Yuval Noah Harari has written a book called 21 Lessons for the 21st Century and I am very jealous. So I am thinking about writing a book or at least an essay called 13 Lessons from the 13th Century. I know very little about the 13th century but this title is very appealing. So I shall write anyway! I am not a good writer but this title is very appealing. So I shall write anyway!
Lesson 1:
It was the year 1199 and two young women who lived in a Christian convent in Portugal called Convento de Sao Francisco were working in the yard. Their names is not important. They have been dead for many centuries anyways. Lets call them Alila and Balila. As they were working Alila said: "You know this is a very special year. It is the last year of the 12th century. " Balila looked at the beautiful scenery around them and smiled. "Yes it is. I can't wait for the new year festivals. They are going to be more elegant than ever. In a few months we will enter the 13th century. ... You know I was thinking, why do we call it the 13th century when all the years start with 12? Next year is 1200!"
Alila looked at her for a second. "You are right; it is strange, but it is this way because the first 99 years in any calendar are considered the first century. So the second century started with the year 100 and third century started with the year 200.
"But it does not make sense. Don't you think a century that starts with the year 1200 must be called the 12th century? "
"If we go by that rule then we will not have a name for the years 1 to 99? What century will that be?" Sail Balila.
As they continued to work this question preoccupied Alila's mind. She even thought about it that night. Next morning they continued their work on the convent's yard.
"You know Bali (informal for Balila), I was thinking last night about this mismatch between the century and year numbers. I think there is a solution. "
"What?"
"We can skip one hundred years and call next year 1300 instead of 1200. Then the name and years of each century will be matched forever. The year 1400 will be the fist year of the 14th century and year 2000 will start the 20th century. This will be amazing."
Balila looked at her for a few seconds. "You are crazy! No one will do that."
"No one has done it yet! But it must be done. Otherwise year after year people will wonder about this mismatch."
Balila wanted to talk about other topics that day-about the normal issues that they talked about every day as they worked. Alila, however, was obsessed with this idea. Next evening Alila asked for a meeting with mother-superior. She asked mother superior to write a letter on her behalf to the court of King Sancho to suggest the skip from 1200 to 1300. Not surprisingly mother superior thought that she was crazy and refused. But Alila went back to her several times. Finally, after receiving permission from Abbess Mafalda, mother superior agreed to write the letter but not to the King. She said that she will write it to Queen Dulce who knew Abbess Mafalda. Alila was very happy. Next day mother superior met with her for two hours and wrote a two page letter to the Queen. She explained that this was the idea of a young nun in her
Five days later Queen Dulce received the letter. She found it amusing and tried to imagine what the young woman who had come up with the idea looked like. She did not show the letter to her husband and did not respond. Alila continued to live and work in Convento do San Fransisco until she died in 1254. Once in a while she would remember the letter that she sent to Queen Dulce but she did not pursue her idea any further.
Lesson 1: If you have an idea and you want powerful leaders to pay attention to it, don't just share it with one person. Send it to several people and hope that at least one of them will find it interesting. If Alila had sent copies of that letter to other Queens and Kings in Europe, perhaps an adjustment would have been made to the Western world's calendar. Just imagine how nice it would have been if we were able to celebrate year 2000 as the start of the 20th century instead of 21st Century. Perhaps one day Alila's letter will be discovered and would inspire this adjustment. In 2006 Myriam Cir published a book called Letters of a Portuguese Nun.
End.
*** ***
Lesson 2: (One 13th century muslim woman's quest for understanding the status of women in heaven. )
Under development.
***** **
Lesson 3: (Bad things happen to those who question the faith and the divinity in a small South American pre-European Kingdom. The events reinforce faith and increase social coherence. People attribute those bad things to divine punishment.)
Under development.
Lesson 13:
[The proper thing to do is to write the lessons of 13th century in sequential order, which means that lesson one must be followed by lesson two. Life, however, is short and unpredictable. So I like to write the 13th lesson immediately after the first lesson; so that if I did not have a chance to write the other lessons this essay will have a rational connection to its title.]
