Re: Portuguese History, etc.

From: Nick Brooke <Nick_Brooke_at_compuserve.com>
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 04:24:03 -0500


While I love learning random snippets of intriguing historical, mythical, literary, etc. lore, perhaps the best way to post such
(further to Sergio's recent suggestion) would be for the poster
to make some attempt at suggesting a Gloranthan parallel, or even to attempt a conversion. Thus, while I recently posted "straight" an excerpt from the Persian Shah-Nama, I also suggested relevant bits of Glorantha (Carmania and/or the caste-ridden West) where such a story might be part of local folklore. Some of Nils' and Sandy's "Kralori" tales are "conversions" of existing stories, I believe. Certainly, my own folk-tales benefitted from real tales: "The Emperor Who Had No Clothes", "Mr. Fox", "The Old Woman Who Lived In A Vinegar Bottle" to name but three.

The Roman distaste for traitors is well-known, cf. their treatment  of the Schoolmaster of Falerii (who led his pupils, sons of the noble families of his city, out to the Roman camp to deliver them as hostages; rather than being rewarded, he was handed over to his former pupils, stripped and bound, and they were given sticks with which to beat him back to town; the people of Falerii were so impressed by this noble gesture that they made peace and submitted to the SPQR). Dead impressive, that. You can make lots of friends by treating them honourably in the face of opportunity.

Sadly, the Lunars seem to *love* traitors, and probably wouldn't treat them this way (pour encourager les autres). Some more "noblespirited"  people -- Humakti, say, or Yelmalions, or the old-time Dara Happans -- might have more scruples.

There's an interesting parallel story from Livy's history, about the traitress Tarpeia who delivered Rome to the Sabines. One of her motive was pure greed -- the Sabines wore golden arm-rings, and she offered to give them access to the Capitol in exchange for "all of those things you wear on your arms". The Sabines, hating traitors just as much as the Romans, availed themselves of her offer, then crushed her to death by throwing their shields at her -- these being the *other* things they wore on their arms. As Jean Markale noticed, there's something pleasantly Celtic/barbaric about this transaction, suggesting Livy's possible source (and, of course, a useful Orlanthi parallel).

(Yet another example comes from Polyaenus Gallicus' "Ancient and
Modern Stratagems of the Gauls", published in 1658: "A young Ephesian who surrendered her country was buried under the gold and precious stones of the Gauls." It's a tough life, selling out to noble types. Better to join the Empire any way you can, by hook or by crook -- and the Empire richly rewards its crooks!).

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Nick
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End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #324


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