Re: Gloranthan Place-Naming (Slightly less OT)

From: BEThexton <bethexton_at_...>
Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 17:36:23 -0000

It doesn't just have to be cities. Most country names are similar in different languages. However in English we refer to a country called "Germany," presumably taking after the romans who called the tribes from that area germans (of course at one time it was fashionable in English to refer to germans as Huns, associating them with a non-germanic tribe that faded away at about the end of the roman empire). However the French, who are a little closer, call it "Allemagne," (or some spelling similar to that) presumably because the Alaman were the next tribe roughly east of the Franks, so everyone in that direction was called by that name. Of course, in the country in question they refer to themselves as "Deutsch", which is similar to the English "Dutch" which in English is used for the related people in the place sometimes called Holland but more properly called The Netherlands (a variant, I suppose, on the old "The Low Country").

Taking this confusion to Glorantha, there is almost no chance that the Lunars call Sartarites by that name. The Dara Happans probably have some generic term for Rebel worshipping barbarians, and may be sloppy about distinguishing one from another. The more southerly kingdoms probably have some term that more or less means "Orlanthi," but may very well refer to an ancient (and possibly long lost) tribe or kingdom, rather than to any particular religious term. The once Orlanthi worshipping provinces even farther south probably have some term roughly meaning "Heortling," which again may not look anything like `Heortling.' At a guess, it might refer to whatever pre-EWF kingdom ruled south of Kero Finn. The Tarshites might actually use the term "Sartar," but then again they might just talk about the Quivinni (as might those from the Far Place, even if they are now Sartarites).

--Bryan

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