Stories we'd like to see

[Aquinas]

Well the Hortic states are the obvious choice for a Portuguese/Dutch style "Empire of Trade". Gwynedd did manage to defeat the "Moors" under St Bearand at sea so there must be some ship building going on maybe they'll have the British Empire and the Torenethi can have the Spanish.

Probably depends on who industrialises first and therefore, I suspect, on who is less dependant on magic.

[Elkhound]

IIRC, in our world European imperial expansion preceded industrialization.  It started in the 1500's, and industrialization didn't start until the 1700s.  Either way, we're several centuries away from that.

Which country is most likely to have a French-style Revolution, with Royal heads on pikes?  The Torenthi royal family probably deserves it most, but I'm betting on Llanned & Howicce, given their convoluted succession laws.

[TerrierMom]

Which country is most likely to have a French-style Revolution, with Royal heads on pikes?  The Torenthi royal family probably deserves it most, but I'm betting on Llanned & Howicce, given their convoluted succession laws.

The country with the monarchy that is oblivious to what goes on outside the palace or castle walls!

[Aquinas]

IIRC, in our world European imperial expansion preceded industrialization.  It started in the 1500's, and industrialization didn't start until the 1700s.  Either way, we're several centuries away from that.

True, I should have said the first country to develop as a nation state.

Which country is most likely to have a French-style Revolution, with Royal heads on pikes?  The Torenthi royal family probably deserves it most, but I'm betting on Llanned & Howicce, given their convoluted succession laws.

If we have a "French" Revolution and Terror does that mean we get to play with Napoleon and his professional army too! Now that would be a fun story. Tallyrand/Fouche as Deryni!

[Elkhound]

If we have a "French" Revolution and Terror does that mean we get to play with Napoleon and his professional army too! Now that would be a fun story. Tallyrand/Fouche as Deryni!

Can we have an "American" one, too?  Washington might not be Deryni, but Franklin certainly, and perhaps Jefferson.

[Aquinas]

[Can we have an "American" one, too?  Washington might not be Deryni, but Franklin certainly, and perhaps Jefferson.

You'd have to have a stupid colonial government for that one to work hope the Haldanes don't get that bad! Or maybe Torenth gets the north of the New World. Franklin certainly tho possibly tending to Lewys ap Norfal type!

The influence of classical ideas on revolution in our world was very marked, but interestingly no reference to the greatness of Greece/Rome in KK's world so possibly no idealising of democracy as the best form of government and therefore no "French" or "American" revolutions just lots of 100yr/30yr etc wars dynasties overthrowing each other.

[Elkhound]

The influence of classical ideas on revolution in our world was very marked, but interestingly no reference to the greatness of Greece/Rome in KK's world so possibly no idealising of democracy as the best form of government and therefore no "French" or "American" revolutions just lots of 100yr/30yr etc wars dynasties overthrowing each other.

But KK has only had us in the Middle Ages, when 'the glory that was Greece/the grandure that was Rome' was largely forgotten.  The XI Kingdoms haven't had their Renaissance and Baroque yet; we're still in 'a thousand years without a bath.'

[Aquinas]

The influence of the Roman and Greek worlds on the Middle Ages was quite marked.

Roman Law influenced (to the extent of being quoted verbatim) both the "barbarian" law codes and canon law and Greek philosophy/astronomy/medicine (admittedly via Arabic translations) was hugely influential not least on people like Thomas Aquinas. Roman titles were used and some Roman systems remained.

What interests me from the Codex is that Rome never really fell it just gave up and the Byzantine Empire seems to be chugging along just fine (unless we're due a Mehmet the Conquerer or Suleman the Magnificent soon) so possibly these cultures have lost the mystery that made them so popular in the rennaissance as you can't rebirth a culture that never really died.

Maybe I just don't want to see the XII Kingdoms turning into a bland modern democracy 

[DesertRose]

Completely off topic, Festil and I are in the process of developing a story loosely based on what the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England would have looked like in Gwynedd.  So far, we have decided to set the story in 1366 (in one of the introductory parts of the 2nd Edition Codex, a "Great Fire of Rhemuth" is mentioned as having occurred in 1366).  I am working on character development for the leaders of the revolt and Festil is working on the Camberian Council and the Haldane court of the period.

So, there, Bynw! I am writing it myself. 

[Elkhound]

The influence of the Roman and Greek worlds on the Middle Ages was quite marked.

Roman Law influenced (to the extent of being quoted verbatim) both the "barbarian" law codes and canon law and Greek philosophy/astronomy/medicine (admittedly via Arabic translations) was hugely influential not least on people like Thomas Aquinas. Roman titles were used and some Roman systems remained.

