Fashion in Fiction

 I have previously spoken on fashion from an historical point of view, but how do you apply that to fiction? The first thing to consider is the climate and what types of fabrics and dyes were available. If the climate is generally warm you might use cottons, silks, or other light weight materials. You wouldn't wear a full wool or leather outfit in hot weather, nor would you wear a only a cotton tunic in the cold. Once you have established the average temperature and its fluctuations you can look at what is accessible. Are you on an island with lots of sheep? Do you trade with other cultures? How advanced is the textile industry? Is everything handmade locally? Or do you have a thriving industry that makes inexpensive clothing quickly? What dye materials are on hand? 

In the middle ages, most dyes were made using natural colorants such as walnuts for browns or marigolds for yellow. There are many ways to get certain colors and what is used may determine the expense and limitations of certain colors. In many cases religion and cultural beliefs dictate what colors are deemed socially acceptable. For most of Europe Catholicism, and later Protestant, doctrine held that bright colors were extravagant and engendered a feeling of pride which was a mortal sin. Thus those of lower classes were encouraged to wear somber greys, browns and blues. This still allowed for quite the range of colors and were not as limiting as modern conceptions believe. The brighter colors were reserved for the upper class nobility since they tended to be more expensive and time consuming to make. For examples of dye recipes check out this article from Rosalie's Medieval Woman. The Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry has wonderful depictions of both peasants and nobles in the early 15th century. This selection from the manuscript shows peasants in a variety of greys, blues, browns, and reds. To see more images from this book check out the collection at Chateau de Chantilly.

With the rise of a middle class in the later middle ages many rich merchants wanted to wear clothing similar to the nobles and so many kingdoms enacted sumptuary laws to restrict what could and couldn't be worn by each class. A great example of one such law came about with the rise of pointed shoes as fashion. While it may seem silly to us, the pointed shoe fad got to the point where the shoes became so long and distracting that they obstructed the wearer’s ability to walk. For the longest ones a string was attached below the knee to assist in moving the toe points to enable walking. The string was occasionally depicted in art, such as this.

When discussing trade during the middle ages inevitably the crusades will come up. While there was trade between Western Europe and the Far East prior to the crusades, specifically from the Silk Road, it was mostly nobles who knew of these exotic items. The crusades saw people of all social classes travel great distances and experience things they may have only heard of in stories. These soldiers then brought home many of these items as gifts. Having now had a taste of these exotic things they began to want them at home as well, thus increasing trade all over. 

When you think about the environment and trade opportunities of your world you can apply to your story remember that the combinations are endless. In recent years the costume designers of Game of Thrones have created a fashion world so detailed that it could be considered highly historically accurate for it's fantasy setting. This is largely done through the consistency of design for the different regions and cultures. Bernadette Banner has a wonderful video about this called Designing “Historically Accurate” Costumes for Fantasy: Game of Thrones Case Study 

Regardless of how much you follow a particular historical period for your fashion styles, world building is important for creating consistency. If you set your story in a cold and frozen north land you are more likely to use furs and leathers than if your setting is a desert. Using clothes to world build can add a layer to of intrigue that, while not necessary, helps to keep your readers more connected to the story.

World Building- Time Keeping before Mechanical Clocks

The world's first mechanical clock -Water-driven Spherical Birds – was invented by Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk in 725 A.D.. It was operated by dripping water which powered a wheel that made one revolution in 24 hours.  In 1092 astronomer and mechanist Su Song developed a more sophisticated clock called the Cosmic Empire. The clock told the time of day, the day of the month, the phase of the moon, and the position of certain stars and planets.

In Europe however the earliest mechanical clocks are bell tower clocks that tolled the hours, but did not have the familiar clock face of modern watches. These were developed in the early 13th century in Northern Italy and Southern Germany. 

Salisbury Cathedral Clock ca. 1386

The concept of time prior to this was based more on daylight and daily activities rather than minutes and seconds. This doesn't mean however that time keeping was somehow less advanced. Clocks made from burning candles and water clocks were widely used by both nobles and the lower class. Candles also made good alarms if you put nails in them at specific intervals. 

Candle Clocks from Europe

Prior to the industrial revolution time was based on seasonal activities and daylight. Candles are great, but they don't allow for the same level of detailed work of electric lights. This division of day was more important for those in cities and monasteries than farms and since agriculture was the primary occupation throughout much of medieval Europe it wasn't until much later that a more detailed method of time keeping was needed.

