Some of the more detailed responses to my request for anachronisms are archived here. I've taken the liberty of slightly editing some texts in order to "glue together" responses from the same person, and to divide the responses between the details for anachronistic items and details for other anachronisms. Also, .sigs etc. have been removed.
It's very difficult to pin-down dates on things. For example, plate
armour. There is a documented case of folk experimenting with large
plates sewn into armour from 1185. But the coat-of-plates didn't really
catch hold until the late 13th century. (I wouldn't call it platemail
BTW, I've been admonished in the past for using that particular D&Dism)
Another example, gunpowder. An important text on making gunpowder, Liber
Igneum, probably found its way into Europe by the mid 13th century. It
wouldn't be totally unbelievable for Magi with mid-eastern contacts to have
this info in 1220. However the first use of gunpowder in European
warfare is around 1300. Siege cannons early 14thC. Handguns mid 14thC IIRC.
So, you see the problem. There's a big difference between the thing
being available, and it being in widespread use. Sometimes 50 to 100 years
difference. Perhaps another column on the table is called for.
Then you've got the problem of terminology. Longbows were around, they
just probably weren't as powerful as the famous 15thC versions. Magnets
were around in the form of lodestone. Two-handed swords? Well, it
depends what you call a two-handed sword. I've heard that Celts used a
two-handed sword from horseback!
Here are dates for important developments in Barding, Helmets and Crossbows
(three topics which are easy-ish to pin down the development of).
RARE COMMON
Horse Barding [1] late 12th mid 13th
Plate Barding early 14th
'Masked' Helm [2] late 12th
Brimmed war-hat [3] late 12th
Great Helm [4] early 13th
Bascinet [5] mid 13th
Visored Helm [6] early 14th
Hunting Crossbow Roman (3rd?)
War Crossbow (S. Europe) [7] 10th? late 11th
War Crossbow (N. Europe) 13th C.
Composite Crossbow mid 12th late 12th
stirrup + spanning hook [8] mid 12th late 12th
windlass [9] early 13th ? 1297
steel crossbow 1314 15th C.
Cranequin [10] 1375
Notes:
1. Partial chain and quilted armour for horses. (Barding had been around
before, but had fallen out of use before this period)
2. A "Norman" helmet with a very broad nose guard which covered the cheeks.
(Similar things had been around before, this is another "re-invention")
3. A round metal cap protecting the top of the head, with a brim. Popular
with common soldiery.
4. Growing use of crossbows and lances necessitated the adoption of this
completely closed helm. Note, it has no moveable visor.
5. The bascinet is a close-fitting open-faced helm which covers the back
and sides of the head as well as the top. May be worn beneath a Great
Helm for added protection.
6. Basically a bascinet with a movable hinged visor to cover the face.
7. Crossbows had been around since roman times for hunting. These are
approximate dates for adoption of the crossbow in warfare. Initially
much more common in the south of Europe than the North.
8. The stirrup is a metal hoop on the end of the crossbow which the
archer places his foot in. The spanning hook is a hook on the belt
which is attached to the bowstring to draw it. Prior to this, the
crossbow would be spanned (drawn) by standing upon the bow itself,
and drawing the string by hand.
9. An ungainly winch device for spanning crossbows. Early references
to these winched crossbows appear in the Albigensian Crusade. They
may or may not have been man-portable. First illustration 1297.
10. A rack-and-pinion device for spanning very heavy crossbows quickly
(in about 15 seconds IIRC).
Use of the crossbow in war occured in southern Europe long before northern
Europe, hence I suggest S. Europe as the location of First Introduction. Rare
in the 10th century, common by the 13th.
My reference to experimental plate dated 1185 is so much of a one-off
that I would exclude it from your list. (Your magus of Verditius might
develop plate armour, but will he find anybody to wear it in battle?)
Plate was Rare in the late 13th century and became more common in the 14th.
Knitting was introduced to Western Europe some time in the 13th century; it probably came from Egypt. Buttons were likewise introduced during the 13th century. As I recall, the spinning wheel and a better loom were introduced around then, too -- dramatically reducing the cost of clothing, of course (so 14th century clothing prices really shouldn't be compared to 12th century prices). I believe compasses were just starting to be used around 1200, or maybe a little later (though they are much older than that; they came from China). For those of you with campaigns set in earlier periods, the moldboard plow was introduced early in the 9th century and gradually spread; the horse collar and horseshoes were introduced late in the 9th century (or maybe the middle). Before their introduction, you really couldn't use horses to plow; the load would choke them. Paper was just starting to appear around 1200 in Christian Europe; it arrived from China via the Middle East and Spain. Sometime around 1200 the sternpost rudder was introduced (again, from China); your basic Viking longship had a steering oar on the side (this may be apocryphal, but as I recall that's where "starboard" came from -- the side with the steering board). All in all, the 13th century was pretty exciting. The stirrup may have been introduced to Europe (from the Asian steppes) as early as the 9th century; it, however, spread fairly slowly and didn't reach England till 1066. Note that all of this is from memory, so some of the dates are doubtless off a bit. Not all that much for most, though. I hope.
