[Glorantha] Re: Coinage and Glorantha

[Joerg Baumgartner]

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...