Jobs - Cooper

A cooper is a craftsman who works with wooden  staved vessels, including: casks, barrels, buckets, pipes, butter churns, tubs, butts, etc; bound together with hoops of wood or metal.  Fully closed barrels are known as far back as the Iron Age (800-900 BCE).  Today the tradition is carried on primarily in service to the wine or spirit making industries. Traditionally the skills and tools of the cooper were handed down for generations.  The skills of the cooper were prized in every medieval community.
   There are four basic divisions within the trade.  "Dry" or "slack" coopers made containers used to transport dry goods such as cereals, nails, and vegetables. The "dry-tight" cooper made casks designed to keep moisture out (like for flour), usually from oak. "White" coopers made straight (unbent) staved containers like washtubs, buckets and butter churns, that would hold water, but not allow for shipping of liquids (often of cedar or pine). The "wet" or "tight" cooper made casks for long-term storage and transportation of liquids that could even be under pressure, as with beer.
 The work of the cooper begins long before the assembly of the vessel.  To gather the correct materials for the work, first a tree must be selected to produce the proper staves.  Straight unblemished oak trees (for wet or tight work) about five feet in circumference work best.  This wood should have no knots The tree is then cut into boards and the boards cut down into staves.  These rough staves then need to be dried.  Plane the outside of the staves to make them smooth.  The ends of the staves need to be tapered to fit and the inside area hollowed out and flattened. 
  Assembly of the barrel is a neat trick.  A few different methods were employed for each of the following stages.  The vessel needs to be assembled at one end.  Some used a premade form (metal or wood), or even a smaller vessel of the same shape to organize the staves.  Then a hoop (iron or, more traditionally, wood) is placed over the end.  Now the staves need to be bent so that a matching hoop can be placed around the other end.  You can use multiple methods to accomplish this, including: open flame, boiling water or steam.  Several hoops may be used to reinforce the vessel.
    A few final steps before we're ready for use.  First, the tops of the side staves need to be notched evenly to receive the lid.  Now the lid should be fabricated and fitted into place.  Then the outside of the barrel should be planed and sanded to smoothness and any bung or additional detail work completed.  Then, simply fill with water and test for tightness.  Simple, right?



great overall reference - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flbbm/heritage/cooper/barrelmaking.htm
medieval images - http://larsdatter.com/coopers.htm
wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper_%28profession%29
colonial - http://www.history.org/almanack/life/trades/tradecoo.cfm
for wine barrel detailed construction - http://www.beekmanwine.com/prevtopah.htm

Celebrations (part II)

Having established the variety of excuses we find for blowing off a little steam, it's much more fun to discuss the ways in which we celebrate.  I've had the pleasure to live in a few different places and meet quite a variety of folks who grew up with vastly different experiences.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I like to imagine that the true spirit of a people is on display during the holidays.  Following are a few examples of celebrations I've either participated in, witnessed, or had described to me by friends.
    Christmas was the high point of my year growing up (alright, it still is, unless I get to travel somewhere new during the year).  Preparations begin early with the buying of presents.  Black Friday is a well documented event (though I never buy anything on that day, sometimes I do go out to witness the hysteria).  Over the years I've done more and more to help my mother bake cookies (15-20 varieties, usually) for consuming on the holiday, as well as distribution to friends and colleagues.  We always go out for dinner before a Christmas Eve church service (which has a fairly consistent format, including: singing, candles, and a short sermon).  After the service we have friends over for cookies, eggnog, mulled cider, firelight and conversation.  Christmas day is gifts in the morning, food, more family comes in to visit, then a big dinner (followed by more cookies).  It is a long stretched out indulgent holiday, which has been maintained with few alterations for many years.
    Easter in the Czech Republic has some fascinating traditions associated with it, I'm sure, but Easter Monday seems much more 'traditional' and fun. Preparations begin a few days before when men cut the young pussywillow twigs and braid them into a pomlazka, decorating them with ribbons (you can buy them on the street, but they aren't as flexible).  On the morning of Easter Monday, the men usually get together in small groups and go from house to house to whip the ladies, transferring the youth and vigor of the pomlazka into the ladies.  During the whipping (not intended to be too painful), the gentlemen are supposed to chant a little rhyme.  In return for his good deed, the gentleman is traditionally gifted with a kraslice (painted egg), though today they are more often thanked with slivovitse (plum brandy) or chocolates.  The version I heard, said that if the men showed up after noon, the ladies would douse them with water.  Honestly, it varies from village to village, and that is half the fun.
    Many holidays may feature bonfires.  In November, the English (I don't think rest of the UK celebrates for the same reason) remember Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. On Čarodějnice (April 30th) the Czechs use them to burn their witches.  Both are celebrated with the combustion of stuffed figures and copious amounts of alcohol.  The younger people I knew in Czech have distilled the event to getting drunk around a campfire with friends (someone usually brings a guitar).  Bonfires are always a good excuse for a cookout and to drink late into the night (must tend the fire until it's all burnt out after all).
    My second week in Brasilia just happened to coincide Carnival.  This festival takes place in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday (which marks the beginning of Lent, which is the privation preparation for Easter).  Carnival then is the last big party before you start denying yourself things.  Traditionally, each neighborhood has some form of celebration.  In Brasilia, groups (formed by whoever can get enough people together) plan out parties with accompanying parades, usually with a stated theme (friends took me to the Babydoll Party, which featured men in drag).  Samba bands are formed from the locals and dance groups prepare elaborate costumes for the parades. Everyone is out in the street for the parties.  Vendors sell food and alcohol out of booths and Styrofoam coolers.  If the parade has a float with music you like, you follow along dancing to and follow the parade to its terminus, where there is more partying to be done.  The press of people is close and lively.  It is apparently not uncommon to find a Carnival love, or to share a few kisses with random strangers as the spirit moves you both. 
    Parades in the USA tend to be a bit more staid.  Celebrating our independence on the 4th of July in this manner is tradition in many communities (as well as Columbus Day, New Year's Day, Memorial Day and so on).  There is usually a Grand Marshall of the parade, chosen to honor an individual of the community (or who has done something for the community, or because they are famous in some way).  Floats are made representing a variety of subjects, from broad concepts (hope, freedom, etc) to industries.  Politicians are often featured (as they were even in Medieval times) riding in cars or on floats.  Local beauty queens also ride and wave to the crowd.  There are sometimes marching bands, clowns, Shriners (wearing fezzes) in their little cars, and marchers representing various local organizations.  The residents of the town or city line the parade route and cheer as the parade passes and the music plays.  Onlookers are sometimes rewarded with candy thrown from the floats.  There is usually a competition amongst the participants for the best band/float/etc. 
    Masquerades are a popular form of celebration that have taken many forms.  Folks in the USA dress up on Halloween.  AC/DC tell us that at least some Australians like Fancy Dress parties (though I hear of it from the Brits mostly).  Venetian Masks, used during their Carnival (though of various origin), are a favorite purchase for visitors.  It would surprise me if masks were not popular the world over (I honestly don't know about Africa and Asia on this one).  They remove many of the inhibitions we feel as participants and serve to level the classes as long as we all remain anonymous.  Masks are sometimes grotesques satirizing politicians, animals, characters from stories, and so on.  Costuming has become even more prevalent today with the advent of cosplay. 
    There are many ways to celebrate the holidays.  We use food, drink, entertainment, and secrecy to allow us to relax and enjoy.  How each culture applies these concepts varies wildly and is a real joy to discover.  For the writer, I'd suggest thinking up your own festival to celebrate and put your characters in the middle.  Let them loosen up a bit and meet the locals.  It's good for 'em.  Something bad can happen to them later.


So tell me, what is your favorite Holiday?  Who do you spend it with?  How do you celebrate?   

