There are a few variations of animal and vegetable involved but the thought process is always the same.
Imagine the way off early Middle Ages. They are so far off that they are referred to as The Dark Ages. This is actually quite a broad term covering from about the 5th Century AD to the 15th.
It was undoubtedly a time of uncertainty, mystery, suspicion, mistrust and a very fragile existence indeed for the inhabitants of the known world. If it wasn't a time of conflict it was one of plaque or persecution, penury and misery.
I have quite a strong visual image of that era, mainly thanks to a Monty Python comedic portrayal in their movie "The Holy Grail". The scene opens with some peasants grovelling around in the grime and mud very much a subsistence existence when they see a figure pass by accompanied by an individual with coconut shells making the sound of horses hooves.
One of the decrepid Serfs remarks casually that the grander of the two was the king. His pockmarked and bandy-legged companion queries how he came to that conclusion and is told "because he is not covered in shit!"
It was, in that precarious period in history, a thin defining line between poverty and relative wellbeing.
You can appreciate the desire of many lower order families to try to place their sons and daughters in more advantageous positions in the fledgling social order of the day. Daughters could be put into servitude in a better off household as perhaps the best of many options, some too horrific and degrading to even contemplate.
Sons could progress in the roles of Page or Steward to the Knightly Class, become indentured as an apprentice to a tradesman or enter the monastic orders at the lowest level.
There was obviously quite a clamour to try to attain a better standard of living for many thousands of individuals who would otherwise be condemned to a harsh and short lifespan existence.
In the 8th Century, an Englishman from the City of York held an important position in the Monastery of St Martin, Tours, France.
Alcuin, or to give him his full name, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus, was an advisor to the great Charlemagne and attained the reputation as the most learned man in the whole world.
Credited to Alcuin is perhaps one of the best known puzzles that has survived to the present day as a test of mathematics, lateral and logical thinking.
It was used back in the 8th Century as a sort of entrance examination for the multitudes seeking survival within the discipline and practicality of monastic orders.
It is of course the issue of how to cross a river in a small boat with a mixture of creatures and foods without one or the other getting eaten.
In its original form the boatman was required to transport over the water a wolf, a goat and some cabbages.
I can see your brain kicking into action with a range of scenarios and combinations. There are a few that make the logistical operation possible but here is the test case answer.
a)In the boat that is only big enough to take one human and one item first convey the goat to the far bank.
b)Make the return journey alone and collect the wolf.
c) On arriving back at the far bank deposit the wolf but retrieve the goat and bring it back to where you have left the cabbages.
d) Swop the two and then row back, cabbages on board to put them ashore with the wolf.
e)Make a fifth crossing so that the only inhabitants of the other side of the river are the carnivorous wolf and a lot of , to the wolf, unappetising. vegetable.
f)Go back to rescue a lonely goat and make a landing with a full compliment of beast and foodstuff.
Quite an energetic operation but if presented to an 8th Century Monastery interview panel in a methodical and logical manner then you could expect to live out the rest of your days in relative peace, safety and health.
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