Campaign Map Research: Italy
In a few weeks from now, I will be starting a thorough study of the various factions of Italy, a realm divided among many nations: the Lombard-Ligurian, Tuscan and Venetian Republics, the Kingdom of Italy (part of the Holy Roman Empire), the Papal States and the Kingdom of Sicily, to find and correct any inconsistencies, to add as much historical content to its cities and castles as possible, and to represent its geographical, demographical and economical structure as realistically as I can.
I would like to ask all of you to participate in this huge project, to provide me with material on various subjects so that I don't have to search for it myself and so reduce the tediousness of the project for me and increasing (hopefully) the fun for you.
Now here are some guidelines:
- A summary of your own research is preferred over just giving me links, though any links to articles are also welcome.
- When you post your research, please give me the links to the sources you used as well. I cannot use research lacking references, as I need to check its validity!
- I would prefer if you kept your linked sources to the English, German and Dutch languages, as I can read those.
- If you have good sources in other languages that are native you, a PM with a full translation into English would be most welcome!
- The priority for this project is information on cities and castles.
- Please note that the older the settlement, the more likely it is to be added. A settlement that had already existed for a long time by our starting date of 1080 AD is much better than a city that was founded in the 14th century, even though that is still within the period covered by DotS.
- Similarly, the larger and/or more important the settlement, the better. We have limited amount of space on the map, so don't bother giving me information on every little village that existed.
- The best information you can give is obviously a summary of the settlement's history in the period of 1080-1453 AD and also the Middle Ages prior to 1080.
- Some figures that are of great use to me: exact coordinates of the medieval location (some places have moved from their medieval location, always check if this is the case), settlement's foundation date, when the settlement received certain rights (city rights, joined the Hanseatic league, became a bishopric, became a county's capital, etc.).
- Others things I'm interested in: the presence of ethnic/religious minorities (Jews, pagans, etc.), economical activities (trade, agricultural and artisanal production, etc.), political affiliations (to what county/bishopric/etc. does it belong? was it rebellious?), heraldry of the city/castle and/or its direct lord (a picture or a link to a picture).
- Any information on geographical features that were different from what they are now (the old courses of rivers and such). Detailed maps are of great use here.
- Any information on the economical facilities of a region, such as fertility (arable land and such), industrial works such as mines and quarries, and artisanal produce like glass, timber, and weapons. Please specify how important the production was in comparison to other products of the region and to the production of other regions.
Please try not to deviate from these guidelines, as almost all content that does not fit into these parameters will be useless to me, and as such a waste of your time. If you're not certain you're doing it right, feel free to ask me for help either in this thread or in a PM!
Also, please post your research on this subject in this thread, do not make your own threads about it. I want to keep this as organised as possible, so please adhere to this rule, and please keep your posts neat and mature. Thank you!
Lastly, I want to wish everyone good luck on their research, your contributions mean a lot to us! And remember: anything is useful, no matter how little it is!
Cheers,
Landil, Head of Research and Historical Settlements Project Leader for Dominion of the Sword
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