It was the first day of January of year 1212 in the small city of Verucchio. Have you ever visited Verucchio in the western region of Italy near Rimini? Anyways! In that small town a poor family was struggling to survive. Vitorio and Amitula had three daughters but Vitorio never openly blamed Amitula for her failure to give birth to a son. Like most people in and around Verucchio, Vitorio was a farmer. And like most farmers he worked for the largest landlord of the area, the Malatesta della Penna.
That morning a woman who worked in the Malatesta family castle came to visit Amitula. Her name is not important but she was wearing a blue scarf. "Lady Adelasia needs a personal servant. I am here to see if you would like to offer Carafina." Lady Adelasia was the wife of Malatesta della Penna. Carafina was the oldest daughter of Vitorio and Amitula. She was 17 years old. Carafina was very different from her younger sisters Corsa (12 years old) and Divitia (10 years old). For one thing she was 170 centimeters tall, which was considered very tall for women her age in 13th century Italy. She also had an insatiable curiosity from early childhood, which was a direct result of her high level of intelligence. Corsa and Divitia had shown average intelligence for their ages.
The third difference was in the area of feminine beauty. Carafina was not as attractive as a child and she was not attractive as a young woman. This was the main reason that she had not been married off yet. In the rural community of Verucchio most young girls were married by age 15 or 16. Vitorio and Amitula were very concerned about this issue as they feared that Carafina will never receive a marriage offer. So, Vitorio did not get upset when Amitula informed him of the visiting woman's suggestion. He immediately agreed.
When Amitula informed Carafina that she will be sent to the Malatesta Castle she did not cry or refuse. Her immediate acceptance came as a surprise to her mother. The only people in Vitorio's household who were sad about this development were Corsa and Divitia. They both loved their older sister. Carafina's response was calm because when the blue-scarf woman was talking to her mother she heard their conversation and she had time to think about it before her mother mentioned it. Carafina was actually happy and excited about this opportunity. For a young woman with insatiable curiosity like her, this was a gateway to a new world with lots of new things to learn. She also knew that with low likelihood of marriage she was becoming a burden on her parents.
What Carafina did not know was that her selection was not an accident. Lady Adelasia had instructed the blue scarf woman to look for a young woman who was not too attractive. Based on an advice from her mother, Lady Adelasia never recruited young attractive servants who might have caught the attention of her husband.
***
Three days later the blue scarf woman came for Carafina and took her to the castle. She promised Amitula that her daughter would be allowed to visit the family once per month. Carafina did not take any personal belongings with her except for a small doll from her childhood. The walk to the castle in that cold winter day took 40 minutes. The blue scarf woman took her to the servants quarters where she was given a bath and fresh clothes. Her own clothes were burned immediately. That evening she was taken to Lady Adelasia's room for the initial introduction. Carafina's mistress was a beautiful young woman not much older than her. Adelasia was surprised by Carafina's height but it did not bother her because she concluded that her husband will not find her attractive regardless.
Carafina met Malatesta della Penna three days later when he returned from a trip to Rimini. Master Malatesta was young and handsome. Later Carafina learned from one of the older servants that he was only 29 or 30 years old. In those three days Carafina had already gained the trust of Lady Adelasia, who found Carafina's insatiable curiosity amusing. Carafina was spontaneous and Adelasia tolerated her occasional comments and questions. This was very unusual because most young servants did not speak and simply carried out orders in silence when they were interacting with their masters and ladies. Master Malatesta did not have any specific reaction when he saw Carafina. She was the third personal servant of Lady Adelasia in three years.
As days passed by, Carafina learned more about Adelasia and Master della Penna. Occasionally she was able to hear Lady Adelasia's conversations with her husband or her mother as she served food or carried out other tasks. Very soon Carafina learned that Lady Adelasia had suffered a miscarriage a few months earlier but was eager to get pregnant again as soon as possible. One day after bringing a glass of wine for her lady, Carafina made a comment that ordinary servants would never dare to ask.
