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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Paul Farquhar" data-source="post: 8588148" data-attributes="member: 6906155">Yes, this is certainly why there is so much medieval hardware in early D&D, even though we know from Appendix N that non-medievalist writers such as Howard, Lovecraft and Moorcock where big influences on early D&D.And there is a sense of confusion over certain elements, like swords, castles and monarchy are "medieval", when they are actually mythic, and much older. These are found in everything from Greek myths to Beowulf to Star Wars to modern Britain.Beowulf is the great granddaddy of D&D stories, dating to before the medieval period, but already having named swords (Hrunting), proto-kings (Hrothgar) living in proto-castles (Heorot). It also has a protagonist who is already an action hero from the very start of the story, able to single-handedly kill a monster that has already defeated dozens of ordinary warriors, and who is motivated by a desire for fortune and glory, rather than seeking to save the world from evil.The Arthurian myths also predate the medieval period, but incorporate a lot of medieval trappings because they became extremely popular during the late medieval period, and where "modernised" in the retelling.</blockquote>