One infamous episode that took place in the town of Béziers reveals the brutality of the Albigensian Crusade. Only part of the town’s population was considered to be heretical. But when asked how soldiers could distinguish the Cathars from others, Arnaud Amaury, the official papal emissary sent to oversee the attack, replied: “Tuez les tous. Dieu reconnaitra les siens.” (“Kill them all. God will recognize his own.”)394
In spite of wholesale massacres, opposition to Roman authority persisted, prompting Pope Gregory IX to institute the Dominican Order in 1231, assigning it the duty to carry out inquistions for the apprehension and trial of heretics.
The Albigensian massacres and Inquisition were accompanied by a gradual erosion of women’s rights, both within the Church and throughout society. As Petra von Cronenburg explains:
The leadership role of women abbots in double monasteries was curtailed. Sacraments became deliverable exclusively by male priests…Women, who earlier were relatively free and could become poets, medical doctors or heads of guilds, became gradually constrained to the role of object of exchange in marriage, despised as demonic temptresses, and appreciated only for their capacity to produce heirs.395
The Church condemned all Courtly Love literature, deeming it inspired by the devil. This triggered strong resistance at first, even among the clergy. According to von Cronenburg:
When education for women was cut back, and when finally even nuns were restrained from teaching, the movement of the “Beguines” took form, which refused to take religious vows so as to permit them to continue educating women and girls. But in 1312, their properties were confiscated and their rights curtailed, as the Inquisition moved against them as well.396
By the end of the 14th century, the once flourishing expression of feminine values in much of Western Europe during the Central Middle Ages was practically eradicated.
The ensuing power shift is examined below from several viewpoints.
An Archetypal Ending
An archetypal perspective interprets the events that led to the demise of this age as part of an underlying shift in consciousness, from a period of more or less balanced masculine and feminine values to that of patriarchy. This included the formation of imperialist monarchies and the strong repression of the Great Mother archetype and feminine roles in general.
The concept of an unquestionable heirarchical authority, embodied by a king or emperor, was directly reinforced on the religious front by centralized papal authority and monotheism. This is exemplified by the drawing below, in which the King of Sicily is crowned by the archetypal king, Christ himself.
A strictly monetary perspective does not mention, much less attempt to understand, other significant changes that occurred at the time of this economic collapse. It does, for instance, take into account the stunning reversal of women’s roles in the workplace, and their renewed subjugation in society.
An archetypal perspective, in contrast, not only includes an explanation of the monetary changes that occurred, but also provides a more encompassing context by which to understand other shifts and reversals that accompanied the economic breakdown. Appreciation of the Great Mother archetype and her repression offers us a framework to account for the simultaneous backlash against women, the end of Courtly Love literature, the official de-emphasis of the Black Madonna movement (replaced from the 14th century onwards by conventional white Madonnas), the Albigensian Crusade, and the centralization of royal and papal power. This archetypal perspective also accounts for the subsequent predominance of other traits associated with the dominant yang coherence.
The patriarchal backlash would only intensify over the next six centuries. The Inquisition by the Church (which endured until 1784), sanctioned many forms of torture and, as previously mentioned, executed an estimated six million women. Many of these women were burned to death as witches.
Paralleling the persecutions and killings, the possibilities of gainful work by women rapidly shrank to the point that, by 1776, the French legislator Turgot would complain that women were being excluded from virtually all commercial activities, “Even those that are most appropriate for their sex, such as embroidery.”397 Until the middle of the 20th century, most women in the West could not even open their own bank account without marital consent, a situation that Eleanor of Aquitaine would have likely found absurd. The widely available local currencies were simply abandoned, and a monopoly of scarce, yang-type, conventional currencies was permanently established, further reinforcing the yang shadow coherence, patriarchy, and women's dependency.
Zeitgeist of the Central Middle Ages
The monetary perspective offered earlier in this work, though important, does not take into consideration the many changes that occured during the Central Middles Ages.
At the same time, it is also necessary to keep in mind that we do not claim that the archetypal perspective is the product of a linear causality between feminine values, Black Madonna worship, and complementary yin-yang currency systems. Rather, we see a mutual causality, a nonlinear coherence among these phenomena, occurring as a probability wave: all these variables emerged at the same time and then collapsed together as well. The Germans call this a Zeitgeist, a “spirit of the times,” when a particular set of cultural values and traits arise simultaneously. The zeitgeist of the Central Middle Ages included honoring the feminine, the appearance of complementary demurrage-charged yin currencies, and a remarkable prosperity that benefited all people and which lasted for more than two centuries.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
The uniqueness of the Central Middle Ages and the circumstances related to the demise of this golden age cannot be sufficiently explained soley by the monetary perspective offered earlier in this work. The complementary currencies very likely contributed to the high standard of conditions of this epoch; their elimination also helps shed light on the dramatic reversal that occurred in the late 1200s and 1300s. But the monetary framework does not by itself adequately explain the coherence that was operational in Western Europe at that time. Yin-yang currency systems were part of a constellation of phenomena that took hold that also included reintegration of Great Mother archetypal energies, feminine values, Courtly Love literature, Black Madonna worship and the like. The rise of each of these elements offers a more thorough understanding of the zeitgeist of this age, which culminated in a remarkable prosperity that benefited all levels of society, long-term thinking, community projects, and the advancements of women during this period. In similar fashion, archetypal repression helps explain the simultaneous elimination of the complemementary currencies, the reversals for women, rising authoritarianism, the Inquisition, and other phenomena that occurred during the waning years of this golden epoch.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX - Dynastic Egypt
The past has revealed to me the structure of the future.
~PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN
Another exceptional epoch marked by notable prosperity, long-term thinking, and other features found in the Central Middle Ages occurred much earlier in history in Dynastic Egypt. One element that was common to each society, and which helped to define them, was the existence of a dual-currency monetary system. A major distinction with respect to its latter medieval counterpart is that Egypt’s golden age lasted markedly longer, extending from as far back as the 2nd Millenium BCE to as late as 30 BCE (see insert).
Egyptian Millennia398
Ancient Egypt’s civilization extends from at least the Old Kingdom (2575 BCE) to the Roman period (30 BCE). To give some sense of the time expanse under consideration, consider that when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt n 332 BCE, this civilization had already been in existance for as long as Alexander is ancient to us. The timeframes given below are categorized according to governance.
Late Predynastic Period (3100–2950 BCE)—begins with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. Earliest known hieroglyphic writings date to this period.
Dynastic Egypt (2950–332 BCE)—so named to denote the 31 heredit
ary lines (dynasties) of Egyptian-born rulers. This vast epoch is subdivided into Early Dynastic Period (2950–2575 BCE), Old Kingdom (2575–2150 BCE), Middle Kingdom (1975–1640 BCE), New Kingdom (1539–1075 BCE), the Late Period (715–332 BCE), and three intermediate periods. The first pyramids are believed to have appeared during the Early Dynastic Period.
Macedonian/Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)—begins with Alexander the Great’s arrival from Macedonia. He and his descendants (which included Ptolemy I-XII) ruled over Egypt for the next three centuries. This period ends in dramatic fashion with the famed suicide of Cleopatra VII (herself a direct descendant of Alexander).
Roman Period (30 BCE–395 CE)—begins with the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian, which culminatied in Roman control over Egypt (30 BCE). Roman rule brought an end to the Egyptian dual-currency system. In 395 CE, Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire.
THE EGYPTIAN ECONOMY
As in the case of medieval Europe, no systematic statistical analyses were performed during these ancient times. The economic landscape can, however, be inferred from a number of indirect indicators, such as diets, working conditions, education, and archeological findings.
Food. Egypt has long and universally been considered the breadbasket of the ancient world. No less than 15 different words were commonly used during the Old Kingdom to distinguish different types of bread, which speak to a prosperous society. More than 40 words existed at the time of the New Kingdom for bread and cakes.399 The advice offered by a scribe to his disciples suggests an affluent and fair-minded society: “Do not eat bread while another stands by, without offering your portion to him. Food is always there. It is man who does not last.”400
Besides bread, cheese, onions, melons, beans, and many vegetables, there was also a plentiful supply of meat and fish. Diodorus Siculus, the famed Greek historian, reports, “The Nile contains every variety of fish and in numbers beyond belief; for it supplies all the natives not only with abundant subsistence from the fish freshly caught, but it also yields an unfailing multitude of fish for salting.”401
Egypt’s fertility in grain was the highest in the ancient world; average yield estimates ran as high as ten times the norm. One sign that something special was taking place in food production was the fact that Dynastic Egypt initiated the first historically-documented foreign aid program. Written records denote that Egypt gave grains free of charge to the Athenian citizens when they suffered a famine in 445 BCE.402 The bountiful food supply was matched by this society’s taste and selection of beverages.
Drink. Both beer and wine were abundant and commonly consumed at all levels of society. The Greek-Egyptian Athenaeus, one of the earliest-known wine critics, described Egyptian wines with a sophistication that would rival today’s connoisseurs:
Wine of the Mareotic region is excellent, white, pleasant, fragrant, easily assimilated, thin, not likely to go to the head, and diuretic. The Taeniotic wine is better than the Mareotic, somewhat paler; it has an oily quality, pleasant, aromatic, mildly astringent. And the wine of the Antylla province surpasses all others.403
The substantial quantity of consumption led a Middle Kingdom Wisdom Text to advise to lend a hand to an elder who drank too much beer, and to respect him as his children should.
