27 July 2008

N. Robin Crossby is gone. I shall miss him imensely.

Most of my efforts these dsays are spent as Project Director of Keléstia Productions.

27 Apr 2005

Long time no update.

Am considering how to deal with the new Gloranthan fan policy....

22 Mar 2004

- Added four new texts on Japanese medieval history to the 'Terran Sources' page. This is in relation to work on a project on Shoju.

24 Feb 2004

- Added David Baldwin's account of the Battle of Sorrows, to the History page. David wrote this as a background piece for his long-running 'Nolomar Rising' campaign. If you haven't read it, you should!

- general tidying up.

10 Feb 2004

- After a long delay, updates to TowerHills are beginning once more!

- Added a map of the Domains of Jara (ca. TR640) and a related map showing the progression of the conquest of Jara by the Ivinians from TR652-676.

- Coming soon: lots more maps, particularly of the 'hundred' level type included in Ravin Manor (available at Lythia.com).

17 Nov 2003

- Added map of the field organisation of Bevon Manor.

14 Nov 2003

- Two more excellent reference texts have joined the TowerHills Library - but these are likely to be the last for some time...

• The German Hansa (Dollinger, MacMillan, 1970), and
• A Medieval Capital and its Grain Supply: Agrarian Production and Distribution in the London Region c.1300 (Campbell, Galloway, Keene & Murphy, Historical Geography Research Series - No. 30, 1993).

10 Nov 2003

- Added quite a few additional new books, including:

• Medieval Scandinavia (Sawyer & Sawyer, Minesota, 1993)
• Making a Living in the Middle Ages (Dyer, Penguin, 2003)
• A Commercialising Economy (Britnell & Campbell, Manchester, 1993)
• The Archeaology of Medieval London (Thomas, Sutton, 2002)

I also (just) received my first copy of "Medieval History", a new monthly magazine - www.medievalhistorymagazine.com.

17 Oct 2003

- Updated the compliation of source material on urban demography, incorporating material from :

• Peasants, Merchants and Markets - Inland Trade in Medieval England 1150-1350 (Messchaele, St Martins, 1997); and
• Local Markets and Regional Trade in Medieval Exeter (Kowaleski, Cambridge, 1995)

9 Oct 2003

- Added a further compilation of source material, this time on Medieval Urban Demography sources, to the Demographic sources section of the Demography page.

- Also finally obtained a copy of J C Russell's "Medieval Regions and their Cities", which is just packed with source material on thirteenth and fourteenth century European (and even comparative Indian(!)) demography.

4 Oct 2003

- Added 'Hodiri Tribal List' to the Horadir page. Sets out the names, population and summer and winter ranges of all the Hodiri tribes.

- Added compilations of source material on medieval monetisation and English medieval demography, to the Demographic sources section of the Demography page.

29 Sep 2003

The TowerHills Library has had a significant number of new additions recently, which have now been added to Terran Sources:

• The Ancient Celts (Cunliffe, Penguin, 1997)
• The Barbarians Speak - How the conquered peoples shaped Roman Europe (Wells, Princeton, 1999)
• An Invitation to Old English & Anglo-Saxon England (Mitchell, Blackwell, 1995)
• The Barbarian Conversion - from Paganism to Christianity (Fletcher, University of California, 1999)
• The Making of Europe - Conquest, Colonisation and Cultural Change 950-1350 (Bartlett, Penguin, 1994)
• England under the Norman and Angevin Kings 1075-1225 (Bartlett, Oxford, 2000)
• Dark Age Economics - The origins of towns and trade AD600-1000 (Hodges, Duckworth, 1989)
• Medieval Demography - Essays by Josiah C. Russell (AMS, 1987)
• Everyday life in Medieval England (Dyer, Hambledon, 2000)
• A History of Business in Medieval Europe 1200-1550 (Hunt &Murray, Cambridge, 1999)

13 Sep 2003

- Added 'Chelemby' page, including a link to the new Evanekin module available from Kelestia.com.

6 Sep 2003

- Added 'Seven Dwarven Houses' - linking the names given in Decipher's "Moria" to the names given to the seven great Dwarven Houses by Tolkien in "Peoples of Middle-earth". See LOTR RPG page.
- Added "Moria" and "Two Towers Sourcebook" to Middle-earth Sources.
 

