Author’s Note: Imaginary History and Geography

 

If you’ve made it this far, you are probably wondering about some of the liberties taken with history, in particular the fantasy version of the Renaissance, and the unusual European geography and topology in this alternate universe.

Cobweb Bride takes place in an imaginary “pocket” of Europe sometime in an alternate version of the 17th century Renaissance. I’ve modified the continent of Europe by inserting a significant wedge of land between France and Italy, dissolving Austria and Hungary into Germany and pushing the whole thing up north, shifting Spain halfway to the east and lowering the northern shores of the Mediterranean by pushing the southern portion of the continental landmass further down south so that the French Riviera is now where the sea is in our own reality.

Imagine a cross, with Germany up north, Spain to the south, France to the west, and Italy to the East. In the heart of the cross lies the imaginary land that comprises the Realm and the Domain.

Other minor liberties taken include the referral to some physical parcels of land as “Dukedom” as opposed to the correct term “Duchy.” Royal and noble titles, ranks, and their terminology are similar, but not the exact equivalents of our own historical reality.

The culture of the Realm and the Domain is an uneven mixture of French, Italian, Spanish, and German influences of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. The language spoken is Latin-based “Romance,” and the linguistics are also a mixture of the same.

And now, please turn the page to see a list of all the character names with a pronunciation key.