D&D General Travel In Medieval Europe

[eyeheartawk]

That would, of course, be the point. FR/D&D shouldn't look like it does. But, hey, it was good enough for Tolkien, so, we just gloss over anything even remotely resembling logical world building. We'll make any excuses, ignore anything we need to, just so we can have our Ren Faire settings.

coughs in Harn

 

[Hussar]

coughs in Harn

Heh, world building done right.

 

[Hriston]

... pilgrimages are most of the time ignored in D&D...

Umm...

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Wolves where exterminated because of the threat they posed to the growing wool industry, not because they seriously threatened humans.

I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I was pointing out they were larger than badgers.

pilgrimages from Europe to the Holy Land were happening in the 1st century

Other than Jews returning to the Temple for Passover, Origen is the first example I'm aware of - he went looking for traces of Jesus in the early 3rd century. Constantine's mother, Helena, was the one who really got the pilgrimage industry running: it was she who, amongst other things, said that Nazareth must have been [there] (pointing)...and it's been [there] ever since.

 

[Tonguez]

The Jewish diaspora returning for Passover should not be discounted it was a big part of Herods economy and Josephus claims tha in 70 AD there were more than 2.7 million Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem

After Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt by the Romans as Aelia there were Greek pigrims, and a Greek bishop of Jerusalem who was tolerated by thr Romans.

Elsewhere in 141AD Aelius Aristides of Smyrna travelled to Egypt (and went looking for the source of the Nile) and in 143 he travelled to Pergamos for divine healing.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

The Jewish diaspora returning for Passover should not be discounted it was a big part of Herods economy and Josephus claims tha in 70 AD there were more than 2.7 million Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem

Yes, it was huge.

After Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt by the Romans as Aelia there were Greek pigrims, and a Greek bishop of Jerusalem who was tolerated by thr Romans.

Maybe. Greek names appear in the lists of Bishops after the Bar Kokhba revolt - according to Eusebius - but he was an apologist writing two centuries later, and his agenda should be treated with suspicion.

Elsewhere in 141AD Aelius Aristides of Smyrna travelled to Egypt (and went looking for the source of the Nile) and in 143 he travelled to Pergamos for divine healing.

I'm not arguing that pilgrimage was uncommon in antiquity, but rather that Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land didn't really take off until Helena (and Saint Jerome) encouraged it, and is undocumented before the 4th Century - unless we except Origen.

 

[MGibster]

Umm...

Well, we had stats for the Flumph as well, but that doesn't mean anyone used it. (I did use Flumphs once in 5th edition though.)

 

[MGibster]

I'm not arguing that pilgrimage was uncommon in antiquity, but rather that Christian pilgrimage to the Holy Land didn't really take off until Helena (and Saint Jerome) encouraged it, and is undocumented before the 4th Century - unless we except Origen.

My uncle thought he was Saint Jerome.....

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Not really sure your map is proving your point @Ixal. You realize that's a pretty small area right? If your argument is that most people stay within a hundred klicks of wherever they were born, and that's your idea of major travel, well, sure, okay. Because, just to put it perspective, your map there? That's about the distance from Waterdeep to Baldur's Gate.

But, hey, I still don't know why you folks are arguing with me. The first line from the video said EXACTLY what I'm saying. The overwhelming majority of people barely traveled. Heck, as you say, the trip to Mecca is a once in a lifetime thing.



That would, of course, be the point. FR/D&D shouldn't look like it does. But, hey, it was good enough for Tolkien, so, we just gloss over anything even remotely resembling logical world building. We'll make any excuses, ignore anything we need to, just so we can have our Ren Faire settings.

But is the Forgotten Realms a particularly dangerous place for travellers? Maybe according to random encounter tables and some adventures. In lore and setting logic? Doesn’t particularly seem so.

 

[TheSword]

It’s worth noting that some cultures did travel extensively in medieval… the Norse for instance. Just primarily by boat.