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Spice and Wolf (light novel)
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May 18, 2011 10:53 PM
#1

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May 2010
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OK i know it takes place in what appears to be Europe and what appears to be the middle ages but my question is what period of the middle ages, and what modern country would they be in?

my guess is around 1200 ad as there is still heathens/pagans suggesting they haven't been pillaged or destroyed by the christian crusaders. and i also believe it takes place somewhere central possibly medieval Germany.

for some reason yoitsu makes me think of Scandinavia.

what are your thoughts?
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May 19, 2011 2:20 AM
#2
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May 2009
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Europe is pretty obvious. Country wise I would say its harder to tell, You can scratch out the United Kingdom for one. since they don't cross the ocean, and you need some places that were heavily controlled by the church. So Mainland europe is for certain.
May 19, 2011 7:02 AM
#3

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Feb 2005
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Seemed too vague to be anywhere specific I'd say, most likely just a fantasy setting based on generic European medieval times. I'm getting a slight Eastern Europe vibe from it though.
As for the age, I'd be guessing something synonymous to middle 14th to late 15th century.
May 19, 2011 7:08 AM
#4
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May 2011
25
I've only read one of the novels, but I just imagined a vague medieval European setting rather than anything thing worldly. :)
May 20, 2011 10:55 PM
#5

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May 2010
99
interesting responses. the names of the towns make me think of Germany, Poland, or Denmark. possibly it is all 3.
Infinite growth is the ideology of a cancer cell
May 25, 2011 6:04 AM
#6
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Apr 2011
5
Europe, late Middle Age or Renaissance for sure.
The large number of independent states and climate suggests the Holy Roman Empire
With a lot of narrative freedom, of course
May 25, 2011 9:13 PM
#7

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killercode said:
Europe, late Middle Age or Renaissance for sure.
The large number of independent states and climate suggests the Holy Roman Empire
With a lot of narrative freedom, of course


i agree, that was my belief as well.
Infinite growth is the ideology of a cancer cell
May 29, 2011 3:04 AM
#8

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Mar 2010
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I agree with killercode. Late Medievals or early Renaissance, probably in the South of Holy Roman Empire or Northern Italy. The names of towns are mostly German but the architecture and the way the people dress looks more Italian.

The biggest problem is with the Paganism. In this era last pagan nations lived in the Eastern an Northern Europe. But "Spice and Wolf" is a work of fiction. They needed paganism and developed trading so they mixed it. With a very good effect

P.S. I'm wathing the first season. When I finish the second one I will say more or change my opinion
Minorun-runMay 29, 2011 3:08 AM
Jun 12, 2011 12:29 AM
#9

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May 2010
99
i swear i saw german writting on a letter in the show. i could be wrong but it looked like meine spelled that way.
Infinite growth is the ideology of a cancer cell
Jun 12, 2011 9:56 PM
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Aug 2009
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bcasey25raptor said:
i swear i saw german writting on a letter in the show.


Season one, episode 7, right at the start: Ein Bericht über Chlöe (A report on Chloe), which made me chuckle when I saw it.
Jun 12, 2011 10:47 PM

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BashZeStampeedo said:
bcasey25raptor said:
i swear i saw german writting on a letter in the show.


Season one, episode 7, right at the start: Ein Bericht über Chlöe (A report on Chloe), which made me chuckle when I saw it.


yes right there. i guess it takes place in a setting based off of medieval germany.
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Jun 17, 2011 7:08 PM

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Dec 2010
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Also when they capture horo in episode 4 they send a letter with german writings on the envelope. My opinion is end of the 14th century.
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Oct 14, 2013 5:54 PM

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Mar 2013
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because of all the talk about heathens i think 1200 is a little late. it seems more like around 1000. i would normally guess that the location is in central europe except that in the second season there is someone speaking french. so that would lead me to believe that it is just east of France.
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Oct 20, 2013 4:15 PM
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Mar 2013
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The architecture from the first arc looks Italian, and the second arc looks German. They keep going "north" in the 2nd season, so I'm guessing they could be passing through Poland and the baltic states. I always imagined Horo's home being somewhere in the forests of Russia. There were also plenty of heathens holding on in that region later. Crusader Kings 2 might not be the best historical aide though.

As for the time setting, the Hansa were big traders in Germany in the 1200-1300s. But, here's the thing. Horo and Kraft eat potatos in one of the episodes...a new world crop, which would mean 1500s at least. So not everything is consistant, but what is new, it's a work of fiction.
Oct 24, 2013 9:05 PM

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Dangime said:
The architecture from the first arc looks Italian, and the second arc looks German. They keep going "north" in the 2nd season, so I'm guessing they could be passing through Poland and the baltic states. I always imagined Horo's home being somewhere in the forests of Russia. There were also plenty of heathens holding on in that region later. Crusader Kings 2 might not be the best historical aide though.

