Legatus Legionis
< BWAH HA Ha ha >
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who came first to make a village?
The examples here mostly have a very american and thus modern perspective. But in the times which most RPGs try to emulate it often went differently.
A lord decided to build a keep somewhere and to do that craftsmen were moved into the area and errected a small, temporary village. If they were far from existing towns and villages they also brought their families and had to set up farming as bringing in food was too expensive. If natural ressources were nearby which could help in the construction a small mining or logging camp was set up which could later grow into a village or town of its own.
Once the keep was finished it still had to be supplied, so the temporary village for its construction workers became a permanent one. Besides, living next to a keep were usually the safest spot you could be and thus desireable.
If the lord of that area was crafty and there were other usable natural ressources in the area he might invite craftsmen to make use out of them. If they were successfull that would make the area attractive and prosperous and attract free people to also settle there which could eventually grow into a town once there are enough villages in the area to feed it.
Semi-OT, in my country the requirements for a town to be named a city was having a wall, a market and a church. Then it could make a request to be named a city.
A lord decided to build a keep somewhere and to do that craftsmen were moved into the area and errected a small, temporary village. If they were far from existing towns and villages they also brought their families and had to set up farming as bringing in food was too expensive. If natural ressources were nearby which could help in the construction a small mining or logging camp was set up which could later grow into a village or town of its own.
Once the keep was finished it still had to be supplied, so the temporary village for its construction workers became a permanent one. Besides, living next to a keep were usually the safest spot you could be and thus desireable.
If the lord of that area was crafty and there were other usable natural ressources in the area he might invite craftsmen to make use out of them. If they were successfull that would make the area attractive and prosperous and attract free people to also settle there which could eventually grow into a town once there are enough villages in the area to feed it.
Semi-OT, in my country the requirements for a town to be named a city was having a wall, a market and a church. Then it could make a request to be named a city.
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Ulfgeir
Hero
As othes have mentioned, religion often played a part of where the village was. You might have soms small farms spread out, and, if you then have (mandatory) religion, then they will then build a church somewhere in the middle, so that all could attend, and not have too far to travel. Then more houses would spring up as the number of inhabitants grew, and then later you would have a village.
If it is a longer distance for the people to travel, you might also get houses for temporary lodgings, so they can spend the night and then return the day after...
If it is a longer distance for the people to travel, you might also get houses for temporary lodgings, so they can spend the night and then return the day after...
innerdude
Legend
One other key consideration is the distance between settlements.
I read an article a few years back that detailed for the "original colonies" of the United States, that the average distance between populated settlements was almost exactly 12 miles---which directly coincides with the distance an "average" human is willing to walk in a day.
After 12 miles, your average pre-modern, non-horse-riding traveler would expect to find some kind of waypoint at which stop--an inn, for example.
In some cases your village/town may exist solely as a support mechanism for travelers along a common trade route.
I read an article a few years back that detailed for the "original colonies" of the United States, that the average distance between populated settlements was almost exactly 12 miles---which directly coincides with the distance an "average" human is willing to walk in a day.
After 12 miles, your average pre-modern, non-horse-riding traveler would expect to find some kind of waypoint at which stop--an inn, for example.
In some cases your village/town may exist solely as a support mechanism for travelers along a common trade route.
dragoner
KosmicRPG.com
Something to think about in world building: Nearly every country on earth is named after one of four things
The Chicken. Because you have to be, to reproduce.
aramis erak
Legend
There are several methods of village formation...
The first mode is the flight mode... a group flees a given jurisdiction into the wilderness... finds a spot far enough away to not be readily pursued. This type tends to settle either deep forest or marginal terrains.
the second mode is the "move closer to work" mode... a village grows big enough that the fields are too far for a comfortable walk to do the needed work, so some working the distant fields get permission to build homes on the far side of those fields. further fields then grow from that as others move. This is also the origin mode of many railway towns - as the railways moved to connect cities, people moved to the areas to provide services to the workers, and farms generally popped up around those, and became self-supporting within a year...
the third mode is directed growth; a leader sends a group of families "out there" to expand his influence.
the fourth is exiles, where a group of criminals goes out beyond the borders because they are barred from return. This is often as far as they can practically go before becoming too weak to build.
the fifth is penal colonies. Similar to directed growth, but often intentionally send to remote and marginal land, and often ill prepared.
the sixth mode is that of castaways. Unlike many of the others, the land is usually the best within a couple days of the site of the crash, as opposed to being either remote or marginal.
Locations need 3 things: potable water, food sources, and shelter.
Shelter can be quite variable. Woods or scrub provide wood for buildings. Deserts often have caves, but tents are also doable, as are rock-huts... the prairies provided sod. Even woven grass has been used to make shelters. (Woven matts, rolled, can provide decent structural material.) Even in the arctic, whalebones and seal skins have been used to make shelters.
The first mode is the flight mode... a group flees a given jurisdiction into the wilderness... finds a spot far enough away to not be readily pursued. This type tends to settle either deep forest or marginal terrains.
the second mode is the "move closer to work" mode... a village grows big enough that the fields are too far for a comfortable walk to do the needed work, so some working the distant fields get permission to build homes on the far side of those fields. further fields then grow from that as others move. This is also the origin mode of many railway towns - as the railways moved to connect cities, people moved to the areas to provide services to the workers, and farms generally popped up around those, and became self-supporting within a year...
the third mode is directed growth; a leader sends a group of families "out there" to expand his influence.
the fourth is exiles, where a group of criminals goes out beyond the borders because they are barred from return. This is often as far as they can practically go before becoming too weak to build.
the fifth is penal colonies. Similar to directed growth, but often intentionally send to remote and marginal land, and often ill prepared.
the sixth mode is that of castaways. Unlike many of the others, the land is usually the best within a couple days of the site of the crash, as opposed to being either remote or marginal.
Locations need 3 things: potable water, food sources, and shelter.
Shelter can be quite variable. Woods or scrub provide wood for buildings. Deserts often have caves, but tents are also doable, as are rock-huts... the prairies provided sod. Even woven grass has been used to make shelters. (Woven matts, rolled, can provide decent structural material.) Even in the arctic, whalebones and seal skins have been used to make shelters.
The egg - chickens are relatively young compared to the biology of laying eggs. By half a billion years or more.The Chicken. Because you have to be, to reproduce.
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