In this episode, we're joined by Chris and Wythe, the creators of Danse Macabre, to discuss their medieval horror TTRPG and how to create historical settings that feel both real and reasonable to a modern gamer. We discuss the concept of the "novum" in worldbuilding, medievalism, and why TTRPGs feel so set upon the Medieval Fantasy in this fantastic roundtable.

Support the Danse Macabre Kickstarter here!

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Citations & References:

• Support the Danse Macabre Kickstarter here
• Play Danse Macabre: Prima Mors (the quickstart guide) - on Stillfleet, Itch, and DTRPG
• Find Chris at his website or @timespace.place on socials
• Find Wythe at Stillfleet.com or @stillfleet on socials
• Listen to Why We Roll on any podcast platform
• Tuchman, Barbara W. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. Ballantine Books, 1978.
• Buehlman, Christopher. Between Two Fires. Ace Books, 2012.

When sovereignty myth declares that anyone who kills the White Stag can be king, stakes are high in King Arthur's Court. We're exploring the Welsh origins of Eric and Enide in the Mabinogion, and how two different versions of a text can bring to light important context in mythmaking and worldbuilding.

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon! Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

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• Bonedd y Saint
• Bro Wened
• Bro Weroc
• Brunanburh
• Culhwch ac Olwen
• Cyfraith Hywel, ‘Laws of Hywel Dda’
• Dumnonia
• Erbin
• Gereint
• Gerontius
• Guerec
• Gwalchmai
• Llongborth
• Llyfr Coch Hergest, ‘Red Book of Hergest’
• Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin, ‘Black Book of Carmarthen’
• Llyfr Gwyn Rhydderch, ‘White Book of Rhydderch’
• Mabinogionfrage
• Madauc / Madog
• Odyar / Odiar
• Owain
• penteulu
• Peredur
• Veneti
• ystorya

References & Citations: Primary

• Davies, Sioned, translator. The Mabinogion. Oxford UP, 2007. Oxford World’s Classics.
• Gantz, Jeffrey, translator. The Mabinogion. Dorset Press, 1976.
• Guest, Charlotte, translator. The Mabinogion. 1877. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1906. Everyman’s Library.
• Thomson, Robert L., editor. Ystorya Gereint uab Erbin. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Celtic Studies / Dundalgan Press, 1997. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series 10.

• Bromwich, Rachel. “Celtic Dynastic Themes and the Breton Lays.” Études Celtiques, vol. 9, no. 2, 1961, pp. 439-74.
• Crane, Susan. “Ritual Aspects of the Hunt à Force.” Engaging With Nature, edited by Barbara A. Hanawalt and Lisa J. Kiser, University of Notre Dame Press, 2008, pp. 63-84.
• Harris, R. “The White Stag in Chretien’s Erec et Enide.” French Studies, vol. 10, no. 1, 1956, pp. 55–61.
• Judkins, Ryan R. “The Game of the Courtly Hunt: Chasing and Breaking Deer in Late Medieval English Literature." Journal of English and Germanic Philology, vol. 112, no. 1, 2013, pp. 70-92.
• Loomis, Roger Sherman. Arthurian Tradition and Chretien de Troyes. Columbia UP, 1949.
• Middleton, Arthur. “Chwedl Geraint ab Erbin.” The Arthur of the Welsh : The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Welsh Literature, edited by Rachel Bromwich, A. O. H. Jarman, and Brynley F. Roberts. University of Wales Press, 1991, pp. 147-57.
• Richardson, Amanda. “‘Riding like Alexander, Hunting like Diana’: Gendered Aspects of the Medieval Hunt and Its Landscape Settings in England and France.” Gender & History, vol. 24, no. 2, Aug. 2012, pp. 253–70.
• Thiebaux, Marcelle. The Stag of Love : The Chase in Medieval Literature. Cornell University Press, 1974.

This week, we're joined by author M.T. Anderson as we dive into the thrilling tale of Nicked, the true story of a medieval heist to steal the holy body of Saint Nicholas and save Bari from plague. We take a step-by step approach to the heist and use it as an example for how you can adapt real relic thieves and heists into your TTRPGS & stories.

Check out Nicked here! Find MT Anderson's works on his website, here.

