Time Machine Travel?

Email from School Superintendent:

To the Senior class of 2050,

The school board has decided that upon the recent discovery and establishment of the time travel devices schools, you will be conducting the matron voyage. You might be wondering where you are traveling to, how long you will be there, and what is required for you to go. I will begin answering your burning questions with announcing that you, the senior class of 2050, will be heading to the historical London, England in the 14th Century! The exact location on the timeline you will be experiencing is 1395.

You will be viewing Medieval architecture, assimilating and learning about the culture firsthand (or second really). The length of this trip has been set to approximately five years. The benefits of this trip far outweigh any problems that may occur. Don’t worry, ignore all of the space movies that go wrong. Those movies and shows are fiction and conflict are what makes them interesting. Our trip will be real, educational, and lack any issues with safety.

The school board and I have thought long and hard about the educational benefit of this “study abroad” program and the consequences that follow with it. In preparation for this trip, you and your parents will need to sign a consent form which includes a clause that states if you don’t come back, we cannot be sued. In the official brochure below, there is a list of vaccinations you must get before you can enter the time machine. Finally, write an essay as to why you plan or not plan on coming with us. Interested students should attend the informational meeting on the May 26th, 2050, where everything will be discussed in more detail.

Your Superintendent,

Mr. Ridgeway

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Study Abroad?

Introduction:

After reading the email, attending the informational meeting, and talking it over with my parents, we initially seemed to think this trip was a good idea. My parents and I agree that traveling somewhere else for a while will be good for my character. They also said it would be a great opportunity to learn about the 14th Century up-close. Image this, we’re traveling into 1395 where we get a chance to see building that were standing back then. My class and I will have a chance to meet people who were alive in this time. Geoffrey Chaucer was alive during the 14th Century; we can explore what he’s up to with the Canterbury Tales and see if we find any parts of his book that didn’t survive to our time. Unfortunately, the person I wanted to meet, William Shakespeare, isn’t born, so meeting him or his players is impossible, but we will be theatrical players. While playing our parts, we get the chance to explore London as new people coming in from the road, the long road, and try to fit in with the locals. I haven’t considered the pros and cons yet of attending this trip, but this essay should help sort out my decision as I do more research. Throughout this essay, I will be explaining the pros and cons I see in taking part in this program, and my final decision.

Adventure- Pro:

Going on this trip would be a new lifetime experience. I am a big fan of Dr. Who, a show on BBC, and travelling in time like him and his companions in a time machine does have a ring to it. Unfortunately, my class has to fly in a normal space jumping contraption instead of the beautifully designed T.A.R.D.I.S. If you’ve read the book A Wrinkle in Time or seen any episodes of Dr. Who, then you know how much fun it will be to experience space flight outside of your own space and time.

Architecture- Pro:

At the end of the 14th century, architecture was starting to branch from styles and methods of the previous decades. The place I would be most excited to visit a spot where Westminster Hall is built. In the article The Westminster Hall Roof and Its 14th Century Sources by Lynn T. Courtenay, she mentions the framing and archways that the hall will be famous for.

“The great angel roof of Westminster Hall, London, erected for Richard the 2nd in 1395-1396. remains the consummate achievement in medieval open-timber roofs. The framing, which has an exceptional single span just over 67feet” (Courtenay).

As Courtenay states, the achievement of creating one of the first open timber roofs is still relevant. She also says later on that the type of structure used to create the trusses were “the hammer beam, and the arch-brace-and-collar roof” (Courtenay). At the time we enter the scene, Richard has commissioned it to be remodeled. How much bigger will the room appear with all the arches? We’ll get to answer that question, my guess is much bigger, and see where King Richard the second will sit on his raised chair. If I go on this trip, I will be very excited to see if Richard and his courtiers are in the courts when we arrive.

