1 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

The Dark Ages: 950-1050 AD

"After day comes night. The time of men will pass and they will return to where they came from." – The Necronomicon
Players and keepers are not usually acquainted with the mainly measured in terms of “candles”. The stars and the
Dark Ages. This chapter provides some general historical moon, when carefully observed could also indicate the
context. Many “props” for a realistic Dark Age setting can time.
be found in the glossary. Particular historical points are
dealt with in the scenarios. When in doubt, apply friendly In fact the idea of a constant unit of time was irrelevant to
stereotypes... most people. Farmers did not need any artifact to know the
time of day, and they had no use for that information
The year 955 was a turning point in the history of the anyway.
Occident. That year, Otto the Great crushed the Magyar
cavalry on the banks of the river Lech, thereby putting an The four seasons gave the year natural articulations that
end to the age of invasions. governed harvesting, hunting and warring. Liturgy
In the Dark Ages that followed, the Occident struggled imposed another rhythm to the year with the Sunday rest
hard to recreate its unity, a foundation on which, one every week, religious fetes, etc. The Holy Week, Easter,
century later, a new civilization would grow that would Christmas and Epiphany in particular were occasions to
become our modern world. impress the faithful with splendid liturgical celebrations
and striking representations of the Bible, called “tropes”.
The Dark Ages thus marked the end of a world, and the
birth of another. And while feudal warlords shared the Clerics still wrote dates according to the Latin custom, by
land, defining a new temporal order, a monastic reform kalendes, ides and nones. New Year's Day did not start on
was silently sweeping through the Christian world, bearing the January 1st, but varied from place to place. At the
a new spiritual order. Chancery of the King of France for instance, it was the
first of March. In Germany and England, a widespread
The World custom was to start the year with Christmas.
A cleric responsible for the liturgy knew which year it
Scholars of the Dark Ages pictured the Earth at the center was, if only for fixing the date of Easter. According to the
of a universe made of concentric spheres, corresponding most widely accepted chronology, the world would be
respectively to the apparent orbit of the sun, the moon, the 4952 years old in 1000 AD, and scholars thought they
planets and the stars. were living history’s last age: the sixth age.

MAPPA MUNDI Languages

The few world maps of the Dark Ages represented the
Occidental languages were split into two zones: a Romanic
earth as a disk divided in three parts by a “T”. The upper
zone - Italy, France, Spain - and a Germanic zone - the
half disk was Asia, and the two lower quadrants were
Empire. Each zone was in turn fragmented into a
Europe to the left, and Africa to the right, separated by the
patchwork of local dialects.
Mediterranean. The river Don and the Nile marked the
Except in Italy and to some extent England, the majority of
frontier between the West and the East. Jerusalem was the
laymen were illiterate.
center of the world.
Latin was the most widespread of languages. All members
Thanks to the mild climate that prevailed in the Dark of the Church, secular clerics and monks fluently spoke it,
Ages, primeval forests dominated the landscape, except for and it was practically the only written language. The
flatland moors, mountain tops and Mediterranean Church was the only institution providing any form of
scrublands. Birches were then covering Greenland and education, and it provided it in Latin.
Iceland.
Dark Ages clerics were ministers, ambassadors,
People of that time were basically forest dwellers. To economists, jurists, architects and private secretaries. In
travel anywhere, they had to cross forests, and often got bishop councils or elsewhere, these men conversed in
lost on the way (nobody seemed to need geographical Latin, and they wrote letters and legal documents in Latin.
maps, and the compass was yet to be invented)!
Laymen thus heard Latin being spoken or chanted all the
Time time. Of course, none understood any of it.
In the Dark Ages nobody possessed anything even
remotely resembling a watch. Farmers relied on the Religion
cockcrow to give the signal for dawn, or listened to the Catholicism was the official religion of the occidental
bells sounding the canonical praying hours in a nearby world. There were churches everywhere. Parishes were
monastery. landed estates, and the priest was supported by the tithe
The only time-measuring instruments were the sundial, the levied on the believers. The priest was a man designated
sandglass, and the unusual clepsydra. Nighttime was by the owner of the parish, who considered him as a
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 2

servant, and often claimed the largest part of the tithe for the elements, the moon, the sun or the stars. They
him. celebrated New Year's Day on the first of January by
offering a feast dressed as stags or cows, and going on a
Priests implemented the mission of the Church to baptize, roof or at a road crossing to read the future.
celebrate mass, give the sacraments, communicate the faith Some women, fearing that a child dead before baptism
and uphold morals in their rural parishes. The duties would come back and harm the living, would impale the
imposed by Church were few: Sunday mass, Pascal small corpse and hide it. Other women believed that they
communion, observance of fetes and fasting, and a few could fly to the clouds, travel great distances and combat
rules to observe in cases of birth, wedding or death. Non- other flying women. The first records of demon
observance of these rules was sometimes followed by worshippers also appear in the tenth century.
physical punishments (e.g. pulling out teeth). Most people feared to leave home before cockcrow,
In short, priests were in charge of the cura animarum - the because of the unclean spirits of the night, and everywhere
care of souls. Note that most of them lived with a farmers used primitive magic to call the rain.
concubine. Itinerant officers of the local ecclesiastical
CONVERSIONS
authority supervised parish priests in their mission. A
priest was not allowed to cross parish lines to administer Many pagan kingdoms were Christianized during the Dark
penance without the bishop’s permission. Ages. This process was usually initiated at the highest
level, and then forced upon the rest of the population
From the humble parish priest to archbishops, the whole through large scale baptism and the eradication of the old
clergy was integrated to the feudal system. Young men of cults and their priests or priestesses.
means who saw there an opportunity to live in luxury and Why did heathen leaders convert to Christianity in the first
sin often occupied the Papal seat of Saint Pierre. Prelates place? One common problem of paganism was its lack of
possessed land and had the same worries, ambitions and structure, hierarchy and decorum. Conversely, Christianity
duties as their lay counterparts. There were even warrior- had plenty of those, hence it was able to provide newly
bishops who fought with maces! formed nations with a unified spiritual identity that
strengthened the power in place.
EXORCISTS
In 250 AD, the Church instituted a new order of low- Monks
ranking priests: the exorcitate. Upon a successful exorcism
the exorcist was promoted to full-fledged priest. Exorcism In the tenth century monasteries experienced a rebirth. The
consisted of a solemn address to the demon to leave the reforming movement, the aim of which was to “free
body, backed up by three sacramentals: water, salt and oil. Church from the hands of laymen”, started in Cluny. In the
foundation act of this monastery, William the Pious, Duke
PILGRIMS
of Aquitaine, had stipulated that it would be free of any lay
Pilgrimage, together with the cults of saints and relics, is a or ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and would directly come
characteristic of the Dark Ages. The supreme pilgrimage under the Holy See in Rome. Other monasteries still
was the journey to the Jerusalem (six months of travel depended more or less on a lord or a prince - the “lay
from South France). abbot” - that was closely watching their income.
HERMITS The monks of Cluny were soon famous for their rigorous
The hermitic movement started somewhere in Italy around life under the “Benedictine rule”. In 1000 AD, there were
950 AD. Hermits lived in solitude, tried to attain exaltation hundreds of abbeys and priories, and thousands of monks
trough cold and hunger, or by accomplishing some submitted to Cluny. This efficient praying community set
exhausting work. an example of sanctity in the spiritual chaos of the Dark
Ages. Great abbots became very famous and very
Of all the Christian dogma, that of the immortality of the influential men. They were often travelling, accompanied
soul, of its reward or punishment, was the best understood by escorts of armed monks.
and the most believed in. Those that this knowledge did Monasteries were places were life was easier than
not make gentle, honest and just - and there were many - elsewhere: founded by lords, who had granted them large
thought they could buy divine forgiveness and the tracts of lands, monasteries were rich and in their domains
protection of saints by ways of gifts and testamentary famine was largely unknown.
liberality ad sepultram. Many had the intention to become
monks on their dying beds! Monasteries were the usual resting stages of the most
privileged. Exemplary monasteries like Cluny had a hostel
HERESIES outside their walls, with two dormitories (one for men, one
Around 1000 AD appeared the manichean heretic for women), latrines and a refectory. Monasteries also
movement, embracing peasants, nobles and clerics alike. welcomed pilgrims, travelling priests and monks, and the
Manicheans rejected the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and did poor who asked for food and shelter. They were lodged in
not believe in the necessity of baptism and other Christian the chaplaincy - the house of the poor - outside the cloister.
rituals. They said the universe was self-created and eternal, A traveler in need who did not expect to return to the
and considered debauchery to be harmless. monastery within a year received a provision of some sort
Christianity had not yet eradicated the pagan spirit (e.g. one denier).
(paganum animum): everywhere people still worshipped
3 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

