If you’ve purchased the print version of Researching History for Fantasy Writers, thank you! Here are the direct links mentioned in the book for your researching pleasure.
If any links are broken, please let me know via my contact form so that I can keep everything up-to-date. Thanks!
Clothing, Fabric, and Shoes, Oh My
Books
Medieval Costume and Fashion by Herbert Norris.
Evolution of Fashion: Pattern and Cut from 1066 to 1930.
Medieval Costume in England and France: The 13th, 14th and 15th Centuries by Mary G. Houston.
TV/Movies
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Costume Design
Online
A photo of “A woman wearing a crinoline being dressed with the aid of long poles to lift her dress over the hoops, circa 1860.”
Everything You Need to Know About Fighting in a Ballgown.
Fighting in dresses from the perspective of Disney heroines.
How to Fight in a Victorian Dress.
Fighting, Armor, Weapons, and a Bit of Politics
Books
A list of books about swords and sword making.
TV/Movies
Online
A great article on different types of horses and when and where they were used.
The Crusades and related documentaries.
Everyday Life
Books
Black Tudors: The Untold Story.
TV/Movies
Online
This site explains all the different ladies-in-waiting to Queen Victoria.
Henry VIII’s flagship was ethnically diverse.
Here’s a Tumblr feed about writing with color.
An article about Britain’s first black community in Elizabethan London.
A blog about medieval people of color.
This site talks about how languages are constructed.
Travel
Here’s a guy who recreated a two-week pilgrimage across Britain with only supplies from the fourteenth century.
Entertainment
Online
Check out the Wikipedia entries for bard, minstrel, and troubadour (a good jumping-off place for the basics).
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
For the history of games, start with Wikipedia.
General Resources
Books, Nonfiction
David Macaulay: Castle, Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction, Revised and in Full Color, City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction.
Project Gutenberg and the Bibliothèque Nationale Française.
Books, Fiction
Movies/TV
Here’s a good article comparing The Borgias (2011–2013) to Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011–2013).
Online
Reddit.com: Ask Historians.
Other