Interesting tidbit from this amusing article: Medieval con artists sold guides to buried treasure.
Interesting tidbit from this amusing article: Medieval con artists sold guides to buried treasure. D&D worlds would have lots of people doing the same. After all, adventurers are flush with cash and always looking for the next score.
As part of my research into the background of medieval Egyptian hermetic magic, I learned that there was apparently a large market in the late Middle Ages for pseudo-magical and pseudo-hermetic guides to using magic spells and finding buried treasure. These might fall into the category of what we would call “genuine fakes,” meaning that the texts are authentically medieval but that they were hoaxes and frauds in their day. Even though such texts are not “true” in any meaningful sense of the word, they do preserve within them cultural details that speak to the knowledge and interests of the people of medieval Egypt and what they wanted to know about their own country’s past.
Originally shared by Al Tlön
"Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Endorses Robert Schoch's Lost Ice Age Civilization; Plus: A Medieval Account of the Sphinx's Secret Chamber"
http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/gwyneth-paltrows-goop-endorses-robert-schochs-lost-ice-age-civilization-plus-a-medieval-account-of-the-sphinxs-secret-chamber
As part of my research into the background of medieval Egyptian hermetic magic, I learned that there was apparently a large market in the late Middle Ages for pseudo-magical and pseudo-hermetic guides to using magic spells and finding buried treasure. These might fall into the category of what we would call “genuine fakes,” meaning that the texts are authentically medieval but that they were hoaxes and frauds in their day. Even though such texts are not “true” in any meaningful sense of the word, they do preserve within them cultural details that speak to the knowledge and interests of the people of medieval Egypt and what they wanted to know about their own country’s past.
Originally shared by Al Tlön
"Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Endorses Robert Schoch's Lost Ice Age Civilization; Plus: A Medieval Account of the Sphinx's Secret Chamber"
http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/gwyneth-paltrows-goop-endorses-robert-schochs-lost-ice-age-civilization-plus-a-medieval-account-of-the-sphinxs-secret-chamber
Best watch out for ESP, and be good at making yourself scarce. I know a lot of players who would make it the sole purpose of a whole campaign to find the guy who cheated them, even if it was only for 10 GP...
ReplyDeleteI do recall "fake treasure map" being one of my favorite results from the 1e AD&D scrolls table.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it can lead to ANYTHING. Maybe something cooler than the supposed treasure, albeit perhaps not as valuable...
ReplyDelete