History - interesting times?

[cloudy]

I'm writing a sort of long, involved story that I won't go into here, but it starts in 64 AD, and I wanted to jump forward approx. 500 years for each section, more or less.

I have one segment planned out for the 1800's, but I need some interesting historical stuff that was going on at these different times. Some of y'all are MUCH better educated in this than I am.

500 AD?

1000?

Doesn't really matter what part of the world.

Ideas, anyone?

Thanks.

 

[neonlyte]

I'm writing a sort of long, involved story that I won't go into here, but it starts in 64 AD, and I wanted to jump forward approx. 500 years for each section, more or less.

I have one segment planned out for the 1800's, but I need some interesting historical stuff that was going on at these different times. Some of y'all are MUCH better educated in this than I am.

500 AD?

1000?

Doesn't really matter what part of the world.

Thanks.

In the 500's the Germanic tribes (not German) were moving into Europe challenging the Roman Empire.

The early 1000's mark the launch of the French empire spooled off from the German defeat of the Byzantine state under Otto I. The Byzantines turned away from the west and began a struggle against the rising Islamic nations. And Scandinavia converted to Christianity.

 

[efevece]

History

What comes to my mind is:

500 AD: the fall of Rome, late 400s.

1000 AD: the Vikings, late 900s.

If I´m not wrong, there´s a timetable in the Britannica site. I´ll check.

Good luck.

 

[cloudy]

In the 500's the Germanic tribes (not German) were moving into Europe challenging the Roman Empire.

The early 1000's mark the launch of the French empire spooled off from the German defeat of the Byzantine state under Otto I. The Byzantines turned away from the west and began a struggle against the rising Islamic nations. And Scandinavia converted to Christianity.

thank you!!!

I'm currently at Llyn Cerrig Bach, in Wales.

I may have bitten off more than I can chew.

 

[cloudy]

What comes to my mind is:

500 AD: the fall of Rome, late 400s.

1000 AD: the Vikings, late 900s.

If I´m not wrong, there´s a timetable in the Britannica site. I´ll check.

Good luck.

ooh, that's good, too!

thanks.

 

[hugo_sam]

ooh, that's good, too!

thanks.

Cloudy,
Most of my history went with the black spots,
However,
I converse frquently with one of our English litizens,
She very likely will have some good GB history facts if you can wait till am
She researches for a living so she could probably come up with some stuff
if I ask.
Just a thought

Hugo

 

[cloudy]

Cloudy,
Most of my history went with the black spots,
However,
I converse frquently with one of our English litizens,
She very likely will have some good GB history facts if you can wait till am
She researches for a living so she could probably come up with some stuff
if I ask.
Just a thought

Hugo

I'll take what I can get at this point, love.

 

[CharleyH]

I'm writing a sort of long, involved story that I won't go into here, but it starts in 64 AD, and I wanted to jump forward approx. 500 years for each section, more or less.

I have one segment planned out for the 1800's, but I need some interesting historical stuff that was going on at these different times. Some of y'all are MUCH better educated in this than I am.

500 AD?

1000?

Doesn't really matter what part of the world.

Ideas, anyone?

Thanks.

I have been writing such a story for years. What part of the 1800's and where? 500 AD? Where? It makes a difference, C.

 

[My Erotic Trail]

I'm writing a sort of long, involved story that I won't go into here, but it starts in 64 AD, and I wanted to jump forward approx. 500 years for each section, more or less.

I have one segment planned out for the 1800's, but I need some interesting historical stuff that was going on at these different times. Some of y'all are MUCH better educated in this than I am.

500 AD?

1000?

Doesn't really matter what part of the world.

Ideas, anyone?

Thanks.

Mythology?

Babylon

Noah's ark

Terra cotta warriors

Trojan Horse

Alexander the Great

Pyramids and the sphinx

The Crusades

Excaliber (myth?) holy grail

Plymouth Rock

Red Coats

Yankees and rebels

enter the Bush

<grin>
hello Cloudy~

 

[cloudy]

Mythology?

Babylon

Noah's ark

Terra cotta warriors

Trojan Horse

Alexander the Great

Pyramids and the sphinx

The Crusades

Excaliber (myth?) holy grail

Plymouth Rock

Red Coats

Yankees and rebels

enter the Bush

<grin>
hello Cloudy~

hi sweets.

Got Wounded Knee planned for the 1800's. Should be an interesting segment to write.

