Best-selling fantasy author Terry Goodkind is switching publishers from Tor to Putnam for a new three book deal. Goodkind has been with Tor for a long time but decided to make the switch because he and his agent, Russell Galen, felt Putnam could get them into wider markets. The three books will be mainstream fiction, […]
George Raymond Richard Martin, well-known author of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, on September 20, 1948. Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. His writing career began at a young age when he would write and sell stories about monsters for […]
For purposes of this post, I will focus on the medieval sword of Western Europe, namely England and France and Scandinavia, from the 10th to the 13th century.
The sword was an instrumental weapon for the knight during the Middle Ages. As most combat was conducted up close hand-to-hand, you did not go into battle without […]
Virgate
[vur-git, -geyt]
Etymology: Medieval Latin virgata, from virga, a land measure, from Latin, rod
1) Standard tenant’s holding on many manors, but of a size that varied from manor to manor (usually from 20 to 30 acres) — Bennett, Judith M. Women in the Medieval English Countryside, 235
2) A quarter of a hide; often 20 or 30 […]
I was in the bookstore the other night and was looking at a copy of Dreamsongs by George R.R. Martin. As a collection of his short stories, it seemed like an interesting read. I guess Dreamsongs: Volume 1 and Dreamsongs: Volume 2 have both been out since last year — I may be wrong about […]