Re: MR: RoUS

[Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

Alfredo queried:
> 
> One of my favorite movies is "The Princess Bride", and even though
> I knew it wasn't historically accurate, I thought it was a good
> source for medieval flavor.  But it slowly dawned on me that
> maybe some of the things in the movie didn't exist in the Period
> even as concepts in fairy tales.  Are my suspicions correct?
> Were any of the following items made up out of whole cloth for
> the movie?
> 
> Kingdom of Florin
> Kingdom of Guilder

Both of these were kingdoms involved in banking in the Very Early Middle
Ages. They later (sometime in the Not So Early But Not Quite Late Middle
Ages) joined together to form the country we now know as Switzerland.

> Giants

It is known that Giants existed in the Middle Ages, but they were much
smaller then.

> Spaniards

There is no historical evidence that Spaniards really existed except as a
cruel joke played on Europe by an underground organization in Sicily.

> Sicilians

A group of sadistic people living south of Italy who enjoyed playing cruel
jokes on the rest of Europe (see Spaniards above).

> Shrieking Eels

This was a very popular dish served at many seaside restaurants in quaint
places like Hull.

> Swordfighting

There was actually no swordfighting in the Middle Ages. This is a myth that
came about during the Victorian era, much like tales of King Arthur who was
the model used by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle for Sherlock Holmes. They actually
used rattan sticks covered in duct tape.

> Revenge

(see Shrieking Eels above)

> Fire Swamp

A place near Sterling in Scotland which was set ablaze by Wallace to deter
the English cavalry. This can be witnessed in great detail in the film
Bravheart.

> Rodents of Unusual Size

Caused the Great Fire in London.

> Albinos

Albinos existed in more abundance in the Middle Ages, but because they were
shunned by most people and could not find work, they often became employed
as traveling actors and entertainers. They were, much to the world's dismay,
the progenitors of the modern mime.

> Brute Squad

See William of Normandy, called the Conqueror.

> Holocaust Cloak

There are records from Elizabethan London that survived the incursion of
the Rodents of Unusual Size (see Great Fire) that tell of a tailor named
Hawla who was renowned for his skill and in particular his cloaks. People
would be heard to remark "How much does that Hawla cost?"

> ______________________________
> You use that word a lot. I do not think
> it means what you think it does.

You keep on using that word. I do not
think it means what you think it means.

In service,
Corun

--
     Corun MacAnndra   |   Dark Horde by birth   |   Moritu by choice
Though we are not now that strength, which in old days moved earth and heaven,
that which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time
and fates, but strong in will. To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield. 

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