Celebrations (part I)

The arrival of the holiday season makes us all think about the big topics, about how they relate to our lives and our families.  This is an aspect of life that has not changed for hundreds of years.  That is not to say that the holidays are the same.  These have certainly come and gone.  Some have even evolved over the centuries or been incorporated into other celebrations.  What is unchanging is that we take the time to celebrate certain days of the year which hold significance for us in one way or another. 
    The celebration of seasonal change and natural events seems to exist in all cultures.  Some peoples venerate full moons or the equinoxes.  The coming of Spring is a joyful time in any area that has a harsh winter.  The harvest is also a time to celebrate the ending of one's labors and the season's bounty.  Seasonal migrations of animal groups may also be the cause for a holiday (whether they are arriving, the village has had a good take, or the are departing and leaving us free of fear).  The celebration of nature marks both an appreciation of the vastness of nature and the celebrants joy in the knowledge that they have survived another year in the face of that power.  These are often observed with a community-wide tradition. 
      Significant event in history are memorialized annually by various cultures.  These types of events may take many forms.  Birthdays and wedding anniversaries are smaller scale and traditionally family centered, while the date of a country's founding may be celebrated by the entire nation.  Heroes may be remembered on the day of their birth or on the anniversary of a significant event in their life.  The date on which a war ended is also remembered fondly by those who suffered under the fear of that time.  How these events are observed can vary wildly from culture to culture and family to family.
    Many times, the cause of celebration is of a spiritual nature.  In medieval Europe, Saints' days were often celebrated by those who were named after these figures (sometimes in place of their own birthdays).  Significant events in the life of ones faith are often celebrated, whether they be with silent meditation or with drunken orgies.  These occasions may also be related to births or deaths, miracles or milestones.  Holidays religious in nature often have the highest level of restriction, in regards to observation, with codified dress and ritual.  Some religions keep their observance private within the walls of their halls of worship, while others take to the streets and share their celebrations with the world. 
    These celebrations were not simply excuses to blow off work for the day.  Civic celebrations are opportunities for the growth of community ties and for the upper classes to demonstrate their power and largess with parades, feasts and other forms of pageantry.  Religious festivals tie together the religious community through working and celebrating together for the common goal of practicing their religion.  Family holidays emphasize the importance of the the family unit and encourages this support network.  In the medieval world, long before the invention of the weekend, holidays came frequently, serving as a release from the toil of the everyday and as a method to bind together communities.

Jobs - Chandler

Researching on the internet is always dangerous.  This time I was reminded that I need to read more of the works of Raymond Chandler.  Like I don't have enough books in the queue already.

A fine profession for both gentlemen and ladies during the medieval period (as well as before and after it) was that of the chandler.  This title could refer to either the maker of candles and soaps, or the position in a noble household that is responsible for these items (including wax).  The profession rose to prominence throughout Europe as candles became more widely used in homes and especially in church services.
    The earliest candles were made from tallow.  Tallow is basically the rendered fat of animals (sheep and cows usually).  Unfortunately, it tends to emit an acidic odor, even when extinguished.  The quality of light was also lesser, providing a yellowish glow.  Tallow candles also tend to burn unevenly, making them inefficient.  "Rushlights" were made simply by dipping the pith of rushes (plants, like the cattail) into the fat accumulated in the kitchen as a result of cooking.  Early candles also had wicks made from rushes, but the tallow was either poured over the wicks and formed by hand, or dipped in batches.  When dipping candles, they were first dipped three times, then allowed to harden, before then being dipped to the preferred thickness.  These were sold in bundles, by weight. 
     Materials utilized by Chandlers quite naturally evolved over time, most notably with the use of beeswax in their candles.  this material burns cleaner and produces a whiter light than tallow.  Beeswax is quite literally that, the wax produced by worker bees. Being much harder to come by and usable for a variety of purposes, it was much more expensive.  These candles were naturally used mostly by the elite and in religious ceremonies.  Scents were also added at times to the mix, for obvious reasons.  Canon law declared that candles used in European cathedrals must be composed of at least sixty percent beeswax.  The rate of burning in these candles was eventually formalized enough to use the candles to tell time (burning so much per hour).  This evolved odd uses like the courting candle (see pic, right), which limited a gentleman's time to visit his beloved (17thC).

    Soap-making became part of the chandler's trade simply because of the common use of tallow.  Lye, oils and ash were also used in the mix to create the soap.  Contrary to popular belief, bathing was quite common throughout Europe up until the time of the Black Death, when folks got some interesting ideas about its pathways of transmission.  Public baths, also known as "stews," were used by the common people (though later the term was appropriated to refer to a neighborhood in London, famous for its brothels), though not as regularly as the gentry.  Tallow soap continued to be used by the lower classes long after better soaps (less likely to go rancid, or burn) were devised.
    Chandlers, like many medieval trades, were highly regulated.  They were divide into two separate guilds: those who made tallow candles and those who made beeswax candles.  Due to odoriferous nature of their product, candle making was often restricted to certain areas of town, often near the butchers and tanners.  In some cities it was banned altogether.
    Eventually, chandlers moved on to include more general use goods amongst their wares, such as: sauces, vinegar and cheeses.  Tallow candles were used as street lighting in London starting in 1415, lending a warm glow to the goings on long before gaslight.  The whiter light of beeswax brighten some churches on Candlemas (February 2nd) even today.  The efforts of the chandler added illumination (and odors) to households across medieval Europe.


http://suite101.com/a/the-occupation-of-chandler-in-the-middle-ages-a278193
http://www.essortment.com/candle-making-history-51363.html
http://www.timelesswroughtiron.com/history-of-courting-candles-s/175.htm
http://www.livinghistory.co.uk/homepages/historicalballs/History%20of%20soapmaking.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_candle_making

Arts (general)

So, you've created your hills and valleys, charted the shorelines and tracked the migrations of the orc tribes across the wasteland, so what is there left to do?  When the bones of your world are lain, and the tendons of politics are established, it's time to pile on the flesh.  What makes this community distinct from another?  There are innumerable ways to attempt it from political format to mode of dress, but a method that feels mostly overlooked is use of the Arts.
    Music is thought to be a universal reality for humans.  Different ethnic, social and religious groups have created different kinds of music.  Different climates, materials and philosophies evolve different kinds of musical expression.  Some require instruments that are very portable because the makers were nomads or herdsmen.  It is sometimes designed to make your feet tap, your whole body move, or your spirit soar.  Some music is martial, some is serene.  Those who make the music may be held in contempt or high regard.  The same can be said of those who construct the instruments.  Music's use, and the place it holds in a culture, intermingles with celebrations, religious occasions and sombre self reflection.
    Unless a structure is truly out of the ordinary, I find architecture is often underutilized as a storytelling device.  What kind of joining does the log cabin have?  That will inform a fair amount on the abilities of the builder.  What tells you that the structure is Gothic?  or Baroque?  Does your world even have these architectural movements?  I've never been to a city that was constructed all in one style (though Brasilia was close).  How are the older parts different from the new?  Does it represent a culture on the rise or the decline?  The buildings tell a city's story much better then any history lesson.
    Theater and street performance are present in many cultures.  Shakespeare wrote for the high and the low.  The aristocracy would sometimes donate last year's wardrobe to the players for their productions.  Theater was both an entertainment and a forum for social commentary.  In times before television and radio, the arts were widely and avidly attended by the masses.  Performances by troupes of players, circuses, acrobats, and so on, were occasions for celebration.  When doesn't the presence of a mime on a street corner make a scene more interesting?
    Painting, sculpture, pottery and so on all have long traditions and a variety of applications both religious and secular.  The prevalence and the form of each would be largely reliant on the materials available in the region.  Italian marble was an extremely popular material for its purity.  The ingredients use to create the pigments in oil paints could be hard to find and/or highly toxic.  Terracotta was an extremely popular medium in warmer climes, but was not commonly employed in northern Europe (unless trying to emulate Mediterranean style).  Walls were decorated in painted figures before the creation of wallpaper (which dates back to the 17th C or so), perhaps in interior decoration when exterior shows are frowned upon.  Symbolism utilized in these works was widely understood in a time when literacy rates were low.
     There is so much more to human culture than politics and warfare that should not be ignored.  The arts create a cultural framework for the characters to function within while creating a richer world.  What social values a given culture holds can be widely interpreted from its art.  These elements inform the reader about culture and, by extension, your characters which are part of it.     

