Wikipedia Trail: From Weregild to Ancient Egyptian Agriculture
I started with looking up a term from the Beowulf reading this week: Weregild, a payment rendered as reparations for the death of someone's kin. Blood money, in other words. The implied relationship between Hrothgar and Beowulf I think comes from Beowulf's father's debt, which Hrothgar paid off years past. Beowulf's eagerness to attack the monster wasn't selfless: he knew he owed Hrothgar, and this was a way to make things right between their families.
But, while reading about weregild, the subject of Tribalism came up. The weregild concept is referred to by historians as an intermediary concept in the moral development of mankind, most especially in the arena of social justice. A tribe evolving beyond simple values establishes both tribal morals and punishments should these rules be broken.
But how did tribes evolve? We don't really know exactly how or why, but we can point to the origins of true civilization: agriculture provided a sufficiently large population to create the need for such moral codes, and required people to live around each other long enough to develop and enforce rules of conduct. Ancient Egyptians were not the first to farm, but they were the most successful of their time due to the cyclic flooding of the Nile river (allowing for really, really easy irrigation with the seasons). Ancient Egyptian agriculture permitted the first true hallmarks of civilization to rise: beer, religion and education. In that order.
But, while reading about weregild, the subject of Tribalism came up. The weregild concept is referred to by historians as an intermediary concept in the moral development of mankind, most especially in the arena of social justice. A tribe evolving beyond simple values establishes both tribal morals and punishments should these rules be broken.
But how did tribes evolve? We don't really know exactly how or why, but we can point to the origins of true civilization: agriculture provided a sufficiently large population to create the need for such moral codes, and required people to live around each other long enough to develop and enforce rules of conduct. Ancient Egyptians were not the first to farm, but they were the most successful of their time due to the cyclic flooding of the Nile river (allowing for really, really easy irrigation with the seasons). Ancient Egyptian agriculture permitted the first true hallmarks of civilization to rise: beer, religion and education. In that order.
Ploughing with a yoke of horned cattle in ancient Egypt. Painting from the burial chamber of Sennedjem, c. 1200 BC
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