I was asking myself what would be the most popular setting for a novel based on the age of the sword.

Wild fantasies welcome.

I would set it in the Condottieri age, and my favorite character would be a non-noble young boy that arises to the status of Condottiero.

That's also the Renaissance, my favorite artistic period.

Despite current tastes i would strictly adhere to history, there is enough of wonders in historical truth that one doesn't really need to step into the fantasy realm.



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The Battle of Towton, with a fictionalized (and doomed) lead character. It's such a compelling story and would look incredible onscreen, with the snow and armour and bowmen and the catastrophic rout, etc. It even has that great strategic moment when a commander knew he had the advantage of wind and had his archers fire one volley of arrows in a successful attempt to bait the enemy archers into ineffectualy firing all of their own arrows. I can just see all those arrows falling through the snow harmlessly into the ground between the opposing lines.

"God's friends and the whole world's enemies"

I would do it like the Godfather.

Victual Brothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
•The Victual Brothers resp. Vitalians or Vitalian Brotherhood were a companionship of privateers who later turned to piracy. They were hired in 1392 by the Dukes of Mecklenburg to fight against Denmark, because the Danish Queen Margaret I had imprisoned Albrecht of Mecklenburg and his son to subdue the kingdom of Sweden. Albrecht was King of Sweden since 1364 and Duke of Mecklenburg since 1383.


[edit] Guild of the Victual Brothers
When Queen Margaret and Albrecht of Mecklenburg were battling for Scandinavian supremacy and Margaret's forces had besieged Stockholm, privateers named the Victual Brothers engaged in sea-war-activities and shipped food to keep the city supplied. The name Victual Brothers is derived from the Latin word "victualia" — meaning provisions — and refers to their first mission, which was to bring needed supplies to the besieged town of Stockholm.

The Victual Brothers were organised as a brotherhood or guild and attracted men from all over Europe. Their main naval enemy in 1392 was the powerful Hanseatic town of Lübeck, which supported Denmark in the war. Apart from Lübeck, the Hanseatic League at first encouraged the Victual Brothers. Most of the Hanseatic towns had no desire to see Denmark victorious, since its location was strategic for the control of the seaways.

For several years from 1392 on, the Victual Brothers were a strong power to be reckoned with in the Baltic Sea. They had safe harbours in the cities of Rostock, Ribnitz, Wismar and Stralsund. However, they soon went their own way, more or less turning to open piracy and coast robbery. In 1393 they sacked the town of Bergen for the first time and in 1394 they conquered Malmö. They also plundered Åbo, Vyborg, Faxeholm, Styresholm and Korsholm and occupied parts of Frisia and Schleswig.

At the climax of their power, the Victual Brothers occupied Gotland in 1394 and set up their headquarters in Visby. Baltic Sea maritime trade virtually collapsed, and the herring industry suffered from their depredations. Queen Margaret even turned to King Richard II seeking to charter English ships to combat the pirates.

From 1395 on Queen Margaret gained the upper hand politically. She united Denmark, Sweden and Norway and formed the Kalmar Union. Thus, the Hanseatic League was forced to cooperate with her, foreshadowing its eventual decline.

At the same time, the Victual Brothers impartially raided everyone's shipping. Their famous battle cry was "God's friends and the whole world's enemies". Queen Margaret and King Albert of Sweden conceded Gotland to the allied Teutonic Order as a pledge (similar to a fiefdom). An invasion army under Konrad von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Order, conquered the island in 1398, destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers out of Gotland.


[edit] Likedeelers, the successors of the Victual Brothers

The Brindled CowAfter the Victual Brothers' defeat and expulsion from Gotland in 1398, the Hanseatic League tried repeatedly to end the anarchy in the Baltic Sea, but with little luck. Many Victual Brothers still remained at sea. When they lost their influence in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and Gotland, they operated from the Schlei, the mouth of the river Ems and from other locations in Friesland. The successors of the Victual Brothers gave themselves the name Likedeelers, which means to share in equal parts, which they even did with the poor population along the coast. They expanded their field of activities into the North Sea and along the Atlantic coastline, raiding Brabant, France and as striking as far south as Spain.

Their most famous leader was Captain Störtebeker. He got his name allegedly because he could swallow four litres of beer without taking the beaker from his mouth. However, it might simply be a family name from Wismar. The Low German word "Störtebeker" means in English: "Down the drink in the beaker". In 1401 the Hamburg warship Brindled Cow, leading a small fleet under Commander Simon of Utrecht, caught up with Störtebeker's forces near Heligoland. After three days of running battle, Störtebeker and his crew were finally overpowered and trapped by means of a trick.

Yet this was not the end of piracy and coastal raiding by the Likedeelers. In 1429, 28 years after the execution of Störtebeker, other members of the Victual Brothers attacked and plundered the city of Bergen in Norway, eventually burning it to the ground. Until about 1440, maritime trade in both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea was seriously in danger of attack by the Likedeelers.

I would consider the life and accomplishments of Germany's King Frederick I "Barbarossa." Beset from birth by contest over royal lineage and regional rebellion (eventually having to fight against his uncle the archbishop Conrad who had convinced him to become king in the first place)/ power struggles, religious freedom/policy, and constant battle.