Art- Pro:

Next, I want to focus on the popular art from this century we can see in its prime time instead of its dusty appearance in the present. The art scene during the 14th Century, was a precursor to the Renaissance period with their own burst of artists and themes. Several themes the 14th Century encouraged came from the church, the Black Death, and secular culture. “Secular, or non-religious art (which was still very limited at the time), focused on chivalry, knightly crusades, and courtly love” (Study.com). To be honest, I can’t wait to see the art that revolved around secular culture. It was the time of knights in shining armor, chivalry, and romance all throughout the land.

Another art form I can’t wait to get my eyes on is stuff they sell in the markets. In TV shows, I see different vendors lined up on narrow streets selling their crafts like Once Upon a Time, Merlin, and Galivant. During this time, sowing machines, mass production lines, and mass employment were not created. Everything sold on the markets streets has been handcrafted, taken a lot of time to make, and is more valuable since it took more effort to make. An article I found says this “Woven tapestries and embroidery were also important media; the time and skill to make these were so extraordinary that woven artworks were likely even more valuable than paintings” (Study.com). I want to walk the streets and discover what types of things were sold at market, how much they cost, and maybe find a souvenir to bring home, if it’s allowed. As a dreamer, I could feel like I’m actually a part of a show or movie while exploring the landscape or part of a theatre troupe.

Theater- Pro:

To pass the time, we could see a play that might be nonexistent in the future. The famous globe theater, where Shakespeare’s plays were performed, won’t be there when we arrive; the theater won’t be built for about two-hundred and fifteen years. Theaters might not be popping up everywhere with large scale plays, but traveling performers are popular. According to an article on History World’s website, “In parts of Europe, particularly Spain, the players perform on carts, each with its own scenery, moving through the town to appear before a succession of audiences. It is an ingenious way of bringing drama to more spectators than can be gathered in one place” (History World). Shakespeare said “all the worlds a stage” which the players must have also believed in to travel from place to place. It would be cool to see these types of performances up close; the difference between hearing about these players in a lecture and experiencing the plays up close come across differently. There is a pro to watching multiple plays throughout the years performed on moveable carts.

Meeting Chaucer- Pro:

When we arrive in the 14th Century, Chaucer will be in the process of writing the Canterbury Tales. The opportunity to personally meet Chaucer or even be near him would be awesome. My fellow students and I could hear him talk, read, or mention parts of the book that didn’t survive to our time. If we were able to do this, maybe we could research the portraits of characters from the Tales and see who they were modeled after. While meeting Chaucer, we have the potential to ask him what his feelings really are about living in London, England compared to what we know about him from the excerpt of Chaucer’s London, by Paul Strohm, we read in history class. “Chaucer’s own London existence was cosmopolitan, in the sense of his having no single parish or evident connection with one” (Strohm 67). According to Strohm, the context implied on this quotation is Chaucer’s attitude towards the leaders of the church. He had written about the Parson in the Canterbury Tales, but he never got attached to seeing one. That is why his experiences there wasn’t perfect. I would like to ask Chaucer or someone he knows how he acts on a day-to-day basis. Does he act in the disconnected way Strohm presents him?

Food- Pro:

Food is one of the most important aspects of living; depending on your social status decided what you were going to eat. Back in the Middle Ages, the term middle-class wasn’t really around, you were either poor(peasant) or rich (royalty or lord of manor). I found a blog led by a woman, Genevieve Howland, who shares information with her readers about real or unprocessed foods. She made a video explaining the diets of these two groups stated above. In the video, and on her blog, she said “food for poor people revolved around barley: Barley bread, porridge, gruel and pasta, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner” and “food for the rich included wheat and meat: wild game, pork, and chicken was common. Beef required a lot of land” (Howland). From these quotes, you can guess that going into this time period might not be the easiest to live. You can go to the market to buy or barter in order to acquire ingredients you need. Going to the market ties back to the fun we’ll get to experience looking at what the market sellers have to offer. The pro to eating diets that are high in calories and working in the fields will be losing a lot of weight after five years of living there.

