How to make a person of color time traveller survive in the middle ages











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The story centers around a group of people that get lost during in the woods and -for no apparent reason- suddenly find themselves in 13th century Europe (the Netherlands, to be precise). They don't know how they got there and there doesn't seem to be much they can do about it, so they stay in a small town for at least year till they figure out what has happened to them. In the meantime they try and make a living for themselves. Some of them find work, some use their skills and knowledge from the future to make a living.
One of them is a woman who has a dark skin.



My questions are:




  • How would people in the middle ages react to a dark-skinned person? There is no harbor in town and it's quite small, so chances are they've never seen someone with a dark skin. However, they might know of their existence because of the crusades: the story is placed at the start of the 13th century in the middle of the 5th crusade (not that the protagonists were involved, but a lot of dutch people participated in it so it must have been a thing at the time).


  • What would be a good occupation for my character? The original idea was to have her take on some medicinal activities, maybe even in disguise, but this was also at the time of witch burnings and such and I'm not sure how well people would've reacted to that.



Any recommendations for research literature are also welcome!










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  • 2




    Hi, I presume you have already checked out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors ? Apparently they could do quite well.
    – pojo-guy
    7 hours ago










  • Hi! Yes, the moors were more in the south of Europe though and I can't imagine a small city in the swamps of the low lands saw/knew a lot of them. I find it very difficult to imagine the world view of a normal villager at the time though; how someone who hadn't seen much more than the next village imagined the rest of the world to be
    – canelaguila
    7 hours ago






  • 3




    Why stay in a small town? Larger cities are pretty much always more friendly to strangers, and have more opportunities to work in a cash economy like your time travelers are presumably used to. And it's not like the Netherlands is especially hard to travel through.
    – Cadence
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    You might check out twitter.com/medievalpoc
    – Russell Borogove
    4 hours ago










  • This is an aside to the main question, however it's also worth for reality's sake to watch this little clip on 'how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?" youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8
    – Aaron Lavers
    3 hours ago















up vote
8
down vote

favorite
1












The story centers around a group of people that get lost during in the woods and -for no apparent reason- suddenly find themselves in 13th century Europe (the Netherlands, to be precise). They don't know how they got there and there doesn't seem to be much they can do about it, so they stay in a small town for at least year till they figure out what has happened to them. In the meantime they try and make a living for themselves. Some of them find work, some use their skills and knowledge from the future to make a living.
One of them is a woman who has a dark skin.



My questions are:




  • How would people in the middle ages react to a dark-skinned person? There is no harbor in town and it's quite small, so chances are they've never seen someone with a dark skin. However, they might know of their existence because of the crusades: the story is placed at the start of the 13th century in the middle of the 5th crusade (not that the protagonists were involved, but a lot of dutch people participated in it so it must have been a thing at the time).


  • What would be a good occupation for my character? The original idea was to have her take on some medicinal activities, maybe even in disguise, but this was also at the time of witch burnings and such and I'm not sure how well people would've reacted to that.



Any recommendations for research literature are also welcome!










share|improve this question









New contributor




canelaguila is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 2




    Hi, I presume you have already checked out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors ? Apparently they could do quite well.
    – pojo-guy
    7 hours ago










  • Hi! Yes, the moors were more in the south of Europe though and I can't imagine a small city in the swamps of the low lands saw/knew a lot of them. I find it very difficult to imagine the world view of a normal villager at the time though; how someone who hadn't seen much more than the next village imagined the rest of the world to be
    – canelaguila
    7 hours ago






  • 3




    Why stay in a small town? Larger cities are pretty much always more friendly to strangers, and have more opportunities to work in a cash economy like your time travelers are presumably used to. And it's not like the Netherlands is especially hard to travel through.
    – Cadence
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    You might check out twitter.com/medievalpoc
    – Russell Borogove
    4 hours ago










  • This is an aside to the main question, however it's also worth for reality's sake to watch this little clip on 'how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?" youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8
    – Aaron Lavers
    3 hours ago













up vote
8
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
8
down vote

favorite
1






1





The story centers around a group of people that get lost during in the woods and -for no apparent reason- suddenly find themselves in 13th century Europe (the Netherlands, to be precise). They don't know how they got there and there doesn't seem to be much they can do about it, so they stay in a small town for at least year till they figure out what has happened to them. In the meantime they try and make a living for themselves. Some of them find work, some use their skills and knowledge from the future to make a living.
One of them is a woman who has a dark skin.



