(Note: This is the version from Dragon #80. The version in Best of Dragon IV differs slightly.)
I n a n y RPG
s e t i n a m e d i e v a l - s t y
l e w o r l d , n o m a t t e r
h o w v a g u e l y
d e v e l o p e d , t h e
c a s t l e h a s a n i m p o r t a
n t
p l a c e . T h e
v e r y s i g h t o f a
l o n e l y k e e p , r i s i n g
a b o v e t h e
m i s t s o n a h i l l t o p ,
i s o n e t h a t
p r o m i s e s a d v e n
t u r e . I n GAME s y s t e m s
t h a t
p r o v i d e f o r
PC s t r o n g h o l d s , a
c a s t l e i s
u s u a l l y t h e f i r s t t h i
n g a p l a y e r
t h i n k s o f
w h e n h i s c h a r a c t e r o b
t a i n s t h e
m e a n s t o
b u i l d a s t r o n g h o l d . A
n d i f t h e
c a m p
a i g n h a s i m p o r t a n t
NPCs o f n o b l e b l o o d ,
t h e GM h a s t o
c r e a t e , c a s t l e
s f o r t h e m .
A l t h o u g h b y
u s i n g h i s t o r i c a l s o u r c e s
o r
g a m i n g a i d s
i t ' s e a s y t o d e s i g n
t h e a c t u a l
c a s t l e b u i l d i n
g s , s t o c k i n g t h e c a s t
l e w i t h
c h a r a c t e r s r e q
u i r e s m o r e t h o u g h t . L
i v i n g i n
a n d m a i n t a i n i n
g a c a s t l e r e q u i r e s
m a n y
s e r v a n t s a n d
o f f i c i a l s , m o s t o f w h
o m l i v e i n
t h e c a s t l e
w i t h i t s l o r d . B y
d e s c r i b i n g t h e
t y p i c a l m e d i e v
a l c a s t l e h o u s e h o l d ,
t h i s
a r t i c l e o f f e r s
g u i d e l i n e s f o r p l a y e r s
a n d
G M ? s a l i k e
w h o n e e d t o b u i l d
a c a s t l e a n d
s e t u p i t
s s t a f f.
What is a castle?
A g r e a t m
a n y d i f f e r e n t b u i l d i n g s
a r e
l o o s e l y d e s c r i
b e d a s c a s t l e s , r a n g i
n g f r o m
g h a s t l y s t o n e
h o u s e s b u i l t b y n o v e a
u r i c h e
f i l m p e o p l e
t o w a l l e d c i t i e s o r
m i l i t a r y f o r t s .
P r o p e r l y d e f i n e
d , h o w e v e r , a c a s t l e
i s t h e
p e r s o n a l f o r t i
f i c a t i o n o f e i t h e r a
k i n g o r a
m e m b e r o f
t h e n o b i l i t y . T h e t r u
e c a s t l e
s e r v e s t w o
p u r p o s e s : i t i s a
d w e l l i n g f o r a
n o b l e f a m i l y
i n t i m e s o f p e a c e ,
a n d a f o r t i n
t i m e s o f
w a r . T h u s , n e i t h e r g a
r r i s o n s f o r
p r o f e s s i o n a l s
o l d i e r s n o r p u b l i c f o
r t i f i c a t i o n s
s u c h a s w
a l l e d t o w n s c a n b e
c o u n t e d a s
c a s t l e s .
T h e t r u e c
a s t l e i s a l w a y s s u p p o
r t e d b y t h e
p r o f i t s f r o m
a m a n o r i a l e s t a t e ( a l
s o c a l l e d a
m a n o r o r
a s e i g n e u r i e ) . A t r o o
t , t h e m a n o r
i s s i m p l y
a h o l d i n g o f a g r i c u l t
u r a l l a n d ,
w o r k e d b y
d e p e n d e n t t e n a n t s w h o
l i v e u p o n
i t , a n d g
r a n t e d t o a f i g h t i n g
m a n t o f e e d
h i m a n d h
i s f a m i l y w h i l e h e
s e r v e s h i s k i n g
o r s o m e o
t h e r p o w e r f u l n o b l e .
F r o m t h a t
r o o t , h o w e v e r ,
g r e w m a n y v a s t e s t a t e
s
w h e r e t h e
l o r d r u l e d i n h i s
o w n n a m e a n d
t h o u g h t a b o u t
t h e k i n g a s l i t t l e
a s p o s s i b l e .
A t t h e s a
m e t i m e , m a n y m a n o r s
w e r e l i t t l e
m o r e t h a n
l a r g e f a r m s .
T h e l a n d o
f a t y p i c a l m a n o r
i s d i v i d e d
i n t o t h r e e
p a r t s .
* T h e f i r s t ,
t h e l o r d ? s
d e m e s n e , i s
t e c h n i c a l l y t h e o n l y
p r o p e r t y
t h a t h e a
c t u a l l y o w n s . A l t h o u g h
t h e
d e m e s n e i s
w o r k e d b y h i s t e n a n t s
, a l l p r o d u c e f r o m
t h e s e f i e l d s b e l o n g s
t o t h e l o r d .
** T h e s e c o n d
d i v i s i o n , t h e h o l d i n g s
o f h i s
t e n a n t s , b e l o n
g s t o t h e m i n a
k i n d o f i n v o l
u n t a r y l e a s e
-- t h a t i s , t h e y m a
y n o t l e a v e
t h e l a n d
w i t h o u t t h e l o r d ? s p e
r m i s s i o n , b u t
n e i t h e r m a y
h e e x p e l t h e m f r o m
t h e i r
f a r m s .
*** T h e r e m a i n i n
g l a n d i s c o m m o n
p a s t u r e a n d
f o r e s t , t h e o r e t i c a l l y s h a r
e d b y
l o r d a n d
t e n a n t s , b u t i n p r a c t
i c e c o n t r o l l e d
by the lord.
T h e s i z e o
f t h e m a n o r v a r i e s
s o w i d e l y
t h a t i t ? s
i m p o s s i b l e t o g i v e e x
a c t f i g u r e s f o r
c r e a t i n g t h e m ,
b u t i n g e n e r a l , t h e
m o r e
p o w e r f u l t h e
l o r d , t h e r i c h e r h i s
h o l d i n g s .
T h e r i c h n e s s
o f t h e m a n o r d e p e n d s
a s m u c h
o n s o i l f
e r t i l i t y a n d c
l i m a t e a s i t d o e s
o n
s i z e . T h o u s a n d
s o f a c r e s o f m o
o r a n d f e n
c a n n o t s u p p o r t
a b a r o n a s w e l l
a s a m o d e s t
h o l d i n g o f
g o o d r i v e r - v a l l e y l a n d .
A t t h e b o t
t o m o f t h e s c a l e
i s t h e s m a l l f i e f
o f a s i n g
l e k n i g h t . A s a
r o u g h e s t i m a t e , i t
t a k e s t h e
l a b o r o f f i f t e e n t o
t h i r t y p e a s a n t
f a m i l i e s , w o r k
i n g a h o l d i n g o f
f o r t y t o o n e
h u n d r e d h e c t a r
e s , t o s u p p o r t o n e
k n i g h t ,
h i s f a m i l y ,
a n d h i s w a r h o r s e . ( A
h e c t a r e i s
1 0 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e
k i l o m e t e r s , o r a b o u t
2 ½
a c r e s . ) O n
s u c h a s m a l l m a n o r ,
t h e k n i g h t
l i v e s l i t t l e
b e t t e r t h a n h i s p e a s a
n t s .
