Most of the great advances of the Renaissance were at the end of a long chain of ideas originating in the Classical World of ancient Greece and Rome. But there were also some key innovations which seem to be derivations of another, far less well understood context – the indigenous or “barbarian” cultures of the …
Rezeß (“Rezess”) – The Medieval Art of Compromise Read More »
To get an idea of how we got here, you can check out the forum post A brief history of the Codex Martialis. Below we will describe the road ahead for Codex vis a vis 5th Edition and the Old School Revival, and a new gaming resource we are planning to release. So when will …
Albrecht Dürer, St. Eustace There is a lot of online buzz these days about “historical gaming”. Historical games can provide a greater sense of immersion, and a very rich and interesting environment for your players to explore. But there are also many challenges that come with that type of campaign, and some of them are …
Codex Superno: Seidr of the Norse is a Codex Superno supplement that brings the Seiðr magic of Norse mythology into your RPG. This work is still early in development. Sign up below if you want us to email you news about future Codex Superno releases!
Note: This is a revival of a post I originally wrote on ENworld back in 2008. It has been updated, consolidated, and revised for 2021. One of the biggest challenges for historical fencers, gamers, authors, and anyone drawn to the pre-industrial world, and particularly the medieval world, is the confusion engendered by our schizoid perception …
One of the things that comes up as an issue with both computer and tabletop RPG’s is the level of violence and the assumptions that go with that. A certain very large RPG company states that a “standard game session” (whatever that means), should consist of about 5 combat encounters, balanced to the players ability …
Splendor Solis (‘Splendour of the Sun’) was considered one of the most beautiful alchemical treatises ever produced. This very popular book was attributed to a somewhat mysterious figure named Salomin Trismosin (supposedly the teacher of Paracelsus), which first appeared some time in the 1530’s. It included artwork by Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, and Lucas Cranach. …
Though some magical traditions originated within the medieval period and inside of Europe, most of the learned magic in particular came from the distant past and many from the Middle East or more distant regions. The literary tradition of magic in Latinized Europe was closely linked to the Classical Tradition more generally, and its acceptance …
A Fencer’s Primer on Medieval Magic Literary Sources Read More »
An important Arab grimoire dated to the late 14th or early 15th Century in Baghdad. It is very unusual among medieval Arab manuscripts in that it contains several interesting color illustrations depicting everything from the Lighthouse of Alexandria to Demons and Jinn. The Kitab al Bulhan includes techniques of geomancy and magical astrological techniques. The …
A very popular early 13th Century treatise on astronomy and astrology, by Johannes de Sacrobosco. Very popular in medieval Universities where it was used for teaching the fundamentals of astronomy. Based largely on Ptolemy’s Almagast, it incorporated more detailed astronomical and astrological ideas derived from Al Kindi, AL Jabir, Avicenna and other Muslim auctores. The …
