Usefulness of sheep

From: ALISON PLACE <alison_place_at_...>
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 06:31:36 -0700 (PDT)

        Many years ago, when I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, there was a contest held at a local event to list the largest number of uses for sheep, or parts thereof. The winner thought of several dozen. A composite list of more than 60 uses comes to mind, but that may just be memory playing funny tricks. Not that I want to start anything! ;-)

        So, the ratio of 7:1 sheep:cows may not be all that strange. With an all-purpose animal (OK for milking, meat and wool), you get a lot for your care, plus the ewes usually drop twins, and frequently triplets, making for a nice, fast increase in your flock.

        I also agree that all the breeds used are likely to be the smaller, older ones, similar to RW medieval breeds. For a slight digression here, you can get a rough idea of the maximum size of the British/Irish sheep when you realize that the luxury manuscripts made in some monasteries (e.g. Book of Kells, c800AD) were supposedly using the maximum flat rectangular area of the hide as a bifolium. In the case of the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, that was roughly 35 x 50cm, for a page size of 35 x 25cm
(probably somewhat larger before trimming). (Calfskin
and sheepskin parchment might be used in the same manuscript, too.) The Lindisfarne Gospels uses the hides of 130 sheep. That's an expensive book!
(Figuring the Lunars are using papyrus - hey, how much
can a bunch of reeds cost, anyway?)

        Mind you, one of our gamers who does actually farm will second the motion that sheep are the stupidest farm mammals around (guineafowl, chickens and turkeys are worse - his personal experience, also). (He personally detests them, but his father has decided to keep a small, rare breed flock.)

        In defense of sheep, another friend (who actually likes sheep) does trust her rams to somewhat protect the flock. Donkeys, dogs and herders do it better, of course, but her favourite ram would lie down at the entrance of the shed at night, and guard his flock. Probably one of the older breeds, which have more gumption left in them.

        Lastly, no mention of sheep is complete without haggis! Yumm!




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