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 Post subject: Coryani housing
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:40 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:41 pm
Posts: 363
Location: Australia
Hi there

Lately In have been doing some research into the housing that existed in the roman empire and was wondering how this translated into the architecture of Grand Coryan and other Roman based cities in the empire

It appears that generally there were three types of residences in the Roman empire

1. The Insula. Apartment buildings
2. Domus. Large houses for the wealthy class
3. Villas. Estates outside of the city.

I have detailed these in more depth below and would be interested in hearing peoples thoughts if Grand Coryan follows the same style.

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Taffy / Dean

Melbourne - Australia

Marco val'Sheem - Master Sword Sage
Gwe - Berokene Sailor & KNight of the 12 Oaks
Henrique Gatti- Dark-kin Archeologist

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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing - Insula
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:41 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:41 pm
Posts: 363
Location: Australia
Insula

An insula (Latin for "island," plural insulae) was a type of apartment complex that was the housing for the majority of the citizen population of ancient Rome, including all but the wealthiest from the upper-middle class (the equites).

The ground-level floor of the insula was used for tabernae, shops and businesses, with the living space upstairs. An insula might have a name, usually referring to the owner of the building.
Often Insula constructed at minimal expense for resulting in poor construction. They were built in timber, mud brick, and later primitive concrete, and were prone to fire and collapse.

Typically the smallest living quarters were in the building's higher floors, and the largest and most expensive apartments being located on the lower floors (bottom was a prime location if it was not used for businesses). The could be up to six or seven stories high. Ancient Imperial Rome had legislated insulae height restrictions , but despite this there are known examples of insulae reaching eight or nine stories.

The uppermost floors were considered the least desirable due to the extra stairs and safety concerns, and thus the cheapest to rent. Unlike the lower floors, often the upper floors were without heating, running water or lavatories, which meant their occupants had to use Rome's extensive system of public restrooms (latrinae). Despite prohibitions, residents would sometimes dump trash and human excrement out the windows and into the surrounding streets and alleys.

In the cheaper and higher apartment houses an entire family (grandparents, parents, children) might all be crowded into one room, often with out water or facilities. They had to haul their water in from public fountains and because people were cooking meals in crowded quarters with many of the flats were made of wood, fire was a very real threat because. They had to use public latrines as they did not have toilets.

While the traditional elite and the very wealthy lived in domus (see below), the two kinds of housing were intermingled in the city and not segregated into separate neighborhoods.

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Taffy / Dean

Melbourne - Australia

Marco val'Sheem - Master Sword Sage
Gwe - Berokene Sailor & KNight of the 12 Oaks
Henrique Gatti- Dark-kin Archeologist

Tos'Koreth - Disciple of Jeggal Sag
Vuran - Tultipet Body Guard

The Axeman (LRC)


Last edited by Taffy on Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing - Domus
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:42 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:41 pm
Posts: 363
Location: Australia
Domus

The domus was typically occupied by the Roman upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras and could be found in almost all the major cities throughout the Roman territories.

The residences of the Roman elite were constructed with elaborate marble decorations, inlaid marble paneling, door jambs and columns as well as expensive paintings and frescoes.

The domus included multiple rooms, indoor courtyards, gardens and beautifully painted walls that were elaborately laid out. The vestibulum (entrance hall) led into a large central hall: the atrium, which was the focal point of the domus and contained a statue of an altar to the household gods. Leading off the Atrium were cubicula (bedrooms), a dining room triclinium where guests could recline on couches and eat dinner whilst reclining, a tablinum (living room or study) and tabernae (shops on the outside, facing the street).

The domus few exterior windows and glass windows weren't readily available. And to protect the family from intruders, the domus would not face the streets.

There were no separate spaces for slaves or for womenwith the slaves sleeping outside their masters' doors at night. The women of the house used the atrium and other spaces to work once the men had left for the forum. Also no clear distinction existed between rooms meant for private use and public use. Private room could be opened to guests at a moment's notice.

Roman houses lay on an axis, so that a visitor was provided with a view through the fauces, atrium, and tablinum to the peristyle.

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Taffy / Dean

Melbourne - Australia

Marco val'Sheem - Master Sword Sage
Gwe - Berokene Sailor & KNight of the 12 Oaks
Henrique Gatti- Dark-kin Archeologist

Tos'Koreth - Disciple of Jeggal Sag
Vuran - Tultipet Body Guard

The Axeman (LRC)


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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:43 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 10:47 am
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Location: Central Alberta
I think this is mostly true for Coryan (both Grand and Old), as well as some other cities, there is evidence that not all of them follow this angle. Panari has a more rustic style as befitting the capital of Saluwe' in Coryan, and Savona is designed more like Venice, for example.

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Legends of Arcanis Campaign Staff
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Haakon Marcus val'Virdan, Divine Holy Judge of Nier
Ruma val'Vasik, Martial Crusader and Master of the Spear
Jorma Osterman, Arcane Coryani Battlemage


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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing - Components of a Domus
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:45 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:41 pm
Posts: 363
Location: Australia
The Parts of the Domus

Vestibulum (Fauces). The vestibulum was the main entryway hall and was usually only seen in grander structures. Many urban homes had shops or rental space directly off the streets with the front door between and the vestibulum would run the length of the Tabernae to allow a higher level of security by keeping the main portion of the domus off the street. In homes that did not have spaces for let in front, either rooms or a closed area would still be separated by a separate vestibulum.