2 Sep 2003

- Added 'Shadows of Pavis', and Tradetalk issues 6 & 7 to Gloranthan Sources. Shadows of Pavis is a truely massive publication - 138 pages in total...
- Added a link to Nick Lowson's excellent adventure ... "The Maiden of Deya", which was first played at Iviniacon 2003. Its available from the Rethem page.
- Added a link to the new PBEM/Online Harnic game set around Olokand, "The Dreadful Marches". I am playing Dabin of Crasele, a mercantyler with serious problems. Link added to the Kaldor page.
 

31 Aug 2003

- Added links to Roy Denton's excellent 'HarnMaster Mercantylism' and Sophia's Chybisan Economics pages, from the Demography & Economics Page.
- Added a link to James Currie's Cherafir Expansion, which covers Caer Cherafir and the Earthmaster sites beneath Cherafir, from the Melderyn page.
 

19 Aug 2003

- Added a site search capability, courtesy of FreeFind. I would be interested to know if people find this useful or not.
- Added a link to jeremybaker.co.nz - where I plan to host my personal weblog.
 

16 Aug 2003

Added Historical Timelines - a set of timelines for key Terran historical events from the ancient world through to the late medieval period.

9 Aug 2003

- Added links to a number of new Harnic sites, including Edward Dewe's excellent Weatherman's Tales site focusing on Dyriamarch.

20 July 2003

- Added several references to Terran Sources, particularly Roman sources, and medieval economic sources.
- Of particular interest is Michael McCormick's massive 'Origin of the European Economy: AD 300 to 900' - a good review of this is available here.
- Added Fvlminata - ancient rome with gunpowder. I particularly like the Tali (tailor-made 8-sided dice) used in this game.
- Added several new Gloranthan maps to Gloranthan Sources.
 

10 June 2003

- Added several new references to Terran Sources, and to references for demography & economics.
- Updated information on the Hodiri - their tribes and ranges, summer & winter.

6 June 2003

- Major update to 'Melderyn' page - including adding details of new articles such as Karveth and Glenoth (available from Columbia Games).
- Updated list of Harnic articles and other Harnic Sources.
- Added 'Tarsh in Flames' to Gloranthan Sources.
 

30 May 2003

- Added Decipher's "Fellowship of the Ring" Sourcebook to Middle-earth Sources.

 

27 May 2003

- Added PDF document produced by Mike Dalka which lists Roman prices extracted from Diocletian's 'Edict on Maximum Prices'.

25 May 2003

- Added pages for New Crobuzon and the Uplift Universe.
- Added Critique page, a place for analysis, discussion, and review.

24 May 2003

- Added a rough map of Eriador, showing the general locations of the Three Dunedain realms.

A series of such maps will follow, highlighting demographic, economic and political issues.
 

19 May 2003

- Added a revised estimated of the population of Arnor and its successor states, based upon a lower assumption about population density. (See Arthedain)
- Added new content to a number of Middle-earth pages - lots more coming soon!.
- Added a link to Chris Guerette's excellent map of Middle-earth.
- Added new references for the Dying Earth - the Scaum Valley Gazetteer, and the Kain Player's Guide.
- Began work on an article concerning Thardan peasant life.

- Note: Columbia Games Inc has introduced a new means of selling some of its long-awaited products, in particular the regional modules for areas such as Trierzon and Azeryan. If you want to see these fascinating areas developed, then sign on up to the GamePlan!
 

17 May 2003

- Added new navigational Menu Bar. Key pages on the site are now accessible from every page.
- Added new Lythian regions pages: Trierzon, Emelrene, Palithane, Azeryan, Gothmir, Karejia, Hepekeria, Dalkesh.
- Added new Middle-earth region pages: Eriador, Arthedain, Shire, Cardolan, Ered Luin, Lindon, Northern Wastes, Angmar, Gondor. All of these additions can be accessed from the Menu Bar above.

- Also added 'Shorkyne Popluation' - an Excel spreadsheet containing a listing of all the settlements identified in the Shorkyne Regional Module, including those in Shorkyne, Harbaal & Hurisea. Also includes estimates of population for those settlements, and land area where possible. See the Demography & Economics and the Shorkyne pages.
 