Transparency Statement: the Maniculum does not take sponsorships or paid promotions. We are excited to share Nicked with our audience because we loved the book and believe it is a perfect example of what we strive to do on the show: bring medieval tales into the modern day. We were gifted a copy of Nicked from Penguin Random House as part of the interview process.

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon! Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

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Citations & References:

• Nicked, MT Anderson - at your local bookstore & Bookshop.org, a storefront for small bookstores - find it here!
• Anderson, M. T. Yvain: the Knight of the Lion. Illustrated by Andrea Offerman, Candlewick Press, 2017.
• Farley, David. An Irreverent Curiosity. Gotham Books, 2009.
• Geary, Patrick J. Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages. Princeton UP, 1991.
• al-Jawbari, Jamal al-Din ‘Abd al-Rahim. The Book of Charlatans. Translated by Humphrey Davies, edited by Manuela Dengler. New York UP, 2020. Library of Arabic Literature 64.
• Birrell, Anne, translator. The Classic of Mountains and Seas. Penguin, 2000.
• Christopher of Mytilene, “To the Monk Andrew…” The Poems of Christopher of Mytilene and John Mauropous, edited and translated by Floris Bernard and Christopher Livanos, Harvard UP, 2018, pp. 240–51. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 50.
• Einhard, “Translation of the Relics of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter.” Translated by Barrett Wendell, edited by David Appleby. Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology, edited by Thomas Head, Garland Press, 1999, pp. 199–225.
• Farley, David. An Irreverent Curiosity. Gotham Books, 2009.
• Geary, Patrick J. Furta Sacra: Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages. Princeton UP, 1991.
• Guibert of Nogent, “On Saints and their Relics.” Translated by Thomas Head. Medieval Hagiography: An Anthology, edited by Head, Garland Press, 1999, pp. 405–27.
• Kurtz, Katherine. Saint Camber. Ballantine Books, 1978. Vol. 5 of the Deryni novels.
• Map, Walter. De Nugis Curialium / Courtiers’ Trifles. Edited and translated by M. R. James, revised by C. N. L. Brooke and R. A. B. Mynors, Clarendon Press, 1983.
• Novik, Naomi. His Majesty's Dragon. Del Rey, 2006. Vol. 1 of Temeraire.

Terminology & Spelling:

• Bari
• Manzikert
• Myra
• myroblyte
• Seljuk

We're getting into astrology this week! In part two of our final episode of necromancy, we explore the finer points of astrology and its importance in spell casting - so that you know exactly what moon phase is best to curse your enemies, conjure birds, or rout an army.

Open Question to the Listeners: What should the metaphysically-significant insects be for each day of the week? (Arachnids, myriapods, etc. also acceptable, in the spirit of Medieval English’s “everything is worm” approach to small animals.)

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!

Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

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Citations & References:

• Forbidden Rites: a Necromancer's Manual online version here
• All of Richard Keickhefer's books on magic here
• The Munich Manual of Demonic Magic: info and get one yourself here
• Peter of Abano: Heptameron, or Magical Elements - read online here
• Hindley, Katherine Storm. Textual Magic: Charms and Written Amulets in Medieval England. U Chicago Press, 2023.
• Stanmore, Tabitha. Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024.
• Storms, Godfrid. Anglo-Saxon Magic. Martinus Nijhoff, 1948.

The stars have aligned, but are you ready to conjure? In part one of our final episode of necromancy, we explore the nature of magic circles and how to ensure you're drawing the correct type for the demon you want to conjure.

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!

Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

Socials: Tumblr Website Bluesky Instagram Facebook

Citations & References:

• Forbidden Rites: a Necromancer's Manual online version here
• All of Richard Keickhefer's books on magic here
• The Munich Manual of Demonic Magic: info and get one yourself here
• Peter of Abano: Heptameron, or Magical Elements - read online here
• Beekes, Robert S. P. “θεός.” Etymological Dictionary of Greek, vol. 1, Leiden, 2010, p. 540. Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. “God is Non-Indo-European.” Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik, vol. 54, 2000, pp. 27-30.
• “deiw-.” The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, revised and edited by Calvert Watkins, Houghton Mifflin, 1985, p. 10.
• De Meyer, Isabelle. “L’étymologie du mot grec θεός « dieu ».” Revue de Philologie de Littérature et d’Histoire Anciennes, vol. 90, no. 1, 2016, pp. 115-38, 260-1.
• “dhēs-.” [& cf. “dhē-1.”] The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, revised and edited by Calvert Watkins, Houghton Mifflin, 1985, p. 14.
• “gheu(ə)-.” [& cf. “gheu-.”] The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, revised and edited by Calvert Watkins, Houghton Mifflin, 1985, p. 23.
• Kulik, Alexander. “How the Devil Got His Hooves and Horns: The Origin of the Motif and the Implied Demonology of 3 Baruch.” Numen, vol. 60, nos. 2–3, 2013, pp. 195–229.
• O’Shea, Stephen. The Perfect Heresy: The Revolutionary Life and Death of the Medieval Cathars. Walker & Company, 2000.
• Rau, Jeremy. “The Derivational History of PIE *diéu-/diu-´ ‘(god of the) day-lit sky; day’.” Ex Anatolia Lux, edited by Ronald Kim et al., Beech Stave Press, 2010, pp. 307-20.
• Watkins, Calvert. “‘god’.” Antiquitates Indogermanicae, edited by Manfred Mayrhofer et al., Innsbruck, 1974, pp. 101-10.

Romantasy has been all the rage of late, but its roots go further back than a TikTok trend. Join us this week as we dive into Eric and Enide, a medieval fantasy romance adventure perfect for those who love the genre, or who just want a new idea for their story or TTRPG campaign. Welcome to our summer series!

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!

Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

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Citations & References:

• Read Eric & Enide for yourself here
• Eastin, Schuyler E. (Dis)Arming the Middle Ages: Chivalric Materiality in Medieval Romance. 2017. University of California, Riverside, Ph.D. dissertation.
• Ffoulkes, Charles John. The Armourer and His Craft from the XIth to the XVIth Century. Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1912.
• Wright, Monica L. Weaving Narrative: Clothing in Twelfth-Century French Romance. Pennsylvania State UP, 2009.

Looking to craft your next dungeon delve for your campaign? Want a few puzzles your player have never seen before? We've found a few medieval tales with tantalizing puzzles and twisting dungeons, ready to be used in your next TTRPG. Sit back as we do the work to show you how to adapt these dungeons into your game.

• Join our discord community!
• Check out our Tumblr for even more!
• Support us on patreon!

Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

Socials: Tumblr Website Bluesky Instagram Facebook

Citations & References:

• Read the Gesta Romanorum here
• Francis Carmody. Physiologus, The Very Ancient Book of Beasts, Plants and Stones. San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1953. Read an online version here.
• Neri, Elisabetta, et al. “Unveiling the Paint Stratigraphy and Technique of Roman African Polychrome Statues.” Archaeological & Anthropological Sciences, vol. 14, no. 6, 2022, pp. 1–11.
• Dull, Robert A., et al. “The Columbian Encounter and the Little Ice Age: Abrupt Land Use Change, Fire, and Greenhouse Forcing.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, vol. 100, no. 4, 2010, pp. 755-71.
• Faust, Franz X., et al. “Evidence for the Postconquest Demographic Collapse of the Americas in Historical CO2 Levels.” Earth Interactions, vol. 10, 2006.
• Kopczynski, Noémie, et al. “Polychromy in Africa Proconsularis: Investigating Roman Statues using X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy." Antiquity, vol. 91, no. 355, 2017, pp. 139-54.
• Additional music for this episode from freesound.org; created by, in order of appearance: liezen3, Merrick079, holizna.
• Maps referenced re: Roman elephants are the ones on Wikipedia.

What does a goodly knight do when he's taken prisoner and asked to collect his own ransom? Comply, of course! Join us on another dive into medieval literature and pull out a few puzzles and dilemmas for your next TTRPG!

Join our discord community! Check out our Tumblr for even more! Support us on patreon!

Get your copy of Marginal Worlds, a deck of 50 magic items pulled directly from medieval manuscripts, built for any TTRPG system here!

Socials: Tumblr Website Bluesky Instagram Facebook

Citations & References:

• Mason, Eugene, editor and translator. Aucassin & Nicolette and Other Mediæval Romances & Legends. Everyman's Library, 1949.