EyeWitness to History - Index. Medieval Demographics Made Easy. Fantasy worlds come in many varieties, from the "hard core" medieval-simulation school to the more fanciful realms of high fantasy, with alabaster castles and jeweled gardens in the place of the more traditional muddy squalor. Despite their differences, these share a vital common element: ordinary people. Most realms of fantasy, no matter how baroque or magical, can not get by without a supply of ordinary farmers, merchants, quarreling princes and palace guards. Clustered into villages and crowding the cities, they provide the human backdrop for adventure. Of course, doing the research necessary to find out how common a large city should be, or how many shoemakers can be found in a town, can take up time not all GMs have available. To the end of more satisfying world design, I've prepared this article. This article is a distillation of broad possibilities drawn from a variety of historical reference points, focusing more on results than on the details that create them.
Population Spread. American History Documents. Timeline of History - 20th Century at a Glance. Mozilla Firefox Start Page. Mozilla Firefox Start Page. EyeWitness To The Middle Ages and Renaissance. Life in a Christian Monastery, ca. 585"When he was dead his body was not placed with the bodies of the brethren, but a grave was dug in the dung pit, and his body was flung down into it. . . " Crime and punishment in a medieval monastery: the monastery's Abbott provides insight into the monastic life. The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000"There was no want of salmon either in the river or in the lake. " Five hundred years before Columbus, the Vikings discover a New World.
Invasion of England, 1066The Norman conquest of Anglo-Saxon England described through the images of the 900 year-old Bayeux Tapestry. Anarchy in 12th Century EnglandThe Anglo-Saxon Chronicle paints a sobering picture of life in 12th century England that contrasts strikingly with Hollywood's image of the Middle Ages. The Murder Of Thomas Becket, 1170The killing of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Crusaders Capture Jerusalem, 1099The assault and capture of the Christian "Navel of the World" Stone Pages • Web guide to Megalithic Europe. White Rose Society | The Four Leaflets | HOME.