"My Lady I know that you like to become pregnant as soon as possible and I have an important suggestion for you."
Lady Adelasia was shocked by this out of place comment from her servant. If if was not for Carafina's previous odd behavior she would have immediately ordered her to be punished but instead she simply stared at Carafina with a facial expression which revealed both astonishment and outrage. Since Carafina was very inept in emotional intelligence and had very little capacity to understand body language, she continued with excitement after sitting on the ground in front of her lady.
"My Lady, this is a very unique year and if you can time your pregnancy correctly your child - hopefully a son- can be born in the most blessed day of all times and he will have a bright future. "
Lady Adelasia was outraged. It was not because Carafina was daring to talk about such a private issue. rather, it was because it meant Carafina had passively eavesdropped on her private conversations. Lady Adelasia was about to scream at Carafina and throw her out of her chamber, but Carafina started talking again with even more excitement before Adelasia had a chance to open her mouth.
"My Lady" said Carafina. "Since we are in the year 1212, December 12 is a very special day because it's day and month and year numbers all match. They are all twelve. This must have a special meaning for our lord in heavens and any child born in that day will be blessed." Carafina was referring to the date 12/12/1212. This comment aroused Lady Adelasia's curiosity although she was still angry. She stared at Carafina for a few second. It was also hard for her to dully understand what Carafina had said.
Carafina continued before Adelasia could stop her.
"My Lady a day like this only happens once in a century and it is very special. Last time it happened was November 11 of year 1111 and before that it was October 10 of year 1010. You should time your pregnancy to .." Before Carafina had a chance to finish this sentence Lady Adelasia stood up in anger and shouted at her to get our. "How dare you talk about my personal life?" She screamed at Carafina.
Carafina stood up in shock. She was expecting to receive a complement from her lady for this suggestion. As she walked toward the door Lady Adelasia walked behind her in anger and threatened to send her back if she dares to do such a thing again.
In her shock and bewilderment Carafina added one more sentence as she left the room: "My Lady the best days for you to get pregnant are between March 9 and March 15." This incident took place on March 3rd.
***
In order to punish Carafina and teach her a lesson Lady Adelasia ordered her to be confined in a dark room in the basement of the castle for three days. The first few hours of this punishment were very difficult for her but soon she escaped into her fantasies and thought experiments. She imagined solutions to many questions that always occupied her mind. After this punishment Carafina was more reserved in front of her lady. Lady Adelasia had not said anything about this incident to her husband because she knew that Malatesta della Penna wold have immediately expelled Carafina.
***
One beautiful day in late April the residents of the castle learned that their Lady was pregnant. The servants were overjoyed and they all prayed that this one will not end in a miscarriage. In the afternoon of May 2nd Lady Adelasia was resting in the garden that blue scarf lady approached her.
"My Lady I have heard some very disturbing news about Carafina that I think you should be aware of."
This came as a surprise to Lady Adelasia because she was satisfied with Carafina's manner since the punishment.
"My Lady, I'm worried that Carafina might have committed blasphemy against our Lord in Heaven."
"What do you mean?" asked Lady Adelasia.
"My Lady one of the servants came to me three days ago and shared a very disturbing news. She said that Carefina had told her and another servant that if the earth was circling around the sun we would still feel as if the sun was circling around earth." Said the blue-scarf woman as she made the sign of the cross on herself. She seemed very nervous.
"You know that Carafina is not normal. She is full of strange stupid ideas." Said Lady Adelasia.
"But my Lady this is a blasphemous thought. We know that our Lord in Heaven created the earth and then created the sun and the stars to circle around it. To spread doubt about the Lord's creation is a sin and I'm worried that it could bring us ill omen. Last night one of the cooks burned his hand in the kitchen and today morning one of the servants fell on stairs and injured herself. .... My Lady, these can be signs from our Lord in Heaven that we have a sinner in our midst. "
Lady Adelasia looked at her for a few seconds in silence.