My questions are:




  • How would people in the middle ages react to a dark-skinned person? There is no harbor in town and it's quite small, so chances are they've never seen someone with a dark skin. However, they might know of their existence because of the crusades: the story is placed at the start of the 13th century in the middle of the 5th crusade (not that the protagonists were involved, but a lot of dutch people participated in it so it must have been a thing at the time).


  • What would be a good occupation for my character? The original idea was to have her take on some medicinal activities, maybe even in disguise, but this was also at the time of witch burnings and such and I'm not sure how well people would've reacted to that.



Any recommendations for research literature are also welcome!










share|improve this question









New contributor




canelaguila is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











The story centers around a group of people that get lost during in the woods and -for no apparent reason- suddenly find themselves in 13th century Europe (the Netherlands, to be precise). They don't know how they got there and there doesn't seem to be much they can do about it, so they stay in a small town for at least year till they figure out what has happened to them. In the meantime they try and make a living for themselves. Some of them find work, some use their skills and knowledge from the future to make a living.
One of them is a woman who has a dark skin.



My questions are:




  • How would people in the middle ages react to a dark-skinned person? There is no harbor in town and it's quite small, so chances are they've never seen someone with a dark skin. However, they might know of their existence because of the crusades: the story is placed at the start of the 13th century in the middle of the 5th crusade (not that the protagonists were involved, but a lot of dutch people participated in it so it must have been a thing at the time).


  • What would be a good occupation for my character? The original idea was to have her take on some medicinal activities, maybe even in disguise, but this was also at the time of witch burnings and such and I'm not sure how well people would've reacted to that.



Any recommendations for research literature are also welcome!







reality-check society medieval middle-ages






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share|improve this question









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edited 32 mins ago









Obie 2.0

1,182311




1,182311






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asked 8 hours ago









canelaguila

412




412




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  • 2




    Hi, I presume you have already checked out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors ? Apparently they could do quite well.
    – pojo-guy
    7 hours ago










  • Hi! Yes, the moors were more in the south of Europe though and I can't imagine a small city in the swamps of the low lands saw/knew a lot of them. I find it very difficult to imagine the world view of a normal villager at the time though; how someone who hadn't seen much more than the next village imagined the rest of the world to be
    – canelaguila
    7 hours ago






  • 3




    Why stay in a small town? Larger cities are pretty much always more friendly to strangers, and have more opportunities to work in a cash economy like your time travelers are presumably used to. And it's not like the Netherlands is especially hard to travel through.
    – Cadence
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    You might check out twitter.com/medievalpoc
    – Russell Borogove
    4 hours ago










  • This is an aside to the main question, however it's also worth for reality's sake to watch this little clip on 'how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?" youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8
    – Aaron Lavers
    3 hours ago














  • 2




    Hi, I presume you have already checked out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors ? Apparently they could do quite well.
    – pojo-guy
    7 hours ago










  • Hi! Yes, the moors were more in the south of Europe though and I can't imagine a small city in the swamps of the low lands saw/knew a lot of them. I find it very difficult to imagine the world view of a normal villager at the time though; how someone who hadn't seen much more than the next village imagined the rest of the world to be
    – canelaguila
    7 hours ago






  • 3




    Why stay in a small town? Larger cities are pretty much always more friendly to strangers, and have more opportunities to work in a cash economy like your time travelers are presumably used to. And it's not like the Netherlands is especially hard to travel through.
    – Cadence
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    You might check out twitter.com/medievalpoc
    – Russell Borogove
    4 hours ago










