UPDATE 7: v2.07
Yes, I'm still polishing and improving this from time to time (it's being used in my own campaign).
I just rereviewed, updated and expanded Grand Tribunal and Tribunal rulings up until 1179, mainly based on source material in ArM4e, specifically Hermetic Law and Politics. I felt there where interesting nuances that were lacking in the chronology previously. Many tribunal entries should be better and make more sense now but more can probably be done.
Page count is now 187. Also another reminder that anyone with a google account can comment directly in the document to suggest improvements and fixing errors.
10 Likes
Since I don't think anyone mentioned it.
Do you want some help in adding the many Iberian Tribunal data that was released in Finis Terrae? It mainly pertains to the fights between the Order and the Hedge Wizards from the region, Hedge Wizards being recruited by the Diedne, the peace treaty with the Sahirs and some rulings regarding North Africa that are haven't been ratified yet by the Grand Tribunal.
Asking because the PDF is finally something you can buy, the editorial took their sweet time between the release to the backers and the general release.
6 Likes
@Rhine_s_White_Mage I would really really love some help with that. I was interested in Finis Terrae, but I don't read spanish unfortunately :/. Feel free to dump the relevant suggested entries here, or you can edit as "comments" directly in the main document. I will see the commented changes and I can approve/deny/alter as needed.
I'd welcome summaries and discussion as well. It's an interesting part of the history.
Overall the Chronology is pretty near completeion and just minor additions, changes and fixes going on. I foresee no new major edits any longer - and I probably should remove the "work in progress" status soon.
4 Likes
UPDATE 8: v2.08
It's been a few months. I'm still polishing and improving this from time to time (it's being used in my own still running campaign) as well as sorting out the community suggestions for fixes and improvements. It's pretty much at the point where I don't foresee me doing more major changes really.
As mentioned, anyone with a google account can comment directly in the document to suggest improvements and fixing errors. I would like to ask the community's kind help with another pass of this this right now, as the there are discussions to sort out a release in nicer looking PDF format.
I would not mind contributions from Finis Terrae (I don't speak spanish), as well as the "TODO" list at the very end of the document.
5 Likes
First off, wanted to thank you for the effort put into this project. This is awesome!
I also wanted to ask about some info presented around the Spider War. Has Thrice-Told-Tales book been incorporated into this Chronology as of yet? The aforementioned book gives a detailed outline of the course of that event and the nature of Damhadh Allaidh.
Likewise, some information presented here does not seem to line up with what information we have on the Spider War in 5e (for example Diedne are credited for the destruction of the Pictish language, where as TTT specifies it as Pralix's work at the climax of the War, etc etc.)
1 Like
@Kodlak Thanks! This is great feedback and a good question!
Thrice Told Tales was certainly trawled and consulted. I did some things a little quicker than others (with not enough separate notes at times). The whole Spider war throughout the editions is a bit of a mess, and I had to make several editorial decisions. It's actually something I wanted to get back to and review again, because I do know I left more earlier editions in place when it comes to Damhadh Allaidh than I let new inconsistencies overrule things.
The spider war could definitely use another pass (which I'm pondering if I have time to do right now) - and regardless of that; I'm happy to take more specific suggestions and changes here or directly in the document.
Part of the problem in the 5th edition supplements, and the events as they are written and described have dropped a lot of "timeline-able" years and dates - in favor of looser story-telling. While it has good merit for the modules, I found it often made it much harder to incorporate - especially where inconsistent with earlier editions (this was an issue with a great many items).
Feel free to help out and dig in 
3 Likes
I haven't worked on the Chronology for a while but for the occasional minor fix. It's in a pretty hefty ready state as it is and it's working great as a resource for my own campaign.
Now a question to my sodales - are there any real outstanding issues in this Chronology that I really should fix? Any that you would like to help with? (it's open to comment).
Merry Yuletide
4 Likes
Is Finis Terrae (the Spanish Iberian Tribunal book) going to be incorporated into the timeline?
2 Likes
Slowly, but working on it 
4 Likes
That is wonderful! I understand that translating one language to another is difficult at the best of times, and so wasn't sure if you felt it was worth it for this project.
2 Likes
I'm new to this, even to Google Docs. This is an amazing achievement and reads as a wonderful history (and pre-history) of the Order. Thank you!
I've worked on my own downloaded doc to make a few adjustments:
- There are places where sentences were broken in the middle by line breaks. I think I've fixed all of these.
- I've tried to make it consisent that words like vis, sodales, and domus magna are in Italics.
- This may just be a personal preference, but there were many places where what were effectively new paragraphs started without being indicated, since everything was flush-left. This only showed up when "Show Formatting Code" was turned on. I've indented all these places just a bit.
I'm happy to share this altered document if you think it would be of help, just tell me where to put it (no rude suggestions, please) and what to name the file.
