acient mysteries and interesting people like St.Brendan the Navigator and info. on the
Archangel, Michael.
I'll talk about my never-ending quest to find a good medieval home decorating site,
(my husband said I should start my own business doing this, but I find it hard to believe
there is much demand for the middle-ages look in most homes).
In my genealogical research I have traced both sides of my family back to the
Plantagenets, (The most famous being King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquataine). You've
no doubt heard of their son, Richard the Lion Heart? Well, I'm not from his line....oh no.
I descend from their youngest son, John. You know, "Bad Prince John, of Robin Hood
fame?" Oh yeah, he's my guy!!! He eventually became King of England, a real nasty one
too. I maintain that he was just "misunderstood". The man just needed a hug,
or a swift kick in the ....
In 1980 I went to England on Spring Break. I've never been the same since. Seeing
where my family came from (at least those lines) was one of the greatest experiences of
my life. It has influenced my life a great deal. Most of my writing takes place in the
middle ages; usually in England or France (for some reason, French people show up in
every story I write! I'm sure there is some deep reason for that). The other nationalities
the figure prominately in my lineage are the Celtic peoples; (Scottish, Irish, Welsh) and
further back are the Vikings. Way cool!!!
I've been the family genealogist for almost 25 years now and I love doing research. I
incorporate a lot of the people or situations I run across into my fictional writing.
You just can't make this stuff up! The skeletons in our family closets read like a
movie of the week! "Work with what you've got," I always say...
Okay, so its not for everyone! I admit it. AND it might hurt our resale value later on (though I am trying really hard to keep the really bizarr stuff limited to accesories-something easily removed). But I have come to the conclusion that I want to live in a place that brings me peace and emotional harmony. That place would be inside a medieval keep. Hard to find in rural Indiana (though a guy built a real castle less than 20 miles from here, it is awesome). And the owner of all the local Indiana Pizza Huts built a castle that is an exact replica of one in Europe, also very close to our house. We cannot afford to do such a thing. So I'm turning our Indiana farm house (circa 1850), into my old world manor. If you tell people you are decorating in a medieval style, they just smile and nod, and move slowly away. So I've begun labeling the style "Old World" or European.
Actually we have an eclectic mix of styles in our home. Our kitchen will be Tuscan (Italian wine country), our diningroom is Scottish Baronial, our livingroom will be just a general Old World, our guest bath is French Gothic, the half bath upstairs will be Leopard themed, the Master Bath will be Indian/Turkish, the master bedroom will be Scottish Baronial, our daughter's room is Leopard themed and our son's room is Egyptian! Wow!
What is funny is I have sucked my whole family into this. My husband hunts for stuff that is "castle-y", as he puts it.
If I ever get any of these rooms finished I'll post photos.