Marble sculptures were sent to the limekilns.  Bronze sculptures were melted down.  Books were used as kindling.  The aquaducts and other public works were not maintained because there weren't any engineers left who knew how to do it. Ancient medicine and surgery were forgotten and such medical treatment as there existed was relegated to midwives and herbalists with no scientific understanding.  I was a Classics major and I studied archaeology in Italy; I saw how after the barbarian invasions civilization collapsed completely, and western Europe returned to chaos and old night.   And this was in Italy, the center of civilization at the time; it was worse in Britain, on the periphery of the Empire.  As I said--"A thousand years without a bath," until Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched.

[Jodotha]

I would like to see KK publish something new soon, and hopefully it will include the 'discovery' of how to switch back on all the Deryni who were Switched Off during the persecutions. It would be fascinating to see how many they could find who had healing powers and bring back the old schools.

They need to discover ALL of the ruins in Grecotha, and possibly find that someone has still been living where they took Cinhil to train him to be king. There are lots of loose ends. Where did all the monks at St. Neot's go? Where did all the Micheline's go? And what did they do when they got where they were going? More schools? Where they could be asked back to Gwyenned?

lots of questions!!

[Elkhound]

I would like to see KK publish something new soon, and hopefully it will include the 'discovery' of how to switch back on all the Deryni who were Switched Off during the persecutions. It would be fascinating to see how many they could find who had healing powers and bring back the old schools.

I'm sorry, that's to much waving the magic wand putting things back where they were.  "The only way out is through."

They need to discover ALL of the ruins in Grecotha, and possibly find that someone has still been living where they took Cinhil to train him to be king. There are lots of loose ends. Where did all the monks at St. Neot's go? Where did all the Micheline's go? And what did they do when they got where they were going? More schools? Where they could be asked back to Gwyenned?

lots of questions!!

We already know where the Michalines went; they became the Knights of the Anvil, but that group mixed with the Muslims too much--they did what the Templars were in our world falsely accused of.  (Part of the accusations of the Templars was that they worshiped an idol called 'Baphomet', which is an obvious corruption of 'Mohammed;'  and yes, I know that Muslims do not worship Mohammed--but in Midaeval Europe people thought they did.)

[derynifanatic64]

Another good story would be about Festil's invasion of Gwynedd and Aidan's (Daniel Draper) early years and how he dealt with the death of his family.

[Aquinas]

As I said--"A thousand years without a bath," until Erasmus laid the egg that Luther hatched.

I'm a Medieval historian BTW and I have to disagree (otherwise where is the discussion!). The extent of the Dark Ages is over estimated. Remember by the end of the Empire in the West things were fairly crap anyway: Constantine had to recycle old sculpture for his arch because there were no sculptors of sufficient skill to carve new ones and the Empire limped on another 150yrs after him.
Yes the invaders did destroy much of the infrastructure but recent (ish) research shows a much greater survival than had been thought (cf Wendy Davis and Peter Heather). The idea that the invaders came along and "switched off the lights" for the next thousand years misses the fact that the Empire itself had been busy switching them off for at least 150 if not 200 yrs before.
It was politically prudent for Charlemagne to edit written history when he became Emperor in 800 this involved collecting all manuscripts that he could find and having the ones he wanted to keep copied into his new script and binning all the rest. Consequently we only know of many texts from references in those that survived the purges.

I should also mention the monastic scriptoria, the universities (even the Cathedral School of Aachen) which taught the Classical trivium and quadrivium in addition to medicine (esp at Bologna) as well as Canon and Civil Law, International Banking (admittedly not til 11th century), experimental science (Friar Bacon, Albertus Magnus), philosophy (Aquinas, Albertus Magnus(again), Marsillus of Padua, John of Paris etc), Poetry, Abbot Suger and the Gothic Cathedrals in addition to the Law Codes of the Visgoths and various English Codices that all contain elements of Roman Law.

Shall we just agree to differ as greater minds than ours have argued this for many years?

[Shiral]

The influence of the Roman and Greek worlds on the Middle Ages was quite marked.

What interests me from the Codex is that Rome never really fell it just gave up and the Byzantine Empire seems to be chugging along just fine (unless we're due a Mehmet the Conquerer or Suleman the Magnificent soon) so possibly these cultures have lost the mystery that made them so popular in the rennaissance as you can't rebirth a culture that never really died.

Maybe I just don't want to see the XII Kingdoms turning into a bland modern democracy 

Me neither!  I might want to live in a well-ordered society or what passes for one where lights go on and guns don't go off, but I want my fiction juicy with intrigue. 

I myself am curious about Bremagne.....Katherine has gone so far as to describe it as a sort of cross between France and Spain. So I'm wondering if life there was somewhat like the society in the part of Spain known as Al Andalus; where Christians, Muslims and Jews lived in (relative) harmony. And where life was quite civilized and advanced for a medieval society.

Melissa