For many writers it makes life easier to keep to simple time keeping (morning, noon, etc.) or use terminology that is familiar to modern readers (minutes, hours, etc.). When world building for ancient or medieval time periods it is helpful to consider what methods your characters will use to keep time. Nothing takes a reader out of the story quite like inconsistency. If you start the story using broad time terms like morning or evening and use candles for lighting, but suddenly switch to minutes and hours and have secret midnight meetings in well lit rooms one might question why the characters didn't have access to these things earlier. Now if you use this change as part of your world building it can create a deeper layer of intrigue. Perhaps your characters lived in a rural setting initially and didn't need detailed time keeping. If they journey to a city where clocks are common you can create a level of character building that will keep your readers engaged.

Something else that rarely comes up in history classes is the context of different cultures existing at the same time. Western history is often taught in a straight line from Ancient Greece and Egypt to Rome to the "dark ages" fast forward to the Renaissance and then the industrial revolution and the world wars. This leaves out not only most of the world, but implies that the rest of the world is not as advanced as Europe. As I stated in the beginning of this post, China had clocks nearly as sophisticated as any we have today in the 11th century. Europe at the same time was still dealing with the after affects of the decline of Rome. This is the time frame of the so called "dark ages". By comparison most of the rest of the world was experiencing a golden age. As an example of these strange timeline shenanigans, you could live in the mid to late 19th century and encounter Victorian gentlemen, old west cowboys, Caribbean pirates, and Meiji Restoration Samurai. This sounds like a made up fantasy or a joke until you actually look at the dates. 

For historical fiction and fantasy writing, time can play an important role in world building, whether you are conscious of it or not. One of the best things about creating your own world in writing is the ability to use whatever parts of history and culture you wish. That's what makes fantasy writing so interesting. 

Creating a medieval banquet

So your characters have a place to live, clothes to wear and maybe they all have names, but now they are about to sit down and eat.... But what do you serve them? What is the etiquette of the meal? What do you even call it? Breakfast is easy to name, you are breaking the nightly fast. But then there is lunch and dinner? Supper? In the French breakfast is called petit dejeuner, the little meal, and lunch is dejeuner while dinner is dîner. Italian has a similar configuration with prima colazione, colazione, and cena (prima meaning first). It’s the English who start giving us trouble with multiple names for different meal types each meaning something different.

If you have ever travelled to Europe you may have noticed that they tend to treat meals differently than we do in America. In Britain any afternoon meal can be called tea. Spain and Italy take two hour lunch breaks and everything shuts down during that time. Dinner in almost every country is more of an event with the meal lasting two or more hours with different courses and drinks. If you've ever been to a fancy restaurant that serves a course meal of more than appetizer, entre and dessert than you are closer to what it would have been like a medieval banquet. It was not nearly as gross and lacking etiquette that many movies portray. There was in fact a sense of hygiene and consideration for your fellow dinners. This article by Danièle Cybulskie discusses some of the etiquettes that were in place using primary sources as examples. 

As for what they ate and drank there are many records available that discuss what provisions were ordered for different events and daily consumption. One of the big myths that permeate medieval movies and stories is that they did not drink water. In his article on the myth, Peter Konieczny presents many sources on the topic. For food the site medieval-recipes.com has many great resources for what recipes were popular. There are two manuscripts that have been hailed as the most important cookery guides, The Forme of Cury is in English and Le Viandier is in French. Many recipies have been translated from these by the John Rylands Library at the University of Manchester and the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF Paris). You can find a digital version of The Forme of Cury on the Project Gutenberg website.

All in all the types of food have not changed all that much. Most meals consist of fruits, vegetables, meat, bread and dairy just as they do today. The biggest differences are in the international availability we enjoy today. Many trade routes existed to bring to Europe spices from the East or exotic fruits and vegetables from the Middle East and Africa. After the discovery of the new world many new foods were introduced as trade across the Atlantic became available. As you plan your novel's world consider what level of trade was available and how that affects what your characters have at hand. Seasons also play a role in what might be accessible. Unlike our almost instantaneous transportation today which allows for seasonal foods to be imported from other regions, travel by horse or ship might limit your meal planning.

Now that you are thinking about what your characters might be eating you may have to make changes to your writing to wither limit or expand their food choices. For myself, I found that I had more options than I first thought because although spices from the East might be pricey and only used for special occasions I was able to incorporate them for those occasions. This made for some interesting character interactions since some may be new to the taste of say cinnamon or ginger, while others had them regularly. 

How has food in your novel changed the narrative? Comment bellow on how this topic influenced you or your writing. Happy writing and research!

