Peter Larsen wrote:
>
> Peter Metcalfe says:
>
> It depends on why eunuchs are made. While all RW cultures that I'm aware
> of had a "don't mess with the harem" purpose, castration in a very
> family-oriented society could be a way of severing a child's ties with his
> family ("You will not carry on the family line, you will be given to the
> Emperor"). I have no idea if this fits with Kralori culture or not.
I'm sure that this adds new meaning to "And Humakt Severed His Ties To His Family."
Also, in Byzantine society, the eunuchs were given positions of authourity as it was considered that such 'men' would not have any dynastic ambitions and were no threat to the Imperial House. I think the Byzantines were more afraid of palace coups than their frontiers or effective governance... I can see a few spots in Glorantha where that might hold true as well.
> The Afadjann write up in Enclosure 2 had eunuchs as I recall. It doesn't
> seem entirely out of place in Carmania, either. (There was something in the
> Glorantha Intro about men forced into the women's caste as a punishment,
> wasn't there? Castration could be part of that process.) Dara Happa is
> sufficiently anti-sex to have traditions of self-castration.
>
> Peter Larsen
All food for creepy thought.
Jeff
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