15 May 2003

- Added Ancient Economics references & links.

2 May 2003

- Re-configured the Glorantha page, to focus on Gloranthan economics and trade
- Updated the Gloranthan Sources page.

24 April 2003

- Added 'Horadir', a page with information about the Hodiri tribal range.
- Added a map of the area surrounding Bevon Manor.

5 April 2003

- Added 'Mines of Harn', an analysis of the mineral sources of Harn, based upon those indicated on the various Kingdom Maps. See Harnic Economics.
- Added 'Salt Production', an initial analysis of possible surpluses & deficits in salt production based upon indicated salt sources. See Harnic Economics.
- Updated 'Comparative Measures' table, added 'cords', and short hundredweights, and added listing of the variable weight of different types of wood by volume. See General Economics.

- Added various references to Terran Sources: Power & Profit - The Merchant in Medieval Europe; De Re Metallica, and others.

- Added link to Kerry Mould's massive 'Selvos Expansion', (now at Lythia.com)

- Updated Harn Articles & Publications lists (also hosted on HarnPage).

 

19 Mar 2003

- Added initial estimates of travel dates, and consequential dates for key trade fairs associated with the four major Harnic caravans (Salt route, Genin trail, Silver way, Fur road).

10 Mar 2003

- Fixed links to various downloads, principally due to the shift of downloads from Swords & Shields to HarnTales & Harnmaster.net.
- Added Domesday Book, a review of the latest scholarship on this document.

4 Feb 2003

- Added calculations of wages & support costs (Wages & Support.xls), and estimates of urban revenues for a range of urban communities (CityRevenue2.xls) to the Demography & Economics section.

22 Jan 2003

- Added new Gloranthan Sources, and a link to the Gloranthan Trading Association (GTA).

14 Jan 2003

- Added a favourite icon ('favicon') to the Tower Hills web site.

4 Jan 2003

- Added Domesday Book - A Complete Translation, and other references to Terran Sources.

24 Nov 2002

- Added categorisation of LOTR RPG spells in terms of Harn Master Magic & Religion convocations & rituals, as well as the relevant Valar. (added to Magic & Religion)

2 Nov 2002

- Added 'Kaldor GDP 2.xls' to Demography & Economics, which updates the analysis of the economy and finances of the realm of Kaldor.
- Updated Terran Sources, adding references in particular for 'The Church in Anglo-Saxon England.

10 Oct 2002

- Added 'Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game' Support Material page.
- Added 'Population by Region.xls' to Demography & Economics page.

9 Oct 2002

- Updated Construction Cost estimates on Demography & Economics page.
- Added link to 'Valinor', LOTR RPG narrators' site, on Key RPG sites page.

6 Oct 2002

- Updated Key RPG Sites, including adding Steward & the King, new LOTR RPG site.

2 Oct 2002

- Added reference for 'Facing the Ocean' to Terran Sources. This is a truly great book...
- Added estimate of budget of Earl of Selvos, and list of forces in the Selvos region, on the Kanday page.
- Added a first draft estimate of the size and costs of the Order of the Checkered Shield on the Military page.
 

26 Sep 2002

- Added new references to 'Terran Sources' & 'Demography & Economics'.
- Added link to new optional language rules on HarnPage.

17 Sep 2002

- Updates to Historical Sites, and links to articles under Demographic & Economic References.

14 Sep 2002

- Updated 'Feeding Azadmere.xls' (reduced NU requirements for Khudzul), on Azadmere page.
- Added PDF versions of 'Feeding Azadmere' (version 3).
- Added links to De Re Militari to various pages, particularly Military.
- Added link to Nick Lowson's Chronicles of the Deheubarth Brothers on the History page.
 

13 Sep 2002

- added links to Nick Lowson's maps on the Kaldor and Melderyn pages.
- added 'Feeding Azadmere.xls' to Azadmere page. [Updated on 14 Sep]

2 Sep 2002

- Updated Historical Sites.
- Updated References on Demography & Economics page.
- Updated Terran Sources.

 

30 Aug 2002

- Added 'Historical Sites' links page.
- Added 'Arnorian and Gondorian Populations' zip file to Demography & Economics.
- Added references for ancient Mediterranean and medieval urban development to Terran Sources.
- Updated links for Kanday.
 

