ES>>I have an ancient small cult for travelling
>>butchers and castrators of horses (there's an English name for their
>>occupation, but I've forgot it). It was related to Issaries someway.
>I think the english name is <gelders>.
Actually Knackers. The Knacks are what is removed when a horse is gelded (also known as knackered) by a Knacker at the Knacker's yard. However this reduces the horses strength so that it is tired more often. This observation has lead to the British calling themselves knackered when they are extremely tired. The Knackers also know how to turn Horses into Glue.
Pam Carlson:
As evidence for Yelm _not_ being worshipped by the City Dwellers, Pam cites:
>Even in the later parts of the FS, (1500 or so), the Yelmies who wanted
>the new emperor to undertake the ten tests all seemed to be from noble
>families.
So? I have never said that ordinary Yelm Worshippers could become Emperors or Nobles. I have said that the Nobility dominate the Higher Ranks of the Yelm Cult (ie All Yelm Imperators and most Yelm Elders). All I said that most city dwellers were members of Yelm the Youth at the best. If they are not of Noble Birth then there is virtually no chance of them getting into Yelm Imperator, as it says in the Writeup.
>They then had to stake their own right to worship Yelm (ie, status),
>and that of their entire family on the outcome of the emperor's
>trials. The emperor is said to have removed whole families and _clans_
>that way.
Which does not imply that urban commoners do not worship Yelm the Youth. Loosing the Right to worship Yelm would be an even *greater* loss if the ordinary commoners were members of Yelm the Youth!
>There was also a mention in the Entekosiad of the Dendara cult in 1300,
>trying to remain exlusively a noble-woman's cult. It was apparently
>opened up by the Lunars.
I think they were referring to Dendara in her aspect of as the Noble Wife. Most urban commoners are too poor to keep a wife at home all day so she has to get a job. In such a case, she would worship other goddesses than Dendara.
>I think surviving younger sons of Yelmic "nobles" make up the bulk of
>the solar (non-Lodrilli) priesthoods, educated classes, and almost all
>of the army officers - the top couple levels of society.
But their children will _still_ be eligible for Yelm initiatehood and even some of _them_ will have to take up a lower paying job.
>Over time you find guys with Yelmic fathers who might have to dig
>ditches or something, but I'll bet they're no longer accepted into the
>Yelm cult.
Why? This is not _implied_ by the Yelm Cult Writeup.
>> Because of the Urban focus of Dara Happan Society, there
>> is no such thing as a country noble.
>Who owns the land? If nobles don't own land, what have they got?
But the Nobles live in the City for the large part of their lives. They only visit the land estates once a year to ensure that it is well kept and give it his blessings (fertility) for the year. They are to some extent absentee landlords not medieval lords in their country castles. Much of the land is governed by the Overseers who have to look after the land for the noble and make sure the revenues pour in.
>>The Pentans do not _see_ Kargzant as the son of Yelm. Yelm is an
>>evil god worshipped by the spineless soft city dwellers who fancy
>>boys instead of horses.
>So why did Sheng give preferential treatment to Yelmies? (Still not real
>pleasant, but not horriffic.)
What preferential treatment is this? He despoiled their temples and imported Kralori rites and magics which still has not been totally expunged.
>When the ranks are decimated, "whole new
>families are discovered to be descended of Yelm", or words to that
>effect. Not too tricky, with lots of younger sons of younger sons
>serving as third rank apprentice scribes. That's why it's VERY
>important to keep track of one's lineage.
Most of the Lineages are made up to enroll promising people. Rather than enroll some dullard who's particulars are correct, they are more likely to find some promising chap (in magic and/or adminstration frex) and construct a plausible genealogy for him. They already had the Plentonic debates when this happened so they are not likely to be very fussy about this. Plentonius as everybody knows was not struck dead.
End of Glorantha Digest V3 #42
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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