I keep seeing fantasy writers use 'medieval' wrong for every time period

I keep seeing fantasy writers use 'medieval' wrong for every time period. I was in a writing group last week and someone set their story in 'medieval times' but had characters using 17th century plate armor and Renaissance politics at the same time lol. Medieval is specifically 5th to 15th century Europe, not just old-timey stuff. A blacksmith in 1200 AD would be totally lost trying to make a full suit of jousting armor from 1550. Has anyone else noticed settings getting muddled with tech from different centuries?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_stone25d ago

Dude yes, I see this all the time and it drives me nuts! I was watching a show set in "medieval times" and they had these fancy rapiers that weren't even invented until like the 1500s. It's like writers just grab whatever sounds old and call it a day without doing five minutes of research.

claire95825d ago

Nah, rapiers look cooler than boring broadswords. People watch for fun, not a history lesson.