  • This is an aside to the main question, however it's also worth for reality's sake to watch this little clip on 'how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?" youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8
    – Aaron Lavers
    3 hours ago








2




2




Hi, I presume you have already checked out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors ? Apparently they could do quite well.
– pojo-guy
7 hours ago




Hi, I presume you have already checked out en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors ? Apparently they could do quite well.
– pojo-guy
7 hours ago












Hi! Yes, the moors were more in the south of Europe though and I can't imagine a small city in the swamps of the low lands saw/knew a lot of them. I find it very difficult to imagine the world view of a normal villager at the time though; how someone who hadn't seen much more than the next village imagined the rest of the world to be
– canelaguila
7 hours ago




Hi! Yes, the moors were more in the south of Europe though and I can't imagine a small city in the swamps of the low lands saw/knew a lot of them. I find it very difficult to imagine the world view of a normal villager at the time though; how someone who hadn't seen much more than the next village imagined the rest of the world to be
– canelaguila
7 hours ago




3




3




Why stay in a small town? Larger cities are pretty much always more friendly to strangers, and have more opportunities to work in a cash economy like your time travelers are presumably used to. And it's not like the Netherlands is especially hard to travel through.
– Cadence
7 hours ago




Why stay in a small town? Larger cities are pretty much always more friendly to strangers, and have more opportunities to work in a cash economy like your time travelers are presumably used to. And it's not like the Netherlands is especially hard to travel through.
– Cadence
7 hours ago




1




1




You might check out twitter.com/medievalpoc
– Russell Borogove
4 hours ago




You might check out twitter.com/medievalpoc
– Russell Borogove
4 hours ago












This is an aside to the main question, however it's also worth for reality's sake to watch this little clip on 'how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?" youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8
– Aaron Lavers
3 hours ago




This is an aside to the main question, however it's also worth for reality's sake to watch this little clip on 'how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?" youtube.com/watch?v=8fxy6ZaMOq8
– Aaron Lavers
3 hours ago










4 Answers
4






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up vote
11
down vote













She can be an Ethiopian Christian Pilgrim.



council of florence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Ethiopia




In 1441 some Ethiopian monks travelled from Jerusalem to attend the
Council in Florence which discussed possible union between the Roman
Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. The arrival of
the Christian monks caused something of a sensation. It began two
centuries of contact in which there were hopes to bring the Ethiopians
into the Catholic fold...




Would a small town in the Netherlands be aware that there might be a distant foreign Christian kingdom? Yes they would!



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John




Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Johannes) was a legendary Christian
patriarch, presbyter (elder) and king who was popular in European
chronicles and tradition from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He
was said to rule over a Nestorian (Church of the East) Christian
nation lost amid the Muslims and pagans of the Orient, in which the
Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided.




Your traveler can say she is on a pilgrimage to visit some Christian site and get a blessing to take back to her ill husband. The people will be interested in her because of her exotic provenance but more comfortable because she is christian and also interested in the local holy site. She can make her living telling stories of distant lands and peoples. Probably no-one will pay her gold for stories, but they will put her up and feed her.






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
    – pojo-guy
    2 hours ago


















up vote
3
down vote













The link to the Moors on Wikipedia is already provided in comments so I won't put it in here again, but it's important to note 2 things that are germane to your question;



1) The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century

2) It was the sacking of the Moors that led to many of the developments in mathematics and science within the Christian worlds from that time through a couple of centuries because the Moors had been spending considerably more effort in enlightening themselves than the Christians of the time.



As an educated guess, your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially, but the people of the Netherlands would express little concern or surprise at the technological or mathematical expertise of your traveler, assuming that she was a Moor. This would actually be a benefit to her because it's a convenient excuse as to why her language, customs, and occasional gaffes (like using Okay instead of All Right) may be forgiven.



