Sickle and Scythe

In choir, today, we were going through a song that included a phrase something along the lines of "To conquer the fields with sickle and scythe" and we had a very brief moment stating that sickle and scythe were field tools.  It reminded me of actual conversations I've had with people about what a sickle or a scythe was.

"What's a sickle?"

A sickle is a small scythe with a short handle, so it's more precise.

"What's a scythe?"

Sickles and scyhtes are field tools, used for harvesting wheat.

"But I thought a scythe was that thing that one skeleton dude carries."



"Yeah. Like that."

 When the image of Death holding a scythe was created, it was meant to portray to commonfold the idea that Death harvested souls the way farmers harvested grain.  They were trying to make the idea of death LESS scary.  So if you find that hard to imagine, think about a skeleton holding a hoe or a garden spade, instead.

Like this guy.  Totally Death.  Totally not scary.
...Still badass, though.

 "Wow this is neat! I never knew any of this.  How did you know?  Were you raised on a farm?  Are you studying agriculture?"

No.  In fact, I've met a few people who *were* raised on a farm or who *are* studying agriculture who don't know this, or not all of it.

"So how do you know?"

I read fantasy stories a lot and play DnD.


Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie