Help with a side timeline?

Zioneer

Banned
So I'm of course busy with The Steppe Lion, but I often have writer's block with it, so I'm going to have a side timeline to vent my writing frustrations on, basically.

I'd like help with it. The topic is Norman Sicily, and the POD is Robert Guiscard dying early; early enough that Bohemond of Hautville, his son made illegitimate by Guiscard's second marriage, wages a civil war against Skielgaita the second wife and her puppet son Roger Borsa.

I'm planning for this timeline to be more narrative, more viewpoint than Steppe Lion.

Any takers? Any suggestions?
 

Zioneer

Banned
Just bumping this to see if there's any interest in helping me.

I've got a few ideas to start with, but I was just wondering if there was any Sicilian-Norman "experts" on the board that would be interested in giving facts to me.
 
i'm no expert, but i think it would be interesting if the Normans (i'm guessing that they didnt OTL) affected the Sicilian language and culture as much as they did in England, establishing Sicily in the future as much more distinct from Italy
 
I'll have to do some serious research but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring based solely on how interesting this is.

How far from the POD is the narrative?
 

Zioneer

Banned
i'm no expert, but i think it would be interesting if the Normans (i'm guessing that they didnt OTL) affected the Sicilian language and culture as much as they did in England, establishing Sicily in the future as much more distinct from Italy

Well, the first post-POD ruler of Sicily will be even more influenced by the Lombards, Arabs, and Greeks then the Italo-Normans were in OTL, so what little Norman influence the dialect in South Italy is will be even more diluted.

I may add some other, more foreign influence in the language though. Think Church Latin or a south Slavic influence.


I'll have to do some serious research but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring based solely on how interesting this is.

How far from the POD is the narrative?

The narrative will be... very soon after Guiscard's death; the first chapter will be basically setting up a civil war among the Italo-Normans. Bohemond of the house of Hauteville (or Altavilla in modern Italian) will be the viewpoint character.

And thank you for offering to help with the research! I'm frankly lost without other people to give info and offer opinions on my own research.
 
Hmm, might be better for Byzantium and perhaps even Outremer. Heh, venting is why I started the Gospel of Katy.
 
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