Post by Witch-king of Angmar on Oct 25, 2007 23:38:46 GMT
When I am first beginning to describe a place (ie, cottage, castle, fortress, countryside, village, city), I try to visualize how it might look. I consult the Tolkien books where they apply, but many times I must use other sources. I rely heavily upon descriptions that have come down to us of real places in medieval times.
I am going to recommend three books that are a great help for visualizing medieval life. (There are endless other books and links on the internet, but these books, which are meant for younger readers, are heavy in graphics and have information that can be accessed quickly. I bought them used a few years ago from Amazon. They were originally written to be library and/or school research books for children. They are worth buying, if you can find them.)
Castles by Philip Steele; published by Kingfisher, a Houghton Mifflin Company imprint
How Would You Survive in the Middle Ages? written by Fiona Macdonald; illustrated by Mark Peppé; created and designed by David Salariya. Salariya Book Co. Ltd. First American Edition 1995 by Franklin Watts, a division of Grolier Publishing
A Medieval Castle written by Fiona Macdonald; illustrated by Mark Bergin. Salariya Book Co. Ltd. Published by Peter Bedrick Books, a division of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group
(An example of a page in Castles by Philip Steele can be found at: www.geocities.com/thequietwraith/siege.gif This shows a siege in progress and the siege machinery that would have common in medieval times. I scanned this picture from the book back when I was the gamemaster of another creative writing project. The type is a little blurry; the scan wasn't the best, but it is readable. You might want to refer back to it if we ever write about a siege.)
Here is one of my favorite sites on the web to show a medieval Anglo-Saxon village.
www.regia.org
If you want to go straight to the table of contents and see a complete list of articles, visit www.regia.org/listings.htm
Now if you ever are writing about someone from Harad or parts of Khand, below is an absolutely phenomenally good site. I find it invaluable. I can't say too many good things about it. Of course, it is not really applicable to the North, as it covers such things as camels ;D , but it is a very good read. I wish this school had a guide this good on medieval times in Europe.
Medieval Islamic Cultures
www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Islam_New_Main.html
Using the "Similar Geographic Landmarks" theory of Tolkien's Middle-earth as the real world (which it was, but in a much earlier time), Imlad Mitheithel is located near Alborg, Denmark, and Carn Dum lies beneath the North Sea. The average January temperature in Alborg is 32 to 50 F (0 to 10 C) and 40 to 68 F (10 to 20 C) in July (according to the Hammond Comparative World Atlas).
Of course, in Middle-earth, all of the land under consideration is one solid chunk above water, so the climate will be more like the climate of Russia and/or northeastern Europe. (According to the atlas, the average January temperature of northeastern Europe is 13 to 32 F (-10 to 0 C) and the average January temperature of Russia is -4 to 14 F (-20 to -10 C). The average July temperature of northeastern Europe is 50 to 68 F (10 to 20 C). The average July temperature of Russia is the same.)
I will probably be adding some other links here from time to time. Hope it is of use to others.
I am going to recommend three books that are a great help for visualizing medieval life. (There are endless other books and links on the internet, but these books, which are meant for younger readers, are heavy in graphics and have information that can be accessed quickly. I bought them used a few years ago from Amazon. They were originally written to be library and/or school research books for children. They are worth buying, if you can find them.)
Castles by Philip Steele; published by Kingfisher, a Houghton Mifflin Company imprint
How Would You Survive in the Middle Ages? written by Fiona Macdonald; illustrated by Mark Peppé; created and designed by David Salariya. Salariya Book Co. Ltd. First American Edition 1995 by Franklin Watts, a division of Grolier Publishing
A Medieval Castle written by Fiona Macdonald; illustrated by Mark Bergin. Salariya Book Co. Ltd. Published by Peter Bedrick Books, a division of NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group
(An example of a page in Castles by Philip Steele can be found at: www.geocities.com/thequietwraith/siege.gif This shows a siege in progress and the siege machinery that would have common in medieval times. I scanned this picture from the book back when I was the gamemaster of another creative writing project. The type is a little blurry; the scan wasn't the best, but it is readable. You might want to refer back to it if we ever write about a siege.)
Here is one of my favorite sites on the web to show a medieval Anglo-Saxon village.
www.regia.org
If you want to go straight to the table of contents and see a complete list of articles, visit www.regia.org/listings.htm
Now if you ever are writing about someone from Harad or parts of Khand, below is an absolutely phenomenally good site. I find it invaluable. I can't say too many good things about it. Of course, it is not really applicable to the North, as it covers such things as camels ;D , but it is a very good read. I wish this school had a guide this good on medieval times in Europe.
Medieval Islamic Cultures
www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Islam_New_Main.html
Using the "Similar Geographic Landmarks" theory of Tolkien's Middle-earth as the real world (which it was, but in a much earlier time), Imlad Mitheithel is located near Alborg, Denmark, and Carn Dum lies beneath the North Sea. The average January temperature in Alborg is 32 to 50 F (0 to 10 C) and 40 to 68 F (10 to 20 C) in July (according to the Hammond Comparative World Atlas).
Of course, in Middle-earth, all of the land under consideration is one solid chunk above water, so the climate will be more like the climate of Russia and/or northeastern Europe. (According to the atlas, the average January temperature of northeastern Europe is 13 to 32 F (-10 to 0 C) and the average January temperature of Russia is -4 to 14 F (-20 to -10 C). The average July temperature of northeastern Europe is 50 to 68 F (10 to 20 C). The average July temperature of Russia is the same.)
I will probably be adding some other links here from time to time. Hope it is of use to others.