Semi-realistic medieval-style world-building

[Millano13]

Hello everyone! I'm new here, and I still haven't written anything but I am working on my first story—or at least the structure, characters, and world-building for now.
I would love to know your opinion about realistic world-building, especially in a European medieval style. I want interesting places in my story... interesting kingdoms, villages, etc.
What can you advise an amateur writer who approaches his first story?

 

[Finchbearer]

Hi Millano and welcome ~

As someone who also likes to take inspiration from European medieval history, and also as an amateur writer (amateur until we get something published right?!) I’d say the key is research. Books, articles, asking historians - there are a few knowledgable site members who could tell you a few things about the medieval time period - and not taking too much from classic fantasy tropes. I personally like to delve into social history to try and find out what a day in the life was like for a medieval someone, whether that be a Lord, Lady or peasant.

As an aside, it would seem that we are going against the grain of the growing trend to buck the classic European medieval fantasy setting in favour of a more global worldbuilding and setting. I’m still going to write what I enjoy despite this and I’m really taking inspiration from my own history, which feels appropriate.

 

[Mad Swede]

Just write your story. And as you write, ask some simple questions:
- what does your hero do for a living?
- can your hero read and write, and if so, where did they learn?
- where does your hero come from?
- how do your heroes get around?
- where is food grown?
- herbs and spices, are they used?
- where do your heroes buy swords, boots, food, horses etc?
- what do they use to pay for things?
- money, weights and measures, who defines and enforces these?
- who runs the local town?
- who enforces local laws?
- that innkeeper, what are they like?
- where does all that metal for swords, coins etc come from?
- and finally, how did your hero get to where they are now?
Once you start to ask questions like that you'll find yourself having to do some research into things like medieval farming, coinage, law, trade etc. That will lead to details in the various scenes in your story and you may well find it leads to all sorts of little incidents and events which help drive your story along.

 

[jovidepine]

I think a big part of "realistic" worldbuilding comes down to logically thinking about situations and following through with those conclusions. Not being prescriptive, but rather descriptive when it comes to reality and world events.

So, you said you wanted interesting villages, Kingdoms, countries. I think what you could do is work in reverse. Take an interesting scenario and try to describe how it got there logically. You could have a Kingdom where Potatoes are Banned in your story, for example; but how did it get there?

Well, historically, the cultivation of potatoes was banned in France, for they believed such vegetables were "pig food" and helped cause leprosy. For a country to treat a food source as beneath them, lower than their citizens, that is in it of itself a sign of privilege and social standing. Indeed, France was a major power during the 18th Century, no wonder they could be picky. However, when their standing faltered and times of famine were upon them, they eventually caved in to potatoes, especially due to the efforts of Parmentier, a french pharmacist, captured by the Prussians during the Seven Years War and forced to eat potatoes as prison rations.

But can you see how that potentially creates the inner conflict in a character about eating potatoes? Or how that can manifest in a character sneering at the thought of eating lower vegetables? Little quirks like that can be extremely efficient when it comes to worldbuilding.

This is an example rooted in history, but extrapolating to fantasy is, in fact, much easier. You just need to keep the causality in mind.
Take, for example, a City where Everyone Carries Two Swords. Why? Does everyone fight with two hands? Maybe. Maybe one sword is for combat, another for showing off. Why would they show off swords?

Well, maybe the hilts, embelishments and scriptures in it are seen as an art form in it of itself. For that to be the case, certainly swords need to be an inexpensive item. That necessitates easy access to ore, and more importantly: it necessitates a degree of peace. Demand for swords need to be down enough so that they stay long enough in the market to be contemplated as avenues of self expression. People need to be able to ponder about the sword, not have immediate demand for them in the battlefield. So this place needs to be strong, maybe as part of an Empire, maybe a protectorate of a foreign land. They trade ore for protection, maybe?

There's a million possibilities, but this is how I would think about "realistic" worldbuilding. It doesn't need to be real or even based on historical events - it just has to feel real. So really, all it needs to do is more or less follow the rules of our world and you should be good. Breaking the rules of our world would be, for example, having a major Kingdom concentrating power, a strong economy and strong trade, never expanding or being challenged for their power. How come they're not expanding? How are they growing, then? How is no one trying to take away resources from them? That sort of stuff. Hope I could be of some help

 

[Millano13]

Hi Millano and welcome ~

As someone who also likes to take inspiration from European medieval history, and also as an amateur writer (amateur until we get something published right?!) I’d say the key is research. Books, articles, asking historians - there are a few knowledgable site members who could tell you a few things about the medieval time period - and not taking too much from classic fantasy tropes. I personally like to delve into social history to try and find out what a day in the life was like for a medieval someone, whether that be a Lord, Lady or peasant.

As an aside, it would seem that we are going against the grain of the growing trend to buck the classic European medieval fantasy setting in favour of a more global worldbuilding and setting. I’m still going to write what I enjoy despite this and I’m really taking inspiration from my own history, which feels appropriate.

