BARBARIANS
Barbarians were merciless and fierce not only towards their enemies, but
also towards each other.
It was rare for men to die of natural causes. They almost all died in
battle. They lived by the rule of force: might is right.
THE
CAULDRONMihkel Pilv
The barbarian Thor borrowed a large cauldron from Khesi, also a
barbarian. Thor needed the cauldron to make soup.
A few days went by. Khesi wanted to have his cauldron back, but Thor
refused to return it. He said that he had never borrowed Khesi's
cauldron at all.
They began to argue. Khesi was set on getting his cauldron back. The
other villagers heard of the disagreement.
"What are you arguing for?" the wise village elders asked. "You'll never
settle things out using words. Fight, then we'll see how things stand."
Thor and Khesi fought. Thor was much stronger than Khesi. Soon he had
knocked Khesi down and given him a black eye too.
The situation was clear to the villagers. Thor had won - therefore he
was right. Therefore Thor hadn't taken the cauldron, and Khesi had lied.
The problem was resolved. Thor kept the cauldron and the village headman
ordered that Khesi be given 100 lashes -for still claiming that the
cauldron was his.
At first,
barbarians also kept slaves, who were usually prisoners of war or bought from far-away
lands.
Then modern religion, which came from the south, spread among the barbarians. It promised
happiness to the oppressed and freedom to the slaves, and declared that all people are
equal. Slaves were set free.
People also discovered that there are other ways to determine the truth
than by who fights better. The barbarians learned to read and they soon
made laws. As a model they used the laws of the ancient states.
What do you know about this religion?
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