[Glorantha] Re: Coinage and Glorantha

Mikko Rintasaari

>> The following information on Anglo-Saxon England in the year 1000 or
>> so might be interesting to some, since it shows just how far coinage
>> had penetrated into a society that is generally considered a good
>> model for certain Gloranthan cultures:

> Personally I think that's at least 1000-1500 years too far advanced for
> Glorantha.

Comparing Canute's England to Peloponesian Athens or Sparta probably would be favourable towards England. While I agree that rural Orlanthi aren't up to that kind of coinage use, neither were rural highland clans in Wales of Canute's time. For civilized places like Kethaelan cities or Tarsh, the Anglo-Saxon parallel captures the mood quite well IMO.

> Pre-roman times celtic tribes would be a better model for the
> heortlings, with some viking style (anachronistic) refinement thrown in.

> But to each their own. I like my Glorantha to be a bronze age / early
> iron age setting instead of medieval.

What's early Iron Age to you? Denmark has the Roman Empire as the main period of their Iron Age. Bronze Age material culture wasn't that different from Roman Iron Age material culture, except for the weaponry.

We take nearly aurochs-sized highland cattle and modern horses as our image of Gloranthan agriculture when even Charlemagne's cattle and horses were somewhere between 50% and 70% the size of today's breeds. (Bone findings don't lie...)

The European Dark Ages did turn back the clock about as much as the Dorian/Ionian immigrations set back Bronze Age Greece by a couple of centuries.

Pre-roman times celtic tribes like the Heuneburg chieftains, or the lords of the great oppidum at modern Kelheim in Bavaria? Hardly any difference to Harald Blaatand of Denmark, except for the better ship-building technology of the latter.

When it comes to Gloranthan ships, we take 16th century Mediterranean as our watermark... Received on Tue 20 Jun 2006 - 14:41:44 EEST