: This is all very interesting, but I think we're being overly academic. Peter Jackson is not interested in which period of medeival Europe the story might take place in. What he said was that he wants to present the film's visual look in what will be the most popular of the fixed images that readers of the book have. In other words when you say the word "medieval" what picture comes to mind in most people? I think we'll see a fairly generic looking middle-age conglomeration, not based on fact, but on the majority's "idea" of what is medieval.

: I don't think it should look medieval(European, Asian or Martian), but Jackson is going for familiarity for the masses and what they have envisioned.

In my opinion, when the word "medieval" is used, the picture that comes to most people's mind would be.
1. Fighting men and knights in either chain or full plate armor,
who fight using long swords,lances and the long bow.
2. Commoners fighting with rakes, pitchforks etc.
3. Nobles living in great stone castles, and the wealthy in stone homes. These are spotlessly clean with fine furniture.
4. Commoners living in wood or wattle buildings with thatched
roofs,having rough-hewn plain furiniture, not very clean.
5. Commoners dressing in plain dull-colored clothing, ususally
un-kempt and dirty.
6. Nobles and the wealthy,clean and well-groomed, dressing in fancy, colorfull clothing often with ornate robes or cloaks.
7. Nobles and the wealthy dine at banquets, and commoners eat humble fare.
8. Nobles and the wealthy speaking prefect English, while the commoners do not.