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bandits and fairy tales
Jun. 24th, 2014 10:47 pmWas considering the other side of regal duties, namely the law. . . .
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the theory and practice of succession
Apr. 13th, 2014 08:21 pmSo why on earth is this man here your overlord by succession? Whether king or noble?
( Read more... )witchcraft and the law
Apr. 8th, 2014 09:39 pmHow would you go about prosecuting a witch in a world that had functional witchcraft?
( Read more... )Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 5: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries by Bengt Ankarloo, Roy Porter, Brian P. Levack, and Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra
Being three essays on three different topics: how the trials ends, what forms of folk magic were practiced after the end of the trials, and the enlightenment contempt for magic and the supernatural.
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Being three essays on three different topics: how the trials ends, what forms of folk magic were practiced after the end of the trials, and the enlightenment contempt for magic and the supernatural.
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To Love, Honor, and Obey in Colonial Mexico: Conflicts over Marriage Choice, 1574-1821 by Patricia Seed
A study of an era in which a great change occurred.
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A study of an era in which a great change occurred.
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legitimacy and heirs
Dec. 23rd, 2013 10:37 pmRan across a tidbit about the False Dmitriys -- one of whom actually reigned as Tsar for some time, claiming to be the the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. The tidbit was that the Russian Orthodox Church prohibited more than three marriages, and so Dmitriy was actually technically illegitimate. (Even though "Terrible" means "Inspiring Terror" -- still he went through a lot of brides.)
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So the heroine is facing off against her father's widow -- only recently widowed.
That's not the central problem, the widowhood. It's that through some shenanigans (and lack of alternatives), she's her father's heir. Installed and everything. And this woman is, of course, no longer the consort but the. . . .
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That's not the central problem, the widowhood. It's that through some shenanigans (and lack of alternatives), she's her father's heir. Installed and everything. And this woman is, of course, no longer the consort but the. . . .
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research first, inspiration second
Aug. 21st, 2013 08:55 pmAspiring writers ought to read widely and heavily in history before they find a story idea that needs a particular era's background.
Beside giving a good sense of what societies are like so you get a built-in detector for need to research, it can also provide facts along the way. Like, say, succession.
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Beside giving a good sense of what societies are like so you get a built-in detector for need to research, it can also provide facts along the way. Like, say, succession.
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witch hunts
Aug. 6th, 2013 11:40 pmgrumble grumble grouse grouse grouse. . . .
Read a bit of world-building where a writer was talking about a Dark Ages analog in his world. And then threw in a comment about having latter concepts such as inquisitions -- and witch trials.
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Read a bit of world-building where a writer was talking about a Dark Ages analog in his world. And then threw in a comment about having latter concepts such as inquisitions -- and witch trials.
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throw the bastards out!
May. 27th, 2013 02:29 pmMost of the time, if your characters are discontented with the government they are under, they will not think, Revolution. They will think, Throw the bastards out.
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Why come ye not to court?
May. 9th, 2013 09:32 pmPlugging along at the outline, the heroine returns to the court where she had just arrived in the opening -- and left soon after -- and the queen is telling her that her departure means that she can not receive something. . . .
And the muse starts to fuss about the notion of why she arrived at court when she did, and not a month, let alone years, earlier.
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And the muse starts to fuss about the notion of why she arrived at court when she did, and not a month, let alone years, earlier.
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times change
Mar. 7th, 2013 07:11 pmAh, the delights of historical research.
The one thing that is almost useless for a writer is the high-level account of kings and wars. But it has one use that probably can't be easily replicated by anything else, though it is not directly useful in writing.
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The one thing that is almost useless for a writer is the high-level account of kings and wars. But it has one use that probably can't be easily replicated by anything else, though it is not directly useful in writing.
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I wrestle with the law
Feb. 26th, 2013 08:56 pmNot fight, mind you, just wrestle. I have already worked out the backstory of the relevant law that my heroine will get someone to look up on her behalf. And the law is in place. Another Mad Scientist madly did this experiment before -- it backfired badly -- and the king involved that time not only made laws for his own kingdom, he persuaded other kingdoms to follow his lead.
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fin, out, up, down -- across
Feb. 7th, 2013 07:55 pmMatrimony can have some interesting requirements, which tend to get short shrift in fiction.
Part of it is nowadays, you expect to marry freely with minimal requirements. Not in a certain group (endogamy), or up or down (hypergamy for the one marrying up), or across (isogamy). Requirements were rather sterner in older days.
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Part of it is nowadays, you expect to marry freely with minimal requirements. Not in a certain group (endogamy), or up or down (hypergamy for the one marrying up), or across (isogamy). Requirements were rather sterner in older days.
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nature of nobility
Jan. 31st, 2013 09:11 pmInteresting sets of possibilities, even in history.
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