R i c h m a n o r s ,
h o w e v e r , c o v e r t h o u s a n d s
o f h e c t a r e s
a n d a r e w o r k e d b y
s e v e r a l t h o u s a n d t e n a n t s .
I n m e d i e v a l F r a n c e , f
o r
e x a m p l e , t h e
a v e r a g e m a n o r o f a
l o r d o f t h e
b a r o n i a l c l a s s
w a s a b o u t t h r e e h u n d r
e d
s q u a r e m i l e s .
A b o u t o n e t h i r d o f
t h i s e s t a t e
w a s u n d e r
t h e p e r s o n a l c o n t r o l
o f t h e b a r o n
o r c o u n t ,
w h i l e t h e r e s t w a s
p a r c e l e d o u t t o
h i s k n i g h t s
i n s m a l l f i e f s o f
v a r y i n g s i z e .
( T h i s p r o c e s s
o f g i v i n g o u t p i e c e s
o f a
m a n o r i s
c a l l e d s u b e n f e o f f m e n t . )
W h e n s e t t i n g
u p a m a n o r t o s u
p p o r t t h e
c a s t l e f o r
e i t h e r a P C o r a
n N P C , t h e G M
m u s t r e m e m b e r
t h a t l a r g e t r a c t s o f
g o o d
l a n d a r e
n e c e s s a r y t o s u p p o r t
a l o r d i n a n y
k i n d o f s
t y l e . M e d i e v a l - l e v e l a g r i c
u l t u r e i s
e x t r e m e l y l a b o
r - i n t e n s i v e a n d i n e f f i c i e n
t ;
t h u s t h e
s u r p l u s , w h i c h g o e s t
o t h e l o r d , i s
g o i n g t o
b e s m a l l .
Possessing the revenue from a large tract
of land is also necessary to build the
castle
in the first place. Building a large stone
fortification is expensive, even when
much
of the labor comes from unpaid peasantry.
Let's look at the cost of some English
castles
in the 12th century. At that time, the
English pound
was divided into 240 silver
pennies,
and 30 of those pennies would buy
a healthy ox or a warhorse. To build the
small castle of Scarbourough cost the
king
656 pounds; to expand Wark on Tweed
from a small castle to a medium-sized
one
cost 383 pounds; to build the elaborate
castle at Orford cost 1,222 pounds --
the
equivalent of 9,776 warhorses!
Thus, not every petty knight living on
a
manor of 50 hectares is going to have
a
castle, even though possessing a proper
castle is the ardent desire of every nobleman.
Poor knights or PC?s beginning to
build a stronghold are more likely to
have
either a fortified manor house or a fortalice.
The fortified manor can take many
forms, but its distinguishing characteristic
is
the use of wooden defenses instead of
stone.
The most common type is the motte-and-bailey.
A wooden house sits at the top of the
motte (a mound of earth heaped up, or
a
small natural hill). At the base of the
motte,
a palisade of heavy logs encloses the
bailey
(an open space useful for sheltering peasants
in case of attack). Although the palisade
is
vulnerable to fire, a well-defended motteand-bailey
manor can withstand siege for
several days, long enough for some ally
or
overlord to come to the rescue. Building
and supporting a fortified manor house
requires 40-60 hectares of land; a motteand-bailey,
about 100 hectares.
The fortalice is a step up for the wealthier
noble. Such a fortification has a simple
curtain wall of stone, enclosing a large
ward, and perhaps has a fortified gatehouse.
Inside the wall is a simple keep ?
usually a tall donjon tower, either round
or
square ? that both houses the noble family
and serves as a last-ditch defense if
the wall
is breached. A holding of around 150 hectares
of land is necessary to build and support a fortalice.
The fortalice grades into the small castle
proper. Although the small castle may
have
a separate dwelling house beside the donjon,
most lords prefer to put the extra
money into its defenses, adding ramparting
a n d a b a r b
i c a n t o w e r . i t w i l l
t a k e a t l e a s t
2 0 0 h e c t a r e s
o f l a n d t o m a i n t a i n
a s m a l l
c a s t l e .
T h e t r u e
c a s t l e , w i t h i t s r i n g
s o f w a l l s ,
m u l t i p l e t o w e r
s , a n d s t o n e d w e l l i n g
- h o u s e s ,
r e q u i r e s a
m a n o r o f a t l e a s t
5 0 0 h e c t a r e s
a n d i s t h
u s u s u a l l y t h e p r o p e r
t y o f a l o r d o f
t h e b a r o n i a l
c l a s s . I t m a y a l s o
b e l o n g t o a
k i n g , w h o
c a n s u p p o r t m o r e c a s t
l e s t h a n h e
c a n l i v e
i n b y t a x e s f r o m
t h e r o y a l d e m e s n e
a s w e l l a
s f r o m t h e m a n o r
a t t a c h e d t o e a c h
c a s t l e . S u c h
r o y a l c a s t l e s h a v e a
m i l i t a r y
p u r p o s e , l i k e
g u a r d i n g a n i m p o r t a n t
b r i d g e ,
a n d w i l l
h o u s e a c a s t e l l a n a n d
h i s f a m i l y ?
a n o b l e m a n
s w o r n p e r s o n a l l y t o t
h e k i n g
b u t h o l d i n g h i s p o s i t i o n b y h e r e d i t a r y r i g h t.
The noble inhabitants
Castellans,
however, are the rarest sort of
castle inhabitants. Most will be lords
from
the baronial class, which includes any
noble
above the simple status of knight ? barons,
counts, dukes, margraves, and so on. During
the actual Middle Ages, these various
noble titles were considered equal in
rank,
rather than being graded into the strict
hierarchy of later times. What truly determined
a noble?s status was the size of his
manor and the strength of his holdings.
The lord and his immediate family live
inside the donjon in a small castle, or
in a
palais (a separate dwelling-house) in
a rich
one. Besides his wife and children, the
lord?s family includes any younger brothers
or sisters still dependent on him and
probably his widowed mother, the dowager. Since
noblemen lived short lives, on the whole,
usually the eldest son inherited the manor
before his siblings were grown. He was
then
responsible for raising them and either
making good marriages for the sisters
or
finding land and a position for the brothers.
(How well selfish lords fulfilled these
duties
is another question.)
Although the lord?s primary duty in life
is
war, in peacetime few lords live idle
lives.
They are, after all, the administrators
for
vast estates with power over many lives,
and the typical lord actively takes a
hand in
r u n n i n g h i s
l a n d . O n a n y g i v e n
d a y , h e i s
j u s t a s l
i k e l y t o b e f o u n d
d i s c u s s i n g b u s i n e s s
w i t h h i s
b a i l i f f a n d p r o v o s t s
a s h e i s t r a i n i n g
w i t h a r m s
o r h u n t i n g . S i n c e t h e
l o r d o f t h e
b a r o n i a l c l a s s
u s u a l l y h a s t h e r i g h t
o f h i g h
j u s t i c e o v e r
h i s t e n a n t s a n d d e p e n
d e n t s , h e
a l s o s p e n d s
m u c h t i m e a c t i n g a s
j u d g e a n d
j u r y f o r
e v e r y l e g a l d i s p u t e ,
c r i m e , o r p e t t y
s q u a b b l e o n
h i s l a n d , r i g h t d o w n
t o a r g u m e n t s a m o n g p e
a s a n t s o v e r a c h i c k e n
o r
hog.
