What Kind of Medieval Europe Town is Blackmoor?

[JemPoplar]

In Corner of the Table (3 (5), 1971), Dave Arneson describes the world of Blackmoor as such:

... and the start of the "Black Moors" battle reports as a series dealing with the perils of living in Medevil Europe.(Or at leas t as much as is possible when a wargamer cum fantasy nut creates a parallel world that includes perils from a dozen Fantasy plots plus a few of his own).

The medieval period covers a very long time from roughly 500 - 1500 AD and can be subdivided into 3 parts (Early, High, Late). Then there is Europe with its numerous countries. Each country would have their own unique culture which can be further differentiated based on which age it is in.

So my question is what real world European country and medieval time period would best describe the town of Blackmoor? It would be great if there were some official source for this but if not then what would be your best guess?

While this may not be especially important for running games I do find it adds a lot of flavour to it. Minor things like clothes worn, food eaten, and even homes dwelled in can give a deeper feel of how daily life in Blackmoor would be.

[aldarron]

In Corner of the Table (3 (5), 1971), Dave Arneson describes the world of Blackmoor as such:

... and the start of the "Black Moors" battle reports as a series dealing with the perils of living in Medevil Europe.(Or at leas t as much as is possible when a wargamer cum fantasy nut creates a parallel world that includes perils from a dozen Fantasy plots plus a few of his own).

The medieval period covers a very long time from roughly 500 - 1500 AD and can be subdivided into 3 parts (Early, High, Late). Then there is Europe with its numerous countries. Each country would have their own unique culture which can be further differentiated based on which age it is in.

So my question is what real world European country and medieval time period would best describe the town of Blackmoor? It would be great if there were some official source for this but if not then what would be your best guess?

While this may not be especially important for running games I do find it adds a lot of flavour to it. Minor things like clothes worn, food eaten, and even homes dwelled in can give a deeper feel of how daily life in Blackmoor would be.

I think there are a few "right" answers to this question.

The town itself seems to have been modeled, for the walls at least, on Cuidad Rodrigo in spain while the castle was literally the model of Branzoll castle i the Alps. And the whol thing seems to be based on the Black Room film which I think was set in the alps too.

But in terms of the overall setting and to answer your question, I would think  Talinn, Estonia, in the 1200's has a pretty Blackmoor like feel.

[JemPoplar]

I think there are a few "right" answers to this question.

The town itself seems to have been modeled, for the walls at least, on Cuidad Rodrigo in spain while the castle was literally the model of Branzoll castle i the Alps. And the whol thing seems to be based on the Black Room film which I think was set in the alps too.

But in terms of the overall setting and to answer your question, I would think  Talinn, Estonia, in the 1200's has a pretty Blackmoor like feel.

Thanks for the reply! Cuidad Rodrigo and Branzoll Castle was really helpful, there are so many photos of them that it's easy to find inspiration! I really should get to watching the Black Room film one of these days...

Talinn, Estonia, in the 1200's is completely new to me! Was there anything in particular that reminded you of Blackmoor?

[Havard]

I tend to portray it as a northern English town with heavy Gothic influences.

-Havard

[aldarron]

Talinn, Estonia, in the 1200's is completely new to me! Was there anything in particular that reminded you of Blackmoor?

So similar size and environment. Small coastal town in the far north with some fortification surrounded by cold wilderness, wetlands, etc. No dragons though...

[JemPoplar]

I tend to portray it as a northern English town with heavy Gothic influences.

-Havard

I can totally see that! I also tend to default to the English when it comes to castles, dungeons, and knights.

So similar size and environment. Small coastal town in the far north with some fortification surrounded by cold wilderness, wetlands, etc. No dragons though...

Using a location with similar geographical features is a great idea! I heard a country's location has some influence on their government but didn't consider how it would affect the population as well.

[Yaztromo]

The overall geography of the Kingdom is quite influenced by Holland as well. The overall fights for independence, having multiple enemies at the same time, exerting pressure from different directions (and a far away Empire...) may suggest some influence from some relevant part of the history of Holland as well.

[Yaztromo]

In summary, I think that D&D in general refers to early middle age (mostly before the time of gunpowder) and Blackmoor, although there are some high tech devices that may occasionally be found, is in general aligned to that, as far as I can see.

[JemPoplar]

The overall geography of the Kingdom is quite influenced by Holland as well. The overall fights for independence, having multiple enemies at the same time, exerting pressure from different directions (and a far away Empire...) may suggest some influence from some relevant part of the history of Holland as well.

Interesting! I originally thought the Holland map was just a location for their Strategos A or Braunstein games at the beginning. Looking into real world Holland could serve some connections to events that happened in Blackmoor!

In summary, I think that D&D in general refers to early middle age (mostly before the time of gunpowder) and Blackmoor, although there are some high tech devices that may occasionally be found, is in general aligned to that, as far as I can see.

Nice call! I normally don't consider weaponry a good indicator for dating a games setting. This is because people tend to mix and match their favourites regardless of when a weapon was actually invented. That being said, considering Blackmoor came from a group that played lots of Napoleonic wargames, it could be more historically accurate than the norm.