Writing tips & tricks

Advice: Renaissance Story

Anonymous asked: Hello! I've recently come across your blog and I love it! I am currently working on a medieval plot that starts in the Renaissance period. I've been doing research of my own but I still need to ask for assistance regarding plagues, herbal medicine that is mistaken for witchcraft, claims to thrones (king and queen marries, has a daughter who is betrothed to the crown prince of a nearby kingdom, & a family member conspires against them to steal both thrones). Any references will be great. Thanks

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Actually, medieval and renaissance are two different periods. The medieval era lasted from about 476 to 1450, and the renaissance era lasted from 1450 to 1600. So, if your story takes place in the renaissance, it's a renaissance story, not a medieval story. :)

Information about the plague is readily available on the internet. Try Googling "the plague," "history of the plague," "the plague in Europe," and "symptoms of the plague."

Medicinal herbs were commonly used during the renaissance, so their use alone would not have been enough to raise the alarm of witchcraft. If a woman used medicinal herbs to heal someone and failed, that could be enough for an accusation of witchcraft. Foxglove, mugwort, cowbane, henbane, mandrake, monkswood, nightshade/belladonna, hemlock, and herb paris were commonly associated with witchcraft. You can learn more by Googling "herbs in medieval witchcraft" and "herbs in renaissance witchcraft."

Regarding claims to the throne, in Europe, sons of the king usually had precedence over his daughters. So a younger son would have a stronger claim to the throne than one of his older sisters. Also, if a king and queen had only one daughter and she was the heir, I'm not sure they would betroth her to a crown prince unless they wanted to risk ceding control of the kingdom to the other kingdom. However, if for some reason they did, it would be a pretty unpopular decision and that could be great motive for a family member to conspire to steal the throne. However, there is no way this person could steal control of both thrones unless they had a claim to both thrones or took both thrones by military force. This would be extremely difficult to pull off. The only possible exception would be if the king and queen of kingdom one have a second daughter who is betrothed to the crown prince's little brother. He could conceivably conspire to usurp his brother and sister-in-law for both thrones. However, both the prince and princess need to succeed to their thrones first. They need to be reigning as king and queen of their kingdoms before anyone can usurp their thrones.