>>We suspect these Orlanthi
>>wear trousers, have nobles with estates, have civic centers, keep written
>>records and aspire to the lofty title of Imperial senator or other such
>>office.
>Sounds a lot like some peoples' Sartar - e.g. my impression of the
>Aldachuri, or possibly the Wilmskirk tribes in the basin.
No, I don't think that the Alduchuri are that "imperialized" - certainly not the Wilmskirk tribes. The Aldachuri might have a handful of members that view themselves that way (Harvar Ironfist) but it certainly isn't a wide-spread attitude. Whereas in the Oslir riverlands, we have Orlanthi who for over a century have received wealth and power from the Empire (and probably would get very nasty if the empire didn't keep handing out money, power and titles to them).
>Religion:
>I'm not sure I'd chuck out Orlanth kingship rites at all - after all _all_
>the Christian kings up to Charlemagne's father (and many long afterwards)
>received their legitimacy from definitely non-Christian heathen gods and
>rites. The wagon rite and long-haired, bearded dress mentioned by Rimbert
>are good old Wotan rites continued in the thoroughly Christianized
Frankish
>kingdom. Admittedly without direct invocation of Wotan, but with all the
>details. The Ynglingatal in Snorre's Heimskringla (written in the 13th
>century) still traces the Norse royal house back to Frey.
>Imagine Lunar praises in bad stave rhymes...
Sure the King of Tarsh claims his legitimacy to the principles of kingship established by Vingkot (kingship by blood) and has the traditional Tarshite royal regalia to prove that he is the lawful king. But he doesn't direcly invoke or evoke Orlanth's kingship magic any more - but then again he doesn't need to. If he didn't belong to the right bloodline and didn't parade around with the royal regalia, the Tarshite king would probably be thrown out of power in a heart-beat, but he does have the magic tokens of kingship that even the traditional rural Orlanthi respect.
However, he certainly doesn't call on Orlanth to enforce his authority as king - he calls upon his own personal patrons: Hon-Eel, the Red Goddess and the Seven Mothers. But, as I've said before, he doesn't need to since he already is king according to Vingkot's rites and he holds the royal regalia given to his tribal founder by Orlanth.
Jeff
End of The Glorantha Digest V6 #37
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