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I'm writing a historical story and I'm both stuck on the plot and the time period.

The story starts with an explanation that a Chancellor (might be called Justice of the Peace in a different time/place) was infatuated with a woman who was part of a local group people considered heathens. She didn't like him, but did give him adequate reason to arrest her for witchcraft. One of his soldiers abandons his post and tires to help her, but they were both arrested. But the church found them innocent and let them go.

Church > Law, especially when witchcraft is involved.

The Chancellor becomes very depressed in both his failure and tat he's got the hots for her and he thinks that's a really bad thing. He stays in his room, spends hours praying, and eventually injures himself out of either trying to re-impress God, or not paying attention due to it.

The news of this gets around and people are convinced the woman is a witch.

The concern that a church leader would dismiss a witch and not suddenly go get her and punish her now that the knew causes a few local bishops to come in and sort things out. This makes the local magistrates nervous as they want the church to continue looking the other way and seeing them as good Christians (but they don't want to do much work). They make a law nick-named Primae Noctis (or the French version if accurate). It's not really that, its just that the Chancellor must 'dole out appropriate punishment' and they tell him 'make them want to' and laugh at him.

He doesn't, and after several arrests and people coming back not telling what the 'punishment' was, most couples break up and some even become nuns and monks. This makes the leader of their group mad, as childbirth is important to their culture.

Eventually the woman is caught, having married the soldier illegally. Since he abandoned his post, he risks death purely for that and marrying a woman the whole city thinks is a witch doesn't reflect well on him. Due to this, the woman asks to talk to the Chancellor alone, causing many sniggers about what she means.

She does indeed try to bribe him with sex, but he ends up seducing her. Though there is no penetration, its the best she's ever had. In exchange, she's told to get married a week after the new church leader is appointed.

She goes to her group's leader and explains the church convinced the chancellor sex, even in marriage was bad, and he's been telling it to their people. Not wanting to risk any one else leaving or breaking up, the leader decides to kidnap the chancellor and says he'll release him if the new church leader doesn't preach that.

The Chancellor doesn't want to piss off his kidnappers, so he just sits tight. Besides, he's not too fond of the current mess, so the thought of someone else dealing with it amuses him. Later, tough, the woman sows up and yells at him because she's engaged to the soldier and she can't get the good sex off her mind.

They talk and one comment prompts the leader to punch him in the nose. He tells the woman to leave and helps the Chancellor, explaining that he is attracted to men. Since the chancellor said that God wouldn't offer something he'd know his creations wouldn't take' he got mad because God never offered him happiness with a man and now the only way to make God happy is for his people to be afraid of conceiving children. While the Chancellor says he doesn't care about the man's preferences or even the man's attraction to him, he says he has no idea what God wants and that if he'd been living his life trying to make up for something God didn't hate, then did he do wrong all his life and what should he do now?

And then I'm stuck.

That was one definition back then.



Dark ages were way before that. Middle ages ended when he was two. I'm thinking around a protestant revolution in a country, though protestantism didn't give way to homosexual rights.



They were the law until the end of the Victorian era. They trumped the law until around the 1700's I believe. It didn't have to be the dark ages for them to do that.

Thanks for the history breakdown, I totally suck at such things gonk . It's always been one of my worst hang-ups; which is sad, because it's interesting to me (sometimes), I just can't keep my facts straight. I'm that sad kid in class, "Okay, so two thousand years ago, Christ died and rose again. Then the dinosaurs were destroyed with Sodom's fire just before the Mayflower landed. If Benjamin Franklin had not have been there, the Russians may have won the Civil War. And poor Sarah Connor--"... etc. Well, it's not that bad, but it gives you an idea (not that my comment didn't do that). And yeah, I know, I need to do better. Anyway, I'm glad that you've gotten a time thought out. At the very least, I'm glad that my folly could help you with that. 3nodding

Try this... maybe?:

The story starts with an explanation that a Chancellor (might be called Justice of the Peace in a different time/place) was infatuated with a woman who was part of a local group of people considered heathens. She didn't like him ((though she may have flirted a little from time to time)), but did give him adequate reason to arrest her for witchcraft. One of his soldiers abandons his post and tries to help her ((because he is in love with her too)), but they were both arrested. But the church found them innocent and let them go ((because she is of important standing for the church)).