According to the Benedictine rule, the monks had to spent consisted of a simple wooden frame, with a felt carpet, a
time in prayer (six to seven hours a day), work and charity. straw mattress, a linen sheet and a cushion filled with
They were most of the time compelled to a rigorous straw. In winter each monk had a right to a blanket of hairy
silence (monks actually developed a sign language of fabric or cheap goat or lambs skin.
about a hundred words to express what they wanted). Monks were required to wash their faces and hands
Daily chores were entrusted to lay brothers called everyday. They took two baths per year, one before
conversi, who held the role of servants. They were Christmas, the other before Easter. Baths were taken
originally pious laymen who had given all their individually in vats filled with warm water. Monks also
possessions to the abbey and had taken a vow of shaved their beards once per month.
obedience. They were also called barbati because they
were not required to shave, or illiterati because they could COSTUME
not read. All in all, the domestic activities of the monks Monks wore a plain black habit with an outdoor hood or
amounted to very little, like pulling up the weeds in the cowl and a scapular (long narrow sleeveless outer cloth
garden or kneading bread at the bakery. On the other hand, draped over the basic tunic). They had simple shoes or
copying and illuminating work was considered so sandals, wore a leather belt and carried a knife. The belt
important that the involved monks were partly relieved of also served as a disciplinary aid in self-flagellation.
choir service. The nun’s costume was similar to the monk’s, with the
hood being replaced by a “wimple” and a head veil. Habits
The monastery had to employ many professional artists to were white, black, or mixed.
account for the numerous paintings, precious embossed
DIET
objects, the embroidered fabrics, the chasubles, the crown-
shaped central lights made of bronze, gold or silver, and so Lunch consisted of two meals: one of beans or peas, and
forth. Some abbeys even housed a workshop that minted one of “herbs”. Now and then monks were also served
deniers - a kingly right inherited from Carolingian times. eggs and cheese. On Sundays and Thursdays, fish was
In fact, many monks were skilled craftsmen. added to the regular menu. Bread - one pound per monk -
was a constant, as was wine - one cup. Supper (cena)
consisted of bread with fruits or “oublies”, a sort of thin
MONKS
pastry. On fast days supper was the only meal.
The hotelier insured the service in the hostel, and carefully
planned welcoming ceremonies. Other monks and servants
Novitiate lasted for about a year. The novice was a layman
assisted him in his task.
or secular cleric willing to “embrace the rule”. The
The chaplain was in charge of the chaplaincy and cared monastic order also welcomed “oblate” children - boys -
for the sick of the neighborhood once per week, helped by brought to the monastery by the parents with an
a few servants. In prosperous monasteries, the chaplain appropriate dowry. Finally, monasteries also educated
also organized food distribution to the poor. Clothes worn gifted peasant boys especially chosen by the abbot. The
by monks for more than a year were given away. most famous example was the young Gerbert of Aurillac,
The treasurer was the most important officer in a who eventually became Pope.
monastery. He was in charge of the clothing, the bedding, There were two types of monastic schools: one located
and the lighting of the dormitory, the infirmary, the outside the cloister and open to children from the
storeroom and the novice room. He was qualified for neighborhood, and an interior school reserved to oblate
collecting the rent in money coming from the abbey's children, who were taught to read Latin and to calculate.
lands, and the dues in kind. He also supervised the Saint Gall, Reichenau and Fulda had famous schools.
exploitation of the surrounding forests. Teaching was strictly oral, and consisted of simple
The monk in charge of the storeroom had a flock of arithmetic and catechism.
subordinates. The refectory monk directed the service in
the refectory; the loft monk supervised the corn lofts, the
water mill and the bakery; the constable ran the stables,
Farmers
and the gardener took care of the vegetables garden and Most farmers of the Occident were feudal tenants: their
the orchard. lord granted them plots of land (“tenures”) for cultivation
The sacristan was the officer responsible for the church in exchange of certain services, among which the
and the liturgical furniture. The preacher was master of obligation to cultivate the lord's mansus.
ceremonies and librarian. Every tenant had a few strips of land to cultivate.
The infirmary monk cared for the sick and performed the Ploughing was done with the swing plough or the wheeled
ritual bleeding of healthy monks for the Annunciation plough, and harvesting was done with the sickle. Once the
Day. The most accepted treatment against illnesses ears of the corn were cut, the hay became common
consisted in feeding the sick with meat! property until the new harvest: anybody could take what he
NUNS needed for his thatched roof. In the Dark Ages rotation of
Nuns, just like monks, were served by lay sisters, but male crops was unavoidable, for lack of a proper fertilizer. The
priests acted as chaplains! biennial rotation was simplest and widespread in
Mediterranean regions; it consisted in sowing a field every
other year only. In northern Europe the 3-year rotation
Monks slept in a dormitory where candles or oil lamps
prevailed.
were left burning all through the night. A monk's bed
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 4

THE SOCIAL PYRAMID The basic design of buildings was rectangular with a roof
Farmers represented about nine tenths of the population of of thatch or shingles that sometimes extended to the
the Occident (in contrast to three-quarters in Byzantium). ground. The only opening was the door. Sizes varied
Some 45000 souls therefore supported a cathedral city of greatly: the smallest huts had no walls as such, and larger
5000 souls, working the soil or the sea all about. Such timber halls had one or two rows of vertical posts that
cities were at least 50 miles apart, two to three days’ supported roof beams, thus defining aisles and bays. The
marching. central fireplace was at ground level, and marked by
Some 4500 peasants in surrounding villages supported a stones.
town of some 500 souls, residence of a local warlord and Close to the houses and within the village stockades,
his garrison of 10 to 20 warriors. Towns were at least 5-7 farmers kept fenced vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and
miles apart, a two hours walking. hemp beds.

Farmers actually showed a great diversity of conditions, In principle the forest belonged to the lord. In practice
from quasi-slaves - serfs - to freemen or colonists, who everybody had all sorts of rights to the forest, so that it was
benefited from reduced rents and obligations. A few exploited in many ways. Villagers hunted there and
possessed a plough or a harrow and a team to pull it, but gathered wood for making resinous torches and tools, to
the majority had to rely on their own strength to pull the build houses and fences, the castle's stockade, and for
plough. roadwork. They made litters out of moss and dead leaves;
The most gifted farmers went into service with the lord as they extracted oil from the beechnut, gathered fruit from
squires or as sergeants (from serviens, servant) who the trees of the forest, and even left animals to graze in the
collected taxes and fines, and dealt with merchants. Large forest.
abbeys delegated the administration of their domains to a There were also “woodsmen” who led a nomadic life on
mayor (villicus). In the Empire there were also “ministers”, the fringe of the village community, in the forest: some
i.e. favored servants who fulfilled courtly or knightly were coalmen and produced charcoal for ovens, or burned
functions for their lord. down branches to make the ash required in the fabrication
of glass and soap. Others wove ropes out of creepers or
RURAL CALENDAR. tore down the bark of trees which, once ground, gave the
March: prune vineyard; April: animals pasture, weeding, tan for tanning leather. A few were specialized in
plant and prune fruit trees; May: gather fodder for horses collecting honey and wax from wild bees.
and fasten vines; June: ploughing, sheep shearing; July:
hay-making; August: harvest; September-October: Warlords
gather and press grapes, sow; November: put wine in
barrels, thresh wheat, take pigs to graze in the forest; The feudal anarchy arising after the downfall of the
December: slaughter pigs. Carolingian Empire had seriously eroded the prerogatives
of kings, and tore apart the very fabric of their kingdoms.
COSTUME
Kingdoms broke up into principalities, and principalities
Men wore breeches and a long shirt that fell down to the broke up into fiefs: much of the old power of counts and
thighs, in the fashion of their ancestors. Women wore very princes shifted to the benefit of small warlords and
simple dresses and children wore one-piece smocks. religious immunities. New strongholds and castles
Wooden soled shoes and small boots were quite common. sprouted everywhere: on the site of an antique institution,
an outpost, a vicus, etc.
Farmers, who could not afford to rent the lord's oven and
bake bread, ate porridge every day. The fruits of the forest, These warlords all had different origins: many descended
products from their small vegetable gardens and eggs and directly from an ancient lineage of clan chiefs or
milk, complemented the farmers’ diet if they could afford landowners. There were lords who lived in the direct
to keep chicken, goats or cows. entourage of a greater lord, and lords who were “housed”
Farmers sold surplus at village fairs where they could earn (casati), i.e. who had been granted a fief. There were also
a few deniers for paying off taxes, i.e. the dues, the tithe bold adventurers who simply took over land with ten or
and the “tallage”. twenty companions, and settled in before anybody could
Blacksmiths (about one in every other village) were settled throw them out. A Dark Ages dictum said: “no land
on tenure just like farmers, and their dues in kind consisted without a lord”!
of the weapons they crafted. They also sold surplus
weapons and horseshoes for their own benefit. PORTRAIT OF A WARLORD
A shaven man with short hair, tunic falling to his knees,
HUTS AND TIMBER HALLS baldric girded around the loins. He is equipped with a
A representative southern Europe village would consist of horn, a small whip, a sword, a flintstone and the iron to
one street flanked by stone houses, and one tower at each strike it, the oak branch to set afire, spurs. For his war-
end (Catalonia). horse: a fur saddle with stirrups, a cloth cover on the
In northern Europe, wood still prevailed, and a village was croup, and a bridle. His battle gear consists of a sword, a
a cluster of huts, silos, ditches and timber halls (Brittany). lance, a helmet, a chain mail and a shield.
About one village out of two had its stone church with a EDUCATION OF A YOUNG LORD
cemetery.
5 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

