...and then my flatmate recommended an amazing book to go with it. So the timeline concerns the Third Crusade (The one Robin et al went to) but it doesn't just cover the crusade events, but also the political and military movements starting from when Reynauld takes Saladin's sister prisoner and Saladin starts retaking the Holy Land in protest. Guy ( Read more... )

I decided to post a few pictures of a medieval castle I visited last week.

( Raseborg Castle, Southern Finland )

Since we're going to be involving them in the next episode, should we give the men who are definitely involved first names? Or would they be referred to by surname only ( Read more... )

We mods are Getting Stuff Done. Things have got pretty quiet around here, and we know nobody joined this game to not roleplay. So let's see who's around ( Read more... )

Recently, in the “Wassail” thread, I had SJ suggest to Allan that he join a tournament. As soon as I hit “post” I thought, “Wait. Can he do that?” Since nobody’s actually planning a tournament, as far as I can tell, I thought I’d let the suggestion stand but try to get an answer. (It’s “maybe,” but more on that later.) So I did a little poking and ( Read more... )

I don't know if anybody is watching the current BBC series on the Crusades (called...um..."The Crusades")  but last night's episode dealt with Saladin and Richard. Starting in the second half, they really get into how this affected England, the tax increases, etc. It's worth a watch for research purposes, and because the host is such a good ( Read more... )

Did you know that a network of caves dating back to the middle ages runs underneath Nottingham? This site has information about them, including a little bit about the history of the city and the caves. I was particularly amused to learn that Nottingham was originally called "Snotengaham," meaning "dwelling of Snot's people" : D ( Read more... )

So, an idea has been suggested to the mods, and it's an idea we like. So we're sharing that idea with you. In fact, this is a voting matter. All players are encouraged to vote. Please vote. We'll be contacting our hiatus'd players as well in order to ensure that absolutely everyone gets a chance to have a say ( Read more... )

Because of some accidental overlap between the current "Sparring" thread and one of SJ's journal posts--i.e., because I effed up--we've retroactively moved the date of "Sparring" up a week, to October 30. I don't think this affects anybody at all except for SJ and Nico, and Nico's cool with it, but I'm saying it here just in case.

( As an apology, I bring a couple of pieces of medieval trivia that I've learned lately and that players may find helpful. Or at least fun. )

(Sorry djaq and nisa I got nuthin for you ( Read more... )