Let's Make Some Magic (part III)

Magic enters the human realm in a variety of guises.  It was said that Merlin was half demon.  Gandalf was one of a small group sent to Middle Earth by some greater being.  There are many tales of the gods bestowing enchanted items on their faithful.  These always felt like cheats.  I like my heroes to have to work for their power: physical, spiritual or magical.
    Magic's nature is a thing of wonder.  Where this power comes from is an important question in any world peopled with spellcasters.  Priests may channel their deity's power.  Magic may be a "Force" generated by life (I heard about that somewhere), which is tapped by the user.  Power may be unleashed from the caster's own energy supply (Robin Hobb's Soldier Son series).  Sources of power from within the caster may be physical, mental or spiritual.  Magic may be pure energy or some other kind of material that allows itself to be shaped to the users purpose.  Magic may be energy drawn from another plane of existence or some unwilling creature (I won't ruin any surprises by other authors here).  The reader may never know where the power comes from, but it helps the writer remain consistent (and can certainly become plot if you wish).
    Unleashing magic on the world is the part of wizardry that most of us enjoy reading about.  Uttering arcane syllables, using esoteric components and the waving of hands (and of course, wands) are all part of the show.  The way in which your characters cast spells says as much about the magic (and the caster) as the real effects do.  A vocal component requires training in languages or vocalization (otherwise everyone would do it).  Spell components are usually evocative, often expensive or otherwise hard to come by (they may only be symbolic or for focus).  Equipment that aids the caster can take many forms, from magic wands to scrying bowls.  Precision, or physical power, in movement requires training of other kinds.  It is the presence or absence of these sorts of elements that show the reader what magic means in your world.
    The idea of "working towards power" suggests that there is some kind of method, path or system to follow for an aspirant.  Traditionally, this means long hours spent in the library researching and internalizing.  Many popular works today are focused on the "wizard" learning his or her craft in a school setting.  A wizard coming into his or her power can be a journey of self discovery in an emotional or spiritual sense.  This journey can be out into the world or one purely of the mind (making for some fun images of within).  Perhaps there are connections between the physical, mental and spiritual to be explored. By "earning" their power, it makes whatever use they put these powers to earned as well (it's one of the things that bugs me about the Harry Potter series).
    Magic is the element that separates Fantasy from other genres.  The word itself evokes a sense of grandeur and wonder.  A writer should approach its use with caution and respect.  It can be a lively, joyful, playful thing or dark, tricksy, and dangerous (or anything in between, naturally).  Is your magic a mystery or a well known commodity?  As long as the author knows how everything works, you can leave the readers with the questions you want them asking.  By making your characters follow a path and develop their talents, they earn whatever they achieve.  Just like any other element created for your world, the more you know about it, the more real it feels for your audience.

Jobs - Tanner

When I started to assemble my world, I knew that I wanted to write about regular people and not necessarily the big adventuring heroes of the majority of Fantasy tales.  While some occupations are relatively straightforward, I realized that I had no idea about what many jobs entailed.  I've always had a bit of a fascination about where things come from and I hope you'll enjoy my exploration.

A tanner is basically a person who takes raw animal skins and from them produces leather.  This is done to make the skins stronger and more resistant to rotting.  Leather good were an essential part of medieval life used in a wide variety of products such as saddles, armor, shoes, liquid sacks (mmm wine skins), scabbards, book covers and so on.  In some cases the tanners produced some of the finished goods personally.
    Tanners in medieval England tended to work with the skins of cattle (according to one source, those who focused on using sheep, goat or deer pelts are called tawers.  Wiki says that this is an entirely different method of preparing skins, though seems to agree on which skins are used) as they were a readily available byproduct of the slaughterhouses.  These skins would arrive at the tannery complete with blood and filth, hooves and horns still attached (as the butchers had no use for these bits). 
    The first step then was to remove the hard parts and wash the skins.  Some times this was done in the local stream.  Yum.  As a side note, the outer portion of the horns were sometimes sold to other craftsmen for making drinking vessels or other goods.
    The next step in the process (still not tanning) is to remove the remaining fat, hair and flesh from the skins.  There were a few methods for this.  The hides were sometimes soaked in a lime or a urine solution.  Alternatively, skins could be left in a warm damp place to lightly rot.  Once these methods reached the desired stage, the skins would then be scraped clean with a double-edged sharper knife.



    After this, the skin needed to be rewashed and "opened."  Again, there are a few methods to do this.  The hides could be immersed in dog dung or bird droppings.  It could also be treated in a solution of barley or rye and stale been or urine (Wiki mentions using brains in solution, but then connects it to a different process, known as "buckskinning").  While seasoning the skins, the various materials are worked into the skins (in some instances with bare feet over a period of hours).  After this, the hides are washed again.  These processes de-lime the skins and make them softer.
    Only at this time does the actual process of tanning begin.  The hides are submerged in a solution of crushed oak bark and water.  They must be in constant motion to ensure the color spreads evenly through the skin (tie-dye was apparently not in vogue).  Then the hides were placed in a pit, layered with ground bark and soaked in a weak tanning solution.  Hides could be left in this state for up to eighteen months (!!!!), depending on thickness and intended use. 



    After tanning, the skins would be rinsed and smoothed before being slowly dried under controlled conditions.  Then it would need to be stretched, shaved and made supple (for big operations, usually by a currier) before being sold as a finished product.  Simple huh? 
    Establishing a business like this took a fair amount of capital.  The tannery would need a fair sized footprint for the processing of skins, the pits for the curing process and some space for drying.  Start up costs would also be an issue since the skins take a fair amount of time for the whole process.  Tanneries generated supporting industries and were themselves a result of the boom in butchering.  All of their materials, from the tree bark to the piss, needed to be gotten somewhere.  See?  Mel Brooks' Piss Boy came from somewhere.  Who knew Mel was such a history buff? 
    How much of the before and after of this process is done by the tanner would depend primarily on local economic conditions (and if anyone else wants the work).  In small communities, tanning would be one of many hats a man might wear, while in cities it would be a full time job.  He may not have been the most popular guy in town (the stench of piss and shit will do that to a guy), but lots of folks were buying what he was selling. 

Sources:
http://anthrojournal.com/issue/october-2011/article/the-tanning-industry-of-medieval-britain
http://ossamenta.dreamwidth.org/tag/tanning+essay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanning

Let's Make Some Magic (part II)