At seven or eight the boy was sent away to some friendly A bearded man, wearing a large lustrous cloak attached to
feudal court. For some years he was a page serving the the right shoulder by a precious broach and under the
lady of the castle. Around puberty he served the lord as a cloak, a blue shirt falling to the calves. He wears red
squire. When old enough and properly trained, he was “chausses” and black pointed shoes with a golden rim. His
solemnly made a “knight” by his mentor. lady wears a large white veil (pallium) covering the head
and falling to the ground, and closed above the neck by a
Housed warlords had two things in common: above all big jewel. The veil opens on a long embroidered shirt
they were “knights”, i.e. heavily armed horsemen and hiding the feet, with wide sleeves and golden braids.
military leaders. Secondly, they possessed strongholds Underneath she wears a skintight chemise.
where they could hide from enemies and happily oppress
inferiors. It was usually a timber hall with one storeroom Each prince had a capital with a palace in which he resided
and a loft or an upper floor for the lord’s chamber. part of the year. The staff of the palace consisted of
During the Dark Ages however, a new type of stronghold servants, guards, clerics and craftsmen. Princes were on
appeared in France: the moat-and-bailey stronghold. the move most the year, meeting their peers or making
pilgrimages, stopping off at their many country castles.
A MOAT-AND-BAILEY STRONGHOLD
The stronghold was built on raised ground or a man-made THE PALACE
earth moat, right over ground water. It consisted of a Typically a palace would consist of a defensive wall
square wooden tower with a first floor hall raised on a enclosing domestic dependencies, a long timber
basement, and possibly one or two extra stories, all warehouse, a chapel and a stone or brick building with the
connected by an interior ladder-like stairway. Windows ceremonial room (aula) on the first floor. The prince would
were simple openings that could be covered with boards. have his court in the aula and hold assemblies there,
The basement was dug into the moat, where food stocks welcoming visiting vassals, bishops and abbots, with
were kept along with the lord’s “treasure”. A well was whom to discuss matters of politics and religion.
usually located in the basement. A watch permanently A CASTLE
occupied the upper story, largely open to the outside. The tower was made of masonry and served both as
The ditch surrounding a moat was usually reinforced by a residence and hideout. The first floor of the tower was
wooden palisade (in some yet rare instances, a stone wall) without openings and used as storeroom. The second floor
and a gatehouse. The outer defenses enclosed a “bailey” was the living room of the lord and his suite and was
with outbuildings, like the communal oven and the provided with a fireplace and groined bays. The tower
kitchen, latrines, stables, kennels, and the barn. dominated a vast yard enclosed by one or more defensive
It took a hundred workers about a month to build a moat- walls. In the yard stood barracks for the castle’s garrison,
and-bailey stronghold with a 100 feet diameter, 50 feet dwellings for the castle’s servants and craftsmen, and
high moat. barns sheltering the products of the taxes. The garrison
was supplied in part by vassals and allies.
The basic furniture of Dark Ages strongholds were large
beds, long tables consisting of planks laid across trestles, During the Dark Ages, war mainly took place between
and benches. The food served differed from that of the lords, between princes and vassals or between king and
commoner in the quality of the bread, the abundance of lords: Apart a few notable exceptions there were strictly
meat and the availability of alcoholic drinks. Every guest's speaking no “international” wars.
share was cut by an attendant and served on a large slice of The causes of dispute were essentially strongholds and
bread. The guest did the rest with his hands and his knife. cities. Therefore war predominantly consisted of sieges.
The most accepted strategy was to weaken the opponent by
In his spare time the lord played war games: he hunted, burning down entire villages, occasionally slaughtering
played chess, or participated in tournaments. These farmers and raping their wives and daughters.
battlefield simulations, not necessarily reserved to the In fact, great lords only died exceptionally on the
aristocracy, were far more informal and improvised than battlefield: they wore heavy armor, rode fast battle horses
later in the Middle Ages. Therefore tournaments were and when caught, the enemy usually preferred to hold
rather dangerous, if not as deadly as the ancient Roman them for ransom.
games they originated from.
Cities and Trade
Princes
The Occidental society in the Dark Ages was a religious,
Great lords - princes - had power and riches comparable to farming and militaristic society, with little room for trade.
those of kings, and they lived like kings. Their main Everything necessary for daily life - food, clothing, tools
obligation to the king consisted of the military aid they and building material - was produced or gathered on the
owed him, but in practice they did pretty much what they spot. Money played a small part in the economy.
wanted. In fact, principalities - not kingdoms - were the There were many reasons for this economic stagnation, the
real political hearts of the Occident. main one being the downfall of Carolingian Empire that
had caused a fragmentation of centralized power and a
PORTRAIT OF A GREAT LORD AND HIS LADY disruption of established trading routes and posts. North
Africa, Spain and Sicily had fallen to the Muslims. The
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 6

Vikings had devastated the ports of the North Sea. The In the Dark Ages, most Jewish merchants were still based
Danube was still unsafe for navigation because of the in far away countries like Syria, Egypt and Byzantium.
Hungarians, despite their recent conversion to Christianity. Jews who lived in Occidental cities acted as
Last but not least, Church condemned trading under the moneychangers or usurers, practices forbidden to
principle that “deniers do not produce deniers”. Christians but nonetheless essential for society. They
bought vital goods, ovens and mills, precious metals, and
The road network inherited from Roman times had fallen some even administered the finances of bishoprics.
into such decay that they were only practicable by beasts The Jews formed a strong community bound together by
of burden (provided the wooden bridges the road network language, religion and common interests derived from
depended on were intact). Wheeled vehicles were only their mercantile activities.
used for short distances. Moreover, local lords imposed The Christian attitude towards Jews generally oscillated
multiple tolls on travelers and traders. between indifference and esteem, although a latent anti-
Rivers constituted in fact the most practical and Semitism was always there, ready to raise its ugly snout
dependable communication route. Towns along large when some natural or unexplained disaster hit the
navigable rivers were usually situated at regular intervals, Christian community.
corresponding roughly to a day of travel. The most
important towns had a bridge. To the North the Scandinavian Vikings founded
settlements at the mouth of the Elbe, they colonized
In Germany and in the North of France, cities of the Dark Greenland, ruled the northern seas and built huge entrepots
Ages only survived as cathedral cities, that is residences of (e.g. Haithabu).
lay or clergy lords, and all activities were tied to the daily At the beginning of the tenth century, the Swedish Vikings
life of these lords. were well established in Russia. As soon as the snow
Just like any feudal lord, the bishop was the master of the melted, Scandinavian boats navigated the Dniepr from
personnel and he owned all the property in his diocese. Kiev to the Black Sea and Constantinople. In Byzantium,
The city inhabitants were more or less under the same these bold “Russ” traded honey, furs and slaves for spices,
juridical conditions as country tenants. They were lodged, wines and silks that they brought back up North on the
fed, clothed and armed by the bishop. Volga or the Dniepr.