He rebuilt central control and government of much of the "Holy Roman Empire", instituted significant policies giving rights of freedom to cities, regional republics, and individuals, and hosted one of the greatest celebrations of pre-modern Olympics/ World's Fair sized events in triumph at the Mainzer Dam cathedral for which he instigated major upgrades. He was so beloved by the common people that it was said farmers quit working in their fields and ran to assist him when in grave peril during an ambush. Several medieval historians comment in their texts that the common populace confused him with Charlemagne and believed in myths of "the old man sleeping under the mountains" expecting his return for several centuries afterwards. There are few real world documented characters that appear to be a genuine blend of King Aurthur and Charlemagne, but this guy does appear to have been so.

Again, he was tragically killed in drowning during a river crossing related to holy crusade. His sons were not really the same type of inspirational leaders. He did not have the most glamorous ending, but a very long a fully lived life that was immortalized by the people he served well.

Barbarossa is a very interesting figure. I own the 19th century "Acta Imperii Selecta" and the recordings of Barbarossa are the most interesting (even though my inderstanding of latin is limited).

I think his demise makes an interesting extra layer to the story, how even the most glorious persons can die a simple death.

Umberto Eco has an interesting book, Baudolino, which tells about a character near Barbarossa (who is a compulsive liar, so the story should be read with a shipload of salt)

Baudolino is great. I'd recommend it for anybody who's a fan of Umberto Eco or historical fiction or both--and it has more than enough fantastic elements to satisfy many fantasy readers as well.

Going back to the original topic, one historical subject I'd like to turn into fiction comes from the history of my own country--namely, the 14th-century Battle of Bubat. It was basically a three-way political struggle between a Javanese emperor, his best military commander, and a vassal king that ended in a massive, bloody, and indecisive military clash. None of the three sides involved came out as a clear winner--if anything, all three ended up as clear losers.

I don't think there'd be much sword-work involved, though. The insular Javanese culture is less sword-oriented than most, and we all know that even sword-oriented cultures always have other weapons they can rely on beside the sword.

But, if we may move into the realm of fantasy, right now I'm writing a novel set in a fantasy equivalent of ancient Spain not long after the founding of the initial Phoenician colonies. It's mostly political rather than military, but there are some occasions where the colonists' shieldwalls have to face the locals' javelins and slingstones, and some others where skirmishers from both sides engage in brief but intense clashes. The real fun, though, is probably not going to come until I write a different book roughly based on the politics of late 17th-century Central and Eastern Europe, where I can have both swords and firearms for double fun!

I can't really think of a specific historical figure or incident right now, as there are too many, but I would really like to see a movie about Vikings done well for once. None of this horrible Pathfinder (2007 version) nonsense. I would LOVE to see something from one of the sagas. Almost any incident out of the sagas would be more interesting than what most movie makers come up with. It wouldn't even matter if it were more "historical" (from one of the family sagas), or if it were more "fantastical" (from one of the legendary sagas). As long as it had some good characters and a good plot, and some nice depictions of weapons and warfare in there somewhere, I'd be happy. (There are also plenty of options for the above-mentioned types of doomed characters in sagas, since fate plays so heavily in them.) Also, filming in Iceland is always good, because of the gorgeous scenery. :-D

Another alternative would be to have a good movie of some interesting/dramatic period of Anglo-Saxon or Germanic history. Personally I think something early, like Migration-Era would be sooo awesome. However, the only thing people tend to think of regarding that period is Beowulf, and they always make terrible adaptations of that story. (IMO!) There are plenty of other stories that could be told from this period! Something actually watchable would be nice for a change. :p

I would also like to see a movie along the lines of Bernard Cornwell's King Alfred/Saxon series. A fascinating time of Anglo-Scandinavian history, and it could be set partly in York (where I'm currently living) and it could include both Saxon AND Viking shield walls!!!

*swoons*

Well, I'd go for the norwegian civil wars in the 12th century. Would love to see a "rome" style tv series on that.

I've been pondering on a concept where one follows a young nobleman in the following of King Magnus Eirikson, who flees to byzantium to become a Varangian after the defeat in 1184, and end up with the sacking of byzantium in 1202. (after which the varangians dissolve themselves, having been the only force to mount a successful defense of parts of the city.)

The sack of Constantinople was in 1204. I'm reading Geoffrey of Villehardouin's chronicle of the 4th crusade right now... :)

Yeah, whatever... :p
Anyhow, King Sverre, the winner of the civil wars, dies in 1202, so it would be safe for the "politcial refugees" to return by 1204.
Not that they do not grant eachother Pardon at most opportunities, though.

Whoops....sorry......I just realized the thread was actually asking about novels, not movies. My bad. :blush:

I agree with Shamshi; we seriously need a movie that portrays vikings and viking culture/myths accurately. It's one of those things I always wonder how Hollywood manages to mess up despite its inherent potential. :wtf:

Also, I like Michael's idea. Medival pirates on the Baltic Sea would rock!

Bruno Giordan wrote:

What an interesting piece of history i wouldn't even know of !

Heck, I'm Swedish and I didn't know about it. :p

Shamsi Modarai wrote:

Whoops....sorry......I just realized the thread was actually asking about novels, not movies. My bad. :blush:

Doesn't make you wrong, though.

Interesting story ideas, folks.


Does anyone here actually write?

I would move further east. Possible backdrops could be: the wars between the Mamluks and the Mongols/Crusaders in the 13th century, the Timurid Conquests of the late 14th-early 15th century, the Ottoman conquest of Eastern Europe in the 15th-16th century, the Ottoman conquest of Mamluk Egypt and Syria in the eraly 16th centuries, Babur's campaigns in Central Asia and India in the early 16th century.

Actually R. E. Howard mined a lot of this territory already in "Lord of Samarkand":
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samarcand-Other-Adven...amp;sr=8-5