A word must be said
about the typical
noble lady of a castle. Although under
medieval law a woman had few rights and
was barred from most activities -- she
could
neither own property nor bear arms, for
instance -- in practice such legal cavils
were
ignored. Usually the lady also takes an
active part in running the estate; many
important officials report directly to
her,
and she is responsible for all the daily
accounts and doings of the servants. She
is
also her lord's hostess, which is a very
important job in a world where a lord's
reputation depends on his generosity.
Furthermore, the noble lady is also
trained to hold her castle against siege
while
her husband is gone on campaign. During
such crises, the men-at-arms and household
knights obey her without question. Some
ladies have even been known to take the
field of battle, armed like men, to rescue
their husbands from imprisonment. Thus,
rather than the fragile flower depicted
in
modern romances, the feudal lady is a
person with an air of command. If her
husband is the commander of their domain,
then she is his most trusted general,
with
true power over the household.
Retainers and
officials
Any good-sized castle shelters a surprisingly
large number of servants of varying
degrees of rank. Since generosity is one
of
the marks of true nobility, supporting
a
large household brings status to the lord
of
the household. The lord will maintain
as
many people as he can feed, far more than
necessary to do the actual work. A wealthy
b a r o n , f o r e x a m p l e , m i g h t h a v e t h r e e h u n d r e d p e o p l e l i v i n g b e h i n d h i s w a l l s .
T h e m o s t i
m p o r t a n t m e m b e r o f t h
i s
c r o w d a r e
t h e r e t a i n e r s a n d o f f
i c i a l s o f n o b l e
r a n k . I n
m e d i e v a l s o c i e t y , t h e r e
w a s a b s o l u t e l y n o s h a
m e a t t a c h e d t o p e r f o r
m i n g t h e
m o s t m e n i a l
s e r v i c e s f o r a p e r s o n
o f h i g h e r
r a n k -- t o
t h e c o n t r a r y , i t w a s
a n h o n o r t o
b e c h o s e n
f o r t h e t a s k . L i k e w i s
e , h a v i n g
r e t a i n e r s o f
n o b l e b l o o d i n c r e a s e s t h e
s t a t u s
o f t h e c a
s t l e ' s l o r d . I t i s t h e
g o a l o f p o w e r f u l
l o r d s t o
h a v e a s m a n y n o b l e
r e t a i n e r s a s
p o s s i b l e , e v e n
f o r s u c h m u n d a n e j o b s
a s
f a l c o n m a s t e r .
E x a c t l y h o w m a n y c a s t
l e
o f f i c i a l s w i l l
b e n o b l e - b o r n d e p e n d s ,
o f
c o u r s e , o n
t h e c a s t l e - h o l d e r ' s w e a l t h
a n d
r e p u t a t i o n .
E v e n t h e p
o o r e s t l o r d h a s a t
l e a s t o n e
n o b l e r e t a i n e r
, h i s s q u i r e . ( W e a l t h
y l o r d s
h a v e t h r e e
o r f o u r s q u i r e s , f o r
s t a t u s . ) T h e
s q u i r e i s
a b o y o f n o b l e b
l o o d w h o a t a g e
t w e l v e o r
t h i r t e e n c o m e s t o l i v
e i n a n o t h e r
l o r d ? s f a m i l y
t o r e c e i v e h i s f i n a l
t r a i n i n g i n
a r m s a n d
c o u r t e s y . C o m m o n o p i n i o n
h o l d s
t h a t n o m
a n c a n t r a i n h i s
o w n s o n p r o p e r l y ,
b e c a u s e h e
w o u l d g o e a s y o n
t h e b o y , r a t h e r
t h a n b e i n g
a s h a r s h a s a w a
r r i o r ' s t r
a i n i n g
d e m a n d s . W h i l e
l i v i n g w i t h h i s l o r d ,
t h e
s q u i r e a c t s
a s b o t h v a l e t a n d
c o m p a n i o n .
H e h e l p s
h i s l o r d d r e s s i n
t h e m o r n i n g ,
w a i t s o n
h i m a t t a b l e , t e n d s
h i s p e r s o n a l
h o r s e s , a n d
r u n s w h a t e v e r e r r a n d s
t h e l o r d
n e e d s t o
h a v e r u n .
J u s t a s t h
e l o r d h a s h i s s
q u i r e s , t h e l a d y
h a s h e r w
a i t i n g w o m e n , g i r l s o
f g o o d f a m i l y
w h o a r e u
s u a l l y f r i e n d s m o r e t
h a n m a i d s .
T h e w a i t i n g
w o m e n d r e s s t h e i r l a d
y , t a k e
c a r e o f h
e r c l o t h e s , h e l p w i t h
t h e c h i l d r e n ,
a n d j o i n h e r
i n t h e e n d l e s s s e w i n g o f
c l o t h e s
t h a t ? s s u c h
a l a r g e p a r t o f
l i f e f o r m e d i e v a l
w o m e n . S i n c e
a l o r d g a i n s s t a t u s
b y s u p p o r t i n g m a n y w a
i t i n g w o m e n f o r h i s
w i f e ,
t h e u s u a l
l a d y h a s a r e t i n u e
o f m a n y g i r l s
a r o u n d h e r
a t a l l t i m e s . M o s t
o f t h e s e w i l l
e v e n t u a l l y m a r
r y , b u t s o m e w a i t i n g -
w o m e n
p r e f e r t o
r e m a i n w i t h t h e i r l a d
y t o a v o i d a n
u n w e l c o m e m a r r
i a g e . S u c h a w o m a n
w i l l b e
t h e l a d y ? s
c h i e f c o n f i d a n t e a n d
t h u s a p e r s o n
o f p o w e r
w i t h i n t h e c a s t l e .
O t h e r n o b l e - b o
r n r e t a i n e r s a c t a s
o f f i c i a l s , c o m i n g b e t w e e n
t h e l o r d a n d t h e
a c t u a l s e r v a n t
s . T h e e x a c t n u m b e r and
positions of these officials will of course
vary, depending on the wealth and size
of
the castle. A poor knight will only have
one
man to scurry around and do whatever he
has time to do, while a rich baron will
have
the full staff listed below.
The chief officer in a large castle is
the
seneschal, who has many varied duties.
He
is the lord?s right-hand man, the overseer
of
the fief as a whole, the lord?s companion
in
battle, and his trusted political councilor.
He disburses monies or food to the other
officials, keeps an eye on their accounts,
and solves whatever disputes are beneath
the notice of the lord. In wartime, he
is the
second-in-command of the men-at-arms and
vassals in the lord?s army. If only one
official in a household is noble-born, that one
will be the seneschal.
