Friday, June 23, 2006

Some Facts About the 13th Century

So, I'm writing a vampire story. Vampire stories -- any kind of immortals really -- are great opportunities for exploring history. So I decided I wanted my vampire to be born in 1232. No real reason, I just liked that number. But it worked out really well. I was able to create a fascinating backstory for him with the help of some history research. Take for example the following short entries form HistoryCentral. com:

1270 AD Louis IX Dies- Louis IX died in 1270 while on the Eighth Crusade. His reign was marked by a huge expansion of royal power. The King's power increased at the expense of both the Church as well as local communal movements. The royal justice system was also greatly expanded. This was a period marked by material and cultural advances in France.

1271 AD Marco Polo- In 1271, Marco Polo -- accompanied by his father -- set off for China. They arrived in the court of the Great Khan, where Khan took the European visitors into his service. Polo became intimately acquainted with all parts of China. When he returned to Europe after 15 years of service to the Khan, he wrote the Book of Various Experiences about his time in Asia, that garnered wide readership in Europe.

Starting with those tidbits, I did a little further digging to uncover the fact that Louis IX died of some sort of stomach flux that was running rampant through his forces at the time, as they lay seige to Tunis. I also learned that Marco Polo traveled the Silk Road to China and faced much disbelief over his tales right up until the day he died.

Voila! I now have a very interesting backstory for the main character in a novella I'm writing for inclusion in a Valentine's anthology. More to come as my research leads me elsewhere...
Posted by Bianca D'Arc :: 11:39 AM :: 2 Comments:

Post / Read Comments

---------------oOo---------------