24 Aug 2002

- Updated Daily Life, including adding references and links to sites with information on Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Medieval food.

18 Aug 2002

- Added PDF file versions of 'Harnic Population' , Cities' (Urban Demography) and 'Kaldor GDP' to Demography & Economics.
- Updated 'Shorkyne Military', and added PDF file (Military).
- Added 'Harbaal Military' to Military.
- Added 'Menglana Population & Military' to Ivinia.
 

16 Aug 2002

- Added 'Urban Demography' to Demography & Economics.

11 Aug 2002

- Updated links to Pax Tharda on the Tharda page.
- Added a number of sources to Terran & Gloranthan Sources.

30 Jul 2002

- Added 'Jara' page.
- Updated 'Kaldor GDP.xls' - increased estimate of vassal income to account for scutage. Adjusted Royal feudal income accordingly. Estimated expenses of Sheriffs.
 

27 Jul 2002

- Added calculations of the Manorial economy of the Barony of Ternua (developed by Jörgen Rosberg).
 

22 Jul 2002

- Added 'Harbaal', 'Hurisea' pages.
- Added estimates of population for Hurisea.

- Added updated Comprehensive Harnic Price List.
- Added draft Construction Costs.
 

20 Jul 2002

- Added 'Lythia' directory page.
- Added 'Ivinia', including estimates of Ivinian Forces.
- Renamed 'Kethira' page to 'Harn' page.
- Updated 'Eastern Harnic Forces' spreadsheet - (updated Orbaal).
 

15 Jul 2002

- Updated ' Eastern Harnic Forces' spreadsheet (added Chybisan Royal Guard.)
- Updated Chybisa, Melderyn, Orbaal, Kanday.

7 Jul 2002

- Added PDF files of 'Eastern' and 'Western Harnic Forces' to Military.

6 Jul 2002

- Added 'Eastern Harnic Forces' to Military.
- Added 'Evael.xls' - list of settlements & population for Evael.

- Updated 'Azadmere.xls' - sub-infeudation for Azadmere.
- Updated 'Harnic Population.xls' in Demography / Economics.
 

5 Jul 2002

- Added 'Western Harnic Forces' to Military.
- Added 'Anglo-Saxon England' (Stenton) to Terran Sources.
 

28 Jun 2002

- Added 'Glorantha'
- Added 'Gloranthan Sources'

21 Jun 2002

- Updated 'Azadmere'.
- Added 'Glorantha: Genertela, Crucible of the Hero Wars' to Other Sources.
- Added 'BattleLust' to Harnic Sources.
 

13 Jun 2002

- Added Oxford histories of Egypt and Greece to Terran Sources.
- Added 'Shadows on the Borderland' and 'Thieves Arm' to Other Sources.
 

9 Jun 2002

- Added 'Churches & Orders of Larani' - an essay on the relationships between the various Orders of the Church of Larani and the church hierarchy on Harn.
- Added Neil Thompson's 'History of the Orders of Hyvrik and the Checkered Shield'.
- Added 'Rethem', 'Chybisa', 'Melderyn', 'Orbaal', and 'Azadmere'.
- updated 'Kanday'.
- reorganised 'Harnic Sources'.

7 Jun 2002

- Added 'Kanday'
- updated 'Harnic Sources' to include HarnQuest 1
- Added 'Sun Country', and Gloranthan Classics Vol I & II to Other Sources.

13 May 2002

- Numerous RuneQuest / Glorantha additions to Other Sources.
- Added 'Magic in the Middle Ages' and 'Caesar's Legion' to Terran Sources.

1 May 2002

- Updated 'Other Sources', adding New Sun and RuneQuest / Glorantha material.
- Added 'Standards of living in the Middle-Ages' (Dyer) to Terran Sources.

9 Apr 2002

- Updated 'Other Sources', adding New Sun and RuneQuest / Glorantha material.

6 Apr 2002

- Added 'Updates' page.
- Added 'General Medieval / Ancient Economics' to Demography & Economics page.
- Re-organised Demographic & Economic Sources.
- Updated 'Other Sources', particularly links to Chivalry & Sorcery sites.
- Updated 'Key Sites'.