"My Lady we cannot allow the Lord in Heaven to be angry with us while you are pregnant. God forbid if this bad omen falls upon your unborn. "
Lady Adelasia put her left hand on her belly as she heard these words. She felt very anxious. She ordered the blue-scarf woman to send Carafina back to her family immediately and not to talk to anyone about this issue.
The blue-scarf woman did not waste any time. Without any explanation she took Carafina back to her family and gave her mother three Soldos (silver coins). Amitula could not stop her tears. "What did she do wrong?" She asked. "May our Lord in Heaven have mercy on her soul." Said the blue-scarf lady before she left.
***
Carafina knew why she was expelled from the castle but she felt innocent. Three days earlier she asked another young servant, Corelia, to help her with an experiment.
"Can you hold this loaf of bread in your hand without moving it for a moment?" Carafina asked Corelia. Then Carafina inserted a stick that was about ten centimeters long in the bread vertically so that it was holding firm but about seven centimeter of it was visible. She next lighted a candle and slowly rotated it around the bread.
"Carafina what are you doing?" Asked Corelia.
"I want to see how the shadow of this stick moves as I rotate the candle around the bread. This loaf of bread is like our flat earth, which sits at the center of the universe. The candle is like the sun that rotates around earth." Then Carafina carefully watched if the stick as she rotated the candle several times.
Corelia did not understand what was the point of this experiment but patiently held the bread.
"Now lets switch." said Carafina as she took the bread from Corelia and gave her the candle. "Now you hold the candle steady and I will rotate the bread around it.
"Why do you want to do this?" asked Corelia.
"I like to see how the shadow of the stick will move if the earth was rotating around the earth."
Corelia felt uncomfortable as she heard these words. She knew that the Lord had created the earth as the center of the universe and it will be a sin to think otherwise. She did not say anything because Carafina had done her a favor a few days ago and she felt that by helping her with this experiment she was returning the favor.
Carafina rotated the loaf of bread a few times around the candle and carefully observed the movement of the stick's shadow on the bread.
"just as I guessed, the movement of the stick's shadow on this loaf of bread is the same." Said Carafina.
Corelia did not say anything. She just wanted this strange thing to be over with.
"If this stick is a human being that was standing in one spot from dawn to dusk, how would he know if the sun is circling around the earth or the earth is circling around the sun." Continued Carafina.
Corelia felt anxious and made a cross sign on her chest. "Carafina these are sinful thoughts. We know that our Lord in Heaven created the earth as the center of the universe for us and everything in sky rotates around us."
"I know that - and god forbid, I am not questioning our Lord's design. I'm just saying that if I stood still in one spot under the sun for one whole day and looked the movement of my shadow I would not be able to say if the sun was rotating around the earth or the other way around. "
After this experiment Corelia felt tormented for hours. Finally, she went to the blue-scarf woman and told her what Carafina had done and had said.
***
In the month of December the residents of Verucchio learned that Lady Adelasia had given birth to a son named Malatesta da Verucchio. Malatesa della Penna was overjoyed. He organized several days of festivities for the entire village to welcome his son. Malatesta da Verucchio grew up to become a powerful political leader. He eventually became the ruler of the entire Rimini region. He elevated the Malatesta family to the position of power and prominence throughout Italy. He lived for one hundred years (1212-1213). This was an amazing long life for 13th century Europe in which men felt lucky if they lived beyond their 50th birthday. There is no historical record to determine if Malatesta da Verucchio was born on the twelfth day of December or not!
Carafina lived with her parents for two years after she was expelled from the castle. In March of 1214 she was married off to a young man from a merchant family by the name of Andrea Landini, who had lost his eyesight to smallpox post effect in childhood. They had a happy and successful marriage.
Lesson 13: You must be very careful about the impact of what you say on people's established beliefs and superstitions. Even in modern times some people find refuge in beliefs that can not be supported by science but they find emotional security in such beliefs.
(Finished on November 20, 2020)
