About
This week, we return to building a medieval fantasy village! Come dive into medieval village court records to uncover bizarre taxes, petty fines, and inheritance laws you can drop straight into your game. We discuss how these laws can help your players craft characters with realistic backstories while giving GMs resources to build closed-door mysteries and plots in a world that feels alive instead of predictable.
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Citations & References:
Gies, Frances & Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village. Harper & Row, 1990.
Bennett, Judith M. Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England. Oxford UP, 1999.
Graeber, David. Debt: The First 5,000 Years. Melville House, 2011.
“Medieval Settlements.” Historic England. A great PDF introduction. Link .
Ellis, Penny. “Medieval Thoralby.” Thoralby Through Time. Link .
Ray, T.J. “Manorial Language.” T.J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric. Link .
Ray, T.J. “Feudal Language.” T.J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric. Link .
The Middle English Compendium. (Note: this site often goes down.) Link .
Terminology & Spelling for Reference:
corrodies
filstingpound
firma unius noctis
hamsoke
heriot
leirwite
merchet
tallage