Church > Law, especially when witchcraft is involved ((because they're running the organization behind it in order to scare people into following the church's every whim without question [da, da, da, dum!][P.S. there isn't really any such thing as witchcraft--double da, da, da, dum!!)).

The Chancellor becomes very depressed in both his failure and that he's got the hots for her and he thinks that's a really bad thing become jealous of the soldier whom he now knows is going steady with said woman [/color]((in a culture where birthing is high on the list of priorities, he probably wouldn't see lust as bad--but coveting is in the commandments)). He stays in his room, spends hours praying, and eventually injures himself out of either trying to re-impress God or not paying attention due to it by physically punishing his psychological demons.

The news of this gets around and people are convinced the woman is a witch.

The concern that a church leader would dismiss a witch and not suddenly go get her and punish her now that they knew, causes a few local bishops to come in and sort things out. This makes the local magistrates nervous as they want the church to continue looking the other way and seeing them as good Christians (but they don't want to do much work). They make a law nick-named Primae Noctis (or the French version if accurate), round up a few people to be condemned as witches and hope all of this passes over with an execution or two. It's not really that, its just that the Chancellor must 'dole out appropriate punishment' and they tell him 'make them want to' and laugh at him.

He doesn't, and after several arrests and people coming back not telling what the 'punishment' was, most couples break up and some even become nuns and monks. This makes the leader of their group mad, as childbirth is important to their culture. [/strike]((I'd like to say that also, in a childbirth culture, it probably wouldn't be frownd upon if nuns and monks got jiggy with it. In fact, keeping nuns pregnant may be something encouraged... sweatdrop ))

Eventually the woman is caught ((to become a scapegoat)), having married the soldier illegally along with her beau, soldier guy. Since he abandoned his post, he risks death purely for that and marrying hurriedly marries a woman the whole city thinks is a witch doesn't reflect well on him to try and save her ((which ends in his fate to join her)). Due to this, the woman asks to talk to the Chancellor alone, causing many sniggers about what she means which he feels couldn't have been any better because he's still in love with her.

She does indeed try to bribe him with sex, but he ends up seducing her and he caves; promising to keep her hubby from being executed. Though there is no penetration, its the best she's ever had. In exchange, she's told to get married a week after the new church leader is appointed. ((The Chancellor becomes distraught, however, that the woman will not leave her man for him--even in the face of death--and won't save her. So she's carried to the stake and burned with others from her group sacrificed by the church to appease the people and bring them 'back around to godliness.' The Chancellor becomes guilt-ridden [especially after having to be there for the execution] and more depressed than ever. He prays for forgiveness but feels he doesn't deserve it, and, therefore, will never recieve. When the soldier returns, pissed and heartbroken over not dying with his love, he intends to kill the Chancellor--which he does as the Chancellor neither struggles nor begs for his life. THE END)) ((

She goes to her group's leader and explains the church convinced the chancellor sex, even in marriage was bad, and he's been telling it to their people. Not wanting to risk any one else leaving or breaking up, the leader decides to kidnap the chancellor and says he'll release him if the new church leader doesn't preach that.

The Chancellor doesn't want to piss off his kidnappers, so he just sits tight. Besides, he's not too fond of the current mess, so the thought of someone else dealing with it amuses him. Later, tough, the woman sows up and yells at him because she's engaged to the soldier and she can't get the good sex off her mind.

They talk and one comment prompts the leader to punch him in the nose. He tells the woman to leave and helps the Chancellor, explaining that he is attracted to men. Since the chancellor said that God wouldn't offer something he'd know his creations wouldn't take' he got mad because God never offered him happiness with a man and now the only way to make God happy is for his people to be afraid of conceiving children. While the Chancellor says he doesn't care about the man's preferences or even the man's attraction to him, he says he has no idea what God wants and that if he'd been living his life trying to make up for something God didn't hate, then did he do wrong all his life and what should he do now?

This is just what I would do (posted as a recommendation) and has to neither be done NOR EVEN CONSIDERED. May also be edited in itself at your leisure, if that is what you want to do. 3nodding

Let me help you break it down like this:



Accusing people of witchcraft hasn't been used much since the Salem Witch trials so it would at least have to be as far back as that. You could change this soldier into a guard to fit it in better with certain areas. Do research on mass witch killings during the dark ages.

You also mentioned a church so the church will have to have some focus in this story. Dark ages still fits that in.

Maybe around the bubonic plague. There was a lot of hysteria then. If you have a chance there is a good documentary on the history channel once in a while about i.