Post by Creative Consortium on Jan 22, 2008 19:22:17 GMT -6
The kingdom is riddled with villages, several miles or so apart, covering the entire countryside. It is important to remember that communities the size of a village or hamlet are not self- supporting in any real meaning of the term, they exist in vast networks. With one exception, The frontier country, where isolated towns have no choice but to exist. But these towns will tend to be large and walled, usually under a Lord or Noble. On the frontier, food and goods are usually delivered by merchant caravans rather than produced locally.
The average population density for a medieval country is from 30 per square mile, for countries with lots of rocks, lots of rain, and lots of ice, to a limit of about 120 people per square mile, for countries with rich soil and favorable seasons. No land is wasted if it can be settled and farmed. There are many factors that determine the population density of a land, but none as important as arable land and climate. If food will grow, so will peasants.
Some Historical Comparisons:
· Medieval France tops the list, with an estimated 14th-century density of 105 people /sq. mile. The French were blessed with an abundance of arable countryside, waiting to be farmed. Modern France has more than twice this many people.
· Germany, with a slightly less perfect climate and a lower percentage of arable land, averaged 87 people per square mile.
· Italy was similar (lots of hills and rocky areas) with 86.
· The British Isles were the least populous, with only 42 people per square mile, most of them clustered in the southern half of the isles.
Town and City Population: How Many In Those Walls?
For roleplay purposes, settlements will be divided into Villages, Towns, Cities and Metros
Villages range from 20 to 1,000 people. Most kingdoms will have thousands of them. Villages are agrarian communities within the safe folds of civilization. They provide the basic source of food and land-stability in a feudal system. Usually, a village that supports orchards or grain fields) is called a "hamlet".
Towns range in population from 1,000 - 10,000 people. Cities and towns tend to have walls only if they are frequently threatened.
Cities tend to be from 10,000 - 100,000 people, with an average in the middle of that range. A typical large kingdom will have only a few cities in this population range. Centers of scholarly pursuits (the Universities) tend to be in cities of this size, with only the rare exception thriving in a Metro.
Metros range from 100,000 - 300,000 people, with some exceptional cities exceeding this scale. (Some historical examples include London (25,000-40,000), Paris (50,000-80,000), Genoa (75,000-100,000), and Venice (100,000+). Moscow in the 15th century had a population in excess of 200,000!)
Large population centers of any scale are the result of traffic. Coastlines, navigable rivers and overland trade-routes form a criss-crossing pattern of trade-arteries, and the towns and cities grow along those lines. The larger the artery, the larger the town. And where several large arteries converge, you have a city. Villages are scattered densely through the country between the larger settlements.
Population Spread
89 % of the country's population live in villages.
2 % of the country's populous will live in isolated dwellings, or collections of huts with a total population of under 20, or will be itinerant workers and wanderers. Settlements too small to be called villages….
6 % of the populace lives in Towns.
3 % of the people live in either Cities or Metros.
City Size :
Cities and towns of the Middle Ages cover one square mile of land per 38,850 people, on average. This is a density of about 61 per acre or 150 per hectare, so the land within the walls of a typical city of 10,000 would be 165 acres—hardly a city by modern standards, in terms of population OR size. Some very large cities may have had up to twice this density.
Miscellaneous
Agriculture
At the medieval level of technology, a square mile of settled land, including requisite roads, villages and towns, will support 180 people. This takes into account normal blights, rats, drought, and theft, all of which are common in most worlds. Please note that the number of people a square mile of agricultural land will support is not the same as the maximum population density for a kingdom. Villages and towns tend to cluster tightly along the arteries of travel defined by the lines between the cities—leaving gaps of wilderness in the middle.
Castles
Ruins of a castle depend on the age of the region, military history, and remoteness of the area. Active castles are much more common; ruins are rare because the solid ones are constantly put back into service! The role of these castles is something too world-oriented. Most will mark the landholdings of Lords, Barons, and Dukes, but some may be outlaw, mercenary, or bandit strongholds. Some may even be the outposts of Shadow Knights and their Legions.
Law Enforcement :
A well-kept medieval city will have 1 law officer (guardsman, watchman, etc.) for every 150 citizens. Slack cities will have half this number. A few rare cities will have more.
Institutions of Higher Learning :
There will be one University for every 27.3 million people. This should be computed by continent, not by town! This figure assumes entirely scholarly universities, not those dedicated to the arcane arts.
Livestock:
The livestock population, on the whole, will equal 2.2 times the human population, but 68% percent of this will be fowl (chickens, geese and ducks). The rest will be dairy cows and "meat animals:" Pigs are superior as food animals, since they eat less individually, and are not picky eaters. Sheep will be extremely common if the region has a wool market. Cattle for labor and milk will be found occasionally, but cattle raised specifically for meat are only found in very prosperous areas.
