultures, the sheep, despite its greater daily importance, is culturally down-played by the Heortlings in favor of cattle.
BTW, some years back, when I put together the ToDP campaign, I went on a "material underpinnings of social systems" kick and decided to create a farmer campaign. I did a fair amount of research and highly recommend four books - Nerys' "Clansmen and Cattlelords", which is a very detailed look at early medieval Ireland and the importance of cattle within the social structures; Posner's "The Economics of Justice", which has perhaps the best explanation of the use of feud within social systems - using an economic utility argument; Hansen's "The Other Greeks", which is perhaps the best work to date on the independant Greek farmer during the Archaic and Classical eras; and, finally, Byock's "Sagas, Society and Power" (which examines the nature and operation of the Icelandic legal system).
>One of the bonuses of playing RPGs is that they give an
>excuse for omnivorous assimilation of information
>on a whole raft of subjects. However, at the moment
>I have neither the time nor the particular
>inclination to research and write a definitive paper
>(rather than relying on general and anecdotal background
>knowledge) on crofting, hillfarming and the importance
>of the wool trade in Britain AD500-1500, so I will
>recommend this exercise to those who do.
Actually, Joerg and I have speculated that the wool trade is quite important in the Sartarite and Hendriki cities and form much of the mercantile trade.
>I will note that while a young boy might well be qualified
>to holler "Wolf!", he is unlikely (short of liberal
>application of the sheep shagger's favourite spell,
>"Hold Sheep"[*]) to be able to shear the damn things.
Yes -but even in those cultures that practice transhumance, (where the sheep and the young men leave the village for the sheep pastures for months at a time), the sheep are not sheared by the herders. Rather, shearing is normally a communal activity.
>And that is where the wealth is for a farmer in hilly country
>that won't take to the plough. There is a very good reason
>why the Speaker's chair in the House of Commons is called
>the Woolsack.
Although the wool traders themselves managed to get a fair amount of respect and status in NW Europe during the High Medieval era and beyond, the poor sheep and the shepard never did. The same thing is true for the Heortling cosmology - poor Voriof doesn't get the respect accorded to Barntar and Odayla - not to mention Uralda.
>With a kitchen garden yielding a good supply of taters
>for a family being small enough that it can be dug, and the
>promise of wool to clothe them and trade on, what need
>for cattle? Come lambing season, there will be more than
>enough for all the family to be doing : not just the
>youngest boy.
Cattle are a status symbol - wealth on the hoof. Cattle do provide farm-labor (the Heortlings pull their plough with a team of oxen) and dairy products. Further, the cow is simply considered a "more important" animal than the more productive sheep. There ain't no justice!
Nick (who showed his tremendous practical Orlanth lore in last summer's
Fall of the House of Malan) wrote:
>There are adults in the clan who own sheep and cows and fields and fruit-
>trees and vegetable plots, and make their own clothes and wooden tools,
>and repair the roof when it blows down in a Gagarth storm, and say a
>blessing before each meal, and tell stories, and vote in weapontakes,
>and keep a sharp stick and hard hat over the hearth for emergencies.
>This is one guy, right, not a Shepherd and Cattle-Rancher and Farmer
>and Orchard-Keeper and Veggie and Weaver and Carpenter and Builder and
>Blessing-Sayer and Storyteller and Politician and Warrior. And if you
>asked him what his "job" was, he'd look at you funny, like. And if you
>asked him how he lived, he'd say "As Orlanth intended: free, on my own
>land, and beholden to nobody."
This is exactly right! When asked who he is, an Orlanthi will say his name, his clan and whether he is a thane or a carl.
>[*] Although the average Sartarite may be wearing a kilt, he is unlikely to
be >wearing wellies...
Actually it appears that the average Sartarite, Tarshite, Holayan and Heortlender all wear trousers. Look to East Ralios for the kilt.
As for the use of dogs in herding, it does appear that the Heortlings mythically and culturally disparage the dog in favor of the domesticated alynx.
Jeff
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