Just write your story. And as you write, ask some simple questions:
- what does your hero do for a living?
- can your hero read and write, and if so, where did they learn?
- where does your hero come from?
- how do your heroes get around?
- where is food grown?
- herbs and spices, are they used?
- where do your heroes buy swords, boots, food, horses etc?
- what do they use to pay for things?
- money, weights and measures, who defines and enforces these?
- who runs the local town?
- who enforces local laws?
- that innkeeper, what are they like?
- where does all that metal for swords, coins etc come from?
- and finally, how did your hero get to where they are now?
Once you start to ask questions like that you'll find yourself having to do some research into things like medieval farming, coinage, law, trade etc. That will lead to details in the various scenes in your story and you may well find it leads to all sorts of little incidents and events which help drive your story along.

I think a big part of "realistic" worldbuilding comes down to logically thinking about situations and following through with those conclusions. Not being prescriptive, but rather descriptive when it comes to reality and world events.

So, you said you wanted interesting villages, Kingdoms, countries. I think what you could do is work in reverse. Take an interesting scenario and try to describe how it got there logically. You could have a Kingdom where Potatoes are Banned in your story, for example; but how did it get there?

Well, historically, the cultivation of potatoes was banned in France, for they believed such vegetables were "pig food" and helped cause leprosy. For a country to treat a food source as beneath them, lower than their citizens, that is in it of itself a sign of privilege and social standing. Indeed, France was a major power during the 18th Century, no wonder they could be picky. However, when their standing faltered and times of famine were upon them, they eventually caved in to potatoes, especially due to the efforts of Parmentier, a french pharmacist, captured by the Prussians during the Seven Years War and forced to eat potatoes as prison rations.

But can you see how that potentially creates the inner conflict in a character about eating potatoes? Or how that can manifest in a character sneering at the thought of eating lower vegetables? Little quirks like that can be extremely efficient when it comes to worldbuilding.

This is an example rooted in history, but extrapolating to fantasy is, in fact, much easier. You just need to keep the causality in mind.
Take, for example, a City where Everyone Carries Two Swords. Why? Does everyone fight with two hands? Maybe. Maybe one sword is for combat, another for showing off. Why would they show off swords?

Well, maybe the hilts, embelishments and scriptures in it are seen as an art form in it of itself. For that to be the case, certainly swords need to be an inexpensive item. That necessitates easy access to ore, and more importantly: it necessitates a degree of peace. Demand for swords need to be down enough so that they stay long enough in the market to be contemplated as avenues of self expression. People need to be able to ponder about the sword, not have immediate demand for them in the battlefield. So this place needs to be strong, maybe as part of an Empire, maybe a protectorate of a foreign land. They trade ore for protection, maybe?

There's a million possibilities, but this is how I would think about "realistic" worldbuilding. It doesn't need to be real or even based on historical events - it just has to feel real. So really, all it needs to do is more or less follow the rules of our world and you should be good. Breaking the rules of our world would be, for example, having a major Kingdom concentrating power, a strong economy and strong trade, never expanding or being challenged for their power. How come they're not expanding? How are they growing, then? How is no one trying to take away resources from them? That sort of stuff. Hope I could be of some help

Thank you guys for your amazing answers! love the potato and swords examples.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I think the main thing to realize if you want to write a realistic medieval European setting is that there is no such thing as A Medieval European Setting. The middle ages in Europe span about 1.000 years in a continent that stretches from the arctic tundra in the north to the Greek isles, and from Ireland to Moskou.

Of course you can simply go with what everyone thinks of when they think medieval Europe, and end up with a semi-Middle-Earth like setting. However, if you want to go deeper, then pick an actual time and place. A viking village in 900 AD, or an Italian city in 1300. Or go for the Byzantine Empire. Or anything else that has your fancy.

 

[Aldarion]

Hello everyone! I'm new here, and I still haven't written anything but I am working on my first story—or at least the structure, characters, and world-building for now.
I would love to know your opinion about realistic world-building, especially in a European medieval style. I want interesting places in my story... interesting kingdoms, villages, etc.
What can you advise an amateur writer who approaches his first story?

Basis of realistic worldbuilding would be to pick something you are familiar with and then build on that.

As Prince of Spires said, there is no "medieval Europe" in terms of "setting". England was significantly different even from Scotland, Ireland and Wales, let alone from e.g. Spain, Croatia, Hungary or Rus. And Middle Ages themselves span over a thousand years, so each area will be significantly different from itself at another point in time.

You can also combine things - e.g. I basically combined 9th century Byzantine Empire, 15th century Hungary and Roman Republic into one state - but then you need to understand how and why things happened.

So what I would advise is research. Popular culture gets a lot of things wrong about Middle Ages (watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail for a good parody of that).