 

[cloudy]

I have been writing such a story for years. What part of the 1800's and where? 500 AD? Where? It makes a difference, C.

Where doesn't really matter to me....I can go with just about anything (I'm exploring the concept of race memory).

I've got a segment planned to take place in/around Wounded Knee in the 1800's.

 

[Weird Harold]

I have one segment planned out for the 1800's, but I need some interesting historical stuff that was going on at these different times. Some of y'all are MUCH better educated in this than I am.
...
Doesn't really matter what part of the world.

Does it matter if each period is in a different part of the world, or are you looking for a series of events in the same generl area?

1000 AD in the Christian world was a time of "millenial fever" with numerous apocalyptic cults expecting the return of Christ and/or the "End of the World."

1000 AD is also in the time frame that Islam was spreading across North Africa and into the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal)

Depending on how close to 1000 AD you need to be, you might look into the reign of Charlemagne -- IIRC, he's from fairly close to that time frame.

1300-1400 AD or thereabouts was the Black Plague in Europe.

Some notable figures in History without dates:

Atilla the Hun
Charlemagne
"El Cid"
Emperor Constantine
Richard the Lion Hearted (the whole crusades scenario)
Pope Leo (called for the First Crusade)
Henry the eighth
William the Conquerer (conquest of England in 1066)
Ghenghis Khan and the Golden Horde. (Mongol invasion of Europe)
Emperor Chi'in and the founding of China
The Ming Dynasty in China.

 

[cloudy]

Does it matter if each period is in a different part of the world, or are you looking for a series of events in the same generl area?

1000 AD in the Christian world was a time of "millenial fever" with numerous apocalyptic cults expecting the return of Christ and/or the "End of the World."

1000 AD is also in the time frame that Islam was spreading across North Africa and into the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal)

Depending on how close to 1000 AD you need to be, you might look into the reign of Charlemagne -- IIRC, he's from fairly close to that time frame.

1300-1400 AD or thereabouts was the Black Plague in Europe.

Some notable figures in History without dates:

Atilla the Hun
Charlemagne
"El Cid"
Emperor Constantine
Richard the Lion Hearted (the whole crusades scenario)
Pope Leo (called for the First Crusade)
Henry the eighth
William the Conquerer (conquest of England in 1066)
Ghenghis Khan and the Golden Horde. (Mongol invasion of Europe)
Emperor Chi'in and the founding of China
The Ming Dynasty in China.

thanks, Harold. Much food for thought.

Y'all are the best.

 

[hugo_sam]

World History Central

 

[Weird Harold]

Where doesn't really matter to me....I can go with just about anything (I'm exploring the concept of race memory).

I've got a segment planned to take place in/around Wounded Knee in the 1800's.

Would't "race memory" be sort of restricted to the limits of travel for a single race?

The Toltec Empire would fit your 500 AD time frame I think and the Cahokia Mounds/Mississipian culture peaked around 1250 AD. The Aztec Conquest of the Toltecs, Mayan civilization and the Incan civilization are all within the region I'd expect to find a continuity of racial memory.

There are some evidence and theories about Chinese Trade with pre-columbian american civilizations and a link to Oriental racial memories there.

99% of the non-native memories availble at Wounded Knee would be European of predominantly Irish, English and Dutch lineage. (I don't think any of the "buffalo soldiers" were around or involved at Wounded Knee; If they were, that is a direct line to African and Carribean history.)

There are actually a lot of "racial memory" lines that could pass through Wounded Knee in the 1800's but I think you're going to have to follow just one of them back to one geographic region in 64 AD because there was very little intermingling of bloodlines simplythrough lack of opportunity for the majority of the time span you're working with.

 

[cloudy]

Would't "race memory" be sort of restricted to the limits of travel for a single race?

The Toltec Empire would fit your 500 AD time frame I think and the Cahokia Mounds/Mississipian culture peaked around 1250 AD. The Aztec Conquest of the Toltecs, Mayan civilization and the Incan civilization are all within the region I'd expect to find a continuity of racial memory.

There are some evidence and theories about Chinese Trade with pre-columbian american civilizations and a link to Oriental racial memories there.

99% of the non-native memories availble at Wounded Knee would be European of predominantly Irish, English and Dutch lineage. (I don't think any of the "buffalo soldiers" were around or involved at Wounded Knee; If they were, that is a direct line to African and Carribean history.)

