Writer's Reference Desk

A medieval man would in fact use a razor. The razor is far older than most people think. Here's a timeline of the history of shaving.

http://www.quikshave.com/timeline.htm

As always, I eagerly await your questions. Just replay with your name, question, and library, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

There are dictionaries . . . and then there are dictionaries. This online dictionary helps you find the right rhyming word for that cryptic riddle poem in your epic or your angsty teen-aged character's angsty poetry.

http://writeexpress.com/online.html

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, question, and library and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I'm sorry for my most recent extended absence. I've been sick yet again. This spring has been awful for that.

This is a somewhat different kind of source today. I usually try to provide good research quality sources, but I thought that a bunch of writers would like a source for names from around the world. Character naming can be tricky, and I often use this source to do it.

http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/babynames/a303

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just comment with your name, library and question, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Tomato:

Originally, peacock feather were unlucky inside, in general, not just in a theatre. The reason was because the eye-like shape on the feather was believed to invoke "the evil eye." For more information on some old superstitions from the same error as this one, check out this source: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-superstitions.htm

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, library, and question. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I apologize for my extended absence. Following fair, I was as sick as a dog all week.

In positive news, I have my results back from my comprehensives. I passed them, so I am, in fact, a librarian.

Here's a fun source for quotes:

http://www.quoteland.com/

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, library, and question, and I'll get back to you as quickly as I can.

I apologize for the absence of featured sources. My comprehensive examinations for the library degree were last Friday and this coming weekend--all day for three days--I'll be performing in the Medieval Fair. I promise to be back the Monday after. Reference questions will still be answered between now and then, but there may be slightly more delay than usual. If any of you live in Oklahoma, come to Norman's Medieval Fair and you can see me performing on the living chessboard.

Bookend:

Well, my immediate response is that you should check out The Golden Bough by James Frazer--it's one of the earliest and most influential works on comparative mythology and anthropology. Your university library has it. It's heavily focused on Goddess worship, magic, and the Year King ritual, all of which sound perfect for your needs.

The White Goddess by Robert Graves may also be useful to you. It discusses the archetypal Goddess that was likely the precursor to later European goddesses. Your university library has this one.

The other great work on comparative mythology is Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces, but it is focused more on the hero than the gods. It is the original source of the word "monomyth." It's also available at your university library.

A couple others I found in your catalog that look promising (Call numbers are in parentheses):

The goddess and the warrior : the naked goddess and mistress of animals in early Greek religion, by Marinatos, Nanno (BL795.G63 M37 2000)

The rotting goddess : the origin of the witch in classical antiquity's demonization of fertility religion, by Rabinowitz, Jacob (BL820.H43 R33 1998)

The myth of the goddess : the evolution of an image, Baring, Anne (BL473.5 .B37 1991)

The goddess : mythological images of the feminine, by Downing, Christine, 1931- (BL785 .D66)

Gawain : Knight of the goddess : restoring an archetype, Matthews, John, 1948- (DA152.5A7 M3 1990)

Also http://pantheon.org/ is always a good place for research on mythology.

Last week I provided a source on Judaism, this week I'm providing a source on Islam. I'll try to make my way through a fair number of religions over the next couple weeks.

http://www.al-islam.org/

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, library, and question.

Here's a resource on Judaism:

http://www.jewfaq.org/index.htm

As always I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, library, and question.

The next two Fridays there will be no featured sources, because I will be taking comps and performing at a medieval fair.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, today's source is a reference for saints and what they are patrons of. This could be especially useful in an occult fantasy or anything set in the medieval period--though check their birth and death dates before you use them.

http://www.carr.org/~meripper/saints/

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, question, and library.

Here's a source with information about diversity and multiculturalism, including sections on individual cultures. Rather than have people criticize you for "doing it wrong," you can try using the links available through this page to do a little research.

http://www.library.uni.edu/subject/interdis.html

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, library, and question.

And sollersuk, I'll start working on your answer as soon as you've clarified your query for me.

I think today's source is kind of cool. I think you'll like it too, at least those of you who writer things set in the medieval period, and I know some of you do.

Did you ever wonder how much things cost back then? Well, I've found a price list, much like the equipment lists found in a number of role-playing books. Kinda nifty, yes?

http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medprice.htm

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, library, and question, and I'll have the answer for you as soon as I can.

Resource for science fiction writing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/exploration/

It includes a great section on time travel and another on space-flight in the future.

And since it's a pretty common period to need to research for writing, WWII resources:

http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/

Lots of primary sources, which is always good.

You know I love medical questions, because I get to use MedlinePlus. I've already made it a featured source, but I just have to mention again how awesome I think it is.

Agent_Tomato:

It depends on the kind of fracture, where in the leg, and the quality of care received.

Here's a general overview of information about broken bones:
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00139&return_link=0

Here's info about a Thighbone Fracture:
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00364&return_link=0

Here's the info for a Shin Fracture:
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00161&return_link=0

I haven't had much luck finding information on how long they can remain untreated without permanent damage.

I'll post two featured sources on Monday, since there wasn't one on Friday.

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, library, and question.

Here's a great resource for world-building, written by Patricia Wrede. Not so much a reference resource, but something I expect you'll find useful.

http://www.sfwa.org/writing/worldbuilding1.htm

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, library, and question.

I'm sure some of you want to publish. So, here's an important resource for that:

http://www.marketlist.com/

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, question, and library.

Shanrina:

Try checking out this link:

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Sacraments/HolyOrders.asp

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply with your name, question, and library.

Back before I was a library student, I took five years of Latin (and one of Greek that I barely remember). I think was two classes away from double majoring in classics. Occasionally a friend will want me to translate something into Latin for them, or I'll want to do it myself, just for the fun of it. Latin is awesome stuff. It may also be the language that most writers need a resource for.

Here's my favorite English-to-Latin, Latin-to-English online dictionary. (Much as I love the Perseus Project, their lexicon is a pain to use.)

http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/wordsonline.html

Now, a quick note about using this research:

Look up the Latin words for your English words and then putting them in the order you would say them in English gives you a phrase that is completely and utterly unintelligible (kind of like Church Latin). The version of a Latin word that appears in a dictionary bears no resemblance to the version that you will need in your sentence. I'm providing this resource for when you want to find out what a Latin word means or for those of you who know enough Latin to make proper use of it. Not Latin readers should find someone to help them with translations. That can even be a reference question.

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, question, and the name of your library.

Sic semper, avide studios vostrum exspecto. Nuntio illi responde, donans nominem tuum, studium tuum, et nominem bibliothecae. (Sadly an imperfect translation, but I'm short on time.)

My life's been kind of crazy, but I should have been posting. That said, featured sources will now be posted Mondays and Fridays. Reference questions will be answered on any day of the week, including weekends. Thank you for your patience.

I feel bad about using a source many of you probably already know, but many of you might not, and I'm rushed today, so I recommend:

http://imdb.com/

I've gotten a few questions about movies in the past, and this is often a good place to start when looking for that kind of information. I'll have a more exciting source for you tomorrow.

As always, I eagerly await your reference questions. Just reply to this post with your name, question, and library, and I'll get back to you.