Ask FReeper Xenalyte.
That's her small sword.
Posted on 09/19/2005 3:32:59 PM PDT by blam
September 19, 2005
Notebook: Archeology
Medieval ancestors measured up to our height standards
By Norman Hammond, Archaeology Correspondent
OUR ANCESTORS were as tall as we are, contrary to popular belief. Over the past five millennia the average height of men in Britain has remained stable at about 170cm (5ft 7in), and that of women at 160cm (5ft 3in). We may be surprised at how small the armour worn by the Black Prince or King Henry V was, but such giants on the battlefield were not physically large and were towered over by contemporaries of all classes.
“The enduring myth that people in the past were much shorter than we are today contains a small element of truth,” writes Sebastian Payne, chief scientist at English Heritage, in British Archaeology. “There have been small changes, and average height has increased by an inch or so over the past 50 years,” he says, attributing the increase to better health and nutrition.
The myth seems to stem from such things as low doorways on some medieval houses, and the small suits of clothes and armour in museums. But Dr Payne says that there are plenty of tall doors, and we simply don’t register “normally” sized outfits. “Recruits in 18th and 19th-century military records were considerably below today’s average heights,” he says, but adds: “Recruits are often from poorer families whose average height is less, and were often not fully grown.”
In the abandoned medieval village of Wharram Percy in Yorkshire, the churchyard has yielded hundreds of skeletons for analysis. There “ten-year-olds were around 8in shorter than children today: by the time they were fully grown they were nearly as tall as modern adults”.
A study by Charlotte Roberts and Margaret Cox, drawing together evidence of stature from skeletons across the country, shows that adult heights in both sexes have remained constant since the Neolithic era.
British Archaeology No 84: 51
GGG Ping.
"the average height of men in Britain ....5ft 7in"
I think the warm beer is stunting their growth
bttt....from a 5'7" guy myself. :)
Wow, I feel like a giant at 5' 8".
{;o)~
Me too, at 5'9"!
Most Armor that survived the medieval era would have had to been well taken care of, I.e. Most likely ceremonial and as such smaller then the norm for most armor of it's time. Ceremonial armor tends to be smaller because of cost.
I have trouble buying this. I know far too many of the baby boom generation that are significantly taller than their parents of the WW-II generation, and far too few who are shorter, to believe this completely. (including my brother an I, only one "blood" uncle is about our height, the other earlier generation relatives are shorter) The baby boom also marks the transition from most people living on farms, to most people living in towns or cities with all the changes that brought. I also see the effect in first generation Americans, of most all ethnic groups, the kids are taller than the parents.
Maybe the effect didn't occur in England? Maybe the effect didn't occur in Jolly Olde, or happened much earlier, and they are just short.
Wow, 5'7 is the average? I'm 6'6 and I generally think of guys under 6 ft as being overly short.
When the fight starts remember that I'm on your side.
I think it's wishful thinking on the part of the author.
Notice this so-called study was done by women? Do they have a bias? LOL
But seriously, go to any museum and see the outfits people wore in history and try making the same claim. Were this true, short shorts made their appearance eons ago, and some outfits would have been like thongs on the wearer.
"I think the warm beer is stunting their growth"
Do you know why the English drink warm beer?
Because George Lucas also made refrigerators.
Ask FReeper Xenalyte.
That's her small sword.
Nown to his subjects as Edward Longshanks.
I drink cold beer; 6'3".
lol. See?! I think there's something to this theory. ;~ )
I think it is because of the queen, and they should just stop listening to Elton.
So, this here sword will only reach to your neck.
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