A traditional element of fairy tales and legends is the presence of magical creatures.  When I refer to magical creatures, I am not generally referring to fantastic creatures.  Fantastic creatures like orcs and elves and dragons (in most settings) tend to follow the same basic rules of nature as humans.  Those folk I cover in a different series.  Magical creatures, then, are things from some other realm of reality, beyond our physics and everyday experience.
    Gods (as discussed at length in other posts) can certainly be viewed as magical creatures.  They have power beyond human understanding.  Sometimes they reside in another realm and must contact their believers through dreams/visions, omens or other signs.  Because these beings are of such great power (though your gods might not be, fine plot point that) authors often limit their interaction with the world.  The power of the gods is some worlds is based on their number of worshipers.  In many settings, the power of the gods are loaned in small measure to their followers (allowing certain magical abilities), but this is limited by the physical capacity of mortals to contain/manipulate/contact this power.  Often, the relationships and subsequent agreements among the gods are what limit this interaction with the material realm. 
    Angels, devils, demons and such are generally lumped with the gods, but often play a different role in a fantasy setting.  These are often the go-betweens for their masters, delivering instruction, appreciation or chastisement, as appropriate.  Immortality is not uncommon in these beings (created by the gods at need?), but usually they can be killed with concerted effort.  When they do reach the material world, they tend to disrupt nature and reorder things to their liking.  Demons seem to be a greater part of Eastern tales and their defeat often has a spiritual element.  However, at other times these creatures are too powerful and can only be overcome through trickery or deceit.  Their defeat sometimes means death, but often results simply in banishment from the material realm (either for a set period or until they figure out another way to get here).
    Ghosts and spirits are ethereal manifestations of the soul.  This variety of magical creature could be from a human spirit leaving its body or it may be from a river wanting to communicate with passers by.  These creatures are often incorporeal and take on all kinds of guises (trees and such looking more human, ghosts may look like the deceased at any stage in life or like something else entirely).  These creatures are usually tethered to a specific place, whether it be the place of their death or within a certain range of their physical form and have limited interests (who killed me?  who chopped down my forest?).  Their power, similarly, doesn't usually extend outside of this range.  In stories, these creatures are often simple plot devices to charge the protagonist with a quest.  Alternately, these beings may serve as an information source for characters (perhaps consulting an ancestor).  Spirits of the deceased do not usually mess with the physical world unless there is something specific keeping them there (though Heinlein's Martian "Old Ones" are a notable exception).  Spirits of nature don't usually bother anyone unless something messes with them.
    "The Fey" is one of the names for creatures that exist within two worlds (see the film "Pan's Labyrinth" for an example and just because it's a great movie).  These creatures might be worshiped as gods in certain settings.  Often, people residing in the "real world" do not understand the rules that govern these creatures, but it's important for the author to know them.  How do they pass between?  Why do they go back and forth?  Are they different (look/power/etc) in the different worlds?  These "rules" often provide the motivation for these creatures.  Additional examples can be found in Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell or Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles.
    Magical creatures are a mainstay in Fantasy settings.  They have been used in a variety of roles, from character to plot device to story focus.  In To Reign in Hell, they are the only characters.  Because they operate outside of our physical limitations, they need to have some of their own to limit their influence on our world.  These limits can be as simple as a pact with the other gods or as complex as the movement of the stars.  Their presence can add whimsy, menace and wonder to any world.    

Reference I Love V (mind of a man)

Back when I worked for an environmental consulting firm, one of the engineers I worked with found out that I was a fan of Medieval History.  He shared my enthusiasm and we had a short, but animated discussion on the subject (we were billing clients by the hour after all).  For Christmas that year he dropped off a little gift in my cube (which is the subject of this post) that I enjoyed immensely.  I ended up leaving the company soon after, but will always remember his generosity of spirit.

 





The Cheese and the Worms, by Carlo  Ginzburg, is an examination of the sixteenth century through the lens of a miller on trial before the Inquisition.  According to the Translators' Note (p. ix), the transcription of these trials was taken very seriously including, "not only all the defendant's responses and any statements he might make, but also what he might utter during the torture, even his sighs, his cries, his laments and tears" (E. Masini, Sacro Arsenale [Genoa, 1621], p. 123). First published in Italy 1976, this is the only account I have read which attempts to access the world through a common man's eyes, as described in his own words.
    Domenico Scandella (a.k.a. Menocchio) was brought up on trial for heresy in 1583.  Menocchio consistently identifies himself as a faithful Catholic throughout the course of the proceedings.  However, many of his utterances (he admits to them) deviate wildly from Church doctrine.  The inquisitors do their best to discover how these ideas came to be.  They come to understand that the accused has an inquisitive and somewhat scientific mind.  He can read and write and has used these skills to try to make sense of the world around him through synthesis of the information he has acquired.  The title of the book is taken from the accused's description of creation, "All was chaos, that is earth, air, water, and fire were mixed together; and out of that bulk a mass formed--just as cheese is made out of milk--and worms appeared in it, and these were the angels." (taken from the back cover and somewhere else in the book, I'm sure.  How many bloggers do you know who give any notation? Harrumph).
    This is not a beach read.  The main body of the text is only 128 pages (in a large format), but you do work for every one.  However, as a scholarly work, it is surprisingly accessible.  The author takes great pains to include detail requisite for the layman to understand the meat of the issue at hand.  The Table of Contents is a bit obscure upon first viewing (for example, "15 Blind alley?"), but serves as a good reference for returning to areas of interest on subsequent visits.  Naturally, there are copious notes and an index of names.  This is a work that bears rereading and one you should probably only tackle with notebook at the ready for the first go round.  As a window into the world of the common man, it serves to put a human face on a group that was traditionally ignored by historians and is difficult to study in general. 

What is Fantasy?

It's funny, twenty-some posts in and I still haven't defined my terms.  Bad Ben.  Bad scientist.  I'll get the big annoyance out of the way first.  To my mind, Science Fiction and Fantasy are the same thing with different settings.  In a number of series, they have even been combined in a post-apocalyptic manner (thinking Terry Brooks' Shannara series here).  The goal is not to sub-divide, but to illustrate the definitive elements of the genre.  Well, here we go.  Please let me know if you agree, disagree or have additions.

My definition of Fantasy is rather broad.  It encompasses many genres currently split off in your local bookstore for ease of marketing.  Fantasy stories take place in a world that is not our own.  Simple idea, isn't it?  What makes a story a Fantasy story are the elements of difference.

    Fantasy stories have a long and illustrious history.  Included in the rolls would be one of the earliest surviving works of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as all of what we now refer to as "myths."  Beowulf includes a variety of fantastic beasts as well as a hero who can pull limbs off of said beasts with his bare hands.  Fairy tales are also works of Fantasy, since they include talking wolves, ogres, and a goose which lays golden eggs.  Traditional Fantasy tales were often set in the modern day and were used to illustrate various life lessons or human foibles.  All of these stories contain characters whose abilities are beyond human capacity.
    This trend of using the fantastic in literature continued throughout history and are clearly illustrated in the time of Shakespeare.  A Midsummer Night's Dream is doubtless a work of fantasy, while Macbeth straddles the line.  I would argue that Hamlet is not fantasy, even though it features a ghost, but could be staged as such dependent on the director's preference.  The master uses Fantasy in many of his works to create a desired effect.  What would Romeo and Juliette be without the poison, "And in this borrow'd likeness of shrunk death Thou shalt continue two and forty hours, And then awake as from a pleasant sleep." (Act 4 Scene 1)?  Indeed, he never let a few facts get in the way of a good story (as they say), something that would get him ridden out of town on a rail in the modern day (well, maybe using a different method, but you get the picture).
    For most of my youth, the genre of Fantasy was largely restricted to worlds following Tolkien's pattern.  This meant worlds stuck in the pre-industrial age.  Sword & Sorcery is a term often used to lump a mass of fiction together safely to discard as a whole.  This label is fitted to Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock and many others.  Many of the series I grew up with (Dragonlance of various trilogies; The Riftwar Saga; Mithgar; Memory, Sorrow and Thorne; and so on) tread more on the Epic Fantasy ground while still being constrained by the setting.  Still today, Fantasy is often defined within these terms. 
    Modern Fantasy has returned fairly recently to using present day settings.  Most commonly found under the sub-genre of Urban Fantasy, these stories take place in the modern world, but also feature magic (like in Butcher's Dresden series) or fantastic creatures ((werewolves, vampires, zombies, etc) I don't really need to give examples of these, do I?).  Others tend to have lonely children wandering off into the woods to rediscover forgotten or hidden magics (like Charles de Lint's A Circle of Cats).  Prior to that, from my reading, Roger Zelazney's Chronicles of Amber fit the definition admirably. 
    One area of fantasy that has continued to use the modern setting is commonly classified as Horror.  Bookstores often have difficulty shelving works that fall under this description for a variety of reasons (most commonly associated with sales), but these titles often straddle the line between standard Fiction and Fantasy.  Simply put, supernatural stories fit with Fantasy and horrific stories of natural creatures fit with Fiction.  The trick often seems to be that it is left to the reader to determine which is which.  These stories always make me smile.
    The red-headed step-child of our long reviled (by "serious" writers) genre is Comic Books.  The merits of any given series can be debated, just as can any individual work of fiction.  The form itself is a collaboration beyond what many writers are comfortable with.  The basic point is that many titles, by diverging from the bounds of reality, fit under our broad umbrella and utilize the same tools as traditional Fantasy.  This incredible melding of words and images should be embraced more widely within the genre. 
    This leads nicely to the question, "Why write in the Fantasy genre?"  The beauty of Fantasy lies in the suspension of disbelief.  When an audience encounters a story based in reality, they bring all of their expectations with them.  Every belief, understanding, and stereotype is imposed upon any story presented as Fiction, just as if the reader were watching the news.  If a character acts other than as they believe possible, they are immediately taken out of the story and the spell is broken.  When someone encounters a tale with a fantastic element, they relax limits normally placed on the characters and allow the storyteller to continue.  This gives the author the latitude to explore issues that are controversial and sometimes even repugnant to the audience in a normal setting.  This is the magic of Fantasy.
     Now you may ask, "Ben, if this is the beauty of Fantasy, why is your blog all about creating reality?"  When creating a fantasy world, the contract with the audience is a tenuous one.  The reality we use in our worlds creates an anchor for our readers to trust.  As long as it holds firm, they will follow where the story leads.  If the anchor drifts, or the chain snaps, then the reader loses faith and the story is simply lost. 

