Re: Orlanthi cultural keywords

From: Joerg Baumgartner <joe_at_toppoint.de>
Date: Sat, 25 Dec 1999 21:41:13 +0000


Tadaaki Kakegawa

> 1. What accurately do these words mean?

> -- weregild

A fee to be paid when an Orlanthi is killed or hurt by the offending party. Meant to be a financial means to avoid feuds. In practice, this works only part of the time.

> -- housecarl (or huscarl?)
> -- weaponthane

These terms are roughly equivalent, and designate an Orlanthi professional warrior in the service of a chieftain, king, or in unusual circumstances a warleader or a powerful thane (usually both).

> -- fyrd

"Orlanthi" for militia, the fighting force mustered by a clan / tribe / kingdom / city.

> -- feud

A lethal grudge involving several killings. Depending on the size of the opposing forces, this can be a family feud involving just two bloodlines and their closest kin, a clan feud which involves entire clans, or a full blown tribal feud also called a war. Colymar history knows the Zarran and Taral Wars, which would figure as tribal feuds, and the feud between Karandoli and Jenstali which is a prime example of a feud carried too far.

> -- kinstrife

A feud between kin. Anathema to Orlanthi society because kin is supposed to support you in a feud.

> -- clan (or tribal) champion

The most prominent warrior of the clan, who will be relied on in legal or pre-battle duels.

> -- godi
> -- god-talker

Again, mostly overlapping terms, meaning officiating priest for one of the Orlanthi pantheon deities.

> -- law-speaker

> 2. What are difference between "tula" and "stead"?

tula is clan land, a stead is a smaller unit managed by an extended family or two. Unlike the tula screen in KoDP, there are isolated steads scattered throughout the clan tula in addition to the central village(s) of the clan.

> 3. Is Elmal still worshipped among Sartarite? Yelm is not recognized as
> "the Sun"?

Definitely. Yelm is a foreign deity. Orlanth didn't slay the sun, but the Evil Emperor.

> 4. Can I call worshiper of Elmal as "Elmalion"?

Usually "Elmali".

> 5. How orlanthi live in the stead? How many families does belong to a
> stead? How often weponthane patrol visit? How they farmers defend
> themselves from dangers of wilderness (chaos/bandit/raid)?

Apparently the definition of stead varies, and stead sizes certainly do. Some "steads" could be called hamlets of two to three major farming families and a couple of cottars (franklins without (much of) their own fields), others are little more than a family of farmers with maybe six adults.

> 5. Keeps (Runegate , Jalorar etc.) has owner clan ? or Royal House
> kept it?

Runegate seems to have had three owner clans, from the original triaty, although it should be one clan which lived there.


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