Food- Con:

As mentioned in the paragraph above, it will be our responsibility, the time pioneers, to grow, cultivate, and harvest our own food. The task of manual labor in the fields might be easier for the athletes who train every day, but for those who had a job that didn’t required long hours expel a little energy will find this harder than the rest. During the 14th Century, wild game was common, so if you want meat to go along with the barley bread, someone will have to do the hunting. My guess is the men would do most of the hunting unless any of the women can hunt. Maybe the men can take a few days once the pioneers get settled and teach teams to hunt; they would be like Katniss from the Hunger Games series.

Farming included horse drawn carriages and walking; talk about getting a workout. Farming was all done by manual labor throughout most if not all of the day. Instead of tilling a field with a fancy tractor, oxen, horses, and sometimes cows were used in a pulled plow that dug up the earth. Day-to-day Londoners didn’t have the technology that we do today and adapted their way of living. Could we live the same way the Londoners do without the tech we created in the future? We are used to eating fast food and drinking soda with ease, but in the ‘new age’ it will be on us to grow all the barley and wheat in order to eat.

How will the trip affect us?

No Cell Service!

During the informational meeting at school, the senior class was given the news that since no one in 1395 had created cell service or even knew what a cellphone was meant we all had to leave ours behind. Not only does this mean we can’t check social media, but no selfies, no calculators, or games. If it takes 5 years to get the time machine to reboot, then that’s 5 years without phones, which could come in handy. There are thieves that walk around at night that pose a threat to any unsuspecting person who doesn’t know that the streets get more dangerous after dark. Back in the day, if someone mugged you on the street, most likely no one would find your body. Now, someone could find you and post it on social media, and most of the country would know in a few hours. With the invention of technology and new medical procedures it is easier to save someone’s life compared to the 14th century.

What is the Cost? – Pro/Con:

The school board talked about amenities we wouldn’t have, one of the major reasons why I don’t believe I will be attending. Other concerns that arose later included the cost of the program, how we needed to prepare, and the effects of attending. First, in preparation for the trip, it was required to get a shot for the common cold and booster shots that would accelerate the growth of bacteria fighting blood cells. Something else mentioned was the packing of several boxes worth of Penicillin; this has its own issues. What if someone finds the time machine, follows us in while we look inside, or finds it and takes off with it. The cost of the vaccinations in terms of money leveled at $35.00, but that cost plus the study abroad program came out to be around $10,000. My parents and I don’t have a lot of money laying around to spend on a potentially dangerous field trip. Next, the students of 2050 can’t show up in 1395 looking like clones of one another with our fashionable track suits.

Deciding What to Wear- Pro/Con:

Dressing in traditional clothing of the time period won’t be as easy as you think. Finding material and creating an authentic piece of clothing could be challenging. A person with knowledge of the time period would need to acquire many yards of material that looks, feels, and smells like the streets of London in 1395. Not only is the fabric an important piece but also the stitching. Back in the day, most clothes were made by hand until the invention of sowing machines. For our purposes, we could use sowing machines, but it might appear out of place. Speaking of appearing out of place, it would be extremely difficult to change our looks, behaviors, and verbal cues as to not draw attention to ourselves.

Alcohol- Pro:

If I were going on this trip, my first thought would not be the realization that in London, England 1395, there isn’t a legal drinking age which means we can drink all the wine we want and not get arrested for underaged consumption. At this time, it is socially appropriate to drink due to the fact it is one of the only safe beverages to take. This could be a helpful asset in blending in with the local, and getting to learn about the time, culture, and ways of living by chatting with people in the pubs.