The steward,
overseeing the butler, cellarer, and cooks, is responsible for feeding
the castle household ? no easy job with
three hundred people at table! He oversees
the provision and storage of food from
the
actual farmland, sets the menus with the
lady of the castle, gives orders to the
cooks,
and organizes any feasts or festivities.
At
mealtimes, he becomes a head waiter, coordinating
the servants who are bringing in
the food.
The chamberlain is responsible for the
household work exclusive of food prepara-
tion. He supervises what little cleaning
gets
done, the hiring of common-born servants,
the purchase and care of furniture and
hangings, and the dispensing of any gifts
the lord and lady care to make. He also
has
the important task of tending to the comfort
of any guests. Both the steward and the
chamberlain report directly to the lady.
The marshal; or equerry, is in charge
of
the stables, which are the core of the
lord?s
military power in a cavalry-dominated
world. The marshal supervises the stable
boys and the groom, buys or trades horses
as necessary, and assigns the horses owned
by the lord to whomever needs to use them.
Since most noble lords spend a lot of
time
discussing their beloved horses, the marshal
usually has personal influence over the
lord
and thus great personal power.
Another person of great influence is the
lord?s chaplain, the priest who lives
in the
castle and performs religious services
for all
its inhabitants, noble or common. Beyond
his religious duties, the priest knows
the
common law and is expected to advise the
lord when he is dispensing justice. He
also
acts as the castle?s almoner, dispensing
charity to the poor who show up at the
gates. In a fantasy world with pagan societies,
this priest will not be a Christian
father, of course, but most lords will
keep a
priest of their favorite god close at
hand.
A wealthy lord also maintains as many
men-at-arms as he can afford to keep in
his
barracks. Particularly if this force contains
archers and pikemen, the men-at-arms are
likely to be from the yeoman (free middle)
class, but at their head will be at least
one
household knight of noble birth. In areas
where there is constant warfare or danger
from bandits and suchlike, the lord will
maintain as many household knights as
he
c a n a f f o r d ,
b u t i n p e a c e f u l r e g i o
n s , h e w i l l
e n f e o f f h i s
k n i g h t s o n p a r t o f
h i s m a n o r .
T h e a v e r a g e
h o u s e h o l d k n i g h t i s a
p o o r
n o b l e , u s u a l l y
a y o u n g e r s o n w i t h
n o c h a n c e
a t a n i n h
e r i t a n c e , w h o s p e n d s
h i s w h o l e l i f e
i n t h e l o
r d ? s c a s t l e f o r w h a t
a m o u n t s t o
r o o m a n d
b o a r d ? a n d t h e
a l l - i m p o r t a n t
c h a n c e t o
p r o v e h i m s e l f i n b a t t
l e . S o m e
k n i g h t s , h o w e v
e r , a r e v a g r a n t a d v e n
t u r e r s
? noble-born, of course, but kicked out
by
t h e i r f a m i l i e s
f o r o n e s h a m e f u l r e a s
o n o r
a n o t h e r . T h e s e
l e s s e r k n i g h t s o w n t h
e i r o w n
h o r s e s a n d
e q u i p m e n t , r a t h e r t h a n
r e c e i v i n g
t h e m f r o m
t h e l o r d , a n d t h u s
a r e p a i d a
s m a l l f e e
i n a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r
m a i n t e n a n c e .
I n t h e c a
s t l e h i e r a r c h y , t h e s e
k n i g h t s - e r r a n t ,
a s t h e y a
r e c a l l e d , c o m e n e a r
t h e b o t t o m a s
n e c e s s a r y e v i l
s , n o t t o b e t r u
s t e d u n l e s s
u n d e r t h e
f i r m c o n t r o l o f t h e
s e n e s c h a l .
I n f a n t a s y - w o r
l d c a s t l e s , g r e a t l o r
d s a l s o
h a v e a p e
r s o n a l w i z a r d o r s o r c
e r e r l i v i n g
w i t h t h e m .
S u c h a m a g i c i a n i s
e x p e c t e d t o
u s e h i s s
k i l l s i n h i s l o r d ? s
d e f e n s e d u r i n g w a r
a n d t o i n
f l u e n c e p o l i t i c a l e v e n t s
d u r i n g
p e a c e . H e
a l s o g i v e s t h e l o r d
c o u n s e l f r o m
h i s a r c a n e
l o r e a n d i n t e r p r e t s o
m e n s t h a t
a r e b e y o n d
t h e r a n g e o f t h e
p r i e s t . K i n g s
a n d p a r t i c u l a r
l y p o w e r f u l n o b l e s w i
l l h a v e a
p e r s o n a l a l c h e
m i s t i n t h e i r c a s t l e
a s w e l l .
Servitors and
servants
Among the ranks of common-born serv a
n t s i n t h e c a s t l e
t h e r e i s a f u r t h e r
d i s t i n c t i o n -- between servitors, who have a
certain amount of respect and position,
and
the crowd of peasant servants who do the
actual daily labor. The servitors have
a craft
to offer, such as blacksmithing, cookery,
or
hunting
technique. These skilled laborers
hold their positions by hereditary right,
passing the job down to their sons or
daughters as long as they have heirs. Servitors are
generally proud of their position and
very
loyal to their lord if he?s any kind of
a
decent man at all.
The servants, recruited from the peasantry
on the manor, are treated like valuable farm animals. Kicks and curses
are
their daily lot from those above them
in the
hierarchy. They sleep wherever they can
find a spot, usually on the floor or on
a
table in the lord?s hall, or out in the
stables.
For wages, they receive food, one suit
of
clothes a year, and a few small coins
at
Christmas. Yet, odd though it seems to
modern minds, being a servant in a castle
is
a sought-after job. Since status demands
that the lord have more servants than
are
necessary for the work, no single servant
works more than three or four hours a
day
? a much better lot than breaking one?s
back on the farm. Servants are also assured
of getting enough to eat, which is not
the
case for other peasants.
A great castle will have close to a hun-
dred servitors, counting their wives,
and
another hundred or so servants. Following
are descriptions of some of the most important
servitors, who will be found in any
castle of decent size.
Working under the seneschal are those
responsible for the security of the castle,
the
chief porter and the watchmen. Although
the watchmen are recruited nightly from
the
men-at-arms, the chief porter has a hereditary
job. Usually he and his family live in a
gate-house, which is either just inside
the
gates or built into the wall over them.
He is
responsible for greeting ? and scrutinizing
? every person who comes to the gates
and
for deciding whether or not to admit them.
If the visitor is noble, the porter must
greet
him with the ritual courtesy due his rank.
If
the visitor is judged undesirable, the
porter
must turn him out ? by force if necessary.
Thus, porters are trained in the use of
weapons.
A lord who dispenses justice has an
important servitor in the person of the
sworn executioner. Although not the most
popular man in the castle, the executioner
is
treated with respect. He?s responsible
for
hanging or otherwise dispatching criminals,
?persuading? suspected criminals to reveal
evidence, and putting minor infractors
in
the stocks or flogging them. Oddly enough,
the executioner also serves as a doctor
for
broken bones and wounds. Since he?s
trained to break bodies, he knows a good
bit
about repairing them as well.
