Heortland Question

From: Julian Lord <julian.lord_at_hol.fr>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 16:09:44 +0200


Nick gives a most sensible answer to Oliver's query:

> > I was wondering whether the main written language used in Heortland
> > was. Is it still Heortlander or do they use the language of their Western
> > overlords instead. OR do they use both for different purposes like
> > English and French were used in Medieval England?
>
> The latter is the more fun, and I embrace it.

Fun and sensible at the same time!

> Remember that there have been "Western" influences in Heortland since the
> end of the First Age. It's not just King Richard's johnny-come-lately Rokari
> crusaders (although those *are* rather like a brutish Norman Conquest on
> their own) -- perhaps a fair comparison is:
>
> Second Age Heortland - like Anglo-Saxon England becoming converted
> to Christianity (Aeolian Malkionism): Venerable Bede Country.
>
> Third Age Heortland - like late AS England being invaded by Normans
> (Rokari Crusaders): Hereward and Ivanhoe Country.

Oh. Well they actually have three scripts, then. An archaic script used mainly by the Aeolian church, a newer one used by Richard's lot, and a dialect of Theyalan which lends to and borrows from the other Heortlander languages. The strongest of the three is probably the archaic Aeolian script IMO. Not only will it have integrated the important local religious and magical concepts, but it will also have been rejuvenated by the arrival of the Rokari. It must have a larger vocabulary than the other two, and thus be a useful common language, even though the normal processes of integration will still be in their infancy.

(BTW, many westerners might have some difficulty understanding the spoken form of Aeolian Westerner, which would be strongly influenced by the complex vowel system used by the local Orlanthi peoples.
Think of English spoken with a heavy Welsh accent ...)

There's probably a (historically unstable) balance of the three scripts in the 1620s as you both suggest, as well as a (historically unstable) balance of ideologies. An excellent place for poets, adventurers, and outcast magicians. A terrible place to be a landowner ...


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