A CATHEDRAL CITY A GORODA

The heart of a city was the cathedral district, which Russian cities like Novgorod or Kiev (there were about a
exhibited a cathedral, monasteries and Episcopal schools hundred of them) consisted of a wooden palisade enclosing
supervised by the chancellor, who issued licenses to teach. three districts: the merchants, the craftsmen and the
The schools provided higher education to form clerics. soldiers’ districts. Craftsmen worked metals, leather and
Next to the bishop’s palace stood the tower of the bone, and made oil and cloth. Around this kernel grew
“solicitor” - lay lord or “burgrave”, whose task was to lively suburbs were hunting, farming and gathering
protect the bishopric from attacks. products (furs, honey, wax) were exchanged against iron
Further away one found the houses of the garrison's and salt.
knights, the shelters for clerics, servants and other laymen EXPORT
in service of the bishop, the covered market and the shops The Occident exported salt, wine, corn, fish (salted or
of the craftsmen. smoked); linen, black woolen cloth from the Rhine,
A description of the Arras market around 1000 AD lists reddish woolen cloth of the Swabs, precious Flemish cloth;
the following goods: woolen cloth, fish, corn, fruits, dye, wood from the Trentino and Appenino forests; sickles,
ash, wooden platters, salt, wine, cattle, wax, lard, knives, knives, Frankish weapons, Bohemian tin, copper and silver
iron, scythes, spears, lamb skins, cat skins, rabbits, leather, from Harz, Bohemia and Slovakia, Slavic gold, brass, lead,
honey, butter, cheese, gold and slaves. iron from Brescia, Carynthia and Styria, etc.
The city often had ancient Roman walls and buildings. Byzantium exported silk fabrics, spun gold, wines and
Streets were narrow and tortuous, winding in the shadow other products from the Black Sea and the Orient, like
of two-storied houses. spices, perfumes, incense, oriental coinage, slaves, pepper,
The Dark Ages saw the advent of “outside burgs” furs (e.g. black fox), etc.
(forisburgus) as merchants' warehouses progressively
outgrew the city walls. Merchants obtained new Technology
“privileges” from bishops. In fact townsmen - burgess -
were about to transform the cities of the Middle Ages into A major technical breakthrough of the Dark Ages was the
real economic centers. use of draught horses for ploughing, made possible by the
introduction of horseshoes and rigid horse collars. Horses
In Italy the antique tradition of urban life had never been were put to good use in the fields: hitched up in line, they
forgotten, and the lords preferred to reside in the cities pulled the plough and the harrow much faster than oxen,
rather than in their countryside castles. Italian cities like and they were more resistant too. But both horses and oxen
Milan and Venice were relatively large and well developed were expensive, so most farmers had to rely on manpower
compared to their relatives in the rest of the Occident. or donkeys.
7 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

Milling the corn and the hay was done in water mills, and was then boiled in big cauldrons until complete
there were special beer-mills to mill hops, iron-mills for evaporation. Salt was also produced in coastal salterns.
the iron industry, and fuller’s earth-mills for the textile
industry. Again, renting the lord's mill was expensive, Textile production was tied to the exploitation of the land,
hence many farmers still relied on the ancient custom of since it depended on wool, linen and hemp. The tenants’
hand-milling. wives sheared sheep, treated the wool (involving rinsing in
urine), spun and wove it. Linen, very widespread, was
Iron ore, copper, salt, gold and silver were traditionally retted, washed and woven. The women also dyed the
dug up in opencast mine pits (in some places galleries fabrics with natural dyes like madder and vermilion, and
were dug, and gold was also sought in riverbed sands). made clothing.
Miners depended on the lord on whose fief the mine was The tools of the textile industry were the distaff, the
located. spindle and a primitive vertical loom operated by one
Ore was melted in primitive ovens. Iron was so rare in the worker.
Dark Ages that the need for weapons left little over for Leather (made from ox, goat, lamb and wolf skins) and
agricultural tools: wooden tools - ustensilia lignea - furs were treated by specialized workers. Fur coats were
predominated. made of lamb, marten, mole, otter or beaver.

In salt mines water was introduced into the pit to dissolve Glass working was uncommon during the Dark Ages, and
the salt, and then hauled back with huge cranes. The water most glass artifacts were luxury goods.
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 8

A Quick Tour of the World

ARAB WORLD: vast urbanized empire, spanning North England at the same time, or with the same force than on
Africa, two-thirds of Spain, Sicily and the Near East, with the continent.
the fabled capital Bagdad. Cordoba in Spain was the Hundreds had the responsibility to enforce local justice
largest city of the Occident, with half a million inhabitants, (Malls were held once per month). The earl was the royal
50 times as many as in western capitals like Paris, London, officer of a shire responsible for raising military forces and
Rome or Aachen. The Arabs were unequalled scholars in implementing royal justice. Shire courts were presided
Mathematics, Medicine and Astronomy. Despite the over by bishop and sheriff - a minor royal official. The
unifying Islamic culture, the Dark Ages saw the rise of sheriff was also sent on “turns” to the local courts of the
political fragmentation in the Arab world. hundreds, and collected the royal revenues and taxes.
In the Dark Ages, occidentals considered Muslims as In some regions Danish settlers - free farmers - remained,
ordinary neighbors, and there wasn't any particular keeping their own laws and traditions.
animosity directed towards them.
KINGDOM OF FRANCE: wine and wheat land of the
BYZANTIUM: the civilized Eastern Roman Empire, Franks, with numerous cathedral cities, like Paris.
center of religious orthodoxy. The capital Constantinople Formerly Roman Gaul, it extended from the heaths of
surpassed ancient Rome in size and in beauty. The Aquitaine, in the south, to the Ardennes forest in the north.
centralized political administration controlled the economy Dispute with the Empire about the Dukedom of Lorraine.
via large corporations. Territory divided into military The power of the King - the Duke of France - reposed on
provinces called “themes”, ruled by military governors, the sole domains of the crown. France was the birthplace
and provided with a network of castles. Poor road system of feudalism and feudal institutions.
though (goods were carried on the backs of pack animals France was a patchwork of strongholds in the Dark Ages,
or women!). much more so than Germany or Italy. Strongholds were
At the end of the tenth century, the Byzantines were often not more than ten kilometers apart. However, in the
masters of the Balkans, from the Danube to the course of the Dark Ages, France moved from being a loose
Peloponnisos. Commercial relations between Byzantium alliance of belligerent princes, to a state with large
and the Occident (especially Italy) were quite frequent, but territorial principalities and well developed
tainted on both sides with animosity and mistrust. administrations.

GERMAN EMPIRE: two-thirds of the Holy Roman KINGDOM OF ITALY: mountainous land of the
Empire were still virgin forest in the Dark Ages - terra Lombards, still attached to an urban way of life inherited
incognita! The Empire lay east of the Meuse and reached from ancient Rome.
as far as Bohemia. The North Sea coast of the Empire
extended from the fens of the Netherlands to the great Venice
northern plain. Venice had no fields, no meadows, no vineyards and no
The emperor (Imperator Romanorum Augustus) was forests. It was a city entirely devoted to trade and
elected by the nobility of the four duchies: Saxons, Franks, navigation. Venice exported heathen Slavs kidnapped or
Bavarians and Swabs. Bishops and abbots who controlled bought on the Dalmatian coast, to the harems of Egypt
much land and provided part of the emperor’s army held and Syria. Except for slaves, the humblest people around
the highest functions of the State. German bishops even were sailors, craftsmen and merchants.
ruled the bishoprics of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland.
The eastern marches were Christianized in the tenth PAPAL STATES
century and colonized in the eleventh. Conquered Slavs The Papal States to the South of the kingdom of Italy were
were forced to pay the tithe to the Church. Within one ruled by the Pope of the Western Church, bishop of Rome,
century, these pagan regions became the heart of Europe. Vicar of Christ, from his Holy See in Rome. The clergy
Attempts to restore the grandeur of the Carolingian Empire and the people of Rome theoretically elected the Pope. In
yielded mixed results. Nevertheless, the centralized power practice however, he was chosen by Roman nobles, which
(i.e. the Emperor, imperial bishops and pagus counts - made him the instrument of political factions. Nonetheless,
judges) was quite well respected, thereby delaying the the clerical bureaucracy succeeded in maintaining Rome’s
fragmentation of authority by the great nobility, as had spiritual power over Christendom.
already happened in France.
Rome, the Eternal City
KINGDOM OF BURGUNDY: wealthy kingdom around
the Rhone-Saone valley, west of the Jura and the Alps, In the Dark Ages, Rome was a vast field of antique ruins,
including the warm Provence and its Roman way of life. in the midst of a countryside clustered with remnants of a
wonderful civilization. Within the city walls that had once
KINGDOM OF ENGLAND: unified state divided into sheltered a million inhabitants, a few thousands of people
shires and “hundreds” (“vapnatak” in Danish areas). The lived in small groups scattered over the lower city, along
process of formation of principalities wasn't felt in the banks of the Tibre, and on the island.
9 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