Another person who serves as a doctor
from time to time is the barber, sometimes
known as a barber-surgeon. Although he
shaves the noblemen of the household and
cuts their hair like a modern barber,
he also
k n o w s m u c h
p r i m i t i v e m e d i c i n e a n d
c a n
d i s p e n s e h e r b a
l p o t i o n s f o r v a r i o u s
a i l m e n t s . H i s m o s t c o
m m o n t r e a t m e n t , h o w e v e r ,
i s b l e e d i n g t h e s i c k ,
e i t h e r b y o p e n i n g
a s m a l l v
e i n o r b y a p p l y i n g
r i v e r l e e c h e s t o
s u c k o u t
t h e ? b a d b l o o d . ?
S i n c e t h e
h u n t i s a v e r y i
m p o r t a n t p a r t o f
c a s t l e l i f e ,
p r o v i d i n g n o t o n l y a m
u s e m e n t
b u t m u c h - n e e d e
d m e a t , e v e r y c a s t l e
h a s a
s t a f f o f
s e r v i t o r s d e v o t e d t o
h u n t i n g . T h e
k e n n e l m a n c a r e
s f o r a n d t r a i n s
t h e l o r d ? s
h o u n d s ; d u r i n g
t h e h u n t , h e s u p e r v i s
e s t h e
p a c k . T h e
f a l c o n e r t e n d s t h e f a
l c o n s a n d
h a w k s ; h e
a l s o h a s t h e u n e n v i a b
l e j o b o f
r a i d i n g n e s t s
t o s t e a l y o u n g b i r d s .
T h e
a v e r a g e f a l c o n
e r w i l l h a v e m a n y
s c a r s o n h i s
f a c e . T h e
m a s t e r h u n t s m a n t e n d s
a n d
r e p a i r s t h e
s p e c i a l h u n t i n g w e a p o n s ,
t r a i n s
t h e b e a t e r s
a n d n e t m e n , a n d t r a c k
s g a m e
w h e n t h e
h u n t i s u p .
A n o t h e r c r u c i a
l p a r t o f t h e c a
s t l e ? s f o o d
s u p p l y i s
t h e g a r d e n , t e n d e d b y
t h e c h i e f
g a r d e n e r a n d
a c r e w o f p e a s a n t
s e r v a n t s .
T h i s g a r d e n
s u p p l i e s v e g e t a b l e s , p o t
h e r b s ,
a n d m e d i c i n a l
h e r b s a s w e l l a s
f l o w e r s . T h e
f l o w e r s , h o w e v
e r , a r e c o n s i d e r e d a
? n e c e s s a r y l u x u r y , ? b e c a u s
e t h e y a r e a b r i
g h t s p o t
o f c o l o r
i n a n o t h e r w i s e d r a b
l i f e . E v e n t h e
m o s t b a t t l e - h a
r d e n e d l o r d w i l l w e a r
f l o w e r s
i n h i s h a
i r f o r s p e c i a l e v e n t s
l i k e w e d d i n g s .
E v e n i f a
c a s t l e i s n e a r a
t o w n , t h e l o r d
p r e f e r s t o
k e e p h i s o w n c r a f t s m e
n w i t h i n h i s
w a l l s . A f t e r
a l l , o n e c a n ? t s e n d
t o t o w n f o r
s u p p l i e s d u r i n
g a s i e g e ! E v e r y
c a s t l e w i l l
h a v e a c a
r p e n t e r , a t i n k e r , a
p o t t e r , a n d a
s t o n e - m a s o n , b
u t t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t
o f
t h e s e s e r v i t o r
s i s t h e b l a c k s m i t h .
I n f a c t , a
l a r g e c a s t l e
i s l i k e l y t o h a v e
t w o s m i t h s ,
w h o , b e s i d e s
s h o e i n g t h e s m a l l h e r
d o f
h o r s e s w i t h i n
t h e c a s t l e , a l s o p r o d
u c e n a i l s ,
b o l t s , a r r o w h e
a d s , l a n c e h e a d s , s h i
e l d
b o s s e s , a n d
e v e n c h a i n m a i l . T h e
s m i t h s
a l s o r e p a i r
b r o k e n w e a p o n s a n d h o
r s e - g e a r .
W o r k i n g c l o t h
i s a n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t
c a s t l e
i n d u s t r y , b e c a
u s e e v e r y p i e c e o f
c l o t h i n g o r
b l a n k e t u s e d
b y t h o s e w h o l i v e
t h e r e i s
p r o d u c e d b y
t h e h o u s e h o l d . T h e c a
s t l e ? s
l a d y s u p e r v i s e
s a l a r g e s t a f f
o f w o m e n w h o
s p i n w o o l
f r o m t h e l o r d ? s s h e e p
, w e a v e i t
i n t o c l o t h ,
d y e i t w i t h h e r b a l
d y e s , a n d t h e n
s e w i t i n
t o c l o t h e s t o b e
d i s p e n s e d a s w a g e s
o r g i f t s .
T h e l a d y h e r s e l f w i l l
s e w h e r l o r d ? s
c l o t h i n g , p e r h
a p s a d d i n g a t o u c h
o f f a n c y
n e e d l e w o r k i f
s h e h a s t h e t i m e .
Head cook, baker, head groom, dairym a
n , p o u l t r y m a n ? a l l
a r e i m p o r t a n t
s e r v i t o r s , a n d
a l l w i l l h a v e l e s s e r
s e r v a n t s t o
h e l p t h e m
a t t h e i r w o r k . T h e
b a i l e y a n d
w a r d o f a
l a r g e c a s t l e a r e a c t u
a l l y a v i l l a g e ,
f i l l e d w i t h
w o o d e n s h a c k s a n d w o r
k s h o p s ,
h o u s i n g t h e
p e o p l e w h o t u r n t h e
p r o d u c e
f r o m t h e
l a n d i n t o t h e n e c e s s i
t i e s a n d s o m e t i m e s t h
e l u x u r i e s o f l i f e .
Who pays for all of
this?
W h e t h e r b u s h e l
s o f w h e a t o r s
i l v e r c o i n s ,
d i s p o s a b l e w e a
l t h h a s t o c o m e
f r o m s o m e w h e r e , a n d t
h e " s o m e w h e r e " o f t h e
m a n o r i a l e c o n o m y i s t
h e l a b o r o f t h e
t e n a n t
p e
a s a n t s , o r s e r f s , a
s t h e y a r e c o m m o n l y
k n o w n . A l t h o u g
h m a n y l o r d s h a v e
s u b s i d i a r y i n c o m e s f r o m
b r i d g e t o l l s , r i v e r r
i g h t s ,
o r t o w n t a
x e s , t h e b u l k o f
t h e i r w e a l t h
c o m e s f r o m
t h e l a n d .
A s m e n t i o n e d
a b o v e , a b o u t o n e - t h i r d
o f a
m a n o r i s
t h e l o r d ? s o w n l a n d ,
t h e d e m e s n e .
A l l p r o d u c e
f r o m t h e d e m e s n e b e l o
n g s
d i r e c t l y t o
t h e l o r d . T h e t e n a n t s
h o l d i n g t h e
r e s t o f t
h e m a n o r a l s o w o r k
o n t h e l o r d ' s
d e m e s n e , u s u a l
l y f o r t h r e e d a y s
a w e e k .