To be blunt, in that era she's going to get more resistance from being a woman than she is being black but if she knows what she's doing she could easily set herself up in midwifery. That wouldn't be seen as that big a leap for women at the time, she'd already know more than the women of the day in many respects, and perhaps most importantly, if she saves mother and child from some awkward situations a couple of times over, all thoughts of witchcraft will probably go away on the grounds that there's no deodorant quite like success in this field.



Personally, I'd keep her away from technical or engineering fields - don't let her be a blacksmith or design buildings or do accounts for the local businesses. Their math was very different to modern mathematics for a start, and standing out in such fields, especially as a woman, is an ideal way to attract said unwanted attention of witch hunters.






share|improve this answer





















  • Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
    – Rafael
    6 hours ago










  • your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
    – StephenG
    5 hours ago










  • "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
    – Dan
    2 hours ago












  • @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
    – Tim B II
    2 hours ago










  • Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
    – Dan
    2 hours ago


















up vote
2
down vote













Be a leper.



Good excuse to cover up. Nobody will touch you and in fact will give you stuff to leave. If the woman has the assistance of the group, she should be able to survive without too much hassle



Another other option is a pilgrim. The group can speak for her and with extensive robes remain hidden.



Final option is to be blatant and open by being a travelling merchant from a far away land.






share|improve this answer




























    up vote
    1
    down vote













    If it's only the woman who is dark skinned, the easiest solution is to pretend she's a war booty. One of her male colleagues will pretend he captured her in war in the south. If her actual boyfriend is part of the group that's even better. An independent woman if middle-ages was more suspicious than a dark skinned person. Most women had three choices - marriage, monastery or prostitution. Whether your character is actually married to her "captor" or just a concubine doesn't really matter.
    As a bonus, being a captive from faraway lands she can explain some of her knowledge. People can be bit more forgiving of her exotic wisdom, as long as she's under control of her white man. Medicine is a good idea, but don't push it too far. Being a Moorish witch is not much better than local witch.






    share|improve this answer








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      4 Answers
      4






      active

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      4 Answers
      4






      active

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      up vote
      11
      down vote













      She can be an Ethiopian Christian Pilgrim.



      council of florence
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Ethiopia




      In 1441 some Ethiopian monks travelled from Jerusalem to attend the
      Council in Florence which discussed possible union between the Roman
      Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. The arrival of
      the Christian monks caused something of a sensation. It began two
      centuries of contact in which there were hopes to bring the Ethiopians
      into the Catholic fold...




      Would a small town in the Netherlands be aware that there might be a distant foreign Christian kingdom? Yes they would!



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John




      Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Johannes) was a legendary Christian
      patriarch, presbyter (elder) and king who was popular in European
      chronicles and tradition from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He
      was said to rule over a Nestorian (Church of the East) Christian
      nation lost amid the Muslims and pagans of the Orient, in which the
      Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided.




      Your traveler can say she is on a pilgrimage to visit some Christian site and get a blessing to take back to her ill husband. The people will be interested in her because of her exotic provenance but more comfortable because she is christian and also interested in the local holy site. She can make her living telling stories of distant lands and peoples. Probably no-one will pay her gold for stories, but they will put her up and feed her.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 1




        Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
        – pojo-guy
        2 hours ago















      up vote
      11
      down vote













      She can be an Ethiopian Christian Pilgrim.



      council of florence
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Ethiopia




      In 1441 some Ethiopian monks travelled from Jerusalem to attend the
      Council in Florence which discussed possible union between the Roman
      Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. The arrival of
      the Christian monks caused something of a sensation. It began two
      centuries of contact in which there were hopes to bring the Ethiopians
      into the Catholic fold...




      Would a small town in the Netherlands be aware that there might be a distant foreign Christian kingdom? Yes they would!



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John




      Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Johannes) was a legendary Christian
      patriarch, presbyter (elder) and king who was popular in European
      chronicles and tradition from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He
      was said to rule over a Nestorian (Church of the East) Christian
      nation lost amid the Muslims and pagans of the Orient, in which the
      Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided.