Let's Make Some Magic (part I)

The presence of magic in your world is one of the classic symptoms of the Fantasy genre.  It is specifically this element which is the primary divider between Fantasy and Science Fiction.  Some argue that this feature makes the genre of Fantasy childish and escapist.  I will argue that we experience magic every day and that those who disparage the genre are narrow-minded and dull, so nyeh.  The "magic system" that a Fantasy author employs is often the feature of their world that defines it for their readers.  

    Magic can take many shapes in a fictional setting.  Gods can be viewed as magical creatures with powers beyond our understanding.  Similarly, any creature of the fey or the spirit realm could be viewed as magical and possessed of a variety of powers humans do not have.  Perhaps humans can manipulate some unseen force and give it shape.  In a Medieval setting, many things may seem like magic that we know simply to be unusual natural occurrences ("I will block out the sun!" and so on).  How it expresses itself in your world is without limit.
    In recent years, much attention has been focused on making the rules which govern magic in a given world coherent and believable.  I get the feeling that this desire goes back to the dawn of Role Playing Games where, to make a wizard playable, you had to be able to limit his spell use or he'd quickly dominate the game.  Since that time, magic has become generally less fantastical and more clinical.  In the first novels I remember reading, the words of the enchantment would leave the caster's mind once he performed the spell (having to re-memorize the spell to cast it again).  Not only did this make the wizard spend lots of time in study, but books had to be portaged about as well.  This is indeed characterful, but it's also a pain in the ass.  Ever since, authors have been trying to build a better mousetrap.
    Prevalence of magic is a significant issue when designing cultures.  A shaman, a seer or a witch might be present in every major community.  Perhaps these figures are legendary or may be consulted only after a harrowing journey (wizards are notoriously isolationist).  What do these figures require in return for their services?  If magic is everywhere, it will effect society in other ways, possibly stunting the sciences or providing new class divisions.  Is magic a talent everyone has in equal amount if only they know the tricks?  Are there related schools of study or philosophies?  It is important to explore these kinds of questions before you start writing if you want to maintain internal consistency.
    Creating a fully realized system of magic with graphs, algorithms and multifunctional syllogisms (no, I do not know what the last two really are) is not required when building a fantasy world.  However, it is important for the author to know how it all works.  Unless you want all-powerful sorcerers dominating your planet, you do need to build in some limitations.  Magical creatures that cannot be overcome would quickly dominate their environments (hence sunlight for vampires and silver for werewolves).  Minutia in a magic system is only important when we encounter it in our stories, but it's always better to have it thought out ahead to potentially drive a story instead of having to run from a systemic paradox of our own devising. 

Founding a Religion (part III)

 The holidays are a beautiful time for food and family.  One of the highlights for me is getting to spend time talking with my brothers.  Conversation, for us, covers a broad range of topics.  We share, discuss and elaborate ideas.  Happily, this year we spent some time talking ancient faiths and how we view them today.

When the modern reader looks back on religions, we tend to view them as being birthed all at once, as if they came into being complete.  In truth, many of the religious traditions of the world are composites of various belief systems all gathered together under one umbrella.  Decostructing the evolution of belief systems and how they adapt to changes in the real world is a fascinating study.  However, when creating your own world, your creation myth could very well be the truth (or a veiled version of it).  The mythology your population believes in may be right.  Hell, somebody in ours might be right.
    Every religion has a creation story.  It answers the basic questions that we still struggle with.  It tells us how we came to be as well as (often) what our creator wants from us.  When the focus of creation, the gods have a design for their worshipers.  In some cases (Greek mythology), humans were not the intention of those in charge.  Humans then have to find their way into the favor of the gods.  This basic relationship will influence all other aspects of your religion.
    Interaction with the gods will be defined in part by their nature.  Extra-terrestrial beings may not be available for their petitioners to reach, or they may use high level science which seems like magic to the population.  Extremely powerful or long lived creatures (like dragons) may be revered as gods.  Ethereal creatures (spirits, ghosts, etc) could also be the objects of worship.  Gods often seem to have the ability to change forms as serves their purpose at the time.
    Morality for humanity, who is trying to get to heaven, is not the same as morality for those that created heaven.  Traditionally, the gods act according to their whims (including the Old Testament god).  These gods may seem cruel, sadistic and capricious to those of us below, but they are not human.  Zeus liked to go around impregnating Greek maidens.  Thor liked to pick fights with giants.  Gods have their own reasons and their own priorities.  What they ask of their followers may be tests of faith or part of a scheme to tweak the nose of one of their enemies.  What is good for the gods is not always what is good for you.
    "God works in mysterious ways," is a favorite saying for many ministers.  It suggests a larger plan and asks for faith from the believer.  Miracles make it easy to believe (an interesting, somewhat modern, meditation on this is the movie "Oh, God!").  Believing in something without evidence (faith) is the most difficult aspect of religion.  People want to believe that there is a force directing and shaping all things.  They will do everything in their power to convince themselves that this power exists.  If your gods start to produce tangible and observable miracles, the word will spread.
    When shaping a religion (and the power of gods in general) in your world, defining the relationship between creator and created is paramount and often defined in the creation story.  Once you know what the gods want from their worshipers, you can have a better understanding of their relationship.  The gods motives will guide how much and how often they interact with their followers.  What the gods want will define the methods of worship.

Founding a Religion (part II)

Apart from basic research into other forms of worship, the following is in no way a scholarly text.  It is based almost entirely on the reading of history (and/or mythology), followed by conjecture and wishful thinking.  I hope you like it.