Atrium (plural atria). The atrium where guests and dependents (clients) were greeted, was the most important part of the house. It was open in the centre and generally surrounded by high-ceilinged porticoes with sparse furnishings to give the effect of a large space. In the centre was a square roof opening called the compluvium in which rainwater could come, draining inwards from the slanted tiled roof to the impluvium.

Impluvium. An impluvium was a shallow rectangular sunken portion of the Atrium. to gather rainwater, which drained into an underground cistern. The impluvium was often lined with marble, and around which usually was a floor of small mosaic.

Fauces. These were similar in design and function of the vestibulum but were found deeper into the domus.

Tablinum. This room ran between the atrium and the peristyle, and was generally a study or office for the dominus, who would receive his clients for the morning salutatio. From this room, the dominus was able to command the house.

Triclinium. This was the Roman dining room. The area had three couches, klinai, on three sides of a low square table. During a hot summer day the family ate their meals in the summer triclinium, which was found in the peristyle, to stave off the heat.

Alae The open rooms on each side of the atrium. Their use in roman culture is unknown.

Cubiculum (Bedroom). The floor mosaics of the cubiculum often marked out a rectangle where the bed should be placed. In the master bedroom was a small wooden bed and couch which usually consisted of some slight padding. In each of the other bedrooms there was usually just a bed.

Culina. The Roman kitchen was a dark and gloomy and smoke filled the room because there was no chimney. The kitchen usually contained a small masonry counter wood-burning stove. The wealthy had a slave who worked as a cook and spent nearly all his or her time in the kitchen. This was usually in the rear section of the Domus on the outside of the peristylium.

Posticum. This was a servants' entrance that was also used by family members wanting to leave the house unobserved.

Peristyle. The form and function of the back part of the house was centred around the peristyle much as the front centered on the atrium. The main feature of the peristyle was the peristylium, a small garden often surrounded by a columned passage. Built around the peristyle were the bathrooms, kitchen and summer triclinium. Most of the light came from the compluvium and the open peristylium.

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Taffy / Dean

Melbourne - Australia

Marco val'Sheem - Master Sword Sage
Gwe - Berokene Sailor & KNight of the 12 Oaks
Henrique Gatti- Dark-kin Archeologist

Tos'Koreth - Disciple of Jeggal Sag
Vuran - Tultipet Body Guard

The Axeman (LRC)


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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing - Villa
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:46 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:41 pm
Posts: 363
Location: Australia
Villa

The Roman villa was originally a country house built for the upper class and were divided into two types: the villa urbana, which could easily be reached from Rome (or another city) for a night or two, and the Villa rustica, the farm-house estate permanently occupied by the servants who had charge generally of the estate and may have been only seasonally occupied.

The "classic" villa took many architectural forms, with many examples employing atrium or peristyle, for enclosed spaces open to light and air and were quite palatial. Deeper in the countryside, even non-commercial villas were largely self-supporting with associated farms, olive groves, and vineyards.

Generally the typicial villa-complex consisted of three parts.

The first part was the pars urbana. This was where the owner and his family lived. This part of the villa was very similar to that of a Domus and would have painted walls.

The pars rustica was where the servants and slaves of the villa worked and lived. This was also regularly the living quarters for the farm's animals and often might include store rooms, a hospital and even a prison.

The villa fructuaria was the main storage rooms of the villa complex and would be where the products, such as oil, wine, grain and other staples, of the farm were stored.
Some villas also included a temple for worship.

Villas were often furnished with plumbed bathing facilities and many would have had an under-floor central heating known as the hypocaust.

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Taffy / Dean

Melbourne - Australia

Marco val'Sheem - Master Sword Sage
Gwe - Berokene Sailor & KNight of the 12 Oaks
Henrique Gatti- Dark-kin Archeologist

Tos'Koreth - Disciple of Jeggal Sag
Vuran - Tultipet Body Guard

The Axeman (LRC)


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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing
PostPosted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:49 pm 

Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:41 pm
Posts: 363
Location: Australia
Cody

I agree completely

I see Savona as Venice, most definitely; and Plexus as being more Greek in architecture. Salantic I have always envisioned as Spanish for some reason. Country spain.

Generally I was thinking Core Coryani for the Roman styles

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Taffy / Dean

Melbourne - Australia

Marco val'Sheem - Master Sword Sage
Gwe - Berokene Sailor & KNight of the 12 Oaks
Henrique Gatti- Dark-kin Archeologist

Tos'Koreth - Disciple of Jeggal Sag
Vuran - Tultipet Body Guard

The Axeman (LRC)


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 Post subject: Re: Coryani housing
PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 4:06 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 1:06 am
Posts: 2109
Location: Portland OR
I largely agree. Especially at the ends of the spectrum.

For the Upper Crust of society, Grand Coryan is the definition of civilization, good taste, and the standard against which one is judged. So while there may be local variations by province, I believe all the most powerful families ape the villa and domus model of Grand Coryan.

For the lower strata...you're going to be in a slum. The verticality of the insulae was the result of a gigantic population squeezed inside the Roman walls. They HAD to go up. Cities in Arcanis are more heavily populated than most ancient or medieval counterparts. As a result. I believe most cities in Arcanis should also have 5 story slums unless they have room to spread out and no external threats. Panari might be a good choice for this. But even if they don't call them insulae I beteven a milandesian place like Tralia has similar conditions in the bad parts of town.

Where I think you get more differences is in the small middle strata.

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. . . and Sir Szymon val'Holryn, Order of the Phoenix
Formerly Sir Jaeger val'Holryn. Weilder of the Holy Avenger: Thonanos. Gave his soul to help free King Noen


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