Questions tagged [medieval]
For questions about the medieval era (500-1500AD o.e.) as a whole.
555
questions
2
votes
2answers
116 views
GMO Agriculture - Medieval farming with modern day seeds and advanced robots, how hard or how easy could it be to be rich using them?
Let's just say that you are stuck in a different world. You found a biological research and production starship wreck...
You decided to have GMO plants/seeds agriculture on your land that you bought ...
38
votes
15answers
13k views
What professions would a medieval village with a population of 100 need?
Let's say I have a small village with 100 people of which everyone is able to work, what kind of professions do these people need?
Background to the society: they are as smart as medieval people, ...
6
votes
3answers
216 views
How could a medevial kingdom of mainly exclaves function (Politically)?
In my setting their exists the Kingdom of Tor a kingdom nestled nearby a small mountain range. The capital city, Tor, is built along a tributary of the river Goro one of the largest rivers in the ...
3
votes
0answers
132 views
How much agricultural land per person in medieval society? [closed]
In medieval society corresponding to approximately year 1200 in Holy Roman Empire, how much agricultural land would there be on average per person? What would be typical composition of the land? (...
4
votes
1answer
176 views
How to care for your critically injured dragon: Medieval edition | Part 1: staying hydrated
After the Pucci Gang successfully reset D&D universe #405 into a physics compliant version of itself, things went south rather fast.
For instance, somewhere high up in the mountains a village of ...
42
votes
7answers
10k views
How to realistically deal with a shield user?
Fantastic universe, but not necessarily magic involved in the process. You face a guy who has a shield (tower shield of not). You do not have a shield, but you are a better swordsman. How do you win?
...
1
vote
5answers
198 views
Advance human society by time-transporting a book. Which to choose? [closed]
Humanity has done it - the first time-machine was built! However, the machine's capabilities are very limited as it is very costly and fragile, which means we only have one shot. Building another one ...
2
votes
2answers
216 views
In a stable medieval fantasy population, what should be the yearly birth rate per 1,000 people? [closed]
For a human or human-like stable, small settlement population, living in medieval fantasy, how many yearly births per 1,000 inhabitants are expected?
Assuming:
There is no major epidemic.
There are ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views
How could a medieval fortress manage large groups of migrants and travelers?
The Red Keep was built thousands of years ago to defend against the invading hordes. The Red Keep itself is a fortress, the main wall of which blocks off the main pass through the mountains.
Over the ...
5
votes
10answers
690 views
What's an appropriate title for a person who deals with conflicts of an Empire? [closed]
What would be a good title for someone who works closely with an emperor, is skilled in diplomacy, deals with different factions and individuals in the Empire's capital city to resolve issues, while ...
3
votes
8answers
458 views
Does this half-armor make sense in this context?
In a setting I was thinking of, most of humanity lives in complex tunnel and cave systems, in sprawling masses of underground cities. To the scope of this question, let's assume their technology is ...
21
votes
18answers
6k views
Are there any medieval light sources without fire? [closed]
In a world of my story, which is loosely based on medieval times, fire disappeared. Are there any sources of lighting without fire that would be possible in a medieval setting?
It is a fantasy book ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
Could a large enough semi isolated population keep up with Eurasia in technology? [closed]
Could a semi-isolated country island about 3,000,000 square miles and 1000 miles south of India avoid becoming a colony and develop into a rich and strong modern state today?
They have about the ...
15
votes
9answers
3k views
What factors could lead to bishops establishing monastic armies?
In a fantasy world I have planned a historical event was the "Bishops War" in which the bishops of multiple large parishes waged war with one another with large armies of warrior monks. But I've run ...
27
votes
14answers
8k views
Is conquering your neighbors to fight a greater enemy a valid strategy?
So, I have a group of 6 small kingdoms (in a medieval low fantasy world) that share a lot of their culture, since they were just one country in the past. In my story, a powerful nation (let's call it ...
19
votes
8answers
6k views
What could a Medieval society do with excess animal blood?
In my fantasy project I have a vaguely medieval society (specifically the high period). However some of their religious practices are more along the lines of a iron age society. One of the biggest ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
What would Earth look like at night in medieval times?