Alcohol- Con:

Something else that caught my eye while researching was the fact the drinking water is not clean during this time. The main source of drink was wine or alcohol. It occurred to me, those going on the trip, will be seniors in high school; teenagers are not allowed to touch alcohol until they turn 21. The time travel experience lasts 5 years, so the effect on a large group of teenagers who now believe drinking is a norm might have a hard time losing the habit they picked up in the 14th Century. At the time we leave for the trip, most seniors will be 17 or 18 years old. The argument can be made that there is no consequence for drinking on the “study abroad trip,” because when the students returned, they will all be over 21 years of age, the legal drinking age, but does that mean they will stop drinking when they return? “In other words, respondents reported more alcohol-related consequences from their drinking in countries with a generally more detrimental pattern of drinking” (Astudillo, Kuntsche, Graham, and Gme 121). According to the names in the line above, the result of their experiment on determining the negative effects of drinking patterns concluded the countries that have culturally accepted drinking as a social norm are more likely to be involved in alcohol driven actions. Who’s to say a few or more students won’t be affected by the 5-year pattern on drinking in London when they return to America.

Living in History

Witch Trials- Con:

Continuing my research of different aspects of London, I found a rather curious concept I believe is worth mentioning. How would 14th Century people react to a group of people who act differently than they do? My theory to the reaction of Londoners would be (1) to think we look, and act differently than they do or (2) perceive the pioneers as outsiders who come from places with values that don’t align to their way of thinking. Now, I must have missed a lecture in History class one day because I found more disheartening news centered around this idea of acting strange or peculiar. In an article written by Nachman Ben-Yehuda he wrote

“The stories and myth of the witches can be regarded as the exact qualitative opposite of the conception of Christ, and witchcraft as the exact opposite of what was supposed to be the true faith, Christianity” (Ben-Yehuda 1976, pp. 94-99).

The reason I bring this idea into the fray of cons is to point out the attitude in the 14th Century brought feelings of being disjointed. They were also trying to eradicate anyone who didn’t hold the same view of the Catholic church as set by laws at the time. The claws of the Londoners and mostly those in the surrounding area are looking for others to accuse of being witches. Anyone was thought to be against the church, a main leader at the time, would be accused of witchery. Everyone needs to create a believable backstory and identity to fit in. To fit in as time traveler we need to blend in, but also interact with Londoners as they would.

Old vs. New English- Con:

A massive element on who we are from the future that can give us away is how we talk. The United States a large country and we all have different accents that do not reflect the more British tongues of the locals. Like I mentioned before, with the witch hunt stuff, the church was a main leader of the 14th Century in London. The locals and higher chain of command know how their public reacts to situations. If we were caught in private, appearing to talk badly on a subject, it would be bad. The odds would not be in our favor especially if the towns folk realized we didn’t have the same accent, word choice, or tone as them. This could end up being a reason why some of us get thrown in jail cells with the bugs and rats. Have I mentioned the sewer systems yet or lack thereof?

Lack of Sanitation- Con:

From what I have researched, the “sewer systems” along the walkways in London are definitely not up to today’s code of ethics when it comes to health and safety protocols. There is no indoor plumbing where the biowaste goes down a drain to a plant where it is treated. No, everyone dumps their waste into the streets. If you don’t pay attention to where you are walking and stay under the awning of each building your “future” could be quite unpleasant. It is not my choice to take a leisurely walk down the street and need to hide from the sun or discover another person’s business in my face. Like in the jail cells, the rats, mice, and other creepy crawlies make their home in the dark, damp, and desolate corners. Compared to the prisons of today, the conditions were far worse in the 14th Century. The Black plague was spread quickly because of the vermin.

Is the Black Plague Still Around? – Con:

In the late 14th Century, the black plague had made its comeback and slowly started decreasing again. This fact alone is a positive note in hopes no one on this trip attracts the disease. However, according to a timeline of the century, it states in 1361, the black death came back for a second round, however, it wasn’t as bad as the first wave (World History Timeline). In a different text written by Tuchman, This is the End of the World: The Black Death, “after killing off most of the susceptible, with increasing mortality of children in the later phases, it eventually receded, leaving Europe with a population reduced by about 40% in 1380 and by nearly 50% at the end of the century” (Tuchman). During this time, the Black Death was the number one cause of death and this reading states children were the more effected. The seniors going on this trip probably do not count at children, but their immune systems still might be compromised to the toxins of the Black Plague.