There are two basic formats of religion: monotheistic and polytheistic.  The concept of monotheism (one god) is inherently exclusionary, while polytheism is inclusive.  An important detail to note is that polytheism does not require the worship of more than one god, only the acceptance of their existence.  This basic facet of religion seems to be a defining feature in how one's faith relates to others'.
    The idea of all power being contained within one God seems to have a very narrow history.  Judaism, leading to Christianity, leading to Islam is the only tradition I know of which espouses this theology.  All of these admit no paradise to those outside of their faith.  Any opposing force was created by this all powerful god, as a test for god's faithful.  All of these religions believe those outside their faith to be misled and lost.  Judaism seems to shrug its shoulders at this.  Christianity and Islam have, throughout their history, aggressively sought to bring others to their faith through proselytizing and the sword. Christianity has gone so far as to incorporate "pagan" holidays (signs and symbols of Christmas and Easter most obviously) to encourage the traditionalists.  Belief that all others are "unholy" has led to much bloodshed in human history.
    Polytheism has a much richer and more tangled tradition.  A worshiper might be a devout follower of one god who is directly opposed to another.  Additionally, a believer might be a devotee of one god (related to their life or trade), but pray to another on a special occasion (like the birth of a child), depending on that god's specific realm of influence.  The idea of warring groups of gods (for example: Roman against Egyptian) would not have been unreasonable to a believer at the time, though usually carried out in the mortal sphere. 
    In Europe (Roman/Greek, Norse, Celtic, Germanic), these gods primarily had the form of humans, each having some defining virtue to which humans aspire.  It was possible for gods to have sex with humans and produce offspring (demigods) in some traditions.  Some of these gods could change shape when it suited them.  Usually this was in order to test or play tricks on mortals (tricks for the gods can seem pretty harsh to mere mortals).  As an outsider, there seems to be a god appropriate for every occasion and profession.  
    Egyptian gods famously merged human and animal figures for their visual representations (though some had purely human form).  This would seem to separate the worshipers from the deities, while still making the gods somewhat comprehensible.  These gods are clearly not "us" and will not be held to the same moral or ethical standards.  Isis and Osiris (human figures) seem to tell the most human of tales (well, apart from her reassembling all the bits of him to try to bring him back from the dead), but they are functioning in a world controlled by these creatures we can not fully understand.   
    Some gods are represented by different aspects of nature, whether they be animal, vegetable or geographic.  These cultures do not venerate mountains and rivers only because a special event occurred there (like the Tiber in Italy), but because of the nature of the thing itself.  An oak tree may be just as venerated as a mountain.  These things are not usually thought to actually be a god, but simply a symbolic representation (an example may be the cow, in Hinduism) of a greater being.  Gods represented by natural beings are often consulted but rarely demand anything from their followers.
    All of these forms have been used in fantasy worlds.  In Fritz Lieber's Nehwon, there is a whole street in Lankhmar filled with temples to the various gods (and one temple for the gods of Lankhmar of course), where faiths rise and fall with regularity.  One of my favorite moments in the movie Conan: The Barbarian takes place as the titular character and his thief friend discuss their elemental faiths.  George Martin's series has both monotheistic and polytheistic believers (which will hopefully soon come into conflict).  The gods worshiped in our stories say much about the cultures we create, assuming the gods don't literally speak to the people.  When they do... I'll leave that for another post. 
   

Reference I Love IV (Castles)

I'm sure there are thousands of books that have been published on the subject of castles.  Lots of these have big glossy photos of their remains or perhaps artistic renderings of how they would have looked at the time of their construction.  As a writer, anything that can fire your imagination is a wonderful thing.  However, one book I thoroughly enjoy, and keep returning to, is Castles: Their Construction and History, by Sidney Toy.  Originally published in 1939, this book has a number of features that make it useful in my work.
    There are 199 illustrations (as well as a number of b&w photographs), by the author, supporting the text.  These illustrations detail map and plan views of fortifications from 1600BC to 1600AD.  Personally, this allows me to better visualize how these structures fit together.  When I'm stuck in my writing, I create maps and sketches of the scene as a tool to follow what my actors are doing.  The level of detail that the author includes really helps in my visualization of life inside these spaces.
    "The object of this work is to trace the development of the art of fortification throughout Europe and the Levant..." (pg xiv, Preface).  A list of illustrations and a useful index allow easy access as a reference work.  This is not a broad work of history.  It remains focused solely on these defensive structures and the wars fought around them.  However, the author does go into significant detail about how these defensive structures evolved as a result in advances of science (as related to warfare).  The author does not claim to be exhaustive in his work, but all of the sites depicted in the work are detailed from first-hand observation.   
    I find the writing style to be a bit dry, but this is primarily the result of a large amount of detail packed into the text.  The texts describes, not only the fortifications, but the geography surrounding.  He also goes into detail about the materials and techniques used in construction.  Taken as a whole, it can feel relentless in its attention to detail.  On the other hand, when you think about describing one given location (or feature) in a story, Mr. Toy creates a clear and evocative image.
    In general, I find that reading this work allows me to explain my own world better.  Through the use of language and diagram, the author invites the reader to explore the history of these massive structures.  He deconstructs the goals and intentions of the different styles of fortification, filling in the details that are easy to forget when you view such immense constructs.  This is clearly a work of passion and a joy to read (if only a chapter at a time).
http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Their-Construction-History-Architecture/dp/0486248984/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385234096&sr=1-1&keywords=Sidney+Toy

Founding a Religion (part 1a)

Due to a question on the last post, I thought I'd expand upon this portion with examples before moving on.

1)    The most important facet of any successful religion is that it be exclusive:  
In the Old Testament the Jews are referred to as the chosen people.  Judaism still does not actively recruit new adherents.  Islam offers specific benefits for believers, especially those who die in its service.  Hinduism is a broad description of a number of collected belief systems, but in general seem to agree on the idea of reincarnation and that by following their teachings you can eventually reach some form of heaven.  Buddhism is generally considered a philosophy, not truly a religion, but also offers methods to be good and skip off the cycle of reincarnation.  One exception to this exclusivity may be with permitting entry into Valhalla for warriors (who die in battle) from other cultures, but I'm honestly not sure on that one.

2)    Within each religion, there is normally a hierarchy connected to the piety (or whatever characteristic is considered most essential) of the clergy: 
Augury was practiced by the Delphic Oracle in ancient Greece as well as by the Hebrews.  Asking gods or spirits for a glimpse of the future has been a part of traditions great and small, probably since religion began.  Great learning connected with an intimate knowledge of holy texts (Sutras, Scripture, Vedas, Qur'an, etc.) has long been venerated as have those who have a direct connection to the gods (often through asceticism).  If you're the great Caesar, maybe you're related to a god.

3)    Not every member of a religion can be a priest, but there are roles of distinction for those who show devotion: 
In some Christian church services, there are lay leaders who read from the Bible or deal with the business of the church.  Human sacrifice is an old favorite from many ancient belief systems, like that of the Aztecs (okay, only some were voluntary).  Native American ceremonies included many members of the tribe as dancers and participants.  A Hazzan is a Jewish cantor, who helps lead the congregation in the singing of prayer.   

4)    Ritual is a defining feature of religious practice: 
Rituals can take a wide variety of forms.  It is said that the druids would sacrifice humans by building a large wicker man (see the earlier movie, not the one with Nic Cage) and then burning it with the fellow inside (though there were no records left by the druids themselves, the Romans say some things).  Religious meetings of all kinds are conducted according to rituals (just look at the wedding rituals of different cultures).  Muslims are called upon to pray five times per day (though it's flexible) as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

5)    Music and art have also been used to create a mood in the congregation appropriate to the needs of the situation: 
Music and rhythm are extremely important in religion as tools for memorization.  Think how many catchy tunes get stuck in your head.  If you attend any religious service, listen to any section where the congregation speaks and you will hear a rhythm (public speakers will also do this).  King David wrote songs of praise.  What about the call to worship in a Muslim dominated area?  Art was traditionally used in all traditions because many could (or can) not read, to remind the viewers of religious stories and their lessons. The symbolism was much more complex than in modern times (try understanding The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymous Bosch, without a written guide), but understood by its audience.

Founding a Religion (part I)

Ah the seeds of heresy...  let us begin.

