In reply to your request for good sources of medieval stories and
characters I refer you to the Brother Cadfael mysteries written by Elis
Peters. Look for them in your local library in the mysteries section. They
are an excellent source of information, characters and even story ideas
(some of my stories have been lifted so baldly from the book that I was
afraid that the Palagarism Police were going to come bursting in).
The books focus on a character who was a soldier in the first
Crusade and then became a marine and finally sea captain in the Middle Sea
(Mediterranean) before coming back to his homeland of Wales, and becoming
a monk to spend the rest of his years. However, he is still very bright
and knowledgeable in the "ways of the world" and cheifly uses the healing
skills he learned on Crusade to heal people and discover murders (he's
seen a lot of death, so his "medieval autopsies" are respected).
The series, there are about 20, have very good character
development, and some excellent plots. I highly recommend them.

Mark VanderMeulen
vander+@pitt.edu