Hey guys, I've been feeling the urge to build a fantasy world in a midieval setting and I'm looking for a good source of information for Western European countries during this time period. I really want to know what life was like, what they typically ate, social castes, ect. If any one has any suggestions on a book or website that can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Recently a nice website was created, called www.google.com. If you search there you will find everything you want. May i point out though that since it is a fantasy world you want to build, it should be less loyal to historic facts and more to what you imagine it to be (hence the term fantasy). Otherwise you might end up writing a historical drama instead of fantasy.
I just have to say Xatron, that I thoroughly enjoy reading your comments. you always mix in the right amount of assholeishness, that's what I'm calling it, with good advice. sincere compliment by the way.
Try this book - it was recommended some time ago by one of the members on this forum. It's written by a renowned historian and he's famous for writing popular history (or whatever it's called - eg. history written in such a way that's interesting to the non-historian!) The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England.
The middle ages was a very long period so you might want to be a little more specific. I am writing a medieval inspired fantasy though it is still in a very very early stage. What helps for me, is to read historical fiction and watch historical films and/or series. It does not give all the information you might want and it might not all be 100% correct, but it helps to get you a basic idea of things. I am actually not going to look to the middle ages in too much detail since I want fantasy to be very prominent in the story, so these sources are very helpful for me. If I really want to 'copy' something from the middle ages, I will look it up in more detail (an example here of is some torture methods). Good luck writing!
Google and Wikipedia are your friends here. Check the sources used in Wikipedia and go directly to them if you want to learn more. Interview people who are experts of the period. People in the know usually love to share their knowledge. Like, if you wanna write fencing, interview fencing masters. Drop 'em an e-mail or go visit the gym. Consume fantasy lit to get inspired and to find out what's already been done, what you could do better, etc. Visit medieval fairs. While not perfectly accurate, you'll get close to the feel and mood of the period, get to taste the types of foods eaten and beverages drunk back then, dance to the period's music, etc. These will all help with building the setting. I was so disappointed when I found out that some torture methods I wanted to put in a novel were never actually used e.g. by the Spanish Inquisition. It didn't stop me from using some of them in the story, but it would've been fitting if that stuff hadn't been closer to fact than fiction -- as horrible as that may sound. Oh well.
Hahaha For some reason I like making characters suffer...and I wanted a painful but not very harmful torture method (as in not having lasting damage on the body with exception of scars) About three weeks ago I want to a fantasy fair where a lot of medieval things were as well. It was such an inspiration boost!
Well, that's the Spanish Inquisition for you - they're an unpredictable bunch. After all, no-one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Thanks for reminding me of the song from Avbyte.. Now I shall repay this service by posting it here (but you would probably get better info here than just googling it and so it doesn't apply so much in this case) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftQ6A3DKKeg
90% of the time when someone asks for info here, the ones that respond first go to google for the info. You can understand why.
