Historical resources

The purpose of this article

The setting of The Dark Mod is fantasy (specifically, science fantasy, what with the magic and steampunk elements), not history. However, due to the nature of the society depicted and focused on in the game's setting, The Dark Mod still takes heavy from real history, primarily the society of late-medieval and early modern Europe. Though there is plenty of room for anachronisms and creativity, the setting's down-to-earth nature can be enhanced with bits of historical accuracy concerning

Consider this article a resource on historical topics related to everyday life, work and socialising of people from period societies. Feel free to take inspiration from the online and bibliographic sources provided, or to suggest and/or add useful sources you've found yourself.

Healthcare and medical science

Phisick - Presents a collection of medical antiques grouped by specialty, with photographs and descriptions of each item.

The Smell of the Middle Ages

Medieval Diseases

The Gross 18th Century: Calling bullshit on hygiene myths

Eye Antiques and Collectibles - Eye antiques display items from the ophthalmic past including glasses spectacles, ophthalmoscopes, microscopes, and eye exam items.

Historical Eye Glasses - A video on authentic replicas of early modern eyewear.

Weights of an Apothecary - A resource site for the antique weights formerly used by apothecaries, chemists, druggists and pharmacists. Most British weights of the 19th and 20th centuries illustrated and described. A forum for exchange of information and discussion.

Scales and Weights - A collection of all types of historical scales and weights from different periods of the past 3000 years.

Scientific Medical & Mechanical Antiques - Complete articles are posted from the journal, American Artifacts, on early microscope makers, hand corn shellers, early surveying instruments, a variety of quack medical devices, as well as information on early patents.

The Medical Humanities SIU PRESS series - Bibliographic overview of the non-fiction book series of medical history monographs.

Bibliography

Book title	Author	Publisher	Country of origin	Pages, edition and cover	ISBN	Description
Open Air Museums: The History and Future of a Visionary Idea	Rentzhog S. (eng. transl. Airey, S. V.)	Carlssons Bokförlag (Stockholm) & Jamtli Förlag (Östersund)	Sweden	1st edition 2007 hardcover	978-91-7948-208-4	A comprehensive book on the history and development of open-air museums and their depictions of housing, work and life in previous historical periods.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life	Bryson B.	Doubleday (London)	United Kingdom	536 p. 1st edition 2010 hardcover softcover e-book	978-0-385-60827-5	In the words of the author, "homes are not a refuge from history, they're where history ends up". The author goes through his house room by room and discusses the reasons why they are like they are. For example, why do we have salt and pepper on the kitchen table ? Why not salt and cumin ? He then delves into the historical reasons for this. It focuses mostly on Britain with a bit of America thrown in too.
The Building of The Green Valley: A Reconstruction of an Early 17th Century Rural Landscape	Peachey S.	Stuart Press & Heritage Publications	United Kingdom	210 p. 1st edition 2006 2nd edition 2010 paperback	ISBN-13: 978-1905223138 ISBN-10: 1905223137	A comprehensive book on the history and development of open-air museums and their depictions of housing, work and life in previous historical periods.

Some recommended watching

Aside from reading non-fiction books and other publications, or reading online non-fiction articles about these topics, there are certain television documentaries worth checking out. The ones recommended below are British, and cover topics related to daily life from antiquity to the heyday of the industrial revolution.

Programme title	Period	Topics covered	Production & Broadcaster	First broadcast	Episodes	Links
The Worst Jobs in History	Roman era to present day	Particularly difficult or unpleasant historical occupations	Spire Productions & Channel Four	2004, 2006	12 x 60 min.	IMDb Wikipedia
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives	Middle Ages	Debunking myths and clichés about eight different social roles/occupations of the medieval period	Oxford Film and Television Production & BBC Two	2004	8 x 30 min.	IMDb Wikipedia
Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death	Middle Ages	About the significance of a person's birth, marriage and death in the context of medieval culture and society and the rituals surrounding them	BBC Scotland & Matchlight	2013	3, 177 min. total	BBC IMDb
Secrets of the Castle...	High Middle Ages, 13th century	Castle construction and maintenance	Lion Television & BBC Two	2014	5 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb Wikipedia Lion TV
Tudor Monastery Farm	Early Tudor era, 1510s	Farming, housing, crafts, mining, trade	Lion Television & BBC Two	2013	7 x 30 min. (incl. Christmas special)	BBC IMDb Wikipedia Lion TV
A Tudor Feast at Christmas	Tudor era, 16th century	Christmas feasts of the nobility	Lion Television & BBC Two	2006	1 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb Wikipedia Lion TV
Hidden Killers of the Tudor Home	Tudor era	Design flaws and unexpected threats of domestic housing in the Tudor period	Modern Television & BBC Four	2015	1 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb
Tales from the Green Valley	Stuart era, 1620s	Farming and housing	Lion Television & BBC Two / BBC Cymru Wales	2005	12 x 28-30 min.	BBC IMDb Wikipedia Lion TV
The Victorian Kitchen Garden	Victorian era, 19th century	Gardening, cooking and housing	BBC & BBC Two	1987	13 x 30 min.	IMDb Wikipedia
The Victorian Kitchen	Victorian era, 19th century	Cooking and housing	BBC & BBC Two	1989	8 x 30 min.	IMDb
The Victorian Flower Garden	Victorian era, 19th century	Gardening and horticulture	BBC & BBC Two	1991	8 x 30 min.	IMDb
Victorian Farm	Late Victorian era, 1880s	Farming, housing, crafts, celebrations	Lion Television & BBC Two	2009	9 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb (1) IMDb (2) Wikipedia Lion TV
Victorian Pharmacy	Victorian era, 1840s-1890s	Pharmacology and drugstore history	Lion Television & BBC Two	2010	4 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb Wikipedia Lion TV
Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home	Victorian era, 1840s-1890s	Design flaws and unexpected threats of domestic housing in the Victorian period	Modern Television, BBC Wales & BBC Four	2013	2 x 60 min.	BBC (1) BBC (2) IMDb (1) IMDb (2)
Full Steam Ahead	Victorian era	Railway history and steam power	Lion Television & BBC Two	2016	6 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb Lion TV
Edwardian Farm	Edwardian era, 1900-1914	Farming, fishing, housing, crafts, mining, trade, tourism	Lion Television & BBC Two	2010-2011	12 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb Wikipedia Lion TV
Hidden Killers of the Edwardian Home	Edwardian era, 1900-1914	Design flaws and unexpected threats of domestic housing in the Edwardian period	Modern Television & BBC Four	2013	1 x 60 min.	BBC IMDb

See Also

Food

Letter Writing