Sturtz Stuff

A lot of people have stories about horrible jobs. Gross tasks, appalling bosses, crazy co-workers. As ridiculous as some job tasks can be, none of us would have wanted to be a church bell ringer in the Middle Ages. Why? Being a church bell ringer in the Middle Ages could get you killed. Before the time of the Enlightenment (17th-18th century), people lived in a world that we would consider enchanted. People lived in a world that we modern folks would consider magical and backward thinking. Before the Enlightenment, things that we might give a scientific explanation for were often chalked up to some movement of unseen evil spirits or deities. Before the 17th and 18th centuries witch, demon, gnome, mermaid, and hobgoblin myths were familiar to people of all ages and classes. Widespread were reports that the devil entered into an animal or even a person. People thought devils were everywhere: in houses, in fields, on the streets, in the water, in forests, and in fires. The same was true f...