Crossbones and Tiaera

http://www.nbc.com/crossbones

I'm looking forward to the next episode of "Crossbones." I'm eager to enjoy and learn what I can about the pirates as they brawl, pillage and cavort, and to relish the way they speak in this weekly series. The writers have won my heart for their colorful terminology as a means to depict a bygone era where words such as succeedingly generous, bastard thwarting, supplicate, recount, transpires and my favorite so far: discommoding are used. As a writer, I am impressed with the way they did not do as "Black Sails" did on Starz, mixing old English with vulgar profanity by both men and women. I suppose that pirates curse and use such words and so the actors use them, but for viewers like me, I find it very offensive and distracting. Yes, of course, I don't have to listen to them as they portray uneducated criminals who can only express themselves with four letter words and the like. Yes, many a pirate may not have been fortunate to learn how to read and write, but "Crossbones" doesn't feature only pirate characters. Some of the characters are well-educated and high ranking. And John Malkovich? Well, I better check my history book about how educated and eloquent the real Blackbeard was. John does a wonderful job so far. I was so impressed and eager to learn some of these words I sought and found a place online with scripts for TV shows. Here is the link should you wish to study the scripts for your own studies.

Crossbones - Episode Scripts

What does this pirate series have to do with Tiaera? Simple. Anyone who has read my stories here, as well as Realmwalkers and The Priestess and the Ravenknight, will know I have an affinity for using archaic words. They will also know I have pirates in my medieval fantasy world. Thus I am inspired by the dialogs in "Crossbones" as I am in many historical dramas on BBC America and PBS.  I've sat with pen and notebook while watching "Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Sense and Sensibility," jotting down phrases and words that are clearly archaic or seldom used these days. I still take the trouble to look up words I'm not familiar with and check when they were first used so that I may incorporate them in my future stories about Tiaera. My aim is to make the language used in Tiaera somewhere between the 15th - 17th centuries and still try to make the stories understandable by modern readers whenever possible.

"The Musketeers" have just premiered on BBC America and I didn't get the chance to see the pilot yet, but I did record it so I can see it later today. I hope the script there is also entertaining and enlightening for this medieval fantasy writer.  No, I don't have musketeers on Tiaera, but pirates are often known as swashbucklers as are the knights, rogues, guards, etc... Tiaera has them all. If they carry a sword, let it be so. Better get my pen and notebook ready!

Medieval Christmas Terms

Since the world of Tiaera is basically a medieval fantasy world --  set somewhere between the 12-17th centuries of Earth --  and since we are in the holiday season, I thought I would post a word list of some archaic terms appropriate for this time of year.  Sadly, Tiaera is not Earth and so there is no Christian celebration of Jesus' birth. There is something called "Wynterfest" that all tiaerans celebrate as the first day the world was created by the goddess.  It's not very important as far as worldbuilding is concerned, but the made-up tiaeran holiday is a good excuse for writing Wynterfest (Christmassy) stories during this holiday season.  

Why isn't God or Jesus on Tiaera as we know of him here on earth in real life? I am a Christian, but right now, I am not a Christian writer. What I mean is that I don't write Christian stories, but I am a writer and a Christian. I am still learning a lot with every blog post I write and every book I publish, so I am taking it one day at a time. It's hard enough right now to write what I do, so I write what I can. I do not believe in a pagan goddess by any name, especially Astria. She is a character of my imagination and nothing more. She is not my alter-ego and I do not worship her. She is like a puppet that lives only on the pages of my books and on my blog. Her purpose is to be a benevolent deity of some sort to help save the day. If I am ever inspired to write a Christian story or novel, I will do so. I am trusting God will lead me to what I am supposed to do in his name. Till then, I'll continue to experiment and learn by writing medieval fantasy romance fiction for the amusement of my readers.

Now some Medieval Christmas terms: 
 
Alms - (12th cent) Charitable gift of money or goods to the poor and needy.

Boon - (12th cent) A favor, benefit, blessing or gift.

Carol - (14th cent) To sing and dance in a circle.

Carouse - (15th cent) archaic - a large draft of liquor : toast. Drunken revel.

Cristes Maesse - (1038) "Christ's Mass" or Christmas - found in a book from Saxon England in 1038. 

Cookery - (14th cent.) The art or activity of cooking food.

Flagon - (15th cent) Large mug or jug for beer or wine.

Feast - (13th cent) A special meal with large amounts of food and drink : a large formal dinner: a religious festival

Great Hall or Hall -  (12th cent) The building in the inner ward that housed the main meeting and dining area for the castle's residents. Principal room in a medieval house, used for meeting and dining.

Holiday - (12th cent) Holy day  A day when a religious festival or holiday is observed.  One usually doesn't work.
 
