Guest Post from E. C. Ambrose: Researching the Middle Ages
Researching the Middle Ages
If there is one period of time most associated with fantasy fiction, it's the Medieval-from about 1100-castles, crusades, and courtly love-to the middle 1500's, at the cusp of the European transformation through its interactions with the plants, peoples and products of the New World. But many authors rely upon vague knowledge of the period from some distant World History course, reading a few of the Canterbury Tales, or watching a lot of the History Channel. Many fantasy manuscripts owe their world building to the bastard offspring of "Braveheart" and N. C. Wyeth's The Boy's King Arthur. Or, heaven forbid, only from reading other fantasy novels.
No, this is not the blog where I will chide you all (and you likely know who you are) or catalog the failings of a subgenre we love. Rather, I would like to help you find the tools to make it better, without getting a degree in Medieval History. Though, if you have the time and inclination, that could be a lot of fun. There are some good books out there to give you an overview, so I’m going to suggest some offbeat, more interesting approaches to research.
If you can, fly to Europe. Visit a few castles and cathedrals, tour some period houses, find exhibits, artifacts and museums to study. Do some research in advance-find out if there are special open days, historical re-enactments, lectures or exhibits that would be of use to you. Look for specific places or buildings that will help with your fantasy project. Hire a guide to tell you all about it while you're there on the ground. Take notes, take pictures of details they don't put in books, ask questions. If you can't get there from here, look for some local museums: try the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Higgins Armory in Worcester.
Yes, many castles, cathedrals and museums have great websites where you can learn many things. Some of them are even putting their audio tours on-line, which is invaluable. However, what I'm talking about here is the material culture of the Middle Ages. What kind of stuff did they have? How is it made? How does it look, feel or smell? Experiential learning is great if you can get it. Take a falconry workshop (yes, you really can-I took mine here). Ride a horse. Sew something by hand. Cook a medieval meal (No, those lovely big turkey legs at the Renn Faire are *not* period).
Now that you have a little more grounding in the physical realm of the Middle Ages, what about entering the mindset and cultures of the people you're portraying? Check out the Internet Medieval Sourcebook hosted by Fordham University where you can find hundreds of translated documents on-line, ranging from trial transcripts and laws, to papal decrees and poetry. Read the stories they knew and consider the implications of the laws they enacted. What frightened and inspired them? What metaphors and images drew their attention? What behaviors did they condemn and how harshly? This part is about primary sources, the written matter that captures the time.
Find some enthusiasts. There are researchers, re-enactors and museum curators who love their subject matter. This is especially handy if you are researching a specific, narrow topic. Likely someone out there has a blog just for that-introduce yourself and ask questions.
And, if you can, my personal favorite: the International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo. This annual event happens around Mother's Day weekend in May, and features thousands of scholars and students in a huge array of specialties, organized into groups like the Societas Magica (for the study of magic in the Middle Ages) or the Richard III Society. You can select from thousands of sessions where these scholars present papers about obscure and often fascinating topics. You can pursue a particular area of interest (like Norse studies through literature and archaeology) or sit in on a broad array of presentations, as if you compressed that entire degree in Medieval History into a single long weekend. It's tiring-and incredibly stimulating at the same time.
Join me in rehabilitating the medieval fantasy into a genre we can be proud of-and have a great time doing it!
____________
E. C. Ambrose is the author of The Dark Apostle historical fantasy series about a medieval barber surgeon to start in July 2013 with DAW books. E. C. blogs about history, fantasy and writing at http://ecambrose.wordpress.com/ and can also be found at www.ecambrose.com, on twitter @ecambrose, or in a tiny office in New England with a mournful black lab lurking under the desk.
If there is one period of time most associated with fantasy fiction, it's the Medieval-from about 1100-castles, crusades, and courtly love-to the middle 1500's, at the cusp of the European transformation through its interactions with the plants, peoples and products of the New World. But many authors rely upon vague knowledge of the period from some distant World History course, reading a few of the Canterbury Tales, or watching a lot of the History Channel. Many fantasy manuscripts owe their world building to the bastard offspring of "Braveheart" and N. C. Wyeth's The Boy's King Arthur. Or, heaven forbid, only from reading other fantasy novels.
No, this is not the blog where I will chide you all (and you likely know who you are) or catalog the failings of a subgenre we love. Rather, I would like to help you find the tools to make it better, without getting a degree in Medieval History. Though, if you have the time and inclination, that could be a lot of fun. There are some good books out there to give you an overview, so I’m going to suggest some offbeat, more interesting approaches to research.
If you can, fly to Europe. Visit a few castles and cathedrals, tour some period houses, find exhibits, artifacts and museums to study. Do some research in advance-find out if there are special open days, historical re-enactments, lectures or exhibits that would be of use to you. Look for specific places or buildings that will help with your fantasy project. Hire a guide to tell you all about it while you're there on the ground. Take notes, take pictures of details they don't put in books, ask questions. If you can't get there from here, look for some local museums: try the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Higgins Armory in Worcester.
Yes, many castles, cathedrals and museums have great websites where you can learn many things. Some of them are even putting their audio tours on-line, which is invaluable. However, what I'm talking about here is the material culture of the Middle Ages. What kind of stuff did they have? How is it made? How does it look, feel or smell? Experiential learning is great if you can get it. Take a falconry workshop (yes, you really can-I took mine here). Ride a horse. Sew something by hand. Cook a medieval meal (No, those lovely big turkey legs at the Renn Faire are *not* period).
Now that you have a little more grounding in the physical realm of the Middle Ages, what about entering the mindset and cultures of the people you're portraying? Check out the Internet Medieval Sourcebook hosted by Fordham University where you can find hundreds of translated documents on-line, ranging from trial transcripts and laws, to papal decrees and poetry. Read the stories they knew and consider the implications of the laws they enacted. What frightened and inspired them? What metaphors and images drew their attention? What behaviors did they condemn and how harshly? This part is about primary sources, the written matter that captures the time.
Find some enthusiasts. There are researchers, re-enactors and museum curators who love their subject matter. This is especially handy if you are researching a specific, narrow topic. Likely someone out there has a blog just for that-introduce yourself and ask questions.
And, if you can, my personal favorite: the International Medieval Congress at Kalamazoo. This annual event happens around Mother's Day weekend in May, and features thousands of scholars and students in a huge array of specialties, organized into groups like the Societas Magica (for the study of magic in the Middle Ages) or the Richard III Society. You can select from thousands of sessions where these scholars present papers about obscure and often fascinating topics. You can pursue a particular area of interest (like Norse studies through literature and archaeology) or sit in on a broad array of presentations, as if you compressed that entire degree in Medieval History into a single long weekend. It's tiring-and incredibly stimulating at the same time.
Join me in rehabilitating the medieval fantasy into a genre we can be proud of-and have a great time doing it!
____________
E. C. Ambrose is the author of The Dark Apostle historical fantasy series about a medieval barber surgeon to start in July 2013 with DAW books. E. C. blogs about history, fantasy and writing at http://ecambrose.wordpress.com/ and can also be found at www.ecambrose.com, on twitter @ecambrose, or in a tiny office in New England with a mournful black lab lurking under the desk.