I've written a fair amount, to date, on creature culture (see blog entries of the same name).  In these, I've covered some basic biologic and environmental stresses that help to shape a society.  When finally the creatures of your world (be they human or otherwise) start to become self-aware, they will begin to ask, "Where did we come from?" and "Why are we here?"  The answers authors invent probably provide interesting clues into our respective psyches, but there are certain trappings that seem universal.
    The most important facet of any successful religion is that it be exclusive.  The worshipers of a being (or beings) are members of the elect and chosen by that deity (or deities), who offers some more pleasant form of afterlife.  Unbelievers and others outside of this group are destined for despair, probably in this life, but most definitely in the next.  Threats related to being expelled from this group are used as a tool to keep worshipers following the religious leader (excommunication was an exceedingly powerful tool in the Medieval Period).
    Within each religion, there is normally a hierarchy connected to the piety (or whatever characteristic is considered most essential) of the clergy.  These religious titles are theoretically not associated with political acumen, even if this may historically be true.  The priests are believed by their followers to have a higher level of understanding of that deity's wishes.  This may be from a more direct connection to the deity or a deeper understanding of religious texts, practices and so on.  One form of direct connection may be the result of casting augury (asking for direction) or the interpretation of signs (taking direction).  Religious leaders have knowledge of some kind that is unavailable to the rank and file.
    Not every member of a religion can be a priest, but there are roles of distinction for those who show devotion.  Some members may lead parts of religious services while others may handle the money.  Sacrifices of a ritual or physical nature may be exacted from the faithful.  Failure to submit may result in expulsion (or worse, depending on the religion).  Often these roles have been designed to take advantage of the talents of the devotees and ease the burden on the clergy, but may become purely ceremonial and/or available for purchase.
    Ritual is a defining feature of religious practice.  Often there is ceremonial garb associated with the priests.  There may be traditional wear for the practitioners as well. Specific days of the year, month, or week may be held holy for a specific religious group (or even multiple times per day).  Ritual usually relates to showing devotion and subservience to the deity of choice.  Recitation from a holy book or a speech from a priest are also common facets of a religious event.  Participation in these events may be restricted by gender or rank within the organization.
    Music and art have also been used to create a mood in the congregation appropriate to the needs of the situation.  Architecture is the simplest example of this.  Cathedrals were designed to dwarf the visitor, making them feel small in comparison with the great works of the faithful (or the Church, or was that God?).  While in most modern religions, the mood of this music is often somber, it is not necessarily the case.  Christian "Praise Bands" have seen a surge in popularity while bringing electric guitars and drums into the church.  Gospel choirs have also long had a more joyful tenor than traditional Catholic services.  Many other religions also have colorful and energetic forms of worship.
    Alright, that is enough of the bare bones descriptors for religions.  Next time we will delve a little more deeply into developing some of these ideas, where they may take you and how they can interact.  I'm as excited as (I hope) you are to find out where my mind may wander.  If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know.  I'm interested in what you think.

The Nature You Know

Today's post was inspired by a drive up here in the Poconos.

A classic piece of advice for every new writer is, "Write what you know."  What is produced on the page is a synthesis of all the various input the writers has tapped into.  How we discover ourselves and the world around us shapes our way of thinking.  One of the great American methods of experiencing our own country is the road trip.  This country is so broad that there is no way to absorb it all in one lifetime.  Unfortunately, for the writer of fantasy, the experience of roadside ecology is a lie.
    The interstate highway system in the United States enables the car culture that exists today while transforming the landscape.  I had a professor in college who called it the single greatest boon the government every gave geology.  To understand what he meant, next time you're driving, take a gander at the many road cuts along the shoulder as you pass through a mountainous region.  However, this does not give

http://strike-slip.geol.ucsb.edu/KESSEL/palmdaleroadcut.html

the observant passerby an accurate vision of what the world naturally looks like.  The image included is a pretty spectacular example, but we have blasted many a mountain and hill to smooth the way for transit.
    The system of roads in this country is also responsible for filling large areas of land.  In my personal work on the New Jersey Turnpike around Newark Airport, I found swamp material immediately under the base material for the roadbed.  This might not seem like a big surprise for fans of The Godfather, but it seems like the Meadowlands Arena would more properly have been named the Marshlands.  Filling marshlands was popular through much of American history (well, we used to drain them, but that was harder).  My old High School was built on fill material generated by local industry (which they remembered only when they broke ground the second time to expand it).  The important thing to remember here is that the water still has to go somewhere, so it swells the size of nearby waterways (and also causes more damage during flood events).
    Controlling the natural world on a large scale is one thing humans have worked on for a long time and not just to build roads.  Recently it has been suggested that many of the rivers in the eastern US weren't created by nature, but by Colonial farmers.  Specifically by damming streams to create mill ponds. Read more about it here (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18228525).  If you thought rivers always wanted to meander, don't feel bad.  Until the associated article came out in the journal Science, geologists thought the same.  The tradition of building ponds continues even today as we continue to seek more lakeside acreage for the watersport enthusiast.
    A short form for all of this is simply: you can not trust all you see.  Humans have long been altering the landscape to best fit our needs.  In the natural world there are less clear passes through the mountains.  Numerous marshy lowlands might befoul our adventurers' boots.  Then again they may just go swimming in a mill pond.  Fantasy civilizations will impact their worlds too.   

Creature Culture (part 2)

This article focuses on designing the lives of sentient creatures.  

Where and how creatures live is largely a function of what they eat.  Humans, being omnivores, are able to live in a variety of regions, on diverse diets.  For most of the history of our species (apologies to any others in the audience), humans were primarily hunters and gatherers, wandering the land in search of their next meal.  The developments of agriculture and animal husbandry (no, that is not connected to bestiality, at least not inextricably) forever changed how humans interact with their environment.  It was this change that made it possible for humans to stay in one place and proliferate. 
    It is not necessary for creatures to follow the same pattern as humans have.  After all, there are a seemingly infinite number of methods creatures use to survive in the real world.  However, these creatures are all connected to, what is these days referred to as, the food web (yes, we have complicated the idea of the food chain).  Most numerous in this web are the Producers (plants and algae) who essentially convert chemicals and sunlight into an energy source available for the consumption of others.  A significant amount of total energy is lost between the layers (indigestible bits and energy use for things other than reproduction). Consequently, the total biomass decreases significantly as you ascend the layers.  Dependance on natural balance of the food web, as a top predator, is a significant limitation on population.    

http://www.tutorvista.com/content/biology/biology-iv/ecosystem/food-web.php 

    The important idea to recognize here is that the system is self-regulating (which is why extinction and non-native species are such big concerns in the modern day).  In a simple example: maybe a rainy year increases the number of terrestrial and salt marsh plants.  Insect multiply rapidly because of an increase in habitat and food supply and in turn fill the rats' tummies (and inspire large litters in response).  This goes up the web.  When the snake population will explode proportionately as a result.  If the rat population begins to decrease (because of less insects in a dry season, or too many snakes) the snake population will as well.  Top predators serve to cap this system, but are subject to all of the conditions that govern those "below" them.  Therefore, every group requires the development of agriculture or animal husbandry to stably increase population (without moving into a new environment).
    Large carnivores require large territories to feed their family groups.  A pride of lions will cover somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 square miles (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-lion/).  A male black bear may cover 200 square miles (http://www.black-bears.org/).  The smallest recorded area of a gray wolf pack is 25 square kilometers (thanks wikipedia).  The point is, that if you want to create a group of goblins living up in the hills, they either tend some animals (humans are a reasonable food supply) or they spend a lot of time walking (as everyone knows, goblins only have pointy teeth, which is highly suggestive of a carnivorous diet). It's also probably a pretty dang small group.
    While writing and rewriting all of this, I recognize that most of my fixation on this topic connects to the idea that these other civilizations have to be in direct competition with humans (sharing the same environmental niche).  Traditional orcs, goblins, lizard-men, and so on could not exist in large enough numbers to compete with humans without learning about how to grow things and raise animals.  It seems that if we want to include creatures like these as competitive cultures, they must be more advanced than we traditionally view them as being.  However, this does not preclude beings from filling other niches.
    Large populations of sentient herbivores (of any size) could exist without this restriction.  Perhaps creatures in the midst of the food chain would be more philosophical about their place in the world (like those green guys from "The Dark Crystal").  These creatures could migrate or tend their own crops if they liked and band together to protect against predators (like herds do now).  After all, vegetarian does not mean pacifist.
    Similarly, creatures of a smaller size might rise create a culture as a secondary or tertiary consumer.  They would have to be of smaller size, because they would otherwise be higher level consumers.  The creatures of Brian Jacques' world certainly fit the bill here.  Sprites and fairies might also fit in this role (though perhaps too flighty to tend to plants or animals).  Again, the place they hold in the food chain would certainly impact their POV.  While they probably would have trouble competing with humans for ascendancy in the world (agriculture is tough with owls around), they could certainly make for some fine adventures.
    Goodness, this has all taken much longer than I anticipated and accomplished less than I'd hoped.  I suppose in general we've covered the idea that for a carnivorous creature culture to threaten humanity as a whole, they need to be raising animals and/or planting crops.  Maybe I've even gotten you to think a little outside the traditional fantasy box.  I know I'm going to be introducing some thoughtful herbivores to my world. 