Review: Empire of Lies by Raymond Koury

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if you could change one thing. Would it be better? Worse? Would people really change or is human nature and ideals fixed. Raymond Koury explores that in his novel Empire of Lies. It follows two very different points in history. Our contemporary time with cars and cellphones, and the distant past of 1683 and the turning point for the Ottoman Empire. When a mysterious stranger turns up in 1683 with a plan to conquer the rest of Europe for the Empire the present as we know it is changed. Our lead character, Kamal Arslan Agha, is an officer in Ottoman controlled Paris in the Sultan's secret police, but the recent unrest and growing paranoia are beginning to wear on him. The mysterious stranger turns up naked and covered in tattoos near the Seine sucking Kamal into a conspiracy of time travel. Was the stranger right to play with history and change things? Is the world he described as terrifying as he says or is it better than the tyranny they were living in now? Raymond Koury weaves an action packed and thought provoking tale in some of Europe's most iconic cities. Suitable for young adults and adults interested in history and alternative history as well as mystery, a bit of romance and military drama.

A year at the castle

If you have never seen the illuminations of the seasons in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry while researching medieval life, you are missing out on something really special. This manuscript was created in the early 15th century by the Limbourg brothers for the Duke of Berry. It is thought to be the king of illuminated manuscripts and certainly the best depictions of the diverse life of both the nobility and peseants of the time.

The seasons and calendar year were very different in the days before the industrial revolution and religious reformations that shape our modern world. Life revolved around church holidays to a much greater extent and agriculture was the primary industry.

After the fall of Rome the Catholic Church stepped into the vacuum and began restructuring the formerly pagan Roman holidays to make conversion easier. Since the changes of the seasons had previously been marked by a holiday, they would continue to be marked but with a Christian holiday.

The fiscal year began after harvest with Michaelmas on September 29. This marked the beginning of the winter season. November 1, All Saints Day, marked the winter slaughter time. This was important in an age before mechanical refrigeration when the best ways to preserve meat existed through salting or in the cold of winter. Next was Martinmas on November 11, also known in France for the grape harvest and all over Europe for the first snows.

Christmas Eve began the longest holiday of the year with every building decked with greenery and the Yule log brought in to be burned for the whole twelve days. The Feast of the Holy Innocents occurred on December 28. The Feast of Fools saw masks and wanton songs on January 1.  January 6 Epiphany Day, saw the end of the Christmas celebrations.
The first Monday after Epiphany was Plow Monday and started with a plow race. This was the beginning of spring.

Spring held the Lenten season of fasting after all of the feasting of the harvest and winter months. Easter week was a full week of celebration ending in Hocktide signaling the start of summer. The seventh Sunday after Easter held another week long holiday of Whit Sunday (modern Pentecost). May held several feast days leading up to midsummer. June 24 is St. John's Day, the beginning of the hay harvest.

July holds mostly minor saints days and is largely a working month leading to August 1, Lammas Day, the first day of the harvest. Which in turn lasts until Michaelmas, when it all started over again.

Today we still use some of these holidays to mark the passage of the year, but with the introduction of industry, technology and diverse religions we are less reliant on the flow of the seasons and religious holidays to affect daily working life.

The distractions of life...

I am as guilty as anyone in letting life's distractions drag me away from my writing. I got caught up in a new job and then planning a wedding and moving into a new house and before I knew it years had passed without a single word being written. So after so much time away how does one get back on track?

I started with my research and reviewed everything I had already written. I read somewhere that you shouldn't start editing your first draft until you have actually completed it, so I although I was tempted to do some rewriting I left it alone. Then I went back to the outline to jog my memory on where exactly this story is heading. That however turned into another distraction. I was coming up to a scene where I had made a note to do a bit of research on something that could become a deciding factor in the main character's development. Unfortunately I then spent a week doing nothing but diving down the research rabbit hole.

To get out of research wonderland I have made the goal of writing at least 50 words a day. I still have a bit of a quandary about this scene but rather than stop writing again I am creating alternative scenes and storylines. After all, the only way to write a novel is by writing all the time.

I am also going to try to post more often. My current research topics and writing progress will be the main subjects, but I welcome questions, comments and suggestions for topics.

Happy writing!

Review: Book Three Fianna Trilogy by Megan Chance

In this third book of Megan Chance's Fianna Trilogy, events are coming to the climax as Grace struggles to learn the magic that is her destiny. The riots are now threatening violence all over the city and final decisions must be made. Will they choose love or duty to their people? Megan Chance brings this story to a conclusion that satisfies the mysteries of the magic and the realities of history.