The Eternal City attracted a constant flow of pilgrims, the own leader. The Viking woman had a social status not
bread and butter of Rome’s clerics, innkeepers, found elsewhere in the Occident. She could possess land,
pawnbrokers, various intermediaries and nobles that lived strongholds and drakkars.
in strongholds built on ruins. Denmark was a unified Christian kingdom, where feudal
lords held land. The “Danevirke”, a long earth wall
RUSSIA: the Russian Empire - centered on Kiev - was a crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula, separated
creation of the Swedish Vikings, and consisted of Denmark from Germany.
principalities. A prince was a sort of supreme judge with Sweden was the only Scandinavian region that failed to
limited powers otherwise: he was responsible for the become a United Kingdom during the Dark Ages.
defense of the city and the land. An assembly of nobles Similarly, conversion to Christianity progressed in Sweden
and bourgeois supported the prince in his duty. much slower than elsewhere, and urban development
The kingdom of Kiev united Slavs and Vikings into one stagnated.
nation, under the umbrella of the Byzantine culture and the
Christian faith. SLAVONIC STATES: the Dark Ages saw the advent of
national Slavonic states: Poland, Hungary and Bohemia.
Kiev The establishment of the Hungarians between the Tisza
and the Danube separated in fact the Slavonic world into
A great city, capital of a powerful state, Kiev had eight
two regions that hardly communicated with each other.
markets and forty churches. Hagia Sophia was one of the
most beautiful monuments of Christendom. Kiev offered
large warehouses for storing goods. Craftsmen and Prague
merchants were organized into rich guilds called The largest northern city of the Occident, according to
"hundreds", and benefited from special privileges. It was Ibrahim Ibn Yakub. A city of whitewashed stone, with an
for instance possible to obtain credit from local princes or important craft industry (saddles, bridles, shields), and a
other merchants. big slave market. There, great lords could sell their serfs to
Jewish and Hungarian traders.
SCANDINAVIAN KINGDOMS: Denmark, Sweden and
Norway. The base of Viking society originally rested on SPANISH KINGDOMS: there were four Christian states
clans of free farmers organized in small isolated in Spain to the south of the Pyrénées, squeezed between
communities, each with its own customs and obeying to its the powerful Arab state and the Christian world.
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 10

1000 AD Costs, Equipment & Services

Listed prices are indicative for new goods. Two important DAILY WAGES
factors that influence the price of an item are availability
and quality. Farmer, priest, servant 1-3 deniers
Craftsman, sailor 3-6 deniers
FOOD Guard, cleric, mercenary 4-8 deniers
Warrior, merchant 20-40 deniers
12-24 breads, 2 pounds 1 denier These values represent either equivalent earnings or hiring
2 pounds of cheese 1 denier wages.
3 dozens of eggs 1 denier
Food and lodging, 1 day 1-5 deniers ANIMALS
Horse fodder, 1 day 3-6 deniers
Farm dog 12 deniers
Sheep 12-15 deniers
CLOTHING
Cow 24 deniers
Woolen pelisse - cheap 12 deniers Mule 36 deniers
Monk’s cowl, hooded 60 deniers Sow 12-54 deniers
Short cloak - superior 120 deniers Ox 24-108 deniers
Double cloak, hooded - winter 140 deniers Horse 240+ deniers
Marten cloak, bonnet - noble 360 deniers War-horse 600 deniers

TOOLS VEHICLES
Bucket 12 deniers Wheelbarrow 12 deniers
Awl, plane, auger, file, pliers, shears, 4-24 deniers Two-wheeled cart 120 deniers
hammer, saw Four-wheeled wagon 240 deniers
Sickle, hand ax, pickax, spade 24 deniers Four wheeled cart (leathered) 360 deniers
Swing plow 72 deniers Four-wheeled carts in the Dark Ages lacked a pivoting
Plow (iron plowshare and colter) 140 deniers beam, which made every turn a problem. Oxcarts covered
with leather are watertight.
WEAPONS, SHIELDS AND ARMOUR
CONSTRUCTIONS
24 arrows or 12 bolts 12 deniers
Scabbard 24 deniers Commoner’s hut 24 deniers
Helm 72 deniers Commoner’s house 120 deniers
Refer also to the weapon tables above. Short wooden bridge 140 deniers
Fishery 160 deniers
MISCELLANEOUS Timber hall 240 deniers
Water mill 270 deniers
Resinous torch, lamp oil, candle for 2- 1 denier Small farm with land 2400 deniers
hours worth of light
Earth and timber castle: tower, moat, 12000 deniers
Creeper rope, 30-ft 2 deniers stockade, ditch, bailey and gatehouse
Fiber rope, 30-ft 12 deniers
6-persons tent, incl. 2 10-ft poles 360 deniers
BOATS
Traveler’s pack: outer wear, water-skin, 240 deniers
knife, fishing line & hook, felt blanket, Rowboat 120 deniers
sack, flintstone & iron, whetstone Raft 12 deniers
Warrior gear: war-horse, saddle, horn, 2400 deniers Longship 9000 deniers
sword, spear, helm, chainmail, shield Merchantman 3000 deniers
Cog (rowboat and pump optional) 12000 deniers
Trading vessel (incl. rowboat) 24000 deniers
11 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

Dark Ages Glossary

Abbey: important monastery run by an abbot. locksmiths, masons, millers, painters, parchment makers,
Allod: land held in full ownership. Inheritance regime saddlers, shoemakers, tailors, tanners, etc.
based on the division of the allod amongst all heirs of Crypt: column-supported, vaulted chapel with curved
equal rank, e.g. all sons. walls, often situated under the choir; usually houses the
Armarius: librarian. Books were put in closets (armaria). bodily remains of saints (relics).
Arts: cycle of seven literary and scientific disciplines that Custom: the established custom (consuetudo) was often
formed the base of teaching and culture during the late the only recourse against arbitrary seigniorial justice (the
antiquity and the Middle Ages (see Quadrivium and ban) and unfair taxes (malas exactiones).
Trivium). Saint Augustine’s doctrine stated that the sole Denier/Penny/Denarius: silver coin in use in the
objective of an art should be a better understanding of the Occident. Fictitious monetary units are the
Holy Scriptures. sou/shilling/solidus (12 deniers) and the
Auctores: authoritative classical writers, e.g. Cicero, the livre/pound/librum (20 solidus). The Byzantine used the
Dark Ages reference for the art of writing, and Virgil, the nomisma, and the Arabs used the dinar, both gold
reference in poetry. currencies.
Ban: power to command, to constrain and to punish. Dues (in kind): sheaves, poultry, honey cakes, livestock,
Originally a royal power, the ban was usurped by lesser skins, clothing, etc.
lords with the weakening of public authority. E.g.: the Exemption: privilege granted by the Pope to a monastery
right to rent out somebody's bull or boar, to force tenants that more or less freed it from the control of the bishop.
to use one's mill, oven or wine press for a fee. Above all, Familia: group of servile workers housed and fed by a
the right to exert (arbitrary) justice and levies. master, and who owed him all their work force.
Benedictine rule: a monastic rule elaborated by Saint Fetes, Christian: the Holy Week, Easter, Christmas and
Benedict of Nurcia in the sixth century. Epiphany.
Bible, the: the Septuagint is the first major Greek Feudalism: relations that took place between the
translation of the Old Testament, written in Alexandria dominated class (peasants) and the dominant class
between 250 and 150 BC. The Vulgate: is the major Latin (nobility).
translation of the Bible, written by Jerome late 3rd, early Feudal system: system of man-to-man ties that structured
4th century at the request of pope Damasus. There are also the dominant class (potentes). The practical aspects of this
scattered and partial English translations attributed to system consisted of swearing fidelity (fidelitas) and paying
Bede. homage (hominium) to one’s lord, in exchange for the fief
Boni homines: Freemen recipients of local custom (feudum, beneficium).
(Roman or German), presiding malls. In feudal countries, Fief: administrative domain of a lord.
they merely assisted seigniorial courts exercising the ban. Fish: commonly consumed fishes were salmon, lamprey,
Books: primarily bound, copied and stored in abbeys. The cuttlefish, carp, trout, eel, barbel, roach, chub, and also
catalogue of a monastic library typically contained the mullet and herring.
books of the Bible, commentaries of the Bible, the works Frock: outer robe-like garment worn by a monk.
of Flavius Josephus, Horacius, Lucan, Perseus and Fruits: fruits were very varied, e.g. quinces, peaches,
Juvenal, poets of late antiquity, historiae and the life of medlars, walnuts, hazelnuts, cherries and strawberries.
saints. In the profane closet, one could find classical Forest fruits: apples, pears, plums, chestnuts and hop
theatre pieces, Boece’s summary of Plato and Aristotle, cones.
books treating the seven arts of the Quadrivium and the Greek fire: incendiary substance made of naphtha,
Trivium, quaestiones medicinales and books on the virtues quicklime and sulfur, and almost impossible to put out. To
of plants. be flung at enemy buildings with catapults.
Bronze: many monumental bronze doors and statues were Haus/Domus: house. In the high aristocracy, the “house”
produced in the Dark Ages. The most famous bronze consists of the direct family, a chaplain, household officers
workshop was that of Bernard of Hildesheim. (seneschal, constable, marshal, etc.) who were sometimes
Canonical praying hours: prima hora at dawn, tertia in granted a fief for support, a few clerics, servants and even
the morning, sexta at noon, nona in the afternoon, vesper prostitutes.
at sunset, etc. Hawking: hunting “sport” imported from the plains of
Castrum: important fortress with many eligible parties, as Asia, and growing in popularity.
opposed to lesser - and often more recent - strongholds Herbs: vegetables; lentils, leek (eaten raw), cabbage,
belonging to one lineage. lettuce, chervil, parsley, watercress.
Chanson de geste: Long epic poem, e.g. “Roland”. Historiae: History annals (manuscripts). Men of Church,
Charter: hand-written book that contained the ownership who conceived history in a biblical perspective only, wrote
titles of a physical person or moral person. historiae.
Clepsydra: very rare clock running on the water level of a Immunity: institution that closed a territory (usually a
slowly emptying recipient. religious domain) to royal officers; the beneficiaries of the
Corn: wheat, rye, oats, and barley grain. immunity fulfilled the tasks usually reserved to the public
Craftsmen: armourers, bakers, blacksmiths, brewers, authority (e.g. justice).
butchers, carpenters, cooks, furriers, goldsmiths,
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 12

