Development of Metallurgy

[Darkgenio]

Hi I am interested on adding context to this premise, and eventually spot errors in the consequences:
Topic: the state of metallurgy in a fictional world, similar to the actual state of metallurgy around the 9th century in Europe.

Premise: Metallurgical development and technologies has come to decline in the previous 2 centuries due to geopolitical reasons. Most mines and metallurgical activities are concentrated in Northern mountainous regions.

Consequences:
- The resources and consequently trade of metals are in the hands of the aforementioned Northern regions.
- Prices of metal objects tend to be very high - production does not even suffice for the Northern regions (technological decline).
- Scarce usage of metals in manufacturing activities.
- 30 years long hostilities between different fiefdoms, named the "Iron War". Not a large scale conflict, as the fiefdoms belong to the same kingdom, but rather longstanding low level hostilities.

Do you see any problem with this schema?

Does any idea come to your mind to enrich the context, given the premise (i.e. can you propose new consequences that integrate with the above, I am especially interested in societal and political changes that might be triggered, or narrative that may develop thereby)?

Thanks a lot!!

 

[pmmg]

My initial thought is iron vs gold. Cause iron can get you gold, and gold can get you iron. And in a world where both are desirable for different reasons, I could say it as something to explore. This lord is gold rich, and that one iron, and both want what the other has.

I also see potential for old school vs technology. If one relies heavy on iron and denies it to others, the others may find that while lords squabble over iron, hitting them stone axes still gets the job done. In fighting to control, and not coming together to defend, individually, the lords are open to attack from other directions without allies.

 

[Darkgenio]

Thanks a lot for the input pmmg !! Interesting and really appreciated (i think that it can be definitely be tweaked into a struggle for different resources). Did you by chance spot any significant problem in the exposition?

 

[Prince of Spires]

Nothing wrong with it based on what you've written. One other aspect you can consider is quality vs quantity. Not all ore is the same. The reason Japanese Katana's are made from folded steel is that the quality of the ore is very low, and the folding is necessary to actually create decent enough material to work with.

An example of the opposite is the original Damascus steel. There the creators of this steel accidentally stumbled upon a combination of ore + processing method that led to superior steel. One of the speculations about why it disappeared was that the original source of ore dried up, and the other ore deposits had different compositions, which led to inferior results.

Because of this, there are several historical events that sort of share the same premise. I think the Bronze Age Collapse is the biggest one. Copper and tin are rarely found in the same spot, which meant that to make bronze you needed international trade. Once that disappeared (or tin mines ran out), bronze suddenly became an expensive commodity.

 

[Darkgenio]

Great feedback Prince of Spires! Thanks a lot, I really really appreciate it!

 

[Demesnedenoir]

The basic premise seems sound but how it functions in story world will be the key. I've got an island culture after a "forgetting" incident that becomes isolated, where iron and gold are both extremely rare. The rulers outlaw private ownership of gold (it can be turned into the King without civil penalty and rewarded with silver). Raw iron is damned near nonexistent, leaving them in a state of artifacts from earlier trade becoming expensive gear until the outside world finds them again.

Most anything can work, but devil, details, and all that.

 

[Rexenm]

I had a story once where there was a boy, kept secrets from, because his mother ran away from the alchemists, and eventually turned out to be Joan of Arc, called done a F. He was kept in his puerile state because of his gay nature. There was a commander who was his master, but otherwise he wouldn’t have been an adjutant. Gold and silver do funny things in a depression, acting as some kind of reflex for distribution of wealth.

 

[Finchbearer]

Iron ore will always make me think of Princess Monenoke, and tin mining always makes think of Poldark.

Where there are precious resources deep in the earth, there will always be a destructive process to get to it, and ensuing economic and political changes.

 

[Darkgenio]

Thanks for the great feedback!

 

[Rexenm]

Iron ore will always make me think of Princess Monenoke

I was watching Pom Poko today. There was a digging scene in it, where they excavated New Tama in the Tama Hills. So, metallurgy is similar to the fight between Gonta and Seizaemon, but the digging is similar to New Tama.