...I popped over to visit my lovely friend, Jane Bwye. On her blog, I wrote about creating credible settings.
That post is here Below is a reblog of my post. (c. Nancy Jardine)
Research generally plays a large part in the preparation for
a historical novel. Depending on the era chosen, that can be a fairly simple
process of going to prime sources, text books or academic papers to locate the
information that can be used to create a credible setting.
In my case, since my historical fiction series is set almost
2000 years ago in northern Roman Britain, prime sources for this are non-existent.
Some copies of ancient works I have to use with caution, because they are
likely to be translations, and have possibly been subject to miscopying and/ or
scribal misconceptions. There are plenty of non-fiction books I can read that
give me useful general information on Roman Britain, but they are based on
interpretations of what the era might have been like, and few of these books mention
the barbarian areas of north-eastern
My imagination has to work hard, but not so hard it becomes
historical fantasy. To date, readers and reviewers of my Celtic Fervour Series
have enjoyed that I've striven to create credible scenes, and that's my future
aim, as well.
The organic nature of my research is very exciting, because
there's always some new theory or interpretation formed from the latest archaeological
investigations using fancy new techniques which, sometimes, supplant
interpretations of the previous decades.
While writing Book 4 of my Celtic Fervour Series, Agricola's Bane, I've had to use additional
sources of information to those already mentioned above to give me a better feel
for what my setting was like. My characters in Book 4 inhabit their lifestyle
much as in Books 1, 2 and 3. Their clothing, and the other daily trappings in
their houses, is similar but the physical landscape they live in has become much
more important because the countryside is deeply related to the plot of Book 4.
 |
| Bennachie, Aberdeenshire (c. Nancy Jardine) |
The action in Book 4 moves further north into new parts of north-east
Britannia (current northern Aberdeenshire, Banffshire and Moray). While writing
about the setting, there have been some niggling aspects of geography for me to
solve before I've been happy with my story development.
The physical landscape
of the few higher hills around the area hasn't changed appreciably in shape and
elevation from 2000 years ago, since there have been no major earthquakes, or
anything that would make noticeable differences. What has changed is the
vegetation across the region, so whether describing the higher areas, or the
valley floors, I can't assume they looked as they do today.
 |
| (Forest of Birse) Blanket Bog |
2000 years ago much more of the land was covered in blanket
bog which encroached right down to lower levels. Since the 1700s, mechanisation
improved farming techniques, gradually at first, and then the pace picked up
during the twentieth century.
Lots of that original blanket bog stretching from
the surrounding hills down towards valley floors was successfully drained, and
is now well maintained, so what I can see now are the fertile fields of
Aberdeenshire and Moray – though to be fair, the Laigh of Moray (flatlands) had
the best fertile fields of 2000 years ago, but they were not as extensive as
they are now.
How do I know this? I've used information from the Forestry
Commission; Woodland Trusts; History of Farming in Aberdeenshire; and soil
sampling research from archaeological excavations.
The sea coast of Aberdeenshire and the Moray
Firth have also changed, a little, over those 2000 years, mainly due
to coastal erosion. What I can visit today, is not necessarily what was there
2000 years ago, when General Gnaeus Agricola marched his Roman legions up and
down the area.
 |
| Dunnicaer, Aberdeenshire |
(Dunnicaer is at the centre top of this image)
In some coastal bays, like those near Stonehaven, what are
now sea-stacks of rock standing proudly separate were once joined to the land
as promontories, or perhaps by a land bridge of some sort. The rugged-sided stack
named Dunnicaer, a short distance from the iconic Dunnottar Castle
Dr, Gordon Noble and his teams from the Department of
Archaeology at Aberdeen
University
If Dunnicaer was inhabited around the fifth century AD, then
I like to wonder if it was also occupied during my era of AD 84. The concept of
'kingship' seems to have been absent during the time of the Roman invasion of
the area, but that doesn't rule out the possibility there was a roundhouse
village there because it is an incredibly commanding position whether for
defensive purposes, or purely for the view afforded from it. However, if I did
include habitation there in my novel, I would probably be straying into the
fantasy of authorial licence.
A recent hypothesis
is that the fort on Dunnicaer was possibly abandoned sometime around the 6th
century AD and the 'kingship' site moved to the promontory where Dunnottar Castle Ulster
 |
| Dunnottar Castle |
The erosion of the Moray Coast Moray
Firth , might just need adjustments by me to be more accurate.
Would my readers know any of this information? Maybe not,
but I do!
Images from Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blanket_Bog_in_the_Forest_of_Birse_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1495246.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Small_cove_at_Dunncaer_-_geograph.org.uk_-_867909.jpg
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