T h i s s e r v i c e ,
c a l l e d t h e corvee, is
paid only
by the head of each tenant family, but
it is
strictly enforced.
The other members of the family are then
technically free to work their own land
for
their own profit, but in practice, the
lord
skims off a large share of their labor.
For
starters, each peasant has to pay an annual
head tax, the chevage. If
the lord has justice
rights over the peasants (and most do),
each
family pays a further annual tax, the
taille.
Whenever the head of a family dies, his
son
must pay the lord a further tax to inherit
the land.
Most onerous of all, however, are the
banalites, duties
and fees that must be paid
constantly in order to live daily life.
Peasants must grind their grain in the lord?s
mill, bake their bread in his ovens, use
only
his bull and stallion to stud their cows
and
mares, cross only his bridge at the stream
? on and on, and all for a fee. These
charges are enforced by physical violence,
such as floggings or even maiming.
The French historian George Duby has
estimated that the total charges upon
a
peasant amounted to 50% of his family?s
total output, and this is over and above
the
corvee. (And you think
the IRS is bad?)
The average peasant family, therefore,
lives
close to starvation. Their clothes are
torn
and filthy; their hut is tumbledown and
drafty; their children die with heart-breaking
regularity from malnutrition and small
fevers. Most peasants also live in a state
of
sullen resentment that at times breaks
out
into open rebellion, but the lord?s armed
justice is swift to torture, maim, or
kill any
protestor. At its most basic level, the
mano
rial system resembles nothing so much as
that well-known gangster ploy, the protection
racket.
To keep the peasants in line and to extort
all these fees, the lord requires a number
of
manorial officials, sometimes noble-born
but more usually middle-class servitors,
again holding their positions by hereditary
right. At the top of the hierarchy is
the
bailiff, who might live in the castle,
but who
more likely lives in a farmhouse on the
estate. The bailiff is the working overseer
of
the estate, making his daily rounds on
horseback to collect work-gangs for the
corvee, make decisions about plowing and
planting, and supervise the collection
of
taxes and fees. Since they must make
detailed annual reports to the lord and
the
seneschal, most bailiffs can read and
write.
To help him, the bailiff has a varying
number of assistants, the provosts. (Some
lords dispense with a bailiff and have
the
provosts report directly to them.) The
provosts directly supervise the corvee, and
some do actual physical work as well,
such
as loading the taxes onto carts or tending
the lord?s horses
when they are brought
outside to graze.
Two other important estate officials are
the forester and the game warden. The
forester keeps track of all firewood cut
from
the lord?s forest and of course imposes
a fee
upon the peasant for cutting it. The game
warden?s primary duty is to make sure
that
no one poaches any wild game from the
estate. All deer, rabbits, and boars are
the
lord?s property; any peasant who kills
so
much as a rabbit, even to protect
his crops,
will be summarily hanged.
The player
character?s castle
Now that the GM understands the
requirements of a working castle, he is
in a
better position to supervise any players
who
wish to have their characters build strongholds,
a process far more complex than the
modern procedure of buying a piece of
real
e s t a t e a n d
h i r i n g a c o n t r a c t o r .
A t a l l s t a g e s ,
t h e G M s h
o u l d r e t a i n f i r m c o n t
r o l o f t h e
p r o c e s s a n d
p u t p l e n t y of realistic obstacles
in the character?s way. In a sense, the
GM
will be role-playing the entire medieval
environment and property system.
The first problem is acquiring enough
land -- not merely for the actual castle
itself, but also for the manor to support
it.
Most players will protest that their characters
don't need a manor, because they plan
to support their castle with the coin
from
adventuring. Unfortunately, all the coin
in
the world can't buy food
that isn't there to
buy. Medieval agriculture is so inefficient
that it's highly unlikely that the neighborhood
peasants will have any food to sell
after fulfilling their obligations to
their lord.
Besides, their lord will probably outright
forbid any sale of food to the adventurer
in
the neighborhood because any new castle
is
a rival for power. Even free farmers will
sell
only what food they can spare, leaving
the
character's castle vulnerable to bad harvests.
Thus, the PC?s castle requires a
manor to feed it.
Buying land outright for coin is unheard
of in a medieval-style world. At the most,
a
PC could obtain a small amount of land
on
a perpetual lease by paying a money rent,
but it is far more likely that any manorial
estate will come enfeoffed or entailed
in one
way or another. There are two kinds of
land
available for new manors: virgin territory,
or farmland from a great lord?s already
existing manor.
Any virgin territory within a kingdom is
considered the property of the king; squatters
will have a war on their hands. Legally
settling virgin territory requires a royal
charter granting and establishing the
new
manor. In the case of manorial land, the
lord who has rights to it must be persuaded
to subenfeoff it to the PC. In both cases,
the
granter of the manor will wangle as many
obligations as he can from the PC.
To obtain a manor from an overlord,
whether king or baron, the PC has to
acquire the lord?s favor and convince
him
that he will be a loyal vassal in the
future.
Here?s where all those coins and jewels
can
come in handy. Besides giving lavish
presents to the overlord, the PC will
have to
bribe his important officials to get them
on
his side and perhaps even to get an audience
with the overlord. Once the grant of
land is offered, the PC has to swear homage
to his new overlord, or suzerain, as it
was
often called.
In homage, the PC promises to become
the overlord?s vassal for the rest of
his life
(the PC?s life, that is) and to perform
certain services in return for the land. The
minor ones can be widely varied, but the
most common small obligations are to visit
the overlord?s court once a year, to entertain
him sumptuously whenever he appears at
the vassal?s castle, and to help him with
the
expense of wedding or knightings of the
lord?s children when they come of age.
The major obligation, of course, is military
service. The vassal must provide a
specified number of soldiers and their
provisions for forty to sixty days a year. Whenever summoned, the vassal
must personally
fight at his lord?s side. In some cases,
it?s
possible to get out of this service by
paying
scutage, a money payment sufficient to
hire
and supply as many men as the vassal is
failing to provide. The GM should decide
whether the overlord in question will
accept
scutage. In a real emergency, the overlord
will not.
If the PC has received a grant of manorial
land that?s already being farmed, he can
proceed to building the castle. In the
case of
virgin territory, however, the PC will
have
to find farmers to work on the new manor.
Peasants on an existing manor are usually
willing to become colonists if they receive
a
better deal than they?re already getting
?
an easy enough matter, considering their
lot. It was common for colonizing lords
to
allow ? reluctantly, of course ? their
colonists to lease the new land with rents
due instead of full feudal service.
Since serfs are legally free men, not
slaves, buying them out of serfdom is
a
ticklish business. While trying to keep
up
appearances, their former lord will try
to
get as much coin as possible per head.
Lords will never risk underpopulating
their
own lands, of course, and thus will probably
only allow 10-15% of their serfs to leave
at
any given time.
Once the farmlands are settled, the PC
will also have to acquire servitors from
the
middle classes and whatever noble officials
or henchmen he can attract. To build the
actual castle requires skilled, well-paid
craftsmen brought out from towns. Most
fantasy-game systems have prices in their
rules for the actual cost of building.
Craftsmen will demand to be paid in coin, not
produce, but they will take part of the
wages in living expenses while actually
working.