There are actually a lot of "racial memory" lines that could pass through Wounded Knee in the 1800's but I think you're going to have to follow just one of them back to one geographic region in 64 AD because there was very little intermingling of bloodlines simplythrough lack of opportunity for the majority of the time span you're working with.

I'm working sort of backwards, actually, from modern female protag, so her bloodlines could literally come from anywhere. Didn't realize it, but it looks like the easiest way to go, now.

 

[Weird Harold]

I'm working sort of backwards, actually, from modern female protag, so her bloodlines could literally come from anywhere. Didn't realize it, but it looks like the easiest way to go, now.

A modern protagonist could indeed have bloodlines leading anywhere in the world, but following all of the possibilities would I think be confusing.

Following the European line would be the easiest to research, but personally, I'd be more interested in following the asian or native american lines.

 

[cloudy]

A modern protagonist could indeed have bloodlines leading anywhere in the world, but following all of the possibilities would I think be confusing.

Following the European line would be the easiest to research, but personally, I'd be more interested in following the asian or native american lines.

This is the quote that started this.........adventure:

"Your very body is a book - the book of your family, your people, your identity. You are a reflection of every person who has gone before you, in every time period, on every continent, in every history. Those people live in you."

So, I'm taking a modern protag with mixed racial history, and detailing an episode in several ancestors lives....make more sense?

 

[R. Richard]

Cloudy:
In or around 1000A.D. the Norse tried to settle North America. A man named Thorfinn Karlsefni actually tried to establish a permanent settlement at a place called L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. The attempt failed, probably because of the Norse religion. The pre-Christian Norse believed in immortal evil creatures who could assume the form of a man. When they met the "skraelings" [Amerinds] they tried to kill some of them and succeeded, thus establishing the humanity of the Amerinds. The Amerinds were not grateful. They attacked and finally drove the Norse out of North America.

The adventures [misadventures] of Thorfinn Karlsefni would seem to fit well with an Amerind ancestor.

 

[cloudy]

Cloudy:
In or around 1000A.D. the Norse tried to settle North America. A man named Thorfinn Karlsefni actually tried to establish a permanent settlement at a place called L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. The attempt failed, probably because of the Norse religion. The pre-Christian Norse believed in immortal evil creatures who could assume the form of a man. When they met the "skraelings" [Amerinds] they tried to kill some of them and succeeded, thus establishing the humanity of the Amerinds. The Amerinds were not grateful. They attacked and finally drove the Norse out of North America.

The adventures [misadventures] of Thorfinn Karlsefni would seem to fit well with an Amerind ancestor.

another good one...thanks.

 

[Weird Harold]

This is the quote that started this.........adventure:

"Your very body is a book - the book of your family, your people, your identity. You are a reflection of every person who has gone before you, in every time period, on every continent, in every history. Those people live in you."

So, I'm taking a modern protag with mixed racial history, and detailing an episode in several ancestors lives....make more sense?

Yep, that gives me a better idea of what you're after.

Have you considered doing concurrent ancestors in each time frame? That would avoid the confusing impression of a single line of memory only one ancestor in each period would give.

How are you going to frame the episodes or transition from one to the next? That's probably going to be the key element in whether it works or not.

 

[cloudy]

Yep, that gives me a better idea of what you're after.

Have you considered doing concurrent ancestors in each time frame? That would avoid the confusing impression of a single line of memory only one ancestor in each period would give.

How are you going to frame the episodes or transition from one to the next? That's probably going to be the key element in whether it works or not.

The modern protag feels "drawn" to certain places, so she's traveling at the moment. As she reaches each destination, I tell the story of that ancestor.

Here's the transition for the first segment:

She was unprepared for the Welsh coast. Accustomed to vacations spent at the gentle Gulf of Mexico, it seemed wild here, somehow more primitive or elemental. The water struck the rocks with force, sending spray high into the air, and showering Jessie with a fine mist. The smell of the ocean filled her lungs and she stood on the beach, eyes closed, breathing it in. The water roared, a vibration she could feel deep within her body. She couldn't have explained it if she'd been asked, but it felt almost...familiar. Jessie felt she was close to learning the reason she was here in Wales, but the shore wasn't it. She turned back to the hotel, lost in thought.

Once there, she arranged for a car to drive her towards the center of the isle, to Llyn Cerrig Bach, a small lake. The water called to her, yes, but it wasn't the ocean.