Indulgence, partial: the payment of money in lieu of Quaestiones medicinales: very widespread teaching
penance. Standard practice from the 11th century onwards. technique for medicine consisting of questions and
Itineraria: lists of region and city names. Itineraria are answers.
inherited from the Romans and regularly updated. Used for Reform: aimed at the purification of the morals of the
military expeditions, travels and territorial divisions. clergy, and the independence of ecclesiastic power with
Joculatores: wandering minstrels, professional respect to the secular power.
entertainers. Joculatores might also juggle, ropewalk or Relics: relics come in 3 classes. First are corporeal parts of
sell sexual favors. saints and artifacts from Christ’s passion and death.
Lingua rustica romana: language spoken in non- Second, articles of clothing or household artifacts touched
Germanic countries (France, Italy, and Burgundy), or late by saints. Third, items that have touched first or second
Vulgar Latin. class relics.
Lingua theostica: language spoken in Germanic countries, Runes: religious and magical ideograms. The runic
or deutsch. alphabet was used in Germany and Scandinavia.
Magyars: heathen Hungarians. Saltus: non-cultivated part of the land - forest or fallow
Maleficia: potion, supposedly magical. land - used for gathering, hunting and rearing.
Mall: public assembly of justice enforcing the “custom”, Saracens: heathen Arabs from south Spain and Sicily.
as opposed to seigniorial justice (the ban). Defendants Unequalled scholars.
were rarely acquitted or executed (nobles were beheaded, Scholasticus: literally “that belongs to the school”; person
others hanged), as most were simply banned. responsible of a monastic or cathedral school. The
Mansus: type of landholding. One distinguishes between scholastic philosophy designates all of science and
the master’s mansus (representing up to a half of the arable theology in the Middle Ages.
land) and the farmers’ tenures. Scriptorium: copying workshop in monasteries.
Mappa mundi: symbolic world map. Slavs: heathen people east of Germany.
Miles: “soldier”, or mounted warrior. A feudal warlord Tariff penance: ancient judicial custom of the Germans,
typically had 10 to 20 milites in service or hired. adopted by Church, in which sins and crimes were
Ordeal: severe physical test that a crime suspect had to go inventoried with appropriate punishments. Hardly applied
through to prove his innocence in the face of god (e.g. in practice.
having no marks from putting one’s hand into fire or Technographs: authors of artes, i.e. manuals for the basic
boiling water, or holding a white-hot iron). Another and practical teaching of a discipline.
favorite of the Dark Ages was the “judicial duel”, whereby Tenure: strips of land attributed to one farmer. A tenant
the duelist who died was decreed guilty. Post mortem! owed the dues in kind and the labor service to his lord and
Pagus: “country”, district of a county. the tithe to the parish priest.
Parish: one village out of two possessed one, and none in Treasures: denier chests, jewelry, silver and onyx vases,
the frontier marches. Most churches were built in stone, crucifixes, chalices and other liturgical objects in solid
and the dead buried next to them. Note that stone itself was gold, holy relics in precious reliquaries, wooden statues of
not used as a decorative element. Rather, mosaics and saints sheeted in gold, ivory sculptures, miniatures,
mural paintings embellished surfaces. Parishes provided magnificent sacerdotal clothes, all in purple and gold,
sanctuary to wanderers, fugitives and strangers. Some precious silken cloth, etc.
churches had special huts for that purpose. In theory, no Trivium: literary disciplines of the liberal arts: grammar,
armed or mounted man was allowed to enter the church. rhetoric and dialectic.
Peace of God: movement started by the Church in the Tropes: sacred theatre, in Latin, as opposed to the mimed
980s. This movement had two objectives: limit the theatre dating back to antiquity, which was partly obscene
brutalities of the warrior aristocracy, and protect the and strongly reproved.
victims of these brutalities. The decisions of the Venison: small game, deer, wild boar, and bear. Meat was
assemblies of Peace, expressed in council canons aimed spiced with thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.
above all at protecting the persons and properties of non- Vicus: new pole of commercial activity that formed the
warring parties (clerics, farmers, and merchants). The kernel of a budding town (e.g. a stopping-off place to cross
“Truce of God” forbade to battle from Friday to Sunday, a river or a mountain pass).
during Lent or other liturgical events. Vikings: heathen Scandinavians, or Nordmanni.
Polyptych: booklet formed of linked tablets and Unrivalled sailors, terror of the Occidental world before
inventorying an abbey; used for accountancy and 950 AD.
registration of crops. War engines (from ingenium, “ingenious contrivance”):
Priory: small monastery - sometimes with only a handful battering rams, catapults, wheeled towers and trebuchets.
of monks - lead by a prior. Heavy catapults can shoot 50-pound missiles up to 160
Privileges, urban: clauses like the inviolability of homes yards. A large trebuchet can easily hurl a half-ton stone (or
against public officials, the suppression of judicial duels, a dead horse, or bundled humans) 100 yards away.
and the ban on legal proceedings against burgess outside Wine: reserved to the most privileged and to the
the city. celebration of the mass. The largest vineyards were
Quadrivium: scientific disciplines of the liberal arts: situated in ecclesiastical domains or on the banks of large
music, astronomy, arithmetic and geometry. rivers, since these were major transport routes.
13 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

