What is a realm?

[Darkfantasy]

New to writing Fantasy and I want to know I'm using the correct terms. Can't find a detailed definition that explains what a real is in a Fantasy world.(just said it was a Kingdom) so maybe I'm mixing my terms?

Basically, in my book, one of my character's special skills in creating a dream-like world. A replica of an existing place but bent to look how she wants, have the rules she wants (no gravity, always dark, dystopian looking). These places she creates are in a limbo area between the dream world and the real world. In the worlds she creates, it's not just the mind that goes there, but the entire body.

Would this be considered a realm or something else in Fantasy? Thanks guys

 

[Ban]

The word realm is used to describe a domain that is important or significant in some way. In what way it is significant depends on the specific realm.

A kingdom can be a realm, but so too can an area as small as a city or as large as a universe.

 

[Protocol Orin]

Its a area of known influence, ether by someone or something, like a force or laws. But they are mostly part of something grater (Like a universe)
take a kingdom, which is sometimes called a rulers realm.
Or its a area that different powers and laws exist, like magic, or old ones hold less power, like the laws of gravity.

Might be another term, but that's the most used one

 

[Protocol Orin]

You could also call our realm (the known universe) the void (like in WH40K)

 

[Protocol Orin]

Ok, the page just refreshed, and now I look somewhat like a copycat

 

[Darkfantasy]

So, if it's a place one of my characters controls and "rules" to an extent could I call it a realm? Or would it be something else entirely?

 

[Protocol Orin]

It would be a realm, yes

 

[WordyWonderland]

A realm is a dimension. At least, in the Norse mythology. Here is Midgard the earth. And Asgard is the REALM of the gods.

 

[skip.knox]

The word itself is a synonym for kingdom. It comes from the French, royaume. A whole bunch of English words having to do with royalty come to us by way of France, thank you very much Normandy and Anjou.

But there's no need to keep to the narrow definition. Doesn't Tolkien sometimes refer to the Realm of Men? If not he, then some other fantasy writer. That's about the broadest usage. I'd say just pick what feels right for your world, and for all love be consistent.

 

[FifthView]

I agree with others. Your use is fine.

For me personally, there's a connotation to realm that is different from what I feel when I read kingdom. They may denote more or less the same things, but realm seems less geographically distinct, without borders or with hazy extent. It may refer to "the people" or a general area of influence. Kingdom on the other hand seems to communicate a more solid sphere of influence, probably with well-known borders or extent and lines of control.

This is just a personal reaction to the words. The difference for me is like the difference between house and home. A house is a more solid thing with known extent, whereas a home brings ideas of family, a place to rest, whatever.

So for instance, I can see someone from the outside saying, "King Romer's realm" when that speaker knows King Romer controls a lot of land and area, has a big sphere of influence, but doesn't know, precisely, the extent, and doesn't know all the lines of control (for instance, various vassals and power centers.) Or maybe that speaker is simply intending to reference the general domain of King Romer. If King Romer referred to his own realm—"My realm is acknowledged by the gods, who fear to tred here,"—then he'd be referring to a more general idea of his domain.

 

[Protocol Orin]

This is about the best explanation ^

 

[Devor]

I'm going to second FifthView. Kingdom is well defined, well governed. The king has to know every lord in the kingdom. Realm is murky. The realm might include territories that aren't well inhabited, or small tributaries that pay taxes but otherwise govern themselves. It might include a tight trading area, alliances, colonies, or imperialist occupations. As someone mentioned, the "realm of men" might cover several kingdoms, or if we were talking about British history you could separate different kingdoms into the Anglo or Saxon realms.

Using realm for a murky magical place sounds about right to me.

 

[Darkfantasy]

Thanks for all the replies. Very helpful. x

 

[skip.knox]

I'm not disputing the distinction made by FifthView and others above; it's a perfectly reasonable distinction. I do, however, want to say that kings weren't always all that clear about the boundaries of their kingdoms, at least not before the early modern period (much of what people believe about the Middle Ages comes from the better-documented 16th and 17th centuries). Maps were not at all precise, and few kings rode their boundaries, so all they had to go by was second-hand (or tenth-hand) reports.

Moreover, few medieval boundaries were undisputed. A king might understand that the western boundary of his realm ran along the River Knox. Well, rivers have tributaries and there was plenty of room for disagreement as to which stream in which valley was the *real* upper branch of the River Knox. And anyway Count Irksome to the west claimed certain rights on the *east* side of the river. Wherever that was. So, there was what a king might claim, then there was what a king might actually be able to do.

There were some practical measures. When a town or village paid taxes, did they go to Count Irksome or to King Yahoo? Sometimes collectors from both might turn up, which could leave to lovely legal fights. When there was a war, to which lord did the local knights report? One of my favorite scenarios is when there was a dispute between Count and King, and Baron X might send his five knights to the king while serving personally in the army of the count.

In short, words like clear and well-defined rarely describe much of anything to do with medieval politics. We moderns are simple pikers by comparison. But for fiction, interpreting "kingdom" to be something more clearly defined than "realm" makes good sense.

Just out of curiosity, would folks associate "realm" pretty much with kingdom, but not with duchy, margravate, county, and such-like?

Oh, and here's another fuzzy term: domain. Which comes from demesne, another French word. For me, domain is one that could apply to any of the aforementioned political units, even though I know technically it applies to none of them.

Who says English is complicated?

 

[Devor]

I'm not disputing the distinction made by FifthView and others above; it's a perfectly reasonable distinction. I do, however, want to say that kings weren't always all that clear about the boundaries of their kingdoms...

Sure, sure, I didn't mean to - well, what I guess I meant to suggest is that a "kingdom" is clearly ruled by a "king." It's the king's domain. Realm, at least in English, doesn't have that focus.

 

[skip.knox]

yep, yep, and I didn't mean to cast aspersions (why are aspersions never thrown or spun, but only cast?). All the points were valid. I was only speaking to the historical Middle Ages and a common misunderstanding that kings were more in control of things than they really were. It's worth noting that if you're writing historical fiction. For fantasy writers, it's more of a nugget that might provide a bit of insight or inspiration while spinning your story in the fantasy realm. Kingdom. Whatever!