As for the time setting, the Hansa were big traders in Germany in the 1200-1300s. But, here's the thing. Horo and Kraft eat potatos in one of the episodes...a new world crop, which would mean 1500s at least. So not everything is consistant, but what is new, it's a work of fiction.


Oh I didn't even notice the potato eating. I knew it came from the new world but it just never crossed my mind
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Sep 24, 2014 6:16 AM
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Sep 2014
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I am still in the process of watching the anime. I am up to episode 7 of 13. So far I have not heard any Polish city names (no not even the German names for those cities). I have not seen any Polish architecture, and no, this is not eastern Europe.

I can say yes to Germany before Germany was unified back when they were a bunch of smaller kingdoms. I have seen some French architecture. Episode 7 reminds me of the Alps a bit. Episode 7 is about the shepherd girl.

I will post again when I have finished watching the anime.

How do I know it's not Poland? I am Polish and majored in History and Politics in university. Perhaps Poland appears after Episode 7...

I will keep you posted.

In summary: I can only be certain that many of the episodes are set in Germanic medieval states. Some architecture in some episodes looked French to me, but I am not certain.

So far it's not Poland or British Isles.
Sep 24, 2014 8:20 AM
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Mar 2013
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Left234 said:
I am still in the process of watching the anime. I am up to episode 7 of 13. So far I have not heard any Polish city names (no not even the German names for those cities). I have not seen any Polish architecture, and no, this is not eastern Europe.

I can say yes to Germany before Germany was unified back when they were a bunch of smaller kingdoms. I have seen some French architecture. Episode 7 reminds me of the Alps a bit. Episode 7 is about the shepherd girl.

I will post again when I have finished watching the anime.

How do I know it's not Poland? I am Polish and majored in History and Politics in university. Perhaps Poland appears after Episode 7...

I will keep you posted.

In summary: I can only be certain that many of the episodes are set in Germanic medieval states. Some architecture in some episodes looked French to me, but I am not certain.

So far it's not Poland or British Isles.


Well, there's a 2nd set of episodes after the first 13. Watch them all and let me know...I'd be interested if I'm right about heading through eastern europe.
Sep 28, 2014 8:59 AM
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Sep 2014
2
Ok so now I am up to season 2 episode 7.

The anime is set in The Holy Roman Empire.

Refer to map:
http://www.chs.helena.k12.mt.us/faculty/plarson/mydocs/My%20Pictures/Middle%20ages/HRE%201100.jpg

They start around Burgundy or Lombardy, they move past or through Swabia, after that is anyone's guess where they go. Basically by episode 9 they are near the Alps. After that it's all what is now Germany.

So yes, they most likely travel through northern Italy before episode 7 of season 1, possibly France too. In episodes 1 and 2 it looked like French architecture, then it was Italian after that, I could be confused and it might have all been Italian from episode 1 to 7...

Up until episode 7 of season 2 they were in the Holy Roman Empire where everyone spoke German.

Kraft Lawrence states in episode 1 season 2 that he does not know other languages. Two people are seen speaking French and Lawrence remarks he does not know another language (other than German).

In episode 7 of season 2 it is stated that Lawrence is a foreigner. The architecture of this place is drastically different than before. This city could be Gdansk (sometimes known as Danzig) in Poland.

Lawrence and Holo are treated harshly by the people of that city. There is a historical animosity between Germans and Poles.

Gdansk had been a Hansa trading city. Lawrence does not belong to Hansa, he does however belong to the Löwen Trading Guild (Löwen Handelsgesellschaft).

Once they reach Gdansk they basically stay there for the remainder of season 2. In the anime they call Gdansk Lanos and the the Vistula the Roma in the anime. After that they are heading for another place, it is most likely that this is Riga as Riga is another Hansa city.

Oh as for the time this anime is set in... Hansa is for sure mentioned in this anime. Hansa did not exist before 1358. Food for thought...

There are no hand cannons seen in this Anime so far. Hand cannons came into use in Europe after 1420.

