[OberynM]

Hello malazan companions.next year i will be finishing university courses and hopefully get my degree in history(in romania).i was thinking to do the bachlors thesis on medieval impact in fantasy literature with a insight on steven erikson and george r r martin.if you have any material that could help me in my quest regarding the said thesis i would thank you alot.also i would apreciate any ideas and advice seeing that i am a novice in fantasy and epicness in the the malazan forum ))

First in , Last out

[POOPOO MCBUMFACE]

A good place to start might be to look at where the two of them are coming at the material from; Martin, I think, has always been a writer, and looks to what he can make plots out of, doing his research as he goes and as it's needed. Erikson has a background in history, archaeology and anthropology, and it shines through in his material; he's built a believable, strong world that genuinely feels like it exists beyond the books.

[Macros]

Isn't Martins epic based very loosely on the war of the roses?

[OberynM]

Thanks for the replies...yes. macros it is based on that war but i mean to do the thesis not only on the back story but also on all the timelines involved in their works plus all the heraldic and cartographic sides of the story:) politic and economic history of the continent at least in george r r martin:)

[Chance]

First of all brave subject for a thesis, cool institution/handlers which doesn't discourage it .

One way to attack the problem is if its really a historic medieval period that has influenced fantasy literature or a more popular perception of medieval times which is in truth much more of a 18-19th century with a bit psudo medieval stuff tacked on (add no guns and some measure of magic) if you look at the details the classic fantasy nation is a national state for one, the classic fantasy village often have little in common with the medieval ones, the fantasy taverns and so on and not least the codes of conducts/behavior which rarely reflect actuall medieval law, religion and customs. At the same time if they did too closly we would likly get pretty alienated.

This post has been edited by Chance: 08 November 2012 - 03:32 PM