10 resources for building a medieval fantasy world

The series I’m currently working on – fairy tales with Vikings! – is best described as historical fantasy. It’s set in a version of medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, although I don’t call the places by their current names. I want the stories to seem accurate for the time period, but I also don’t want to be constricted by actual historical events.

Fortunately, there are a ton of great resources for building an authentic medieval world. Here are some of my favorites.

Historical figures and campaigns

History Time : Really detailed videos on Viking exploration and military campaigns of the Middle Ages, focusing on Britain, Viking kings, and the Mediterranean, as well as ancient Rome and Greece.
History With Hilbert : Short-ish, in-depth videos on specific northern Europe historical figures, wars, languages, and general Viking and British stuff.
VC3 Productions : Overviews of the history of European countries and historical figures and events.

Daily life

Modern History TV : The best channel on YouTube for all aspects of daily life of knights in medieval Britain, from horse care to meals to weaponry.

Random details

Invicta : Details on military life and logistics in the Middle Ages and ancient Rome.
Metatron : All things military in medieval Europe, from weapons to fighting techniques to battle offense and defense, as well as videos about daily Medieval life.
Scholagladiatoria : Another channel on medieval warfare, focusing on weapons, armor, and fighting techniques.
Shadiversity : The go-to source for information on all aspects of medieval castles, including how and why they were built.

General fantasy worldbuilding

James Tullos : Reviews of fictional worlds in books and movies, as well as discussions on how to build fantasy worlds.
Stoneworks World Building : In-depth discussions on accurately naming your worlds and characters and adapting real-world settings and scenarios to your fantasy world.

If you’re creating or have created a fantasy world, what resources did you use? Please share in the comments!