Tag Archives: Historical fiction

On the Say of Seven Honest Women (Medieval Mondays #5d)

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Duty calls

Marriage is tough; this is the case no matter what period in history one considers.

Medieval marriages, though, as discussed in my three previous posts on this topic, were all the more difficult for the numerous challenges that arose at every stage of their formation.

Yet another difficulty of medieval marriage was hard it was to go about ending one.  This was neither easily nor readily done given that, according to Eileen Power, author of Women in the Middle Ages, “Divorce in the modern sense did not exist in the Middle Ages.” (p. 33).

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Once Upon a Time, Once More

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butterfly-net

And just like that, I’m nearly two-thirds of the way through the rewrite of my WIP.

I should rephrase that: I’m two-thirds through the second draft of my WIP, with an as-yet-undetermined number more to go after that.

And it’s not exactly “just like that” either, for I’ve been hard at work on this draft since January.  This has involved, in addition to multiple rewrites of chapters one through three, a first crack at the additional 15 chapters I’ve completed to date some of which were in much better shape than others.

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How I’m Spending My Summer, 2016 Edition

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Summer3

I take great joy in planning my summers every year.

Even if I’m not expecting to do anything noteworthy or conventionally exciting, the thought of longer, warmer days and a bit of time off to do as I will to fill them is invaluable in helping me make it through the winter.

Admittedly, winter in Vancouver is mildest that Canada has to offer.  I really have nothing to complain about by comparison.

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Un/happily Married in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5c)

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Medieval marriage 3

Medieval marriage, much like medieval society as a whole, was not an institution of equality between both partners.

For the medieval woman, marriage did dramatically increase her prestige compared to an unmarried girl, who had no real occupation or standing in her household and spent most of her time in the company of older female chaperones.

Medieval woman thus looked forward to marriage and the subsequent establishment of a home that was independent of those of their parents.

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TV & Me (pt. 3) – Shows I Want to Watch Someday

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Cat watching TV 3

I need to watch more TV.

This is a statement one doesn’t often hear, particularly as the days are now getting warmer (at least they were last week; damn you, fickle Vancouver weather!) and longer.

It’s also a statement not often heard from me.  Always, I have prioritized writing over TV, to the point that I only allow myself to watch shows on weekends and holidays.  Even at that, I’ve decreased my TV consumption of late the deeper I get into the revision of my WIP.

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A Nice Day (Eventually) for a White Wedding in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5b)

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Medieval wedding ceremony (note the location and the bride's dress)

Medieval wedding ceremony (note the location and the bride’s dress)

In modern times, when a couple gets engaged to be married, they next begin planning the wedding celebration.

In the medieval times, long before the engagement, after overcoming the various challenges of finding a suitable partner discussed in last month’s post, the next step was to plan for death.  In particular, that of the man.

That is to say, there would be negotiations regarding the endowments the would-be bride and groom would grant each other.

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Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5a)

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A medieval betrothal

A medieval betrothal

Getting married in the medieval times was a complicated business.

On the one hand, it seemed straightforward enough – far less complicated than today:

  • Almost every man and woman could reasonably expect to someday wed.
  • The definition of marriage was not contested as it often is today: there was no same-sex marriage or common law marriage or the modern legal and political wrangling commonly associated with these.
  • Wedding ceremonies themselves were quite simple, wholly untouched by today’s wedding industrial complex.
  • Divorce was illegal, so when two people married, it was (in almost all cases) literally unto death.

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The Things We Do for Love (of Writing)

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TrigonometryI’ve had a cough for the last three months.

Coughing isn’t a customary occurrence for me.  Neither is having any sort of illness linger for so long.

Part of the problem is that the cough, if one can be said to be such, is largely asymptomatic.  Which is to say a cough is all I have: no sneezing and sniffling of a cold, no aches and pains and lethargy of the flu.

Even the doctor says there’s nothing pathologically wrong with me.

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Lifestyles of the Rich (and Poor) & Feudal – pt. 2 (Medieval Mondays #4c)

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(Continued from part 1)

Medieval noblemanDespite the fact they resided at the top of the feudal pyramid, medieval noblemen were not all created equally.

Rather, noblemen were subdivided based on whether they were lords, heirs, or younger sons.

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The Day(s) I Became a Writer

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Minions birthday

As far as months go, I can’t say I care much for February.

This isn’t for the reason most might expect.  It’s not the weather.  For most of Canada, February is dark, cheerless, and frigid – the furthest thing from the festive winter wonderland of a couple months prior.

I experienced 30 straight years of that.  But now, living on the west coast in Vancouver, February days are noticeably longer, the temperatures rest well above zero (some winters, it never even goes below freezing), and although it rains for days and weeks on end, at least you don’t have to shovel.

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