Currency

Exchanging cash for goods and services makes it much easier for adventurers on the road.  Otherwise your barbarian's muscles might be put to use chopping wood, your thief's deft hands to washing dishes and your bard singing for his supper (well, maybe that's not such a bad idea).  So in this world of ours we need some way to pay for things without bringing along a flock of sheep or equivalent bulky trade goods.
    Originally, currencies had value due to the content of its material.  Gold, silver and bronze are the three materials we think of for use as traditional currencies.  These materials were used as coinage for three basic reasons: intrinsic value, malleability and durability.  The value of these materials (at the time of their use as currency) came mostly as a result of their rarity and beauty.  This malleability added to the value by enabling materials to be employed in a variety of decorative ways (jewelry and so on).  Malleability is also important for currency due to decreased waste in the course of production, uniformity of coinage, and the ability to print pretty pictures on it.  Durability is also important to maintain the shape and integrity of the coins.
    Historically, currencies produced by different countries (or even just different mints) were of different values for material reasons.  Coins were produced of different sizes and thicknesses, obviously using varying quantities of material in their production.  Purity of the materials was also a question.  One of the reasons the coins were stamped was as a promise regarding the composition and uniformity of the coin (whatever it may be).  
    Currency in a fantasy world does not have to be made of these specific materials, but should follow the same guidelines.  Metals tend to be the best choices for the reasons listed previously.  However, it is certainly reasonable that gold is not valued on your world, or that it is abundant (therefore less valuable).  One of the things to be careful of is in making a commonly used material into coinage.  If you use steel as currency, the value of that helmet you are wearing should be much higher than its weight in coins (otherwise you'd probably melt it down and use it for trade). 
    Representational currencies can take many forms.  The first were probably I.O.U.s or their kin.  The concept behind this form of money is that the note (or bill or what have you) can be taken to the issuer and exchanged for material of a certain value (usually precious metals, though Heinlein had some interesting suggestions on the topic).  Consequently, these currencies lose value the further from the source you get.  I probably can't give a farmer a bill from another country, though a trader or banker might find more value in it.  The same is generally true today (though today's currencies are not representational).  
    The last thing to keep in mind is that precious metals are not available everywhere.  A small country may not have mines large enough to generate as much currency as it needs.  Not every country needs its own coin (indeed, some countries today still don't have their own currency).  These countries simply utilize money coined elsewhere.  Currency of intrinsic value was freely circulated in the Medieval world.  After all, gold is gold.

Reference I Love III (Odd History)

For Christmas a few years ago, my brother gifted me with The Great Cat Massacre (and other episodes in French cultural history), by Robert Darnton.  While I'm not much of a francophile and it focuses primarily on the 18th C, contained within are simply some fascinating stories and unusual viewpoints.

Chapter List
1) Peasants Tell Tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose
2) Workers Revolt: The Great Cat Massacre of the Rue Saint-Severin
3) A Bourgeois Puts His World in Order: The City as a Text
4) A Police Inspector Sorts His Files: The Anatomy of the Republic of Letters
5) Philosophers Trim the Tree of Knowledge: The Epistemological Strategy of the Encyclopedie
6) Readers Respond to Rousseau: The Fabrication of Romantic Sensitivity 

The work is fairly readable for a general audience, only rarely getting bogged down by scholarly rigor and notation.  Because they are entirely separate articles, the reader can skip whole chapters to jump right into specific subjects of interest with no loss of context (though there is a seven page Conclusion to tie them all together).  Taken as a whole, it lends a window into the different social strata of French society at a specific time.
    For the fiction writer, the utility of such a work come in numerous forms.  First it provides a peek into the everyday life of its subjects, not just the major historic events.  Additionally, it shows how different levels of society viewed portions of their world and interacted with it.  The first chapter demonstrates how different cultures modified universal tales to different ends.  Each chapter holds a lesson and a multitude of story ideas for the open mind.  Knowing how minds operated in an appropriate time period helps the writer to differentiate characters in a believable way.  Knowing what drives them, generates opportunities for conflict and thus story.

Building Design (materials)

Which materials are used by which societies are determined by many contributing factors.  Certain materials are only prominent in certain geographic areas (no bamboo in Medieval Europe).  Others require technical sophistication (quarried stone).  Primarily it is the combination of the forces of availability and economics that make the choices for the builders. 
 
BRICK
Bricks have been used in construction since ancient times both with dry fitting and mortar.  Bricks may be formed by simple air drying (usually in the sun) or by being fired in a kiln.  Air dried bricks (like adobe)  require a high clay content to maintain their shape and strength after drying and are much more likely in regions where wood is scarce.  Mortar can be made from a variety of materials, including: mud, lime, pitch, gypsum, lime, bitumen and portland cement (invented 1794).  However, constructing large buildings (especially more than one story) requires a great deal of knowledge and skill. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_brick



WOOD
Utilized for shelter since the beginning of time, wood is a readily available building material in some geographic settings.  There are a few issues connected with its use.  The first problem is, of course, fire.  The closer together the buildings are, the greater an issue this is.  As cities grew, many adopted ordinances restricting building materials (especially for roofs).  An additional difficulty is the popularity of the material.  Forests near population centers are quickly decimated.  Historically, this encouraged the gentry to privatize the forests for their own uses, though generally allowing the commoners to collect dead wood "by hook or by crook."  Buildings constructed entirely out of wood would therefore be much more common in smaller rural communities. 

http://blog.schuttelumber.com/whats-going-on/historic-wooden-houses-in-kansas/

WATTLE & DAUB
This construction technique is a sort of blend of the above materials.  Most commonly known for its use in "half-timbered" houses, a lattice is constructed of wood (wattle) and plastered (daub) to create walls within the wooden frame.  As seen below, it was common to seasonally lime wash exposed beams.  Because this construction technique utilizes secondary limbs, it is much less timber intensive, allowing it to be economically viable as well as regionally pervasive. 


http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/wattleanddaub/wattleanddaub.htm

STONE
Thought of as the most durable building material, stone has been widely used throughout history.  Like brick, stone can be either dry-fit or mortared.  However, the qualities which make stone a prized material also make it a pain in the ass.  Its durability makes it much more difficult to manipulate than wood.  Density, which makes it resistant to weather, makes it heavier than bricks.  Quarrying stone is also an extremely laborious activity.  Consequently, stone construction has long been a luxury in many areas, used for only the most important buildings. 
    Non-quarried stone (field stone or river stone) is much less labor intensive to acquire, but also less abundant.  Fieldstone typically derives from material deposited by retreating glaciers.  This is then usually collected when clearing land for cultivation (which is not an easy process).  In New England, fieldstone has been used extensively to build stone walls.
    Cannibalizing stone is also a long held practice.  When stone buildings are abandoned or fall into disrepair they may be torn down to build something new.  In England, after the fall of the Roman Empire, some of the roads and even parts of Hadrian's Wall were disassembled to reuse the materials (probably by the locals).  Some homes even incorporate part of the original structure to save on labor.

http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/hadrians-wall/the-roman-wall

As a final note, defensive structures (forts, castles, walls, etc) have historically been constructed of all of these materials (excepting wattle & daub).  Most early castles in Europe featured wooden palisade walls and earthen berms.  The walls of Vysehrad (ca 10th C), in Prague, are made of brick.  Stone examples are the most commonly depicted fortifications, but do not allow them to limit your world.