Background: Aliens are debating whether to launch an invasion of Earth in medieval times, say the year 1000. They launch a satellite to orbit Earth and send pictures of Earth to see whether it is ...
4
votes
4answers
282 views
What weapons could an Iron Age society wield that would be effective against Medieval (High Period) knights?
In numerous fantasy worlds, including my own, I have seen knights battling what appear to be "barbarians" inspired by the Celts, Germanic groups, or possibly some Scythians. From what I've seen, the ...
3
votes
2answers
138 views
Would it be possible to make .45 LC or .45 Colt in medieval times? [duplicate]
Say a 1880 gunsmith traveled to a medieval time period. I just wanted to know if it would be logically possible for someone like him to be able to make additional ammunition for a colt model 1873 ...
4
votes
6answers
391 views
How could you make banking profitable during the middle ages?
I'm doing a medieval fantasy project and I wanted to include a banking faction. The main issues I've run into are: banks during the middle ages don't seem to be profitable.
What factors would allow ...
20
votes
17answers
9k views
How to hide rifle during medieval town entrance inspection?
Here is my fantasy medieval scenario:
There is pair of adventurers, a Supportive/Non-Offensive mage and a swordsman.
The swordsman is actually a disguised rifleman who carries a scoped rifle.
In ...
14
votes
8answers
3k views
Medieval flying castle propulsion
One day, on the faraway world of not-medieval-Europe, someone discovered that a type of stone could be made to float. A decade or two later, there are flying castles, built out of and/or on a ...
3
votes
6answers
401 views
Medieval weapons and Armor without gunpowder [Siege machines]
The firearm has thought to have been what had killed the age of knights and skilled swordsmen. While it could take years of hard work and practice for a warrior to master a blade or bow, he could pick ...
0
votes
4answers
240 views
What modern things that are cheap can be good to sell in a fantasy medieval world at high price [closed]
I have my protagonist go to a fantasy world that is locked in their medieval era like late 1300 early 1400. My protagonist need money to travel, so what kind of modern invention, a material that is ...
16
votes
10answers
7k views
Is a world with one country feeding everyone possible?
I imagine a world with the size of Europe and the Middle-East. In this world, with lands and seas that are comparable to Europe and the Middle East for its geography, farming is not developed. In fact,...
27
votes
7answers
3k views
What city and town structures are important in a low fantasy medieval world?
I've been working on a procedural map generator that draws cities and towns on continents and islands and I've gotten to the point where I'd like to add lists of structures to the settlements.
I know ...
4
votes
3answers
156 views
Usurper securing a throne while keeping allies of killed king [closed]
How to take over a throne at the same time keep the allies of the previous king despite cultural/religious differences
Like when Alexander the Great died, several regions were ruled by his generals. ...
4
votes
5answers
207 views
Living ice magic - what can I do with it?
I, the Grand Sorcerer Alazam of the Guild of Arcanists, have invented a remarkable new spell! Using unique magical artifacts, I can create what I call 'living ice' - chunks of ice that grow and ...
2
votes
3answers
542 views
Would a Glass “Rupert Drop” Weapon be Plausible?
Can a large glass Rupert Drop somehow be manufactured into a useful and effective weapon in medieval warfare, such as a club?
I've developed a society that primarily lives in the desert with sand in ...
3
votes
3answers
167 views
Fortification of an island kingdom? [closed]
In the story I'm working on, there's an island kingdom that has historically been attacked by invaders from the mainland. This island kingdom's culture is akin to that of ancient Djibouti or Eritrean ...
5
votes
4answers
628 views
Killing undead fish underwater
To kill zombies on land, you usually have to either chop their head off, burn them down or use purification magic (if it is a fantasy world).
But underwater you can't kill the zombies the same way as ...
28
votes
8answers
4k views
Any examples of headwear for races with animal ears?
So, considering the structure of the head and ears for creatures like cats, dogs, and bears, if one were to make a race with those types of ears (The stereotype cat person, essentially) I am curious ...
9
votes
5answers
2k views
Creating a chemical industry from a medieval tech level without petroleum [closed]
You've been transported into a world with a medieval tech level. This world has coal deposits, but no petroleum deposits. You have no chemistry equipment with you, but you can use glassblowing or ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Last name earning system [closed]
I just had an idea for a story based on Islamic Spain and Barbary pirates. But after doing some research I found some kind of chaos and randomness in last names. The people's last names are either:
...
