Ninja- Yessir!
Vikings- Very much yes!
Avatar- Nope.
Harry Potter- No way!
Pirates- Sorry, no.
Belville- Nopers.
Adventurers- Nope.
My 2 cents,
What is/isn't castle?
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Remyth
- Trade King
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Adventurers, virtually everything about them is modern.
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kelderic
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For some reason, I mistook what the poll was asking, and put down Pirates. Silly me. In actuallity, pirates is as much Castle as Castle itself. As for the others:
Ninja- Yes
Vikings- Yes
Avatar- No
Harry Potter- Ish...
Belville- No
Adventurers- No
Kelderic
Ninja- Yes
Vikings- Yes
Avatar- No
Harry Potter- Ish...
Belville- No
Adventurers- No
Kelderic
Battling with college to try and prevent the dark age.
I think an important thing to consider is that just because a line contains a castle it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a Castle theme itself, and that's what seeming to be implied by the poll.
Certainly all the listed themes have great pieces for castles (and okay, castles themselves) but they still shouldn't be classed as being so.
Certainly all the listed themes have great pieces for castles (and okay, castles themselves) but they still shouldn't be classed as being so.
artificial snow
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Sir Vincent
- Steward
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R_The_Falcon
- Freeman
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Ah, one thing Lego did do right about Knight's Kingdom 2.Jojo wrote:Hello!
Hehe, luckily Knights’ Kingdom (two) wasn't labelled "Castle" but "Knights’ Kingdom"...Sir Vincent wrote:I only accept sets labeled as Castle to be Castle...
Bye
Jojo
As for the poll, Adventurers should be pretty obvious. As far as I know, medieval times never included planes and cars.
It seems that there is quite a range of criterion by which people define castle. Some people seem to define "castle" by the type of structures one can build in a line's sets, incorporating appropriate sets from Harry Potter, Adventurers, etc. Others desire a strictly technical definition in which only sets labeled "castle" by the lego company itself should be considered as such. Still others appeal to the historical context of a line to determine its "castle" status. Thus, in addition to official castle sets, associated themes such as vikings and ninja may be included. According to the traditional period which historian's define as the Middle Ages (roughly from 500-1500), Vikings most definitely fit into this designation. Their activity largely stemmed from the 8th to 11th centuries. Some debate erupts around the place of the ninja line, citing (among other things) that the Japanese did not have muskets (though they had gunpowder much before then) until the mid 16th century when the Portuguese arrived.
An important consideration to keep in mind about the Japanese culture that the ninja line represents is that ancient far Eastern cultures developed completely independently from the medieval European cultures represented in the castle line (with the exception of trade conducted through several layers of intermediaries). Thus, it is a disservice to the richness of East Asian culture to try to shove it into a story of Western history when it truly has its own, with its own periods and movements which in no way correspond to what was going on in Europe. In other words, the relationship between Eastern and Western feudal periods is more analogous than homologous. To a certain extent, the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan signified a slow death to the “medieval” cultures of both regions, as gradual improvement in technologies and transportation transformed everyday life in both regions and established interactions between the two.
To complicate matters further, every lego set involving medieval themes, structures, or concepts, whether part of the official castle line or not, is in fact a representation of how modern people understand the Middle Ages. These conceptions of the Middle Ages vary in their accuracy, ranging from the mostly historic "classic" castle lines (going up through about the Black Knights) to the highly fantastical (KKII, Harry Potter, DM, FK, etc). However, in all periods and lines, elements of fantasy and imagination on the part of modern designers have had their impact. How could they not? Lego's are, after all, a toy (and a highly imaginative one at that). Some of these elements are adapted from the stories told in medieval literature and legend itself. For example, the concept of the forestmen is most likely drawn from accounts of Robin Hood. Other lines sprinkle the historic with popular conceptions. The vikings, while an historically real group of people, didn't wear the horned helms we see in the sets, nor did they actually fight the mythological monsters described in Beowulf and the Norse Sagas. Lines like, Harry potter and Adventurers go to the extreme of Medieval representation, eliminating the history time period itself in favor of more modern settings while maintaining connections to certain medievalist ideas about magic, architecture, and aesthetics.