      Your traveler can say she is on a pilgrimage to visit some Christian site and get a blessing to take back to her ill husband. The people will be interested in her because of her exotic provenance but more comfortable because she is christian and also interested in the local holy site. She can make her living telling stories of distant lands and peoples. Probably no-one will pay her gold for stories, but they will put her up and feed her.






      share|improve this answer



















      • 1




        Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
        – pojo-guy
        2 hours ago













      up vote
      11
      down vote










      up vote
      11
      down vote









      She can be an Ethiopian Christian Pilgrim.



      council of florence
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Ethiopia




      In 1441 some Ethiopian monks travelled from Jerusalem to attend the
      Council in Florence which discussed possible union between the Roman
      Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. The arrival of
      the Christian monks caused something of a sensation. It began two
      centuries of contact in which there were hopes to bring the Ethiopians
      into the Catholic fold...




      Would a small town in the Netherlands be aware that there might be a distant foreign Christian kingdom? Yes they would!



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John




      Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Johannes) was a legendary Christian
      patriarch, presbyter (elder) and king who was popular in European
      chronicles and tradition from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He
      was said to rule over a Nestorian (Church of the East) Christian
      nation lost amid the Muslims and pagans of the Orient, in which the
      Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided.




      Your traveler can say she is on a pilgrimage to visit some Christian site and get a blessing to take back to her ill husband. The people will be interested in her because of her exotic provenance but more comfortable because she is christian and also interested in the local holy site. She can make her living telling stories of distant lands and peoples. Probably no-one will pay her gold for stories, but they will put her up and feed her.






      share|improve this answer














      She can be an Ethiopian Christian Pilgrim.



      council of florence
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Florence



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Ethiopia




      In 1441 some Ethiopian monks travelled from Jerusalem to attend the
      Council in Florence which discussed possible union between the Roman
      Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. The arrival of
      the Christian monks caused something of a sensation. It began two
      centuries of contact in which there were hopes to bring the Ethiopians
      into the Catholic fold...




      Would a small town in the Netherlands be aware that there might be a distant foreign Christian kingdom? Yes they would!



      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prester_John




      Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Johannes) was a legendary Christian
      patriarch, presbyter (elder) and king who was popular in European
      chronicles and tradition from the 12th through the 17th centuries. He
      was said to rule over a Nestorian (Church of the East) Christian
      nation lost amid the Muslims and pagans of the Orient, in which the
      Patriarch of the Saint Thomas Christians resided.




      Your traveler can say she is on a pilgrimage to visit some Christian site and get a blessing to take back to her ill husband. The people will be interested in her because of her exotic provenance but more comfortable because she is christian and also interested in the local holy site. She can make her living telling stories of distant lands and peoples. Probably no-one will pay her gold for stories, but they will put her up and feed her.







      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 6 hours ago

























      answered 6 hours ago









      Willk

      99.3k25190418




      99.3k25190418








      • 1




        Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
        – pojo-guy
        2 hours ago














      • 1




        Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
        – pojo-guy
        2 hours ago








      1




      1




      Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
      – pojo-guy
      2 hours ago




      Good job on the Ethiopian Christian. The Ethiopian church traces it lineage to the einuch baptized by he the apostle Phillip in Acts 8, so the religious people of Europe would have a connection.
      – pojo-guy
      2 hours ago










      up vote
      3
      down vote













      The link to the Moors on Wikipedia is already provided in comments so I won't put it in here again, but it's important to note 2 things that are germane to your question;



      1) The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century

      2) It was the sacking of the Moors that led to many of the developments in mathematics and science within the Christian worlds from that time through a couple of centuries because the Moors had been spending considerably more effort in enlightening themselves than the Christians of the time.



      As an educated guess, your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially, but the people of the Netherlands would express little concern or surprise at the technological or mathematical expertise of your traveler, assuming that she was a Moor. This would actually be a benefit to her because it's a convenient excuse as to why her language, customs, and occasional gaffes (like using Okay instead of All Right) may be forgiven.



