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Jun. 15th, 2010 09:47 pmI spent a long fifteen minutes looking for a map of dolmens and other prehistoric lumps in Herault (SE France). I didn't find anything online and it's really not something I have time to chase in libraries.
I spent a far more successful five minutes finding the border between Aragon and Languedoc in the second half of the thirteenth century. I spent a full hour trying to work out what the interior of those Languedocian hilltop castles (not the ultra-famous ones that get called 'Cathar', but the ones that protect the pilgrim route to Compostella) might look like and how they might have operated. I know a bunch about other types of castles, but it turns out that the bunch I know about other types of castles doesn't apply to them. Where, for instance, would the castle kitchen be located if there is no substantial flat inner courtyard? How did deliveries get up the hill and where were storage spaces, the smithy, the stables? What I really want is information on specific castles in Herault, but either they haven't been studied or my research-fu has waned and right now I would settle for an understanding of the type of castle.
In a dream world I would know who was managing the region from those particular castles on behalf of whom (the 'on behalf of whom' is ultimately the king of France after the 1270s, but who was there locally and what affiliations did they have?) but that's beyond me today.
I'm tempted to name a character in my WIP 'Gayleen' in revenge for all this lack of discovery.
Also, French scholarly websites are driving me crazy. I might have to stop walking into intellectual walls for the night. I shall prepare tomorrow's class, instead.
While I do so, you might want to take a look at this month's Australian Spec fic blog carnival. I cast my eye down it and realised I've had a very prolific month. I don't know if this is good, bad or annoying, but I particularly like the Kalin/Bishop/Kum interview (note how cleverly I change the order of their names each time I mention it?).
Update: Thanks to the usually-quite-gruesome RJ Barker, I have my dolmens!
I spent a far more successful five minutes finding the border between Aragon and Languedoc in the second half of the thirteenth century. I spent a full hour trying to work out what the interior of those Languedocian hilltop castles (not the ultra-famous ones that get called 'Cathar', but the ones that protect the pilgrim route to Compostella) might look like and how they might have operated. I know a bunch about other types of castles, but it turns out that the bunch I know about other types of castles doesn't apply to them. Where, for instance, would the castle kitchen be located if there is no substantial flat inner courtyard? How did deliveries get up the hill and where were storage spaces, the smithy, the stables? What I really want is information on specific castles in Herault, but either they haven't been studied or my research-fu has waned and right now I would settle for an understanding of the type of castle.
In a dream world I would know who was managing the region from those particular castles on behalf of whom (the 'on behalf of whom' is ultimately the king of France after the 1270s, but who was there locally and what affiliations did they have?) but that's beyond me today.
I'm tempted to name a character in my WIP 'Gayleen' in revenge for all this lack of discovery.
Also, French scholarly websites are driving me crazy. I might have to stop walking into intellectual walls for the night. I shall prepare tomorrow's class, instead.
While I do so, you might want to take a look at this month's Australian Spec fic blog carnival. I cast my eye down it and realised I've had a very prolific month. I don't know if this is good, bad or annoying, but I particularly like the Kalin/Bishop/Kum interview (note how cleverly I change the order of their names each time I mention it?).
Update: Thanks to the usually-quite-gruesome RJ Barker, I have my dolmens!