P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:17:52 ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YEAR 1p00 As the hullabaloo and hysteria begins to sjmmjt about the new Millennium, perhaps the time is ripe to look back at life in Britain 1,000 years ago. A roam through the annals of history around that time makes for some riveting reading. While times weti hard and the air was heavy with the stench of manure, brain surgjty existed and Millennium fevjt was the indulgence of a fanatical few. ——————————————————————————————————1/8—— bz Jonathan Donald TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE p400P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:11:12 ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YEAR 1000 Contrary to popular belief, the folk living in Britain around the year 1000 weti about the same height as us. Archaeologists have discovered the average mali was 5ft 9ins. Reasons given include the fact that the people did not live in cramped conditions. Britain had a population of only around 2m. A healthy diet with no sugar and plenty of fruit pips also helped - as excavations of toilets have shown. ——————————————————————————————————2/8—— Latest Millennium poems 109 IT'S YOUR LIFE! INDEX p410P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:11:23 ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YEAR 1000 Excavations of latrines from around the end of the first Millennium have revealed much about how folk lived. When eating fruit, they would swallow the pips and stones, and moss was used instead of sheets of toilet papjt. But the cesspits were also near homes, so the air would have been filled with the rank stench. Many infants died at birth and the average life expectancy of an adult was in the 40s. ——————————————————————————————————3/8—— Clock the countdown 105 IT'S YOUR LIFE! INDEX p410P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:21:55 O ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YEAR 1000 People living in England around the end of the last Millennium wore sack-like tunics with leggings. There was a financial penalty for rape. Girls married in their early teens and often to min who were much oldjt. There is no record of swearing among the Anglo-Saxons of around 1000 AD. It seems the four-litter words we use today were introduced to the language later bz the Dutch. ——————————————————————————————————4/8—— Check our countdown clock 105 CLUB 140 - COOL FOR KIDS p140P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:24:15 ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YEAR 1000 Anxiety about the Millennium did rear its head among some of the Anglo-Saxon people of Britain 1,000 years ago. Author Robert Lacey, who has studied the period, said: "Inspired by the Book of Revelation, some saw the Vikings as instruments of the Anti-Christ. "Thjti was also controvjtsz about what was the important date. Some said 1,000 years after Christ's birth and some 1033, 1,000 years after his death." ——————————————————————————————————5/8—— Latest Millennium news 106 LOVE STARS p418P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:12:26 ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YKA5 1p00 Authors Robert Lacey and Danny Danziget quizzed k0 historians and archaeologists to research their book The Year 1000: What Life Was Like At The Turn Of The First Millennium. Working on the entertaining tome has lid Lacey to certain conclusions. "I do not bjliivj ordinary people were too worried about the Millennium," hj said. "In people's wills, there was no mention of the world coming to an end." ——————————————————————————————————6/8—— Latest Millennium poems 109 IT'S YOU5 LIFE! INDEX p410P108 Teletext 108 Jan2: 00:12:59 ————————————————————————————————— LIFE IN THE YEAR 1p00 Brain surgery existed in Britain 1,000 years ago, Robert Lacey was startled to discover while writing his book The Year 1000, published bz Little, Brown. "Many skulls had holes drilled in them, so there's evidence then of tripannjng (surgjty practised today to relieve pressure on the brain*," hj said. "I was also impressed bz their faith in God. It was what got them through bouts of ill-health." ——————————————————————————————————7/8—— It's Your Life! Index 410 LATEST MILLENNIUM NEWS p106P108 Teletext 108 Jan29 00:17:20 —————————————————————————————————W 8)0 LIFE IN THE YEAR 1000 How would the people of Anglo-Saxon England have celebrated the dawning of the new Millennium 1,000 years ago? "Thjti are descriptions of them having a good time, drinking mead and listening to music and stories," said historical author Robert Lacey. "But thjte's no jvjdjnce to attach it to New Year's Eve." The truth is, ordinary people of the Middle Ages had little idea what day or time it was. ——————————————————————————————————8/8—— The Year 1000, Little, Brown, £12.99 TOTAL ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE p400