A Hundred Years and More

950 The Byzantine Theodorus Philetas translates the “Al 983 First custodial prison sentences (Britain): introduced
Azif” from Arab to Greek, and renames it under law of King Alfred for breaking a pledge. Prisoners
“Necronomicon”. to be fed by relatives unless they had none.
950-986 Harald Blaatand unifies Danemark and imposes 983-1002 Empire: Otto III is ruling. Until 995 though, he
his rule on Norway. is put in minority by his mother Theophano and
951 Otto I is declared King of Italy. He actually managed grandmother Adelaide. In 996 he makes his cousin Bruno
to impose his authority 10 years later. Pope (Gregory V) and is crowned emperor in Rome.
954 Hungarian raids in Germany and Italy. 985 Almanzor takes Barcelona.
954-994 Maieul, fourth abbot of Cluny (Abbey founded in 985-1014 Sven Forked-Beard Christianizes Denmark and
909 by William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine). leads the Danish army against the Anglo-Saxons in 994.
954 France: death of Louis IV; his son Lothaire succeeds Anglo-Saxon priests define the Danish Church.
him under the tutelage of Hugh the Great, Duke of the 986 France: death of Lothaire: his son Louis V succeeds
Franks. him.
955 Battle of Lechfeld (August 10th): Otto I vanquishes 987 Death of Louis V. At the request of the archbishop of
the Hungarians. Reims Adalberon, the overlords reject Charles, Duke of
959-975 Edgar rules over England. The archbishop Lorraine and Lothaire’s brother, and elect Hugues Capet,
Dunstan crowns him in 973. who is crowned by the prelate.
960-992 After the conversion of Mieszko I in 966, Poland 987 Crowning in Orleans of Robert the Pious, son of Hugh
becomes Christian and has its own bishopric (Posen). Capet, “associate” King.
Mieszko seeks the support of the Empire by becoming the 987 Institution of the Peace of God.
“friend of the Emperor”. He places his land under the 988 Charles, son of Louis IV, Duke of Lorraine and
protection of the Pope (985). Carolingian pretender, takes the cities of Laon and Reims.
961 The Byzantine, under the leadership of the general Laon is taken back in 991 and Charles dies in captivity in
Phocas, conquer Crete, then Alep in 962. Nicephorus II Orleans (992).
Phocas is emperor from 963 to 969, and campaigns against 988-1004 Abbon, abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire.
the Arabs in Cyprus. 991 (June 11th) Deposition of Arnoul and election of the
961-972 Kingdom of Kiev: Sviatoslav dominates monk of Aurillac, Gerbert; formation of the “party of
international trade routes and clashes with Byzantium. monks” that wishes to relieve their institution from the
962 Otto I crowned emperor in Rome by the Pope John authority of bishops and only depend on Rome.
XII: The Ottonians restore the Holy Roman Empire. 991-1052 First wave of neo-manicheism (heresies).
963 Otto I deposes the “unworthy” Pope. 992 First commercial treaty between Venice and
969-976 Apogee of the Byzantine Empire under the rule of Byzantium.
John I Tzimiskes. Russians thrown out of the Balkans; 992-1025 Boleslav I Chobry, son of Mieszko, rules in
eastern Bulgaria becomes a Byzantine province. John also Poland. Friendly relationship with Germany at first,
conquers Syria and Palestine. but.from 1003 to 1018 conflicts arise because Germany is
973-983 Empire: Otto II succeeds to Otto I, and marries opposed to Boleslav’s conception of a unified western
Theophano, the niece of the Byzantine Emperor. Slavic state under Poland’s rule.
975 A Pisano-byzantine fleet attacks Messina. 993 January 31st, first saint canonization: Ulrich, died 973,
976-1025 Basil II “the killer of Bulgarians”, defeats the canonized by Pope John XV.
Bulgarian King Samuel after a 20 year war. He promotes 994-1049 Odilon, abbot of Cluny.
the propagation of the orthodox faith in Russia by giving 995 Eudes, count of Blois, seizes of the county of
his sister to the Russian prince Vladimir in 989. Champagne in 1023 and tries to occupy in 1032 the
977-1002 The vizier Almanzor establishes the Arab kingdom of Burgundy-Provence.
domination over Spain (Omeyyad dynasty). 995-1022 Olaf, of the Upsal dynasty rules over Sweden
978 First teaching hospital: medical faculty of 24 and is baptized in 1008.
physicians established at the al-Bimirastan al-‘Adubi 996 Death of Richard the First; his son, Richard II, Duke
hospital by ‘Adud-ad-Dawla, in Baghdad. of Normandy.
978-1015 Vladimir I “the Bright Sun” becomes sole ruler 996 (October 24th) France: death of Hugues Capet; Robert
over the Russian princes of the Kingdom of Kiev. He the Pious succeeds him.
marries the sister of Basil II, Princess Ann, and after his 996-997 Uprising in the Champagne country.
baptism in 988, Kiev becomes a religious centre of 997-1038 Etienne I founds the Christian kingdom of
orthodoxy. Hungary, with the help of German knights and Benedictine
978-1016 Ethelred vainly tries to stop the Danish invasion monks.
of England, started in 980, by paying them large tributes 999-1003 Pontificate of Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac).
(Danegeld). The Danes conquer England in 1013. 1000 (about) Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, discovers
982 Vikings discover Greenland. In 984, Erik the Red of Vinland (North America), but fails to establish a colony.
Iceland reaches Greenland and establishes colonies. 1002-1024 Empire: Henry II rules (crowned emperor in
983 (spring) Mistav, prince of the Obodrites (Slavs), takes 1014). He conquers Bohemia in 1004.
Hamburg and the Weletabs attack the bishoprics of
Havelberg and Brandeburg.
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 14

1002 At the death of his uncle Henry, Duke of Burgundy, 1025-1034 Poland: Mieszko II must renounce to the crown
Robert II (son of Robert the Pious) recovers the duchy and because of Conrad II’s opposition, and recognize Conrad’s
entrusts it to his second son, Henry, in 1015. sovereignty in Poland (1033).
1004-1030 Gauzlin, abbot of Fleury-sur-Loire. 1026 France: death of Hugh, designated heir to Robert the
1005-1006 Great famine in occidental Europe. Pious. His second son Henry is crowned in Reims (1027).
1007 Foundation of the Bishopric of Bamberg; christening 1031 France: Henry I succeeds to Robert the Pious.
missions to the Slavs in the East. 1032-1033 Great famine.
1007-1028 Fulbert, bishop of Chartres. 1033 The Kingdom of Burgundy is incorporated to the
1008-1028 Spain: civil war between the Arabs (end of the Empire.
Omeyyad Califate). Christian attacks. 1035-1047 Magnus the Good becomes King of Norway
1009 Destruction of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. after deposing Sven, son of Knut the Great.
1016 Pisa and Genoa ally to attack the Arabs in Sardinia 1038 Poland: heathen insurrections and Czech attacks
and Corsica. drive Casimir I out of the land. He returns with the help of
1016-1035 Knut the Great, son of Sven, King of Denmark, the Germans, restores the State and the Church in Krakow.
of England and of Norway (1028). He marries Ethelred’s 1039-1056 Henry III marries Agnes of Poitou and is
widow. After his death, his sons rule over England until crowned emperor in 1047. Bohemia and Hungary become
1042. German fiefs.
1016 Beginning of the Norman expeditions in South Italy 1040 the clergy proclaims the Peace of God.
and Sicily. 1040 Pagan insurrection in Hungary.
1017 France: Hugh, son of Constance and Robert the 1042 Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred, organizes a
Pious, is crowned and associated to the throne. centralized administration of England with the help of the
1019 Kingdom of Kiev: Iaroslav the Wise consolidates the Normans.
Russian unity. First compilation of the Russian code, a mix 1044 Earliest known formula for gunpowder, published in
of Byzantine law and Slavic custom. the Chinese “Complete Compendium of Military
1023 Robert the Pious and the emperor Henry II meet in Classics”.
Ivois. 1046 Synod of Sutri: the Pope Clement II intends to purify
1024-1039 Empire: Conrad II rules (crowned emperor in the clergy and forbid the marriage of priests.
1027). 1050 The Patriarch Michael of Constantinople condemns
1024 Knut the Great occupies the March of Slesvig. the blasphemous “Necronomicon”.
1024 Poland: Boleslav crowned King. 1054 Schism between the Western and the Oriental
1025+ Decline of Byzantium because of rampant Church.
feudalism: the state grants lands to maintain its army,
church and bureaucracy.
15 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

Who’s Who
God Adalberon of Laon: bishop of Laon (997-1030). He
played an important role in the political intrigues that
The One and Only almighty creator, known to Christians marked the beginning of the reign of Hugues Capet. He
as God the Father, YHVH (pronounced “Yahveh”) in was a violent opponent of Odilon and the reforming
Hebrew, and Allah to Muslims (Koran 29:46). monks.
Aimoin of Fleury (970-?): successor and biographic
Kings and Emperors author of Abbon. Author of a history of the Fleury abbey
and the “Miracula sancti Benedicti”.
Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109). Famous scholasticus
Charlemagne’s descendants who tried to explain Faith by using the ontological proof of
God’s existence.
Louis IV, King of France 936-954 Fulbert of Chartres (975-1029): founder of the school of
Lothaire, King of France 954-986 Chartres, and bishop of Chartres in 1007. High quality
Louis V, King of France 986-987 teacher.
Gerbert of Aurillac (940-1003): first scholasticus of
Capetian kings (France) Reims and friend of the archbishop Adalberon of Reims,
Hugh Capet 987-996 Gerbert soon went into service with the Ottonians. Under
Robert the Pious 996-1031 the name of Sylvester II he was Pope between 999 and
Henry I 1031-1060 1003. Scholar specialized in the Quadrivium. Using the
works of Boece, Gerbert taught his students notions of
logic and Aristotle’s nine categories: quality and quantity,
Kings of Germany
relations, position, place, time, state, action and emotion.
Otto I the Great 936-973 Gerbert brought back from northern Spain a treasury of
Otto II 973-983 Muslim science in mathematics, astronomy and music, and
Otto III 983-1002 diffused this knowledge into Christendom. Gerbert also
Henry II 1002-1024 taught the Occident how to calculate, by re-introducing the
Conrad II the Salian 1024-1039 usage of the abacus.
Henry III 1039-1056 Liutprand of Cremone (912-972): bishop of Cremone,
cleric and writer at the service of Otto I and Otto II, author
Spanish kings of the “History of Otto”.
Maieul (954-994): fourth abbot of Cluny. Famous for
Sancho, King of Castile, Navarre and Aragon 970-1035 being captured by the Saracens in 972.
Ferdinand, King of Castile 1033-1065; Garcia, King of Oddon of Meung: author of a long epic poem on the
Navarre 1035-1054; Ramiro I, King of Aragon 1035-1063 virtues of plants.
Oliba (971-1046): count of Berga and Ripoll (988-1002),
Monks abbot of Ripoll, Cuxa and Bishop of Vic, in Catalonia.
Prestigious clergyman, founder of Monserrat (1023), and
Abbon of Fleury (940-1004): monk, scholar and abbot of reformer of numerous monasteries. He took part in the
the monastery of Fleury-sur-Loire. Very learned in the creation of the Truce of God.
liberal arts, especially the Quadrivium, and author of Peter Damian (11th century): cardinal notorious for
numerous educational pamphlets. Abbon and Odilon of writing a manual praising flagellation, in spite of Saint
Cluny are the leading figure of the reforming monks Augustine’s advice to congregates not to flagellate
around 1000 AD. themselves too enthusiastically nor frequently.
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 16