      To be blunt, in that era she's going to get more resistance from being a woman than she is being black but if she knows what she's doing she could easily set herself up in midwifery. That wouldn't be seen as that big a leap for women at the time, she'd already know more than the women of the day in many respects, and perhaps most importantly, if she saves mother and child from some awkward situations a couple of times over, all thoughts of witchcraft will probably go away on the grounds that there's no deodorant quite like success in this field.



      Personally, I'd keep her away from technical or engineering fields - don't let her be a blacksmith or design buildings or do accounts for the local businesses. Their math was very different to modern mathematics for a start, and standing out in such fields, especially as a woman, is an ideal way to attract said unwanted attention of witch hunters.






      share|improve this answer





















      • Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
        – Rafael
        6 hours ago










      • your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
        – StephenG
        5 hours ago










      • "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
        – Dan
        2 hours ago












      • @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
        – Tim B II
        2 hours ago










      • Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
        – Dan
        2 hours ago















      up vote
      3
      down vote













      The link to the Moors on Wikipedia is already provided in comments so I won't put it in here again, but it's important to note 2 things that are germane to your question;



      1) The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century

      2) It was the sacking of the Moors that led to many of the developments in mathematics and science within the Christian worlds from that time through a couple of centuries because the Moors had been spending considerably more effort in enlightening themselves than the Christians of the time.



      As an educated guess, your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially, but the people of the Netherlands would express little concern or surprise at the technological or mathematical expertise of your traveler, assuming that she was a Moor. This would actually be a benefit to her because it's a convenient excuse as to why her language, customs, and occasional gaffes (like using Okay instead of All Right) may be forgiven.



      To be blunt, in that era she's going to get more resistance from being a woman than she is being black but if she knows what she's doing she could easily set herself up in midwifery. That wouldn't be seen as that big a leap for women at the time, she'd already know more than the women of the day in many respects, and perhaps most importantly, if she saves mother and child from some awkward situations a couple of times over, all thoughts of witchcraft will probably go away on the grounds that there's no deodorant quite like success in this field.



      Personally, I'd keep her away from technical or engineering fields - don't let her be a blacksmith or design buildings or do accounts for the local businesses. Their math was very different to modern mathematics for a start, and standing out in such fields, especially as a woman, is an ideal way to attract said unwanted attention of witch hunters.






      share|improve this answer





















      • Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
        – Rafael
        6 hours ago










      • your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
        – StephenG
        5 hours ago










      • "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
        – Dan
        2 hours ago












      • @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
        – Tim B II
        2 hours ago










      • Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
        – Dan
        2 hours ago













      up vote
      3
      down vote










      up vote
      3
      down vote









      The link to the Moors on Wikipedia is already provided in comments so I won't put it in here again, but it's important to note 2 things that are germane to your question;



      1) The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century

      2) It was the sacking of the Moors that led to many of the developments in mathematics and science within the Christian worlds from that time through a couple of centuries because the Moors had been spending considerably more effort in enlightening themselves than the Christians of the time.



      As an educated guess, your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially, but the people of the Netherlands would express little concern or surprise at the technological or mathematical expertise of your traveler, assuming that she was a Moor. This would actually be a benefit to her because it's a convenient excuse as to why her language, customs, and occasional gaffes (like using Okay instead of All Right) may be forgiven.



      To be blunt, in that era she's going to get more resistance from being a woman than she is being black but if she knows what she's doing she could easily set herself up in midwifery. That wouldn't be seen as that big a leap for women at the time, she'd already know more than the women of the day in many respects, and perhaps most importantly, if she saves mother and child from some awkward situations a couple of times over, all thoughts of witchcraft will probably go away on the grounds that there's no deodorant quite like success in this field.



      Personally, I'd keep her away from technical or engineering fields - don't let her be a blacksmith or design buildings or do accounts for the local businesses. Their math was very different to modern mathematics for a start, and standing out in such fields, especially as a woman, is an ideal way to attract said unwanted attention of witch hunters.






      share|improve this answer












      The link to the Moors on Wikipedia is already provided in comments so I won't put it in here again, but it's important to note 2 things that are germane to your question;



      1) The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century

      2) It was the sacking of the Moors that led to many of the developments in mathematics and science within the Christian worlds from that time through a couple of centuries because the Moors had been spending considerably more effort in enlightening themselves than the Christians of the time.



