Joyce DiPastena's Blog, page 89

Here's a Fun Game!

Check out the following link and leave a comment to continue the story of Winifer the Itty Bitty Giant! Keep it nice, now. G-rated stuff only!
http://writersmirror.blogspot.com/2009/09/tuesday-tales.html

Medieval Word of the Day

Keep: the central tower and main residence area of the castle

Sweetest Romance Author Chat: Sept 24

Every fourth Thursday of the month (this month, September 24), The Sweetest Romance Authors group sponsors a special chat on their Sweetest Romance Authors Chat Blog. This chat is open to EVERYONE, readers and writers alike. You do not have to join any organization or group, just show up on the blogsite on time, type in your name into the "login" box and dive into our chat.

These fourth Thursday chats focus more on "education" in the writing and publishing field, than on promoting our personal...

Medieval Word of the Day

Bailey: the courtyard of a castle

Medieval Word of the Day

Yes, Medieval Word of the Day continues...at least until I run out of words from my glossary to Illuminations of the Heart. Speaking of which, check back later today to find out who the winners of my book blog tour are!
Medieval Word of the Day
Liege lord: the king or lord to whom a man of lower rank owed fealty.

Illuminations of the Heart: Blog Tour Final Round-Up

This is the last day of my blog tour for Illuminations of the Heart. Read the final round-up, and once last interview with me, on my publisher's blog, Walnut Springs Press. And it's not too late to leave comments on any or all of the stops on my tour to be entered to win one of three gift certificates towards the purchase of Illuminations of the Heart, or autographed copy of Illuminations of the Heart! See the blog tour list in my left-hand sidebar for the various stops along my tour. The...

Medieval Word of the Day

Fealty: the loyalty sworn by oath by a knight to his lord

Medieval Word of the Day

Solar: a small, well-lit room, usually the domain of the lady of the castle

Medieval Word of the Day

Okay, now that you know what mail is, take a look at this knight. See the armor that covers the upper part of his body? That's called the hauberk: a long tunic made of chain mail.
Underneath that hauberk he would wear a gambeson: a quilted jacket worn beneath a knight's armor to cushion the blows of battle. I couldn't find a free clip art picture of a gambeson to show you, but you can see what one looks like by clicking here. (Scroll down to the picture beneath the "jack".)
That chain mail...

Medieval Word of the Day

Okay, so it's not so easy to truly show you what mail looks like via an illustration, but let's give it a try. See the knight to our left? See the armor covering his arms and legs, neck and head? Now picture those little lines and squiggles and boxes as "a flexible armor made of small, overlapping metal rings". He's got mail! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
The knight on the right is wearing plate armor.
See the difference?
(Plate armor began evolving towards the end of the 13th Century. Mail