22
votes
17answers
3k views
Weaponising the Grasp-at-a-Distance spell
Wizards have developed a Grasp-at-a Distance spell. It has numerous uses in everyday life of course but the Emperor (may he live forever) wants it to be deployed as a weapon of war.
Spell operation
...
6
votes
3answers
274 views
Most effective melee weapons for arboreal combat? (pre-gunpowder technology)
The creatures I am working with are primate-like, hexapodal aliens with a terrestrial/ arboreal lifestyle. On flat land they are able to walk bipedally, freeing up their top 4 arms for manipulating ...
26
votes
19answers
6k views
The logistics of corpse disposal
A pair of fearless killers, thousands of years old, guard a path to what is believed to be heaven. Of course, all towns in the area have different ritual and traditions where either their criminals or ...
11
votes
7answers
1k views
In What Way Would Cryomancy Affect the Food Eaten by Medieval People?
Cryomancy is magic involving the removal of heat from an object by converting thermal energy into magical energy, thereby cooling the object. The conversion to magical energy is not perfect (some ...
4
votes
10answers
477 views
How could a medieval army only use unarmed combat and still be effective?
This medieval fighting force, we'll just call them the Bruiser Army, uses only unarmed combat, but how are they still effective? They have absolutely no range compared to the spears and swords of ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
How could sorcerers who are able to produce/manipulate almost all forms of energy communicate over large distances?
Sorcerers possess the ability to sense, generate, and manipulate energy; however, their abilities are largely limited to controlling energy that they/other sorcerers have created, and not naturally ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
(How) Could a medieval fantasy world survive a magic-induced “nuclear winter”?
So, a council of wizards decided that all should bow to their rule. That, it turns out, is a thing wizard councils did a lot. This lead into a certain degree of disagreement, which in turn resulted in ...
5
votes
5answers
351 views
Would this system of corvee peasant labor be effective for building castles/fortifications?
Solarae is a militaristic kingdom that has long guarded the northern passes against the hordemen (think the Germanic migrations/migrants), but Solarae is also a rich kingdom due to the abundance of ...
2
votes
1answer
186 views
Post-Apocalypse Technology? [closed]
I’m currently writing a book where there is a large explosion in Mid-USA, in the year 2025. Following this, there is a world war that diminishes the US population to ~70 million people. There is a ...
12
votes
11answers
3k views
Hot air balloons as primitive bombers
Imagine a medieval-style city, besieged by enemy army. It might be big and have wide river preventing besiegers from direct attack on the walls and launching projectiles significantly far into the ...
1
vote
3answers
160 views
Could a pump jet be made in the 15th-16th century? [closed]
With the knowledge required, could the pump jet be created for use in ships in the given timeline? If not, what other forms of engines can be made in said timeline that can power ships without the use ...
6
votes
5answers
762 views
Can a medieval gyroplane be built?
A hang-glider or a gyro-glider would suffice also, with the purpose of actually working.
I was hoping it wouldn't require a motor, because I doubt a motor could be built in medieval times.
If it ...
4
votes
3answers
130 views
How can the interior of temple lit automatically during medieval time?
In the 1400AD, there was a temple built to honor a late king somewhere in the middle east. The temple can house a thousand people and have many facilities from amenities to entertainment plus an ...
15
votes
13answers
3k views
Why Choose Less Effective Armour Types?
Full steel plate armour is seen as the most effective type of armour from the Medieval period, viewed by some as the pinnacle of medieval/early-renaissance armour. It’s rounded surfaces and layers of ...
2
votes
3answers
214 views
Could someone sneak out of a medieval castle without being interrogated? [closed]
The setting takes place in medieval times (around the 10th-13th century)
Say an important person of court is visiting a king of another nation. He is there as an ally, but needs to sneak out of the ...
64
votes
16answers
10k views
Making a sword in the stone, in a medieval world without magic
This relates to a world in which there is no magic and only medieval technology. The ruling and religious classes want to convince the general populace that magic exists.
For example a sword-smith ...
