Polish Influence

[Bass_Thunder37]

Well, in my work, I'd decided to build an area based on northern European countries. Well, I picked a few at random, and it ended up being Poland as the influence of a major section of the story. So how would I go about applying Polish influence and culture to a secluded, 400 person village? Aside from names, I've got a translator app for that. (Nobody make any Polock jokes please, asking this same question on another site caused a flame war, and brought me to leaving. Plus, my fiancee's half Polish.)

 

[Ravana]

Guess that depends on the period you're looking at. "Poland," through most of history, alternated between being a large multi-ethnic state (from 1386 to around 1500, the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania was actually the largest state in Europe) and no state at all, as it was periodically conquered, partitioned, and liberated again. Also depends on what you mean by "influence." It wasn't a whole lot different from any other Central, Northern or even Western European state... peasant life was pretty much the same everywhere. Serfdom and serf-like institutions lingered longer in the East than in the West. Other than that, unless you're specifically setting it in Poland, I don't think you're likely to encounter too many differences between that and any other European influence.

 

[Bass_Thunder37]

Yes, I'm referring to the Poland-Lithuania of the 1400's. That's about period for the whole world I'm working with.
Well, I mean are there any defining things that make Poland stick out as opposed to other countries? Is there distinctive architecture, an economy severely bad/amazingly good? Anything that would make a person go "That country has that? Well it must be Poland." If there is nothing to really set it apart, I can still work with that, but I'm just curious.

 

[Ravana]

Nothing I'm aware of. Some fascinating dynastic politics, but as I said, that only matters if you want it set in Poland, as opposed to a fantasy world that's "based on" Poland. If you do want it set in a historical Poland, shouldn't be too difficult to come up with historical sources.

The economy would have been second-rate, compared to Western countries of the time: an even higher percentage of agricultural labor (serfs) than normal for Medieval settings, much lower urbanization, very little "industry"; some valuable export products--Poland was and still is well known for its salt mines, the Baltic for amber, fur and timber; the overwhelming export product was grain, though, with cattle a distant second; nearly everything other than these was imported. Widely-spread, low-density population; lots of wilderness areas (forests and swamps in the west and central areas, steppes in the east and south). Few large towns/cities, mostly in the west and along the Baltic coast, where German and Scandinavian influences were strongest. Lots of semi-settled and barely civilized tribesmen, the remnants of the Mongol hordes; the beginnings of the cossacks; the last vestiges of Balkan pagans getting converted; regular conflict with the Teutonic Knights, eastward-expanding Germans, Baltic-hegemony Swedes (especially) and Danes, rapidly-organizing Russians from Novgorod and Muscovy, and the occasional push from the Ottomans along the Black Sea coast. Some religious conflict (Poland was Catholic, not Orthodox... though these two groups managed to get along far better than other Christian sects).

The only architecturally-distinct feature in the area I know offhand is Marienburg (aka Malbork) Castle, the seat of the Teutonic Knights: what makes it different from Western castles is that it's brick construction, not stone... so there may be something for you to work with there, if that was common for the area. (Which I imagine it was--so avoid structures made of stone, I guess.)

 

[Bass_Thunder37]

Thank you so much! I've got some really good ideas now! I had no idea about the salt mines, that could be very useful. And the poor economy and wide-spread population fits with my ideas very well. Thank you again.

 

[Ravana]

No problem. Quite welcome.