The process of settling a manor and
building a castle should take game-years,
not months. The PC isn?t slapping up a
modern condominium of lath and sheetrock,
but building in stone for the ages. The
GM will probably have to rule that the
PC
doesn?t have the resources to build his
dream castle all at once but must either
adventure again or wait until the land
begins producing enough revenue to finish
the work.
Most PC?s, in fact, will have to start
a
stronghold as a fortified manor or fortalice.
Although players will gripe about this,
the
GM should hold firm. After all, a recurring
problem in long-running campaigns is the
rich and incredibly powerful PC who unbalances
the game by his very presence. First
building, then maintaining a castle is
an
excellent way to drain off not only wealthy
but playing time from such a PC.
First of all, the PC will have to spend
playing time fulfilling his obligations
to his
overlord. The military service will always
come due in summer ? prime adventuring
The castle in the campaign
S i n c e b
u i l d i n g a n d m a i n t a i n i n g
a c a s t l e i s
s u c h a d i
f f i c u l t p r o p o s i t i o n , c a s t l
e s a r e n ? t
g o i n g t o
e x i s t i n e v e r y h e x
o f t h e c a m p a i g n
m a p . T h e
c o m m o n p a t t e r n , i n f a
c t , w i l l b e
o n e p o w e r f u l
c a s t l e f o r e v e r y , t w o
o r t h r e e
h u n d r e d s q u a r e
m i l e s , s u r r o u n d e d a t
i n t e r v a l s b y t h e f o r t
a l i c e s o f t h e r i c h
l o r d ? s v a s s a l s . R o y a l
c a s t l e s w i l l b e e v e n
r a r e r . I n a
k i n g d o m w i t h
a w e a k c e n t r a l g o v e r n
m e n t ,
t h e r e m a y
b e n o r o y a l c a s t l e s
a t a l l e x c e p t
f o r t h e k
i n g ? s p e r s o n a l d w e l l i n g .
B e c a u s e o f
t h e l a r g e n u m b e r o f
s e r v a n t s ,
s e r v i t o r s , a n d
r e t a i n e r s w h o l i v e i n
a c a s t l e ,
d r a w i n g u p
a c a s t l e m i n u t e l y f o r
a n N P C i s
a s m u c h w
o r k a s c r e a t i n g a
s m a l l t o w n .
F o r t u n a t e l y , u
n l e s s t h e N P C h a s
a c r u c i a l
c e n t r a l r o l e
i n t h e c a m p a i g n , o r
t h e G M
w i s h e s t o
r u n a s e r i e s o f
s c e n a r i o s i n a p a r t i c
u l a r c a s t l e , t h e r e i s
n o n e e d t o c r e a t e
e v e r y s i n g l e
i n h a b i t a n t a n d g i v e t
h e m f u l l
s t a t s . A f t e r
a l l , u n l e s s t h e p l a y e
r p a r t y i s a
bunch of murderous brigands, they are
u n l i k e l y t o
e n g a g e i n c o m b a t w i t h
t h e b l a c k s m i t h ? s w i f e
o r t h e p i g - b o y s .
A s a s t a r
t i n g p o i n t , t h e G M
s h o u l d w r i t e
a d e s c r i p t i v e
p a r a g r a p h f o r e a c h t r
u l y
i m p o r t a n t i n h a
b i t a n t i n t h e c a s t l e ,
s u c h a s
t h e l o r d
a n d h i s f a m i l y , t h e
n o b l e o f f i c i a l s ,
t h e c h i e f
h o u s e h o l d k n i g h t , a n d
s u c h s e r v i t o r s a s t h e
p l a y e r p a r t y i s l i k e l
y t o m e e t ,
s u c h a s t
h e c h i e f p o r t e r . H e r e
? s a n e x a m p l e
o f s u c h a
s k e t c h : ? S i r G e r v a s e ,
t h e s e n e s c h a l , i s a
s t r o n g m i d d l e - a g e d m a n
w i t h
g r e a t s k i l l
w i t h w e a p o n s . H e u s e s
h i s q u i c k
w i t s a n d
c o n s i d e r a b l e w o r l d l y w i s d o
m l o y a l l y i n t h e
s e r v i c e o f h i s l o r d . ?
T h e n , i f s t a t s
a r e n e c e s s a r y
a t s o m e l a t e r t i m e ,
t h e G M
c a n e i t h e r
r o l l t h e m u p o r
s i m p l y d e c i d e
t h e m w i t h i n
t h e p a r a m e t e r s o f t h e
s k e t c h .
L e s s e r s e r v i t o
r s a n d s e r v a n t s c a n
b e
m e r e l y l i s t e d
a n d n o t e d , f o r i n s t a n
c e :
? t w e l v e s e r v i n
g w e n c h e s , t w o v e r y
p r e t t y , ?
o r ? H u b e r t
t h e b l a c k s m i t h ; l i v e s
i n t h e
b a i l e y ; s t r o n g
a r m w i t h w a r h a m m e r . ?
W h e n i t c
o m e s t o r u n n i n g t h e
c a s t l e ,
i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c
s t o r y - t e l l i n g w i l l f i l l
a l o t o f
g a p s . F o r
e x a m p l e , l e t ? s s u p p o s e
a p l a y e r
p a r t y i s
e n t e r i n g a c a s t l e f o r
t h e f i r s t t i m e .
A f t e r a n
a c t u a l e n c o u n t e r w i t h
t h e c h i e f
porter, they go through the gates. The
GM
c a n s a y s
o m e t h i n g l i k e t h i s : ?
O u t i n t h e
b a i l e y , y o u
s e e a l a r g e n u m b e r
o f w o o d e n
s h e d s a n d
h u t s . S e r v a n t s h u r r y
a r o u n d
c a r r y i n g f o o d
a n d f i r e w o o d ; a c o u p l
e o f
g r o o m s a r e
c u r r y i n g h o r s e s b y t h
e m a i n
w e l l ; y o u
h e a r t h e c l a n g o f
a b l a c k s m i t h ? s
h a m m e r o v e r
t h e g e n e r a l d i n . ? S u c
h a
s c e n e - s e t t i n g
g i v e s t h e f e e l o f
c a s t l e l i f e
w i t h o u t s t a t s
a n d c o n t i n u a l d i c e r o
l l s .
W h e n m a p p i n g
o u t t h e m a n o r f o r
a n
i m p o r t a n t c a s t
l e , l i k e w i s e , t h e G M
s h o u l d
i n d i c a t e w h e r e
t h e p e a s a n t v i l l a g e s
a r e a n d
h o w m a n y
f a m i l i e s l i v e i n t h e m
, b u t i t ? s
u n n e c e s s a r y t o
m a k e a d e t a i l e d p l a c e
m e n t
o f e v e r y
h u t a n d f i e l d . T h e
m a p c a n i n d i c a t e t h e
l o r d ? s f o r e s t , m a j o r
s t r e a m s , a n d
o t h e r s u c h
n a t u r a l f e a t u r e s o n a
s i m p l e h e x b y - h e x b a s i s .