Ready-to-play adventurers
Name Age __ Occupation Dark Ages
STR __ CON __ SIZ __ INT __ POW __ EDU __ DEX __ APP __
Idea __% Luck __% Know __% Dexterity __% Charisma __% Damage Bonus: __
HP __
Magic Points __ WEAPONS
Sanity __
Weapon Skill% Damage Range Shots

ADVENTURER POINTS
 Accounting (10)  Grapple (25)  Persuade (15) Other skills:
 Head Butt (25)  Pilot Boat (01)  __________
Art (05):  Hide (20)  Potions (01)  __________
 __________  Insight (05)  Repair/Devise (20)  __________
 __________  Jump (25)  Ride (05)
 Kick (25) Weapons:
 Bargain (05)  Library Use (EDU x2) Science (01):  __________
 Climb (40)  Listen (25)  __________  __________
 Conceal (15)  Natural World (10)  __________  __________
 Navigate (10)  __________
Craft (05):  Occult (05)  Sneak (10)  __________
 __________  Other Kingdoms (01)  Spot Hidden (25)  __________
 __________  Status (15)
Other Language (01):  Swim (25) Spells:
 Cthulhu Mythos (00)  __________  Throw (25) __________
 Dodge (DEX x2)  Track (10) __________
 Drive horses (20)  Own Kingdom (20) __________
 Fast Talk (05) Write Language (01): __________
 First Aid (30) Own Language (EDU x5):  __________ __________
 Fist/Punch (50)  __________  __________ __________
17 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

Leoda the Bonesetter Age 33, Bohemian “Witch” Dark Ages

STR 10 CON 9 SIZ 10 INT 16 POW 16 EDU 13 DEX 13 APP 11
Idea 80% Luck 80% Know 65% Dexterity 65% Charisma 55% Damage Bonus: none
HP 10
Magic Points 16 WEAPONS
Sanity 80
Weapon Skill% Damage Range Shots

ADVENTURER POINTS
 Accounting (10)  Grapple (25)  Persuade (15) Other skills:
 Head Butt (25)  Pilot Boat (01)  __________
Art (05):  Hide (20)  Potions (01) 26  __________
 __________  Insight (05) 30  Repair/Devise (20)  __________
 __________  Jump (25)  Ride (05)
 Kick (25) Weapons:
 Bargain (05)  Library Use (EDU x2) 26 Science (01):  Sling (01) 51
 Climb (40)  Listen (25) 50  __________  __________
 Conceal (15)  Natural World (10) 40  __________  __________
 Navigate (10)  __________
Craft (05):  Occult (05) 30  Sneak (10)  __________
 __________  Other Kingdoms (01)  Spot Hidden (25)  __________
 __________  Status (15)
Other Language (01):  Swim (25) Spells:
 Cthulhu Mythos (00)  __________  Throw (25) Disembodiment
 Dodge (DEX x2) 26  Track (10) __________
 Drive horses (20)  Own Kingdom (20) __________
 Fast Talk (05) Write Language (01): __________
 First Aid (30) 60 Own Language (EDU x5):  __________ __________
 Fist/Punch (50)  Deutsch 65  __________ __________
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 18

Brother Deusde Age 40, Benedictine Monk Dark Ages

STR 10 CON 13 SIZ 9 INT 11 POW 12 EDU 15 DEX 8 APP 10
Idea 55% Luck 60% Know 75% Dexterity 40% Charisma 50% Damage Bonus: none
HP 11
Magic Points 12 WEAPONS
Sanity 60
Weapon Skill% Damage Range Shots

ADVENTURER POINTS
 Accounting (10)  Grapple (25)  Persuade (15) 50 Other skills:
 Head Butt (25)  Pilot Boat (01)  Sign Language 41
Art (05):  Hide (20)  Potions (01)  __________
 __________  Insight (05)  Repair/Devise (20)  __________
 __________  Jump (25)  Ride (05)
 Kick (25) Weapons:
 Bargain (05)  Library Use (EDU x2) 60 Science (01):  __________
 Climb (40)  Listen (25) 60  Astronomy 41  __________
 Conceal (15)  Natural World (10)  __________  __________
 Navigate (10)  __________
Craft (05):  Occult (05) 40  Sneak (10)  __________
 __________  Other Kingdoms (01)  Spot Hidden (25)  __________
 __________  Status (15)
Other Language (01):  Swim (25) Spells:
 Cthulhu Mythos (00)  Latin 46  Throw (25) __________
 Dodge (DEX x2) 16  Track (10) __________
 Drive horses (20)  Own Kingdom (20) __________
 Fast Talk (05) Write Language (01): __________
 First Aid (30) Own Language (EDU x5):  Latin 41 __________
 Fist/Punch (50)  Roman 75  __________ __________
19 Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities Stéphane Gesbert

Vinglo of Corneilhan Age 19, Foolish Warrior Dark Ages

STR 13 CON 12 SIZ 12 INT 11 POW 6 EDU 11 DEX 16 APP 14
Idea 55% Luck 30% Know 55% Dexterity 80% Charisma 70% Damage Bonus: +1D4
HP 12
Magic Points 6 WEAPONS
Sanity 30
Weapon Skill% Damage Range Shots

ADVENTURER POINTS
 Accounting (10)  Grapple (25) 55  Persuade (15) Other skills:
 Head Butt (25)  Pilot Boat (01)  __________
Art (05):  Hide (20)  Potions (01)  __________
 __________  Insight (05)  Repair/Devise (20)  __________
 __________  Jump (25)  Ride (05) 35
 Kick (25) Weapons:
 Bargain (05)  Library Use (EDU x2) 22 Science (01):  Long sword (20) 50
 Climb (40)  Listen (25)  __________  Javelin (throw 15) 45
 Conceal (15)  Natural World (10) 40  __________  __________
 Navigate (10)  __________
Craft (05):  Occult (05)  Sneak (10)  __________
 __________  Other Kingdoms (01)  Spot Hidden (25)  __________
 __________  Status (15) 25
Other Language (01):  Swim (25) Spells:
 Cthulhu Mythos (00)  __________  Throw (25) __________
 Dodge (DEX x2) 32  Track (10) 40 __________
 Drive horses (20)  Own Kingdom (20) 50 __________
 Fast Talk (05) Write Language (01): __________
 First Aid (30) Own Language (EDU x5):  __________ __________
 Fist/Punch (50)  Roman 55  __________ __________
Stéphane Gesbert Cthulhu Dark Ages: Utilities 20

Bella "Redhair" Age 26, Fisherwoman Dark Ages

STR 12 CON 17 SIZ 13 INT 9 POW 12 EDU 9 DEX 14 APP 15
Idea 45% Luck 60% Know 45% Dexterity 70% Charisma 75% Damage Bonus: +1D4
HP 15
Magic Points 12 WEAPONS
Sanity 60
Weapon Skill% Damage Range Shots

ADVENTURER POINTS
 Accounting (10)  Grapple (25)  Persuade (15) Other skills:
 Head Butt (25)  Pilot Boat (01) 21  __________
Art (05):  Hide (20)  Potions (01)  __________
 Net crafting 25  Insight (05)  Repair/Devise (20) 40  __________
 __________  Jump (25)  Ride (05)
 Kick (25) Weapons:
 Bargain (05)  Library Use (EDU x2) 18 Science (01):  __________
 Climb (40)  Listen (25)  __________  __________
 Conceal (15)  Natural World (10) 30  __________  __________
 Navigate (10) 30  __________
Craft (05):  Occult (05)  Sneak (10)  __________
 __________  Other Kingdoms (01)  Spot Hidden (25) 45  __________
 __________  Status (15)
Other Language (01):  Swim (25) 45 Spells:
 Cthulhu Mythos (00)  __________  Throw (25) 65 __________
 Dodge (DEX x2) 28  Track (10) __________
 Drive horses (20)  Own Kingdom (20) __________
 Fast Talk (05) Write Language (01): __________
 First Aid (30) Own Language (EDU x5):  __________ __________
 Fist/Punch (50)  Roman 45  __________ __________