Toward what conclusion does all this discussion draw? Which lines are in and out of consideration as lego "castle"? Well, that all depends on which criteria you use to define it, such as those suggested above (and, of course, there are more options than these). Perhaps more importantly, how does the community together define this issue. To a certain extent, this decision rests on the strongest consensus reached in this thread. On the other hand, what becomes considered castle is whatever sets, topics, and news which members find relevant enough to post in this forum (and are not moved by the Admins from "castle sets" to the " general lego" category. So ultimately, the decision is up to them )
Well ladies and gentlemen, this is a very complicated answer to what was supposed to be a simple question. Hope something was useful.
-chuck
An important consideration to keep in mind about the Japanese culture that the ninja line represents is that ancient far Eastern cultures developed completely independently from the medieval European cultures represented in the castle line (with the exception of trade conducted through several layers of intermediaries). Thus, it is a disservice to the richness of East Asian culture to try to shove it into a story of Western history when it truly has its own, with its own periods and movements which in no way correspond to what was going on in Europe. In other words, the relationship between Eastern and Western feudal periods is more analogous than homologous. To a certain extent, the arrival of the Portuguese in Japan signified a slow death to the “medieval” cultures of both regions, as gradual improvement in technologies and transportation transformed everyday life in both regions and established interactions between the two.
To complicate matters further, every lego set involving medieval themes, structures, or concepts, whether part of the official castle line or not, is in fact a representation of how modern people understand the Middle Ages. These conceptions of the Middle Ages vary in their accuracy, ranging from the mostly historic "classic" castle lines (going up through about the Black Knights) to the highly fantastical (KKII, Harry Potter, DM, FK, etc). However, in all periods and lines, elements of fantasy and imagination on the part of modern designers have had their impact. How could they not? Lego's are, after all, a toy (and a highly imaginative one at that). Some of these elements are adapted from the stories told in medieval literature and legend itself. For example, the concept of the forestmen is most likely drawn from accounts of Robin Hood. Other lines sprinkle the historic with popular conceptions. The vikings, while an historically real group of people, didn't wear the horned helms we see in the sets, nor did they actually fight the mythological monsters described in Beowulf and the Norse Sagas. Lines like, Harry potter and Adventurers go to the extreme of Medieval representation, eliminating the history time period itself in favor of more modern settings while maintaining connections to certain medievalist ideas about magic, architecture, and aesthetics.
Toward what conclusion does all this discussion draw? Which lines are in and out of consideration as lego "castle"? Well, that all depends on which criteria you use to define it, such as those suggested above (and, of course, there are more options than these). Perhaps more importantly, how does the community together define this issue. To a certain extent, this decision rests on the strongest consensus reached in this thread. On the other hand, what becomes considered castle is whatever sets, topics, and news which members find relevant enough to post in this forum (and are not moved by the Admins from "castle sets" to the " general lego" category. So ultimately, the decision is up to them
)Well ladies and gentlemen, this is a very complicated answer to what was supposed to be a simple question. Hope something was useful.
-chuck
"In destinies sad or merry,
True men can but try"
-Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 564-5
True men can but try"
-Sir Gawain and the Green Knight 564-5
Ninja, Pirates, and Vikings are the only ones I consider "castle". Belville has some castle, but it also features modern day things. Harry Potter also is in modern times, but it features castle related things, like magic. The others are not castle at all.
Matt
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R_The_Falcon wrote:Ah, one thing Lego did do right about Knight's Kingdom 2.Jojo wrote:Hello!
Hehe, luckily Knights’ Kingdom (two) wasn't labelled "Castle" but "Knights’ Kingdom"...Sir Vincent wrote:I only accept sets labeled as Castle to be Castle...
Bye
Jojo
As for the poll, Adventurers should be pretty obvious. As far as I know, medieval times never included planes and cars.
That's very true! I agree with all of you.
Matt
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Check out my brickshelf account:
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And my brickset profile:
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