44 B.C. - Llyn Cerrig Bach, Anglesey, Wales

Anghared left her parent's hut, gathering a basket on her way out the door, and headed around the lake towards the sacred grove. The Beltane ritual was being held that evening, and she needed flowers for her hair. The grove frightened her at night, but during the day it was beautiful. At night was when the Gods walked through the trees, and Anghared had no wish to be noticed by those who walked unseen.

 

[TheEarl]

another good one...thanks.

There is also a legend of a Welsh tribe that migrated to America and bred with the Natives.

If you're going the Norsk route, then you could try looking at 1066 for one of your events. Before that date, England was effectively part of a greater Scandinavia, encompassing Iceland, Greenland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and parts of Finland. Many men tried to rule the totality of the area, but very few could hold onto it all at once. It didn't matter much, the Norse were generally democratic and, even at their most disparate stages, still formed a basic commonwealth.

King Harald of England held sway over the Norse lands in 1066 and held the most power in the region since King Cnut. He was ambitious too, advocating the exploration to North America and expanding Norse territories in Iceland. If he'd had his way, England would've formed the centre of a giant Northern trading empire with each area ruled by democracies under his loose control. However, in the year 1066, England's north was invaded by a Dane. Harald gathered a force to crush this invader, but the distraction was enough to allow Guilliaume le Conquerant to begin his invasion of the South. Harald swatted the Northern threat at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and turned south to face the Normans. They met at a place called Hastings, where Harald looked to have won the battle, his well-drilled and well-armoured housecarls a match for the Norman cavalry and archers. Until William ordered his archers to shoot upwards, longbow style, over the shields. Arrows rained down and Harald took on in the eye. The Norse crumbled without their leader and William destroyed all other opposition to declare himself King of England.

The battle was the last time that England was successfully invaded by any power and irrevocably changed England's focus from Scandinavia to the continental Europeans and the trial and tribulations of the former Roman Empire. Interesting year, to my mind.

The Earl

 

[cloudy]

There is also a legend of a Welsh tribe that migrated to America and bred with the Natives.

If you're going the Norsk route, then you could try looking at 1066 for one of your events. Before that date, England was effectively part of a greater Scandinavia, encompassing Iceland, Greenland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and parts of Finland. Many men tried to rule the totality of the area, but very few could hold onto it all at once. It didn't matter much, the Norse were generally democratic and, even at their most disparate stages, still formed a basic commonwealth.

King Harald of England held sway over the Norse lands in 1066 and held the most power in the region since King Cnut. He was ambitious too, advocating the exploration to North America and expanding Norse territories in Iceland. If he'd had his way, England would've formed the centre of a giant Northern trading empire with each area ruled by democracies under his loose control. However, in the year 1066, England's north was invaded by a Dane. Harald gathered a force to crush this invader, but the distraction was enough to allow Guilliaume le Conquerant to begin his invasion of the South. Harald swatted the Northern threat at the Battle of Stamford Bridge and turned south to face the Normans. They met at a place called Hastings, where Harald looked to have won the battle, his well-drilled and well-armoured housecarls a match for the Norman cavalry and archers. Until William ordered his archers to shoot upwards, longbow style, over the shields. Arrows rained down and Harald took on in the eye. The Norse crumbled without their leader and William destroyed all other opposition to declare himself King of England.

The battle was the last time that England was successfully invaded by any power and irrevocably changed England's focus from Scandinavia to the continental Europeans and the trial and tribulations of the former Roman Empire. Interesting year, to my mind.

The Earl

Wonderful info, thanks! I had thought of including Madoc - he supposedly brought a group of immigrants here, and intermarried with the Mandans (they're pretty much gone now, but legends called them "white indians").

 

[TheEarl]

This is the quote that started this.........adventure:

"Your very body is a book - the book of your family, your people, your identity. You are a reflection of every person who has gone before you, in every time period, on every continent, in every history. Those people live in you."

So, I'm taking a modern protag with mixed racial history, and detailing an episode in several ancestors lives....make more sense?

Just out of interest - have you read the Dune series? Some of the protagonists come from an ancient order of women, who have trained themselves to access all the knowledge of their ancestors in the female line. Slightly similar to your idea, although a lot less broad in scope.

You're a brave woman Cloudy. I wouldn't fancy this as a challenge.

The Earl