To a more realistic medieval RPG

The new Chivalry and Sorcery will include, for the first time, rules for characters of the Jewish and Islamic religions. These will be enough for character generation and more in-depth supplements may be produced later.

Now, there was a question about why do this, wasn’t medieval Europe a monocultural Christian world, not exposed to differences in culture or religion, where men fought and women tended the hearth.

This turns out not to be the case, Jews were in Europe since the days of the Roman Empire, even on the borders, in modern Cologne, there was a Jewish community in the 4th Century CE

They existed in the Frankish kingdoms and elsewhere, and it was not until the First Crusade that things started to get really nasty in the Christian kingdoms, even then the Pope Callixtus II, in the early 12th Century, issued a Papal Bull to protect them.

It got worse though, more restrictive laws were passed, but the fact that those laws were passed tells you one thing, that there were Jews there, part of society, to be discriminated against, it was not just a Christian only land.

As to Islam, not only did Spain have Muslim Kingdoms, but the Feudal Europeans came into contact with Muslims in a little set of ventures called the Crusades. Not only did Europeans fight the Muslims, they traded with them, the routes to the wars were the routes the spices took to Europe and the kingdoms of Outremer, as well as having Muslim populations, traded with Muslim kingdoms.

Muslim rulers had Christian troops fighting for them . Terry Jones, in his book \”Chaucer’s Knight\” puts forward his thesis that the Knight of Chaucer’s take was a bloody handed mercenary who had fought, at times for Muslims.

Women did, at times, fight.Sometimes disguised as men, sometimes not. Khawlah bint al-Azwar led a troop of women against the Byzantines in the 7th Century. OK, a bit early for C&S, so there is  Sikelgaita of Salerno, commanded sieges, at times took up arms and was wounded in battle.  Isabel of Conches in the 11th Century rode armed and armoured amongst her knights. In Beauvais, women defended the walls against Charles the Bold, notable Jeanne (La Hatchette) Laisne.

The Feudal European world was not isolated, any more than today’s is. It was varied, there were the exceptional, and your characters can be amongst those exceptions, and be historically accurate in doing so.

The Chivalry and Sorcery 5th kickstarter was here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cns5/chivalry-and-sorcery-the-medieval-role-playing-game

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