Therefore I would place this anime at approx 1400 AD
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=297382&show=20#KOZm4dVWfyB0rA7M.99

So yeah finished watching the anime. I've seen every good anime now and I'm not prepared to watch anything from the mecha genre. Time to dive off a tall building.
Left234Oct 1, 2014 5:06 AM
Oct 4, 2014 5:01 PM
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Aug 2013
1
I had a feeling that it was further north, due to the fact that at some point lawrence said that he was orthodox and as pagans could be found to the north and east i would have placed them in modern day finland, within the territory of the hanseatic league.
Nov 9, 2014 10:05 PM
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Mar 2013
7
Still, potatoes. Unless you think that's something else they are eating in that episode at the church/monestary when they get rained on.
Mar 16, 2015 9:37 AM
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Nov 2012
1
Well seeing how i spy an astronomical clock on the building in the background in ep 10 or so, I´d say this must be from Prague. It looks exactly the same. Plus the colors to the city is similar. Holy rome is a bit vague, Germany maybe, but if I had to take an educated guess I´d say Prague for sure.
May 7, 2015 4:15 AM
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Mar 2013
7
Well, I've been reading the novel series, and it seems that the world is simply a fantasy world inspired by mideval Europe. One goes as far to show a non-real world map, so I guess that is that. Also, there would be no time that potatoes would be in general consumption and gunpowder not be in common usage, so it seems pretty clear its just a mishmash. Still a great series and one of my favorites.
Jun 14, 2015 11:00 AM
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Sep 2014
184
In the episode where the fortune teller person (amarti arc) was selling pyrite
they said that there was a lot of pyrite after the inquisiton
so maybe it was a bit after 1478
Oct 20, 2015 2:51 PM
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Oct 2015
1
I think it takes place in Ireland the church looks like a Catholic Church the music sounds like a jig or whatever the other is called
Jun 17, 2016 3:21 PM

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Jan 2016
33
In episode 1 of Spice and Wolf II there is a man in the market speaking to another, the merchants name is Mark, Larence speaks to him about learning a new language. The old man was speaking French, so we can rule out french, and i wouldnt say no to the UK being a possibility, while there is no ocean crossing paganism (mentioned multiple times) was found in the UK for quite some time, not to mention that the french did infact take over part of england for a time in medieval times. Also they speak of a friendly foriegn nation in the first season and thier clothes seem english. But if i would make a shot in the dark, I'd say it takes place in Itally around the 1400-1500's, the names of the cities and trading companies make sense, the Paganism of worshiping a wolf makes sense as well as many of the legends in Italy are about wolfs, not to mention that the french controlled Italy for a while, and in addition, the fact that there is so many currencies, Italy had many kindoms and many provences with different currencies which explains the different money systems. and Finally, the fact that Ho-lo says that her home in the north is snowy, Italy has mountains in the North called the Alps. There Is also a Mention of a Rier named Rome in the second episode of the second season. not to mention the fact that the port town they went to was not cold if it was in Germany it would be on a colder more northern ocean. so there you have it I say It's Italy.


BPXXBLINKERSJun 22, 2016 10:48 AM
Nov 2, 2016 12:45 PM
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Oct 2013
3
I just noticed 2 buildings in ep.10 season 1 which are from Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. The building at 17:55" would be the 'neues Rathaus' (new townhall) and the red building with two spires? (18:19") would be the historical 'Kaufhaus' (merchant's hall) in the Münsterplatz.
Jul 5, 2017 9:25 PM
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May 2017
1
The story is set in Germany, as you can see in episode 7 of S1, at 0:14, the paper header is written in german
May 14, 2018 5:22 PM
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May 2018
1
in the second season Lawrence said something in particular that intrigued me, when holo got sick lawrence proceeds to use the 4 humor method. let me explain, Humorism, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing the makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. this metod was used for almost 2,000 years starting about 400 D.C. of course, this would lead me to think it would appear closer to around 300-800 A.D however trenny silver coins were used in had a modern(saying this graciously of course) image of a king, also throughout the series it explains that the silver in the coins lesson so it's more likely to in deed be sometime during the 800 A.D in france. as further proof during 800 A.D is when Catholicism is spreading as the dominant religion, also before the christian crusades. in conclusion, it takes place during 800 A.D in France.
Oct 6, 2020 5:05 PM
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Dec 2014
103
What about Lawrences coat? It seems more like a more recent jacket than a midieval one? Is there anything of that nature for that time period.
Oct 18, 2020 1:46 AM
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Aug 2020
2
Minorun-run said:
I agree with killercode. Late Medievals or early Renaissance, probably in the South of Holy Roman Empire or Northern Italy. The names of towns are mostly German but the architecture and the way the people dress looks more Italian.

The biggest problem is with the Paganism. In this era last pagan nations lived in the Eastern an Northern Europe. But "Spice and Wolf" is a work of fiction. They needed paganism and developed trading so they mixed it. With a very good effect

P.S. I'm wathing the first season. When I finish the second one I will say more or change my opinion
I don't agree with Italy becaouse If you notice when they reach north the weather get so cold so they might be in germany.

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