I searched through lists and lists of medieval names online (the internet was PERFECT for this task) and found one I liked for my main female character. She is Alamanda, but everyone will call her Lamb. And what name for the brother of a lamb? A lion, of course. He is Lionet, or Lio.
And so, for now at least, the story is Lio and Lamb.
Those lists of names were brilliant. In fact, I pillaged them for names beyond those of characters. The main setting's castle (Aco) and money unit (Brand), for instance.
Lio and Lamb live in a roughly medieval, created world. And so it has been my pleasure these past few weeks to dig into the nonfiction side of my library, where Frances and Joseph Gies' Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medival Village were just sitting around, unread.
A few fun facts:
* When farmers (male and female) headed out to the fields for a morning of work, it was not uncommon to leave their babies at home. Unsupervised. Sometimes they would tie the babies into their cribs so they wouldn't wander off.
* Pretty much every household was a brewery / tavern. No licenses needed, just brew up a batch and hang out a sign, and there you go. Better brew it up strong, though. What revenues the lord of the manor missed out on by not licensing the brewing industry he collected in fines for weak ale. Cool fact: This was one area where women were quite industrious.
* Speaking of ale, a primary source of calories, it seems the typical consumption was a gallon a day. When serfs worked a day for their lords, food and a gallon of ale were provided.
* Rural marriage? A kiss and a promise.
* And wedding rings went about the fourth finger of the left hand because a vein there led straight to the heart of a woman, ensuring unity and love.
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