u/godofimagination

These are the four main types of mountains in the stock asset list. Which do you like best?

I recently found out that I can't increase the size of a landmass without changing the proportions slightly, as holding the shift key doesn't work like in microsoft or Adobe.

I would greatly appreciate this feature to be added in the next patch of Wonderdraft, as I really want to make sure my map isnt stretched.

How do linguists accurately date texts from thousands of years ago?

The Rig Veda is one example. Some scholars think it was composed in 1500bc. Others think it was closer to 1200bc. Language can obviously change in 300 years, but what makes them have an opinion one way or another?

The poetic Edda is another example. We apparently know that it was composed in the 900s despite being written down in the 1200s based on the language used.

I know sound changes are predictable, but is the rate at which they change also predictable? How do we know these texts are this old?

He was a war god in the Mycenaean religion. Do other Indo European religions have an analogous deity?

Back in the day, European countries enjoyed carving each other up after a large war. Sweden got Pomerania after the 30 years war. Alsace-Lorraine has exchanged hands between France and Germany several times over the years. Denmark lost Schleiswig and Holstein to Prussia. We won't even talk about World War 1.

What does my new life look like? Do I use the currency of the new country? Am I expected to follow a new set of laws? Do I have a new mayor? Are there foreign soldiers in the street? If so, how do I feel about that? I assume I'm not expected to follow a new language, but surely nationalism comes into play after the 19th century. Overall, how different is my life compared to before?

I’m deliberately leaving my question with a broad time period so that historians with different areas of specialization can answer. I’d be happy to hear about anywhere in Europe, anywhere inside the time period.

Hey everyone.

I'm in the process of making a map. My plan is to make the physical and political components of the map be two different layers that I can toggle on and off at will. Does Wonderdraft support this, or am I better off trying another way?

I know the Yamnaya (or perhaps Stredny Strog) were the original speakers of Indo European. I also know that eventually, they developed into the Celts, Germanics, Italics, etc.

But what happened in between, and when did the developments happen? I hear a lot of people on this sub toss around “corded ware”, “bell beaker”, etc but I’m not sure how those fit into the larger whole, nor do I know when they existed in relation to each other.

Is there a tree graph somewhere that explains the various IE cultures? Someone made one for the languages.

https://preview.redd.it/gtwukm2hzefh1.png?width=2197&format=png&auto=webp&s=b428de3ed4bf76844ee28307d2c42a25560254f2

“Necessity is the mother of invention” as they say, and armor is no different. During the late 14th century, English armor was designed to optimize fighting on foot. French armor was designed to protect against arrows, and Italian armor favored heavy cavalry charges (even though most of them didn’t wear spaulders for some reason).

But what about German armor? It’s always struck me as a little…weird. Who were they fighting against to make their armor look the way that it did? Tell me about some of the design choices and what function they served compared to other armor styles.

My primary interest is in the late 14th/early 15th century, and it’s what I’d prefer an answer for. However, I’ll also accept answers about other time periods in the Middle Ages and renaissance.

I was browsing wikipedia the other day and they said that generally, there are three "super families" of heraldry:

-Latin (Spanish, Portugese, Italian)

-Franco British (French, English, Scottish)

-Holy Roman (German, Scandinavian, Polish)

Each super family had its own heraldic rules and influences. Is there a book or something that describes what these rules are?

In some circumstances, when two groups of language speakers live together, the language of the dominant ethnicity becomes adopted by the second group. Nearly all of Europe and 2/3rds of India speaks an Indo European language. Latin replaced Celtic in France and Spain. Arabic became the standard language in the levant and North Africa.

However, the dominant ethnicity may also abandon their own language and adopt the language of the second group. The Visigoths, Franks, Lombards, etc all gave up their Germanic languages and transitioned to Vulgar Latin. The Normans switched from Old Norse to French (and eventually English).

What determines which change takes place? Why does the language of the elite ethnicity become a prestige language in some circumstances but not others?

In some circumstances, when two groups of language speakers live together, the language of the dominant ethnicity becomes adopted by the second group. Nearly all of Europe and 2/3rds of India speaks an Indo European language. Latin replaced Celtic in France and Spain. Arabic became the standard language in the levant and North Africa.

However, the dominant ethnicity may also abandon their own language and adopt the language of the second group. The Visigoths, Franks, Lombards, etc all gave up their Germanic languages and transitioned to Vulgar Latin. The Normans switched from Old Norse to French (and eventually English).

What determines which change takes place? Why does the language of the elite ethnicity become a prestige language in some circumstances but not others?