Heroic Dreams - All Things Medieval

One of the beauties of the whole medieval genre is the absolute plethora and scope of what is available. If you just want to read a rousing epic fantasy style novel for fun or storm a castle along with some heroes you easily can. There are lots of works like that. But if you also want to read something that is more in-depth and more literary there are also lots of works that are available too. And one of the best writers in this more literary style is Ken Follett. He wrote a novel called The Pillars of the Earth in 1989 and it was an international blockbuster. Here is a quote from amazon.com about it:

“In 1989 Ken Follett astonished the literary world with The Pillars of the Earth, a sweeping epic novel set in twelfth-century England centered on the building of a cathedral and many of the hundreds of lives it affected. Critics were overwhelmed–”it will hold you, fascinate you, surround you” (Chicago Tribune)–and readers everywhere hoped for a sequel.”

Anyway, that sequel has been written and it is getting great reviews. It is called World Without End and this is what Amazon.com has to say about it:

“World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas–about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race–the Black Death.”

The first book has the excellent theme of following people through the building of a cathedral which kind of reminds me of that famous pencil drawing book by David Macaulay called Cathedral. And the second book takes place in one of the most remarkable periods in human history .If you are looking for something with depth to read through the Christmas Holidays this might be the perfect book.

The Books at Amazon.com

World Without End  - The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah’s Book Club) -  Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction (Sandpiper)

The Stormthecastle.net forum is starting to bubble with activity and there are some interesting things happening. We have been getting visits from some very special guests and creatures.

A Magical Phoenix named Fawkes has descended upon the Bestiary of the castle and is making claims to foresee the future.

And in Lady Castle’s Corner a true high borne lady of nobility has given us her secret recipe for Mincemeat pies called Magic Mincemeat Memories which is a true Christmas delight.

There are some interesting things going on and if you like medieval things you might want to buzz on over to the forum, register and join in the fun.
Storm The Castle.net Medieval Forum

I play Medieval Role Playing games and I really enjoy them. But, these kinds of games take real liberties with the whole idea of reality in that all the rules are broken. In a fight and your health getting low? Take a health potion and problem solved. Need a quick ride across the lands? Hop on your dragon mount and off you go. These games all take a heavy slant toward the fantasy of the genre.

Ever wonder what a game would be like if it took a heavy slant toward the reality of the genre? Did you ever wonder if there was a game that really took things in a more realistic approach? Well there is a new medieval role playing game out that does just that! And it is quite amazing. It is called Mount & Blade and here is a video of some game play

They have the philosophy of try before you buy so you can download the game and give it a try totally for free before you buy it.

Some other nice features of the game are a really nice mounted combat system which is something not to be had in other games. And of course it has a full suite of mod capabilities so you can go right ahead and design your own games.

It just seems to me to be a refreshing change from the whole host of medieval RPG games that are out there.

Official Website for Mount & Blade

The New Movie Beowulf is set to break Friday here in the States and the world premiere was recently done in Britain. Angelina and Brad showed up for the premiere and Angelina had a slight problem with her leather pants in that they split a little in the back. Brad showed his chivalry by helping her cover it up.

I don’t want to make a big deal out of the split in her pants but I do want to say something about the body language here. It just seems to me to be very caring and very respectful. I really think this couple is solid. Brad is respectful yet protective. Bravo on your chivalry Brad. Sometimes the smallest of acts say the most.

Angelina plays Grendel’s Mother in the movie and is called “The Water Demon”. You have probably seen some of these quite revealing scenes. She told people magazine that she was surprised by how vulnerable she felt at watching these scenes even though it was computer generated graphics. I have this video if you want to see it.

Here is my favorite clip. It really gives you a sense of the epic fantasy of the movie and the history of the hero in our psyche. Here’s a quote by Beowulf “We swam for five days neck and neck. I was conserving my strength for the final stretch when this storm blew up. And with it came Sea Monsters.” Just freaking great! I Love it!

Anyway there is a massive amount of new stuff breaking about the movie including new trailers and some great fan mixed videos to sound tracks. I have put more stuff together for you to watch including some videos like: “Grendel Attacks Mead Hall”, “Dragon Attacks Castle”, “Meet the Water Demon”, and a few more. Check out the page of videos I have put together for you here New Beowulf Videos

Enjoy some of the movie now - Get the Beowulf Podcast

No need for you to strap on your sword, jump in the warboat and travel half way across the world to experience some of the modern storytelling aspects of Beowulf and the making of the movie. You can enjoy the official Beowulf Podcast.

It is an ongoing podcast and over the course of the next several weeks they are going to be interviewing the cast, director and writers. Here is a schedule of guests:

1) Introduction Episode - 8/13
2) John Malkovich - 8/20
3) Robin Wright-Penn - 8/27
* week of 9/3 no episode due to Labor Day
4) Steve Starkey - 9/10
5) Anthony Hopkins - 9/17
6) Crispin Glover - 9/24
* week of 10/1 debut new trailer with Apple.com
7) Brendan Gleeson - 10/8
8) Doug Chiang - 10/15
9) Roger Avary & Neil Gaiman - 10/22
10 Ray Winstone - 10/29
11) Angelina Jolie - 11/5
12) Robert Zemeckis - 11/12
Here is the podcast link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=262082826

Note: If you don’t have the iTunes player you will be taken to a download link. Just download the software and then when the choice comes up to go to your library or the itunes store select the iTunes store. (There is no cost here, nothing to buy). Then click on the podcast button on the left of the screen and beowulf will come right up. You can listen to any of the installments that have been broadcast and can sign  up for the feed so you get the new installments as they are made. Take a few minutes and slay this Grendel of technology.

If you want to learn more here are some resources for you:

• The Official Beowulf Movie Website (Has lots of free stuff including a game you can play)
• Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Bilingual Edition) (Book) A modern and really good book available at amazon. The bilingual edition means it is both in modern English and old English
• The iTunes Podcast:  http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=262082826
• Beowulf MySpace Page

This movie is looking like it is going to be something really special and I have a lot more materials coming for you both on this blog and on some of my websites. Check out the podcast and the website and check back with me again real soon.

Yesterday was a big football day and everything revolved around the Patriots game but we still scheduled a meeting of the mead club and we made our first adventure into the world of exotic and flavored meads. Before the game and then a bit during half time we mixed up four batches of mead and they look really promising. I think they are going to be quite delicious.

The four gallon sizes in the front of the picture are the new batches and from left to right they are Sweet Raspberry Mead, Vanilla Metheglyn, Pumpkin Mead, and Ancient Orange. The assortment of colors really give an autumn feel to the meadery.

We used a variety of different yeasts including one batch with Fleischmann’s yeast which can be bought in any grocery store. That particular batch is bubbling away which tells us that the yeast is very active and quick to grow.