And the English were fairly WELL nourished compared to some others, the
French for example.

Try the Japanese serfs. Even the Europeans thought they were tiny,
bow-legged little things. The current generation, fed on MacDonalds and
milk, is at least reaching towards normal stature. Imagine a diet worse than
modern ones.



When I think of the worst aspects of neolithic diets, I have  in my minds
> eye hoards of short, emaciated English serfs (not polite to call them
> slaves, though they were and are) living a life of drudgery and eating a
> gruel of weevily grains in their wretched climate.
> The weevils were the good part - fresh meat, eh?
>
> Shakespeare has an army hiding in a wheat field - modern historians
> explain this as tall wheat. They never mention IIRC that the soldiers were
> wee tiny fellows.
>
> William
>