      As an educated guess, your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially, but the people of the Netherlands would express little concern or surprise at the technological or mathematical expertise of your traveler, assuming that she was a Moor. This would actually be a benefit to her because it's a convenient excuse as to why her language, customs, and occasional gaffes (like using Okay instead of All Right) may be forgiven.



      To be blunt, in that era she's going to get more resistance from being a woman than she is being black but if she knows what she's doing she could easily set herself up in midwifery. That wouldn't be seen as that big a leap for women at the time, she'd already know more than the women of the day in many respects, and perhaps most importantly, if she saves mother and child from some awkward situations a couple of times over, all thoughts of witchcraft will probably go away on the grounds that there's no deodorant quite like success in this field.



      Personally, I'd keep her away from technical or engineering fields - don't let her be a blacksmith or design buildings or do accounts for the local businesses. Their math was very different to modern mathematics for a start, and standing out in such fields, especially as a woman, is an ideal way to attract said unwanted attention of witch hunters.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 6 hours ago









      Tim B II

      24.4k653104




      24.4k653104












      • Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
        – Rafael
        6 hours ago










      • your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
        – StephenG
        5 hours ago










      • "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
        – Dan
        2 hours ago












      • @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
        – Tim B II
        2 hours ago










      • Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
        – Dan
        2 hours ago


















      • Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
        – Rafael
        6 hours ago










      • your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
        – StephenG
        5 hours ago










      • "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
        – Dan
        2 hours ago












      • @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
        – Tim B II
        2 hours ago










      • Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
        – Dan
        2 hours ago
















      Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
      – Rafael
      6 hours ago




      Witch-hunt as popularly depicted, involving death penalty and burning started after the 13th century and peaked around the 16th-17th centuries
      – Rafael
      6 hours ago












      your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
      – StephenG
      5 hours ago




      your dark skinned time refugee would struggle socially Any time traveler would have this problem as they would have extreme difficulty even understanding old local speech (and idioms) as well as understanding social norms and attitudes and taboos. The dark skinned woman might even have an advantage in the sense she looks foreign and may (or may not) have more allowances made for her strange behavior and problems fitting in.
      – StephenG
      5 hours ago












      "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
      – Dan
      2 hours ago






      "The first 'Re-conquest' of the Moors in Spain occurred in the 13th Century." Actually, it began centuries earlier and ended at the close of the 15th century. I'm genuinely curious as to what your definition of "first reconquest" is. Can you elaborate?
      – Dan
      2 hours ago














      @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
      – Tim B II
      2 hours ago




      @Dan I took that directly from the wikipedia site above - there is a piece in the section on Iberian Moors that talks about the Moors being driven out in 1212 by Alphonso VIII. I agree with you about the general reconquest, and if I've misread the above I'll edit, but that is the source of the statement I've used above.
      – Tim B II
      2 hours ago












      Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
      – Dan
      2 hours ago




      Ah, I see now. Yes, Granada held out for a couple of centuries between then and 1491, but generally, people refer to the reconquest as the entire period.
      – Dan
      2 hours ago










      up vote
      2
      down vote













      Be a leper.



      Good excuse to cover up. Nobody will touch you and in fact will give you stuff to leave. If the woman has the assistance of the group, she should be able to survive without too much hassle



      Another other option is a pilgrim. The group can speak for her and with extensive robes remain hidden.



      Final option is to be blatant and open by being a travelling merchant from a far away land.






      share|improve this answer

























        up vote
        2
        down vote













        Be a leper.



        Good excuse to cover up. Nobody will touch you and in fact will give you stuff to leave. If the woman has the assistance of the group, she should be able to survive without too much hassle



        Another other option is a pilgrim. The group can speak for her and with extensive robes remain hidden.