Education. Formal instruction was not uncommon, particularly from the Middle Kingdom onwards. Official day schools, known as “Houses of Instruction,” were established in association with the royal residences and many temples. “Quite simply, anyone who was anyone in Dynastic Egypt could read and write.”404 Not everybody knew the hieroglyphic form of writing, reserved as it was for sacred texts or inscriptions on public monuments. Laundry lists, however, as well as dressmaking advice and other household trivia indicate that even ordinary housekeepers and servants were able to read and write in the common demotic script.
Workdays. Workdays were eight hours long and there were many holidays. According to records of the time, only 18 of 50 consecutive days were working days for the entire labor crew.405
Archeological Confirmation. In addition to written accounts, there is mounting archeological evidence of the generally high standards of conditions of the age. According to Mark Lehner, lead archaeologist of the University of Chicago/Harvard University Giza Plateau Mapping Project:
Bones in the area [Giza] suggest that workers enjoyed quite a lot of prime beef. Previous excavations have discovered that they also ate bread and fish, and drank beer. Analysis of human remains suggests that workers apparently had access to medical treatment. Evidence has been found of healed broken bones, amputated limbs, and even brain surgeries.406
For the sake of accuracy, it should be pointed out that though the majority of findings lend support to the overall affluence of Egyptian society, archeological evidence is not uniformly consistent. One exception is noted in the study of the skeletal remains in the Tell el-Amarna area (see insert).
The Exception of Tell el-Amarna
Tell el-Amarna was briefly the capital of ancient Egypt during the short reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten 1379–1362 BCE. Recent excavations at this site show that, “Anemia ran at 74 percent among children and teenagers, and at 44 percent among adults. The average height of men was 159 cm [5 feet 2 inches] and 153 cm [just over 5 feet] among women.” According to researcher Jerome Rose, professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas, “Adult heights are used as a proxy for overall standard of living. Short statures reflect a diet deficient in protein. People were not growing to their full potential.”407
The discrepancy between the archeological findings at Tell el-Amarna and others is partially explained by some of the specifics of this period and site. The reigning pharaoh Akhenaten was considered an unpopular heretic, and the conditions related to his experimental new city built in the middle of the dessert does not reflect conditions in and around the Nile basin or the overall economic reality of the millennia in question.408 In short, Tell el-Amarna can be considered an exception to the general rule of Egyptian economic wellbeing, due to unusual times and place.
What then was the source of this ancient civilization’s success?
Though the fertile black soil of Egypt was indeed exceptional, this “gift of the Nile” accounts for only part of this society’s abundance. Productive assets, such as their irrigation systems, which were maintained at a quality envied by the rest of the ancient world, obviously contributed as well, as did their apparent industriousness and the unique economic incentives that were then operational in Egypt. But these and other elements, though distinctive and important, were themselves likely the by-product of yet another ancient Egyptian peculiarity—their monetary system.
THE EGYPTIAN DUAL-CURRENCY SYSTEM
Two currencies operated in parallel in ancient Egypt.
Long-distance currencies, in the form of standardized gold rings and silver bars, were used in international exchanges with nations such as Mesopotamia and Nubia. These currencies were used for the purchase of important items such as real estate, luxury items, and marriage contracts. They functioned as both a medium of exchange and as a store of value.
Another type of currency was widely in use as well. It was demurrage-charged and linked to the storage of food.
Egyptian Demurrage and Food Storage
The Egyptian demurrage-charged local currencies, like their medieval counterparts, appeared to function purely as a medium of exchange for daily trade among Egyptians. A key difference was that the demurrage fee in Egypt was based on the actual cost of the storage of food.409 Food storage was by no means a unique feature of Egyptian society. Storing for a bad season and next year’s seedlings was an essential practice common to all agricultural societies dating back to the beginning of the agricultural revolution (10,000 BCE), and still in use to this day. The Egyptians, however, also used food storage as the basis for a monetary system. This food-based monetary system provided great benefits not just to the privileged classes but to all Egyptians, thus setting this socie
ty apart from others of its time.
The food-storage currency likely worked as follows:
Imagine yourself as an ancient Egyptian farmer who, after the harvest, has a surplus of ten bags of wheat. You bring these bags to your local storage site and the scribe gives you a receipt specifying, “Received ten bags of wheat,” followed by the official’s name and the date of this transaction. Depending on the period and locale, these wheat receipts were written on either papyri, a thick paper-like material, or, we contend, on an ostrakon (plural: ostraka), a broken piece of pottery shard, millions of which have been found throughout Egypt.410
The key to the wheat-currency system becomes clear when you return, perhaps a year later, to cash in your ten-bag ostrakon. The scribe looks at your pottery-shard receipt and orders only nine bags returned to you. The conversation might go as follows:
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