Merchants and Services
In a village of 400 people, just how many inns and taverns are realistic? Not very many. Maybe not even one. When traveling across the countryside, for the most part, people will have to camp on their own or seek shelter in people's homes. Provided they are friendly, the latter option should be no trouble. A farmer can live in a single place all his life, and he will welcome news and stories of adventures, not to mention any money the heroes might offer!
The average population density for a medieval country is from 30 per square mile, for countries with lots of rocks, lots of rain, and lots of ice, to a limit of about 120 people per square mile, for countries with rich soil and favorable seasons. No land is wasted if it can be settled and farmed. There are many factors that determine the population density of a land, but none as important as arable land and climate. If food will grow, so will peasants.
Some Historical Comparisons:
· Medieval France tops the list, with an estimated 14th-century density of 105 people /sq. mile. The French were blessed with an abundance of arable countryside, waiting to be farmed. Modern France has more than twice this many people.
· Germany, with a slightly less perfect climate and a lower percentage of arable land, averaged 87 people per square mile.
· Italy was similar (lots of hills and rocky areas) with 86.
· The British Isles were the least populous, with only 42 people per square mile, most of them clustered in the southern half of the isles.
Town and City Population: How Many In Those Walls?
For roleplay purposes, settlements will be divided into Villages, Towns, Cities and Metros
Villages range from 20 to 1,000 people. Most kingdoms will have thousands of them. Villages are agrarian communities within the safe folds of civilization. They provide the basic source of food and land-stability in a feudal system. Usually, a village that supports orchards or grain fields) is called a "hamlet".
Towns range in population from 1,000 - 10,000 people. Cities and towns tend to have walls only if they are frequently threatened.
Cities tend to be from 10,000 - 100,000 people, with an average in the middle of that range. A typical large kingdom will have only a few cities in this population range. Centers of scholarly pursuits (the Universities) tend to be in cities of this size, with only the rare exception thriving in a Metro.
Metros range from 100,000 - 300,000 people, with some exceptional cities exceeding this scale. (Some historical examples include London (25,000-40,000), Paris (50,000-80,000), Genoa (75,000-100,000), and Venice (100,000+). Moscow in the 15th century had a population in excess of 200,000!)
Large population centers of any scale are the result of traffic. Coastlines, navigable rivers and overland trade-routes form a criss-crossing pattern of trade-arteries, and the towns and cities grow along those lines. The larger the artery, the larger the town. And where several large arteries converge, you have a city. Villages are scattered densely through the country between the larger settlements.
Population Spread
89 % of the country's population live in villages.
2 % of the country's populous will live in isolated dwellings, or collections of huts with a total population of under 20, or will be itinerant workers and wanderers. Settlements too small to be called villages….
6 % of the populace lives in Towns.
3 % of the people live in either Cities or Metros.
City Size :
Cities and towns of the Middle Ages cover one square mile of land per 38,850 people, on average. This is a density of about 61 per acre or 150 per hectare, so the land within the walls of a typical city of 10,000 would be 165 acres—hardly a city by modern standards, in terms of population OR size. Some very large cities may have had up to twice this density.
Miscellaneous
Agriculture
At the medieval level of technology, a square mile of settled land, including requisite roads, villages and towns, will support 180 people. This takes into account normal blights, rats, drought, and theft, all of which are common in most worlds. Please note that the number of people a square mile of agricultural land will support is not the same as the maximum population density for a kingdom. Villages and towns tend to cluster tightly along the arteries of travel defined by the lines between the cities—leaving gaps of wilderness in the middle.
Castles
Ruins of a castle depend on the age of the region, military history, and remoteness of the area. Active castles are much more common; ruins are rare because the solid ones are constantly put back into service! The role of these castles is something too world-oriented. Most will mark the landholdings of Lords, Barons, and Dukes, but some may be outlaw, mercenary, or bandit strongholds. Some may even be the outposts of Shadow Knights and their Legions.
Law Enforcement :
A well-kept medieval city will have 1 law officer (guardsman, watchman, etc.) for every 150 citizens. Slack cities will have half this number. A few rare cities will have more.
Institutions of Higher Learning :
There will be one University for every 27.3 million people. This should be computed by continent, not by town! This figure assumes entirely scholarly universities, not those dedicated to the arcane arts.
Livestock:
The livestock population, on the whole, will equal 2.2 times the human population, but 68% percent of this will be fowl (chickens, geese and ducks). The rest will be dairy cows and "meat animals:" Pigs are superior as food animals, since they eat less individually, and are not picky eaters. Sheep will be extremely common if the region has a wool market. Cattle for labor and milk will be found occasionally, but cattle raised specifically for meat are only found in very prosperous areas.
Merchants and Services
In a village of 400 people, just how many inns and taverns are realistic? Not very many. Maybe not even one. When traveling across the countryside, for the most part, people will have to camp on their own or seek shelter in people's homes. Provided they are friendly, the latter option should be no trouble. A farmer can live in a single place all his life, and he will welcome news and stories of adventures, not to mention any money the heroes might offer!