I hope this information is useful. Most of it comes from the book
Gies, F. and Gies, J., _Cathedral, Forge, and Waterwheel: Technology and
Invention in the Middle Ages_. New York: HarperCollins, 1974.
I have listed the first date of appearance in Europe, which should
correspond to your ``rare in Europe'' category, and have tried to estimate
when the invention or development would be common. I have used dashes to
indicate a missing or unknown date. Thanks again for compiling all of this
information.
Dates in Europe
First Common What was developed or invented
========= ======== =====================================================
early C5 --- Artes Liberales [by Boethius]
C7 C7 Gall-iron (black) ink
late C7 --- A.D. and B.C. dating [by the Venerable Bede]
--- C8 Motte-and-bailey castle
--- C8 Above-ground reduction furnace (for iron smelting)
--- C8 Horse collar (allows draft horse)
C8 --- Horizontal waterwheel (for grinding grain)
C8 C9? Carolingian miniscule (script)
C9 --- Rotary grindstone with crank handle
late C9 C11 Stirrup
late C9 C11 Nailed horseshoe [mass-produced in C12]
late C9 C11 Spurs
late C9 C11 Curb bit (for horses)
late C9 C11 Stone keeps [on Loire near Tours, by Fulk Nerra]
C10 --- Cog (carvel-constructed ship with flat-bottom hull)
C10 C12? Paper products [via Muslim Sicily and Spain]
C10 C14 Use of hops in beer (a preservative)
late C10 C11 Waterpower from vertical waterwheels [via Spain]
late C10 C11 Open-field agriculture (crop rotation; spring/fall crops)
C11 --- Cog given round bottom for stability
C11 C11 Drawplate (used to draw wire)
C11 C11 Olive oil-based soaps
C11 C11 Crossbow [in Italy]
early C12 C12 Cistercian Order
early C12 --- "Artesian" well deep-drilled using percussive drilling
C12 C12 Mechanized loom (horizontal loom with treadles)
--- C12 Trip hammer (vertical waterwheel-driven wheel of hammers
used in forges, to hull grain, and to crush ore)
C12 late C12 Compass (usu. south-pointing) [overland from China]
C12 late C12 Two-masted ships (in Mediterranean)
C12 late C12 Rudder
C12 late C12 Condensor [by Salernus of Salerno] for distillation
late C12 C13 Vertical windmill [invented in East Anglia, England]
late C12 C13 Trebuchet improved by adding huge couterweight
late C12 C13 Wheelbarrow [from China]
late C14 --- Canal lock gates
Paper: Arabic paper-making since 751 (first by Chinese
prisoners of war). Paper in the Christian Europe:
9th c. (Hispania), after 1100 (Italy). Paper-making
in the Christian Europe (that means "Common"? :) ):
1260's (Hispania), 1276 (Italy).
AD/BC dating: It was invented by Dionysius Exiguus in 525.
That's true that Beda Venerabilis used it, and his big
reputation helped it to become general. It was used in the
Papal chancellery since the second half of the
10th century. (The Papal chancellery was very conservative,
it accepted new things and ideas very slowly...)
I recommend you to list the Latin names of the coins as well:
English French Latin
pound livre pondus, libra, talentum
shilling sou solidus
penny denier denarius
halfpenny obulus
Units of weight:
I'm not absolutely sure about it (to tell the truth, I'm not
sure at all :) ), but as far as I know, at the time of the ArM there
was used the Tower-pound (aka London-pound, English-pound) in England
(it was cca. 0,350 kg).
The Troy-pound (that has French origin) and the Avoirdupois
are later units... (the Troy-pound, AFAIK, since the 16th c.
in England).
I certainly don't recommend you to beleive me :), but
I think maybe it should be investigated...
That's not to important (it's just a single error on the map
in the ArM - and not the one and only :( )
Budapest: The three cities (Buda, Obuda, Pest) were united
in 1873. The first mention of "Buda-Pest" was in 1499,
and _relatively_ frequent since the 16th century... but
officially just since 1873.
- comments?