Okay so I know there theoretical, but if time machines
existed which time period would you go to?
Time Machine |
My thoughts on this began years ago when I read Timeline by
Michael Crichton. In this book a group of historians go back in time to the
middle ages in France. It made me think which events and times of history I would
like to go.
First off I’d love to go back millions of years to see the
dinosaurs. I have to confess to having read/watched Jurassic Park far too many
times. I’d love to tell the T Rex to stop being so grump (although if my arms
were that short I’d be grumpy. Think about all the things you couldn’t do) and
tell the Velociraptor’s to calm down and lighten up.
What other periods would I like to go to? Perhaps to when
the Roman’s first landed in Britain in 55BC.
Or maybe to the 14th October 1066 to see what really happened
at the Battle of Hastings (at Battle). Or perhaps the 100 year war (which was
116 years long from 1337 to 1453) and was between the English and the French. You
could choose the Battle of Crecy on the 26th August 1346 or even the
Battle of Agincourt on the 25th October 1415. You could watch the
archers in action to see how formable they were and see if the famous gesture
did come from them. Or would you go to a time more relevant to your ancestors?
Medieval Battle Scene |
There are so many times I would like to go back to that
relate to my ancestors. I’d love to go to all my however many back grandparents
weddings to see them on their big day and see which family members were there
so I could put faces to names. Also to anytime when my Grandma was alive so I
could meet her. I’d also love to have seen the house I grew up in being built
in the late 1880’s so I could see what my bedroom looked like new before I
painted it yellow and purple and what the original feature were before
everything was taken out in the 1950’s. Or how about the day the first teddy
bear that was made.
Just think about what you could learn. If your ancestor was
a mason working on a great Cathedral or a castle you could see which parts they
built and perhaps some beautiful carvings they did. If your family were farmers
you can see what life was really like for them and how that compares to how we
believe it was.
You could also be present for the great events in your
ancestor’s life. If you have gaps in your family tree you could go back to the
time to try and find out what happened, and just imagine the blanks you could
fill in by solving the illegitimacy questions. You could share the good times
and the bad times with your ancestors. Be there for births and deaths, new jobs
and new adventures.
But would it have to have been a personal date to your
ancestors or an event that shaped their lives? What about the signing of the
Magna Carter in 1215 or the peasants revolt of 1381? A coronation of a monarch
or how about the opening of a building where you live.
I suppose it’s all pie in the sky as I don’t think you’ll
ever be able to do it, but as a historian you can dream. Or perhaps it already
exists and we don’t know. Perhaps Michael Crichton new something we didn’t and
Timeline was true all along. If it is though I’m not going in one as knowing my
luck I’d get stuck somewhere nasty or end up in the middle of the sea!