Tuchman’s This is the End of World is a sizable document that explain from Tuchman’s point of view and knowledge of the Black Death. With massive reductions in the population, the economic and cultural environments of the time changed drastically. In the economic sense, the amount of food and land available grew immensely because everyone was dying. The people who left their homes to find healthier places to live came onto abandoned fields and masterful homes that held much food and drink. This point of interest could have led to future uprising. Commoners were already knocking down doors, so they continued to pillage while making a clear point to the government they wanted a change in society. One thing that made European citizens mad was the fact the church was withholding money from the people. After an entire family had died from disease, the property was taken by the church who had the right from parliament. I guess if manor houses are left with no one to take care of them, our team could find one and use it as a base camp.

Peasant Revolt of 1381- Con:

In the time leading to the Peasant’s Revolt, the culture of London stayed mostly the same aside from the sad demeaner of losing loved ones. The streets were cleaner due to the fact less people were creating waste to throw into the streets. Like I stated earlier, more food was available to the crowds of people who had never had a decent meal in their life. The upper-class noblemen and their families also received more than their usual share. The night culture at this time, might have changed slightly from previous years. In the past, thieves would run around stealing while also making nonsense. After the plague struck, the number of thieves went down significantly. Finally, the lowest class citizens were still not happy to find more assets to take for themselves, but they also wanted what the wealthier families owned. The rising in 1381 is a result of the church not giving full care, illiterate people joining together to fight for something, and a mess of laws that really didn’t help anyone. This ‘hundreds year war’ will have begun only four years before the time machine arrives, so the fighting and pillaging will still be happening which could make it difficult to find a well-rounded job at a manor when their state isn’t normal for the period.

Conclusion:

Finally, as I come to the end of my contemplating, the scales are tilting in a certain direction. I spent many hours researching the 14th Century around the time we would arrive, and my list of cons continued to grow. I hope it is clear with the extensive research and reasoning above that I do not wish to attend this program. A time travel experience could provide more hands-on learning, but as the Doctor from Dr. Who has taught me, one small change in the timeline and space begins to rearrange in itself, which most likely not good? There are still many variables that could be expressed like what happens if the time machine or the travelers are found out, will the impact of the wars around London effect the stay, is it our germs from 2050 could impact 14th Century immune systems, or what will the after effect be of students drinking for 5 years returning to a time where they cannot. All of these questions have led me to my decision. Please take my name off of the manifest; I will not be participating in this “study abroad” trip. For those who were intrigued by the idea of time travel into the 14th Century, I implore you to rethink the stakes in bounding into this time. My final statement for those who choose to go: “Good Luck and try not to die.”

Work Cited:

“14th Century, 1301 to 1400.” World History Timeline, 1.

“14th Century Art: Overview & Themes.” Study.com, Study.com.

Astudillo, M., et al. “The Influence of Drinking Pattern, at Individual and Aggregate Levels, on Alcohol-Related Negative Consequences.” European Addiction Research, vol. 16, no. 3, 2010, pp. 115–123. JSTOR. Accessed 3 Apr. 2020.

Ben-Yehuda, Nachman. “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th Centuries: A

Sociologist's Perspective.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 86, no. 1, 1980, pp. 1–31. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2778849. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020

Courtenay, Lynn T. “The Westminster Hall Roof and Its 14th-Century Sources.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, vol. 43, no. 4, 1984, pp. 295–309. JSTOR, Accessed 1 Mar. 2020.

“History of Theater.” HISTORY OF THEATRE, History World,

Howland, Genevieve. “Middle Ages Food: What Did They Really Eat?” Mama Natural, Elite CafeMedia Family & Parenting, 24 May 2019,

Strohm, Paul. Chaucer’s London: Chapter 2 Aldgate.

Tuchman. This Is the End of the World: The Black Death.

Ward, Victoria. Journal Entries 9-13, Time Machine Travel? Early English Lit. Journals. 5 April, 2019.