 

[skip.knox]

Also, be aware that your readers come to the story with a wide range of "knowledge" about what is properly medieval. One person will be well-versed in Norman Sicily and have one set of ideas. Another will think 8th century Scandinavia is medieval. Most will have a jumble of impressions mainly from late medieval England mingled with some thoroughly post-medieval ideas about monarchy.

No matter how "accurate" is your own portrayal, a percentage of your readers are going to claim you got it wrong.

Get a good story down. Meanwhile, do as others advise and undertake a study of history. I recommend picking a particular region and a particular time. "Medieval" is just too dang broad.

 

[Super Fantasy]

Create the kingdom or land.
Add main cities with multiple areas in each city.
Gates to the cities with guards at the gates and inside the city.
Add smaller villages with interesting characters.
Farms around the cities.

 

[LittleOwlbear]

I experienced that almost all of the so-called "realistic medieval" stories like Game of Thrones are not in the slightest realistic either. I'm not an expert on this ofc, but it's tiring to see dirt everywhere in the city, people never washing themselves or their clothes, and of course people torture each other everyday and every girl and woman in existence goes through hell.
I follow a German history expert for medieval times and his videos are really interesting.

Just write what is fitting and logical for your world. For example the existence of magic and other humanoid species will change your society too.
And as others said: where is food grown and who is responsible for that? What kind of government is there? How does the daily life of simple people look like? Where do they get other ressources from? Is there any shared history of tradevor war with another country or species etc...

 

[Rexenm]

Anything with swords, is cool. An evil kingdom, a rotten didact. Maybe a pet familiar. Something that burns in your throat, boils in your stomach, and tastes almost exactly like pure melted gold. Or at least something you can put in your haversack.

 

[Finchbearer]

I experienced that almost all of the so-called "realistic medieval" stories like Game of Thrones are not in the slightest realistic either. I'm not an expert on this ofc, but it's tiring to see dirt everywhere in the city, people never washing themselves or their clothes, and of course people torture each other everyday and every girl and woman in existence goes through hell.

I feel like in GRRM’s attempts to create his own brand of medieval fantasy, instead of subverting anything, he came up with every single stereotype in known existence. The sexism doesn’t just stop at women, who are all whores apparently, but the men all use said whores and all discuss them as if they are a normal topic of conversation. There has always been this element in society yes, but it was no more prevalent in ‘medieval times’ than any other time period, including the present day. You would think that every street corner would have had a ‘whore house’ like a bakers or a blacksmiths… Plus his obsession with breasts and breastfeeding is clear to see. No, actually, not every child who long term breastfeeds will turn out to be a little psychopath. jus’ sayin.

 

[Rexenm]

My mum told me that whores are very beautiful - only, and tend to hang in a harem, if they don’t find suitable accomodation. This is different from a whore house, designed to keep the peace - and serve meals, for the working husbands, in the medieval times.

I don’t know how she got such ideas, but it always seemed to me that the prejudice in the misogynistic society, is that you can’t get anything for free, so in terms of the politics of the dark ages, it suggests to me, that the higher up you went, the lower down you went - in the same respect.

I have been asked, at least a dozen times, if I would like to pay for these services, but never have I inclined. It is also the case of the split second before you buy chocolates or flowers or bears, for a plutonic friend - which makes you wonder about their request, meaning that the whore, being the oldest job in history, might have scientific routes that predate the box of chocolates.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

My mum told me that whores are very beautiful - only, and tend to hang in a harem, if they don’t find suitable accomodation. This is different from a whore house, designed to keep the peace - and serve meals, for the working husbands, in the medieval times.

I don’t know how she got such ideas, but it always seemed to me that the prejudice in the misogynistic society, is that you can’t get anything for free, so in terms of the politics of the dark ages, it suggests to me, that the higher up you went, the lower down you went - in the same respect.

I have been asked, at least a dozen times, if I would like to pay for these services, but never have I inclined. It is also the case of the split second before you buy chocolates or flowers or bears, for a plutonic friend - which makes you wonder about their request, meaning that the whore, being the oldest job in history, might have scientific routes that predate the box of chocolates.

I say let's hear it for more boxes of bears!

 

[Finchbearer]

I find it interesting that Tolkien’s Middle Earth always gets cited as medieval inspired fantasy - because to me it just doesn’t feel that way. In so many ways it feels entirely different, he really created a unique world.

The Shire to me is far more like early 19C England, like a sleepy bucolic rolling English countryside. The Elves really exists in Otherworld-like places where you have technology far beyond medieval Europe. I know he was inspired by many old texts such as the legend of Arthur, and yes there are some influences, but it doesn’t scream ‘medieval’ to me at all. I never thought that as a child and still don’t now until I hear everyone else saying it.

 

[Aldarion]

Except for the Shire - which is exactly as you describe - Tolkien's world is indeed medieval-inspired. Gondor is essentially Byzantine Empire, Rohirrim are based on Goths and Anglo-Saxons... but the world itself is inspired primarily by medieval sagas such as Kalevalla.