I f t h e p l a y e r p a r t y
i s t h e s o r t
t h a t ? s l i k e l y
t o g e t i n t o t r o u b l e ,
b y p o a c h i n g
o n t h e l o
r d ? s f o r e s t p r e s e r v e
o r r o b b i n g
s o m e o n e , t h e n
t h e G M c a n s e t u
p t h e d a i l y
r o u t e o f
t h e b a i l i f f , p r o v o s t s ,
a n d g a m e k e e p e r a n d g i
v e t h e m s o m e c o m b a t
s t a t s .
T h e t i m e s
p e n t w o r k i n g u p a
r e a l i s t i c a l l y
p o p u l a t e d c a s t
l e w i l l p a y o f f
i n t h e f u n o f
r u n n i n g i t .
A l l t h e s e a s s o r t e d N P
C ? s p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t i e s
f o r e n c o u n t e r s a n d c h
a r a c t e r i n t e r a c t i o n b e y o n d
t h e u s u a l c o m b a t s
? l o v e a f
f a i r s , r e s e n t m e n t s , f r i e n d
s h i p s ,
d i p l o m a t i c s q u
a b b l e s ? a l l i n
a f a n t a s y
s e t t i n g t h a t
w i l l s t i l l s e e m ? r e a l
? t o t h e
p l a y e r s . A
t r u l y w e l l - r e a l i z e d s e t t i n
g a d d s
e n o r m o u s l y t o
e v e r y o n e ? s e n j o y m e n t ?
a n d
t h a t ? s w h a t
f a n t a s y r o l e - p l a y i n g i s
a l l a b o u t !
A note on further reading
G M ' s a n d
p l a y e r s w h o a r e i n t e r
e s t e d i n
m o r e d e t a i l
a b o u t c a s t l e l i f e c a n
f i n d m a n y
b o o k s a v a i l a b l
e t h e s e d a y s , s o m e
i n p a p e r b a c k .
O n e o f t h e
b e s t i s Life on a Medieval
Barony by William
Stearns Davis (Harper
and Row, 2nd ed. 1953). Serious roleplayers,
especially Chivalry
and Sorcery
fans, will find that reading this or some
similar book adds enormously to their
fun.
Hard-working GM?s who want more information
about the manorial system and the
sizes and population of average holdings
should gird their loins and attack The
Cambridge Economic History of Europe, Volume I: The Agrarian
Life of the Middle
Ages, edited by M.
M. Postan (Cambridge
University Press, 1966).
OUT ON A LIMB
Fixing our foul-ups
Dear Editor,
Katharine Kerr's article
on castles in the
December issue was informative
and stimulating.
One serious error was the
definition of a hectare
as 10,000 square kilometers.
The article notes
that it took fifteen to
thirty peasant families to
work a holding of forty
to one hundred hectares
in order to support a knight
et al. With hectares
as large as the article's,
agriculture must have
been labor-intensive indeed.
Thomas Mullen
Taipei, Taiwan
(Dragon #82)
The hectare mistake appeared in Katharine
Kerr’s original manuscript.
(Of course, it should
be 10,000 square meters,
not kilometers.) I know
she’d be willing to take
all the blame, because
she’s a nice person,
but we really should have
noticed the error and
corrected it in our editing.
(Dragon
#82)
THE FORUM
I found some cause for disagreement
in Ka-
tharine Kerr's December
article, "Who lives in
that castle?"
Contrary to what Ms. Kerr
states, the average
serf
did NOT live in a constant state of near-
starvation, except in times
of drought and fam-
ine, when everyone
tightened his belt. Serfs ate
quite well, if somewhat
monotonously. While the
Lord and his guests dined
on such delicacies as
peacock (very tough, I've
heard, and served more <the peacock is the bird of Shaitan>
for its looks than taste)
and other game, rare
foods && spices
such as pepper <black pepper>, white bread,
&&
sweets . . . his serfs were
downing copious
amounts of ye olde standbye
-- potage (pea
soup), cassoulet (bean and
sausage stew), por-
ridge, bacon, eggs, black
bread, and any small
game he managed to poach
without getting
caught.
A smart Lord would NOT take
so much that his
serfs
would starve. After all, it's bad land man-
agement -- a serf
who is dead |or| otherwise too
weak to <verk> is not
getting his lord any richer.
<hungry>
<starving>
Nicki Perdue
Morgan Hill, Calif.
(Dragon #82)
* * * *
* * * *
In February's Forum,
Nicki Perdue wrote to
disagree with some of the
facts presented in my
article, "Who Lives in That
Castle?" She made
the surprising claim that
rather than living on the
edge of starvation, medieval
serfs were very well-
fed. Where, I wonder, did
she find such informa-
tion, which runs counter
to all accepted historical
research? Readers who want
the truth of the
matter can refer to the
sources listed at the end of
my article or to any textbook
of medieval life.
Perhaps she is confusing
the serfs, carefully
defined in my article as
peasant farmers tied to <cf. Peasants, Serfs,
and Slaves (DMG)>
the land, with the free
farmers -- the English <Albion>
yeomen or the allod-holders
of Germany and <Germania, et al.>
south France. Even those
people, however, lived <Francia>
much hungrier than we like
to IMAGINE. As late as
the 18th century, the peasants
were always short
of food.
The historian Robert Darnton remarked
in a recent essay: "To eat
one's fill, eat until the
exhaustion of the appetite,
was the principal
pleasure that the peasants
dangled before their
imagination, and one that
they rarely realized in
their lives."
I realize that it's painful
for us modern Ameri-
cans to think of a world
where the great did
mighty deeds and the poor
paid for them with
back-breaking <verk>
and hunger. It rather takes
the bloom off the romantic
and glorious Middle
Ages. In our fantasy gaming
worlds, there?s no
reason why every peasant
can?t be a free farmer,
lightly taxed and well-fed.
They certainly are in
mine! We must, however,
separate our fantasies
from historical fact.
Katharine Kerr
San Francisco, Calif.
In February's Forum,
Nicki Perdue wrote to
disagree with some of the
facts presented in my
article, "Who Lives in That
Castle?" She made
the surprising claim that
rather than living on the
edge of starvation, medieval
serfs were very wellfed.
Where, I wonder, did she
find such information,
which runs counter to all
accepted historical
research? Readers who want
the truth of the
matter can refer to the
sources listed at the end of
my article or to any textbook
of medieval life.
Perhaps she is confusing
the serfs, carefully
defined in my article as
peasant farmers tied to
the land, with the free
farmers -- the English
yeomen or the allod-holders
of Germany and
south France. Even those
people, however, lived
much hungrier than we like
to imagine. As late as
the 18th century, the peasants
were always short
of food. The historian Robert
Darnton remarked
in a recent essay: "To eat
one's fill, eat until the
exhaustion of the appetite,
was the principal
pleasure that the peasants
dangled before their
IMAGINATION, and one that
they rarely realized in
their lives."
I realize that it's painful
for us modern Americans
to think of a world where
the great did
mighty deeds and the poor
paid for them with
back-breaking work and hunger.
It rather takes
the bloom off the romantic
and glorious Middle
Ages. In our fantasy gaming
worlds, there's no
reason why every peasant
can't be a free farmer,
lightly taxed and well-fed.
They certainly are in
mine! We must, however,
separate our fantasies
from historical fact.
Katharine Kerr
San Francisco, Calif.
(Dragon #85)