Thanks again,
Don
BTW, I recently founded and opened an occult library - the Adocentyn Research Library. Among our 17,800+ volumes, we have many resources of use to Ars Magica folks - History of Magic, Alchemy, Historical Astrology, Dark and Middle Ages, Arthurian Studies, Islamicate Occultism, etc. We don't yet have an RPG section, but when we do, my collection of everything that has been published for ArM since the beginning will be there. Look us up!
7 Likes
@DHFrew3 Thank you! Sorry for delay in reply - I check the doc more than the forum currently.
I spent far too many hours on it and a few people before me as well ofc, but I think I may have run away with it a little bit. But it brought some joy, and has also been quite useful in my own campaign.
I would much prefer any suggestions to be edited directly in the shared doc - as I'm fixing (and rejecting) suggestions a couple of times per month or when I see them. The Chronology is still "live" getting low key updates and revisions, but it was a while since I made any major changes enough to bump version.
Still, feel free to share your version with a link here (I suggest just using google drive) so we can all enjoy or you can dm it to me directly if you prefer. I might see if I can make a good comparison look.
P.S. The Research Library looks really cool! It's a bit far IRL for me though...
1 Like
@Kuni_Mizomura Just a little curious if you had any progress?
Not sure how you intend to do it, but whats probably ideal for me is if you made a separate google doc with the same super simple formatting and general style and yearly sections. That might make it most easy to review and incorporate.
An alternative is just pasting it to my doc as suggested edits (but may be clumsier for large sections).
If you prefer just keeping a separate companion doc for Iberia, you can also share it in this thread (I'll add it to main post for clarity).
1 Like
Not yet at 50%.
I initially thought about incorporating the annotations into your document, but then I came across the 3rd edition annotations of the Iberia Tribunal. These 3rd edition annotations are not compatible with the 5th edition annotations, so I'm creating a Google Drive document first so I can share it with you and see how to fit it into the full document.
I am following the style of annotations you have used in the overall document:
simple formatting, general style and yearly sections.
1 Like
Once you two have completed the merged document, let me know, and I'll get to work making a fancy PDF
1 Like
Feel free to point out the problem entries as you find them. Can do this as comment in my main document. For example, mark the section and comment with "3rd edition information, not compatible with..." and add "5th canon" or "Finis Terae" etc.
1 Like
@Red-Shadow-Claws that would be lovely, as we've discussed before 
.
Ideal if it's easily updated by yours truly after, because I keep getting/finding minor corrections.
It's ongoing in burst cycles as I find things in play or reading. (lately mostly minor fixes in the ffirst millennia before the Order)
Are you sticking to canonical by the book events? I ask because i am starting a new Rhine Gorge saga and I added a few entries to "heremtic stuff that happened in the middle Rhine" on the basis of real history.
For example: the battle of Andernach in 939 happens just a stone's throw from both Oakdell and Rudiaria, and considering that there is one canonical Wiedrich ex Flambeau who was on Otto's side at the Lechfeld, it is very plausible that the local Flambeaux might have intervened there with or without a (tacit) approval of the Order.
Similarly, Jerbitons would have wanted to attend the Diet of Worms, if only to observe...
And of course, Ulfberht was a Verditius Sword crafter if the Confraternity of Roland who made Swords of Virtue using metal traded from Oakdell's local mine...
In the original version, book canonical. I don't know about the new version.
Let me try to answer as best as I can. The original version (still in there) covered up to 3e and some of 4e I believe. But none of 5e. The current version is several multiples larger and contains as much of 5e as I could figure in first pass through the books - primarily where there was a YEAR attached. It can still use a few more passes and selections as there are some events with no year or year-range mentioned but could be reasonably placed (quite a few have been placed already, but this is pretty much what's left).
The unreliable narrator/commenter notes (in italics) can be seen as commentary, musings or political angling and not necessarily canonical.
As for the entries themselves to be canonical - Yes that's the 95%++ goal. Now the question might be to what edition? And internal contradictions (there are plenty, even within 5e). Mostly, this aligns as much as possible to 5e, but there are few things where I felt that earlier editions made slightly more sense - or there is a merge. I consider there to be no real big contradictions though. Some are noted in the document appendix.
There are some (mostly pre-order) entries that aren't necessarily Ars Magica canonical, but based on historical/mythical information. These were sparingly added to enrich magical history and align better to medieval, church and hermetic worldview - but not change Ars Magica or impact the Order's history in any real relevance (or the doc would never stop expanding). Many of these are already covered, hinted at or at least inferred in Ars Magica canon, but have been expanded/explained with historical/mythical research taken from many outside sources (which the official supplements kinda assume and need for context). I've really refrained from elaborating just for the hell of it.
TL;DR: Some liberties are taken, primarily on expanding existing events and covering a few holes. It's not intended as a document veering away from Ars Magica canon or for general fan additions.
@Jank However, directly to your specific examples they might be interesting observations as italic (e.g. unreliable) comments - at least where they are attached to existing canonical events. Would make sense to me.
1 Like