        Final option is to be blatant and open by being a travelling merchant from a far away land.






        share|improve this answer























          up vote
          2
          down vote










          up vote
          2
          down vote









          Be a leper.



          Good excuse to cover up. Nobody will touch you and in fact will give you stuff to leave. If the woman has the assistance of the group, she should be able to survive without too much hassle



          Another other option is a pilgrim. The group can speak for her and with extensive robes remain hidden.



          Final option is to be blatant and open by being a travelling merchant from a far away land.






          share|improve this answer












          Be a leper.



          Good excuse to cover up. Nobody will touch you and in fact will give you stuff to leave. If the woman has the assistance of the group, she should be able to survive without too much hassle



          Another other option is a pilgrim. The group can speak for her and with extensive robes remain hidden.



          Final option is to be blatant and open by being a travelling merchant from a far away land.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 6 hours ago









          Thorne

          14k42040




          14k42040






















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              If it's only the woman who is dark skinned, the easiest solution is to pretend she's a war booty. One of her male colleagues will pretend he captured her in war in the south. If her actual boyfriend is part of the group that's even better. An independent woman if middle-ages was more suspicious than a dark skinned person. Most women had three choices - marriage, monastery or prostitution. Whether your character is actually married to her "captor" or just a concubine doesn't really matter.
              As a bonus, being a captive from faraway lands she can explain some of her knowledge. People can be bit more forgiving of her exotic wisdom, as long as she's under control of her white man. Medicine is a good idea, but don't push it too far. Being a Moorish witch is not much better than local witch.






              share|improve this answer








              New contributor




              Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
              Check out our Code of Conduct.






















                up vote
                1
                down vote













                If it's only the woman who is dark skinned, the easiest solution is to pretend she's a war booty. One of her male colleagues will pretend he captured her in war in the south. If her actual boyfriend is part of the group that's even better. An independent woman if middle-ages was more suspicious than a dark skinned person. Most women had three choices - marriage, monastery or prostitution. Whether your character is actually married to her "captor" or just a concubine doesn't really matter.
                As a bonus, being a captive from faraway lands she can explain some of her knowledge. People can be bit more forgiving of her exotic wisdom, as long as she's under control of her white man. Medicine is a good idea, but don't push it too far. Being a Moorish witch is not much better than local witch.






                share|improve this answer








                New contributor




                Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                Check out our Code of Conduct.




















                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote









                  If it's only the woman who is dark skinned, the easiest solution is to pretend she's a war booty. One of her male colleagues will pretend he captured her in war in the south. If her actual boyfriend is part of the group that's even better. An independent woman if middle-ages was more suspicious than a dark skinned person. Most women had three choices - marriage, monastery or prostitution. Whether your character is actually married to her "captor" or just a concubine doesn't really matter.
                  As a bonus, being a captive from faraway lands she can explain some of her knowledge. People can be bit more forgiving of her exotic wisdom, as long as she's under control of her white man. Medicine is a good idea, but don't push it too far. Being a Moorish witch is not much better than local witch.






                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  If it's only the woman who is dark skinned, the easiest solution is to pretend she's a war booty. One of her male colleagues will pretend he captured her in war in the south. If her actual boyfriend is part of the group that's even better. An independent woman if middle-ages was more suspicious than a dark skinned person. Most women had three choices - marriage, monastery or prostitution. Whether your character is actually married to her "captor" or just a concubine doesn't really matter.
                  As a bonus, being a captive from faraway lands she can explain some of her knowledge. People can be bit more forgiving of her exotic wisdom, as long as she's under control of her white man. Medicine is a good idea, but don't push it too far. Being a Moorish witch is not much better than local witch.







                  share|improve this answer








                  New contributor




                  Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer






                  New contributor




                  Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.









                  answered 6 hours ago









                  Maiki Bodhisattva

                  273




                  273




                  New contributor




                  Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.





                  New contributor





                  Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






                  Maiki Bodhisattva is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
                  Check out our Code of Conduct.






















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