About
Why’s the village priest suddenly involved in your legal contract — and does he have a concubine? Join us this week as we explore parish life in a medieval village and adapt it for your TTRPGs. Will your cleric spread the good word and educate the local priest, or have they decided to take up the tonsure for… other reasons? Parish life was messy — and the perfect setting for building customs, institutions, and quests for your next adventure.
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Citations & References
Gies, Frances & Joseph. Life in a Medieval Village. Harper & Row, 1990.
Ellis, Penny. “Medieval Thoralby.” Thoralby Through Time. Link.
García Martínez, Elías, and Cecilia Giménez. Ecce Homo. 1930/2012. Santuario de Misericordia, Borja, Spain.
Graeber, David. Debt: The First 5,000 Years. Melville House, 2011.
Historic England. Medieval Settlements: Introductions to Heritage Assets. Historic England, 2018. Link. [A great PDF introduction.]
Knock, Ann Elizabeth. Wonders of the East: A Synoptic Edition of the Letter of Pharasmanes and the Old English and Old Picard Translations. 1981. Birkbeck College, University of London, PhD dissertation. Link.
Kondelik, Vicki J. Review of Portraits of the Vestal Virgins, Priestesses of Ancient Rome, by Molly M. Lindner. Lost in the Stacks, 28 March 2017, University of Michigan. Accessed 22 August 2026. Link.
The Middle English Compendium. University of Michigan. Link. [Note: this site often goes down.]
Pratchett, Terry. Small Gods. Victor Gollancz, 1992.
Ray, T.J. “Feudal Terminology.” T.J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric. Link.
Ray, T.J. “Manorial Language.” T.J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric. Link.
Terminology & Spelling
church-scot
glebe
missal
parish
plough-alms
scot-ale
soul-scot