Merrymaking - (1618) A gay or festive activity.

Mead - (12th cent) Wine made by fermenting a solution of honey. Spices were often added. Also another name for a meadow.

Mummery - (1530) A ridiculous, hypocritical, or pretentious ceremony or performance in villages or castles.

Minstrel or Bard - (14th cent) Poet and singer, also called a jongleur, who lived and traveled on the largess of the aristocracy. 

Tide - (12th cent)  obsolete :  a space of time :  period.  Example: Eastertide and Yuletide 

Tidings - (12th cent) A piece of news. 

Trenchers - (14th cent.) Thick slices of stale brown bread with a slight hollow in the middle. These were used as plates. 

Wassail - (12th cent.) Old English words waes hael, which means "be well," "be hale," or "good health." A strong, hot drink (usually a mixture of ale, honey, and spices) would be put in a large bowl, and the host would lift it and greet his companions with "waes hael," to which they would reply "drinc hael," which meant "drink and be well." Over the centuries some non-alcoholic versions of wassail evolved. 

Yule - (12th cent) The feast of the nativity of Jesus Christ :  Christmas
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Some link sources:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_xmas.htm
http://godecookery.com/how2cook/howto06.htm

Medieval Manor Terms

It's time again to bone up on our medieval vocabulary with a terms that might come in handy with your next medieval/historical/fiction/fantasy story. I love to use archaic terms such as these for my medieval fiction and you might find other glossaries there useful. I have only chosen a several simple terms for this post but if you want to see more, I have included the link to this glossary by T. J. Ray: The Eclectic Eccentric.  

Manorial Terms

Amercement - Fine.

Bondman - Serf, q.v., villein.

Charter - Official document, usually deed or grant of privilege.

Cotter - Tenant of a cottage, usually holding little or no land. 

Croft - Garden plot of a village house. 

Distraint - Summons or arrest. 

Fair - A market held at regular intervals, usually once or twice a year. Fairs tend to offer a wider range of goods than normal markets. They are generally licensed by either the king, the local lord, or a chartered town. 

Hallmote - Manorial court.

Quarter - Unit of volume, eight bushels.

Ring - Unit of volume, four bushels.   

Tithe - Payment to church, consisting of a tenth of produce. 

Villein - The wealthiest class of peasant. Villeins usually cultivated 20-40 acres of land, often in isolated strips. 

Woodward - Manorial official in charge of the lord's woodland. 

I must caution the writers of medieval stories (fiction and non) to be careful when using the terms found in any of these glossaries. It will make readers tired or bored quickly if they have to look such terms up in a dictionary, and you don't want that! Provide a glossary of any terms you use at the back of the book as an appendix or at the bottom of the page where you used the term. 

And if you have any other suggestions on how to use these medieval terms without putting off the reader, please comment below. I am sure there are other clever ways to make the book enjoyable without confusing the reader by such words.

Here is the link where I got the terms above. Manorial Language  Enjoy and feel free to comment!
 

More Archaic Terms & Expressions

I haven't done much of these lately so I will give you a few extra for today's lesson in archaic terms and expressions. These may prove useful for your writing and renaissance fair/SCA events. I got these terms from various books and Internet glossaries.

Boggart - A goblin, hairy and short

Buckler - Small round shield

Liege-man - A loyal follower usual bound by feudal alligiance.

Panter or Pantler - In charge of the pantry where food and eating utensils are kept

Reeve - An overseer or steward of a manor

Hobnob - To converse in a friendly or casual way

League - A measure of distance, about three miles.

Excellent well! - Very good!

Pray tell - Tell me

Fie ! or Alack! or Out upon it! or Fie upon you! - All basically mean "Darn it!" or "Curse you!"

Excuse me or Pray pardon me or I cry your mercy - All mean "I beg your pardon"

I hope you find these helpful. Contact me if you have any questions and I will try to help. Have a great weekend!

More Archaic Words

Greetings! It's been awhile since I shared a few more of my favorite archaic words I try to use in my writing. Tonight I would like to cover some archaic samples of greeting others. As usual, I used the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and an (online) glossary book written by Shakespeare. Enjoy!
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Good morrow = Good morning 
(13th cent. noun)

Good day = Good day (said before noon)
(12th cent noun)

Hail or Greetings = Hello or Salutations
(13th cent noun)

God ye good den or Good den =  Good evening or good day (said after noon)
(according to The Works of William Shakespeare it means "God give you good e'en")

Good e'entide = Good evening or good night 
e'en = evening + tide = A time or season. Often used in combination: eventide; Christmastide; Shrovetide. (13th cent. noun)
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Next post will be samples of saying good-bye.