Editing A Typical Year in Pendragon

A Typical Year in Pendragon

Lent coincides nicely with much of the food laid in over the winter going bad. Even for the well-fed nobility the next month and a half is a lean time.

Phase I: Spring Court

British Christians hold Easter on the Spring Equinox* -- a date the British Pagans hold as sacred as well. All across Britain nobles brave the thick Spring mud or the last snows of Winter and report to their lieges. Amid the religious festivals and feasts it is a chance to renew acquaintances and exchange news and rumours. It is also an opportunity for the Lord to instruct his vassals on what is required of them over the upcoming year.  

Bizarre as always, Roman Christians seem to hold Easter at random. Something to do with the moon and the Holy Land. However they attend to their Liege and revel in the same feasts as British Christians, after all it is their feudal duty.

For the next two months landlords normally observe their tenants during planting, and prepare for the Summer. It is a good time to ride border markers, mend fences, and do a bit of hunting.

The Pentecost occurs seven weeks after Easter, very close to the Pagan celebration of Beltane. Ever since King Constantin's reign every one of his loyal vassals and their knights report, prepared for the Summer Campaign. it is a time to regale each other with the previous year's deeds, boasting and tale-telling are common past-times. When there is peace garrisons are sent out and the rest return home. Peace has been rare indeed over the last sixty years.

Phase II: The Summer

Military Campaigns, Royal Progress, Hunting Trips, and in later eras, Quests and Tournaments occur during the Summer.

Phase III: The Harvest. 

If Armies are still levied, leaders can expect both knights and peasants to start drifting away. The Harvest is the single most critical event for the well-being of each village, and the nobles they support.

Phase IV: Winter Court

With the Harvest in the peasants settle in for the long Winter. They will busy themselves with any of a dozen crafts and the repairing of tools and effects, there is little spare time in their lives. Nobles visit friends and allies during the Christmas/Yuletide period, culminating in the Feast of St Stephen, on the day after the birth of the Lord Jesus which coincides with the Pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice.* Bachelor knights receive their annual stipend, and vassals present their liege with a gift, while liege lords normally present their vassals with a gift of grater worth.

At the end of Winter Court knights and nobles struggle through the deepening snow, returning to their manors to huddle around the fire and reflect on the year that has just passed.

*This isn't historically accurate.

[http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Waiwodes_Pendragon_Campaign | Campaign Home]