I

'll admit it: I'm a sucker for medieval history. I love the thought of knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, castles with tapestries lining the walls and roaring fires in the hearths. Who wouldn't love an afternoon spent stitching, or watching men train in the lists to hone skills to keep you safe, or dancing in the evening to a jaunty tune played on an authentic lute?

Of course, there was always . . . reality. Cold, disease, lack of showers, no modern medicine, no refrigeration, no sanitary items and, perhaps the most critical of all, absolutely no access to chocolate.

I'm not much of a realist, so I say, bring it on. What's a little inconvenience in the garderobe or the kitchen when there's a good romance afoot? Adding time travel to the mix is just a really great excuse to go back in time and have a look around.

Part of the question is: how much history is enough? And the answer is: it depends on you. Are you breathless at the thought of court intrigues and the politics of medieval England or Scotland? Then you'd better load your stuff up with all kinds of absolutely authentic historical detail that can be fact‑checked (because it will be!).

 Or do you just want the flavor of the time period but not a running list of where Henry III laid his head every night during 1253 so you don't have him in Anjou when he's supposed to be in York? Then maybe you want more of a costume drama, where your characters are behaving appropriately and engaging in activities you would have found in that time period, but you're not giving more than passing references to actual happenings.

As much as I love historical minutiae, I prefer to concentrate on the features of the time period that affect my characters (and the romance!) and let the heavier political stuff happen off-stage.

The question then becomes this: how do I as a writer make sure my modern-day characters have the skills they need in order to survive in the medieval era? There are some basics that need to be addressed, like communication, self-defense, transportation, food and shelter. I like to get the most pressing problems solved without fuss, so most of my characters who go back in the past either have experience with Gaelic (I’m big on saving endangered languages!) or French, and both the guys and gals have at least some experience with swords or Self-Defense 101. The rest of the list is the jumping off point for how I color the story.

Has your character ever been on a horse, eaten haggis, smelled a tallow candle or touched the cold, damp stone of a medieval castle wall? Does she love history, art, music, fabric, French cuisine? You would have a far different story if you plopped a high-powered New York food critic or chef into a medieval kitchen than you would if a PhD in medieval history got lost from a tour group and wound up in that same kitchen. The trick is to figure out what your character loves/understands in the future, then, based on that, explore how that character sees/manages the past. And what kind of writer you are will determine whether it’s a humorous romp through time or a deadly serious game of survival.

 

 

 

 

I would rather laugh than shiver, so while I might toss a modern gal in a medieval dungeon, my laird is going to eventually feel bad about thinking she’s a witch and pull her out, not burn her at the stake. (I’ll leave that up to the bad guys!)

I once sent a professional violinist back in time, partly because I thought she was the right heroine for the hero in question and partly because I wanted to be there for the moment that she realized the most modern type of music she was going to be listening to was Gregorian Chant. I've brought medieval Scotsmen to the future to watch them adapt to the absolute luxury of modern life . . . and very fast, very sleek sports cars!

Decide how much history you enjoy, structure your book accordingly, then write the book you would love to read. You can always adjust the historical fact/literary license balance later if your editor wants you to, but you can't put the "heart" into your book if it wasn't there to begin with.

Happy historical sleuthing and romancing!

Bibliography:

1. The Knight in History by Frances Gies
2. Women in the Middle Ages by Frances and Joseph Gie (France and Joseph Gies are my favorite historians!)
3. The Lion in the North by John Prebble
4. History’s Timeline by Jean Cooke (Great, concise timeline.)
5. Horrible Histories by Terry Deary. I originally found them in Britain, but Amazon does sell them here in the US. They are, as advertised, “History with the nasty bits left in!” Sort of a Monty Python version of history—probably not for the serious scholar, but for those of us easily amused, they’re delightful!

Lynn Kurland is the New York Times best selling author of 28 novels and novellas. The book that started her time travel series is Stardust of Yesterday. One Enchanted Evening was released April 27, 2010.  Visit Lynn at her website www.LynnKurland.com.

 

 

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