Medieval/castlepunk reloaded (ASB alert maybe)
- Thread starter xmoose
- Start date
I thinking about my own "scenario" (not historically accurate, rather ASBish... there would be some combination with fantasy and/or horror...) based on high medieval ages, where everything is bigger and cooler. Emperor is more powerful, various merchant guilds are more richer, crusades met with more success, chivalric orders play bigger role in... almost everything (maybe templars weren´t dissolved?) and mongolian invasion done even more mess... Um, and "age of discovery" start a little sooner, and sailors from Italian, Flanders or German cities conquer western "paradise"...
And that fantasy side of thinks... There should be definitely fantasy elements, but mostly based on real history myths and beliefs (werewolfs, sorcery, alchemy or strange inventions of philosophers like Roger Bacon), chivalric romances and epics (like arthurian cycle, Orlando furioso or Nibelungenlied)...
Hohenstaufen were more successful in founding long lasting dynasty, find some consensus with church and even were able to unite western and eastern empire! Well, at least theoretically, because power of emperor still remain limited, except Kingdom of Sicily and Constantinople with few adjoining provinces, administrated by (usually) loyal italo-greco-arabian bureaucracy. However, Hohenstaufen ruler is not only emperor of east and west, but even king of Jerusalem and protector of god´s grave, what make him head of christianity (or co-head, with pope)!
In Italy, which is theoretically center of power of western empire, they are strong city-states, TTL naval superpowers, stuck in complicated love/hate relationship with emperors...
North is too far from residences in Constantinople or Palermo, so is even more freely subject to Staufen. North of Alpes, there are some duchies ruled by Hohenstaufen cadet branches, like their old home, Swabia, but north Germany is dominated by powerful guild of traders and craftsmen, the Hansa. Single north city cannot compete in wealth with Venice or Pisa, but together, they re one of strongest forces of this world.
And that fantasy side of thinks... There should be definitely fantasy elements, but mostly based on real history myths and beliefs (werewolfs, sorcery, alchemy or strange inventions of philosophers like Roger Bacon), chivalric romances and epics (like arthurian cycle, Orlando furioso or Nibelungenlied)...
Hohenstaufen were more successful in founding long lasting dynasty, find some consensus with church and even were able to unite western and eastern empire! Well, at least theoretically, because power of emperor still remain limited, except Kingdom of Sicily and Constantinople with few adjoining provinces, administrated by (usually) loyal italo-greco-arabian bureaucracy. However, Hohenstaufen ruler is not only emperor of east and west, but even king of Jerusalem and protector of god´s grave, what make him head of christianity (or co-head, with pope)!
In Italy, which is theoretically center of power of western empire, they are strong city-states, TTL naval superpowers, stuck in complicated love/hate relationship with emperors...
North is too far from residences in Constantinople or Palermo, so is even more freely subject to Staufen. North of Alpes, there are some duchies ruled by Hohenstaufen cadet branches, like their old home, Swabia, but north Germany is dominated by powerful guild of traders and craftsmen, the Hansa. Single north city cannot compete in wealth with Venice or Pisa, but together, they re one of strongest forces of this world.
The closest I've tried to developed was "panachepunk" based on 17th and 18th century books such as cyranno de bergerac's empires de la lune and empires du soleil, Mme de Roumier's Les Voyages de Milord Céton dans les sept planètes and La Découverte des Terres Australes par un Homme-Volant by Restif de la bretonne and it was ambiguously sci-fi/fantasy.
I think that if you go further then that in time, there is little elements of sci-fi as we understand it that you would be left with if, just like steampunk, you take inspiration from novels of that era and rather have a fantasy version of our world.
not saying that it couldn't have anachronistic technologies by rather that pre-renaissance litterature dealt a lot less with what the future may hold and more about speculation about the rest of the world. In that sense, the world outside europe could contain an african kingdom ruled by Prester John, the moors instead of being like OTL muslim could really worship a trinity made of Tervagant, mahomet & apolin, etc...
I think that if you go further then that in time, there is little elements of sci-fi as we understand it that you would be left with if, just like steampunk, you take inspiration from novels of that era and rather have a fantasy version of our world.
not saying that it couldn't have anachronistic technologies by rather that pre-renaissance litterature dealt a lot less with what the future may hold and more about speculation about the rest of the world. In that sense, the world outside europe could contain an african kingdom ruled by Prester John, the moors instead of being like OTL muslim could really worship a trinity made of Tervagant, mahomet & apolin, etc...
Yeah, I forgot mention Polo, Mandeville and other travelers (ehem
), they are source of cool stuff too (and not only these european, think that even in arabians travelogues would be interesting things...) Don´t forgot leopard men and mountains of gold, guarded by dragons or gryphons. I thinkink more about some antagonist, some "common threat" to all civilized men (european christians and few friends
) Maybe some invasion? Mongols are back, and aided by... Or this plague-zombie epidemy idea from old thread? Or rather some secret cults of witches and heretics, operates from shadows (templar heresy!), mhm... And this "baroquepunk" sounds interesting too. Well, I start believe more and more that this is the best way how to make fantasy: take piece of real history and make true some myth or stories of that period...