Re: Russia in Ill Bethisad

 --- John Cowan skrzypszy:

> > By the way, I am still not entirely clear with the Republic of the
> > Two Crowns, Ill Bethisad's equivalent of Poland. Was it already
> > there before the beginning of The Great War, or could it have been
> > emerged as a result of Russia's defeat?
>
> No, it's old.  There was no Partition of Poland, so the Rzeczpospolita
> survived right up to the present, although it did manage to ditch the
> veto, and just in time too.
Interesting! Does that also mean that Galicia was not a part of the
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy?
And a second question: if Poland was already there before the Great War, then
on what side was it? Are there any maps of entire Europe of Ill Bethisad?

> (How do you say "Republica" in Wenedyk?)
"Rzejpublyka".
The Republic of the Two Crowns would be: "Rzejpublyka Dwar Kronar".

> The Two Crowns in question are the old Polish and Lithuanian monarchies.
> "Republic" here simply = "State", as in Latin, and does not imply the
> absence of an (elected) monarch.
Indeed. As you probably know, "Rzeczpospolita" is a litteral translation of the
word "Republic"; sometimes the two constituents were written separately. As far
as I know, it has never been used in Polish in the context of any other country
than itself; the "normal" word for republic is the borrowed "republika".

> Note that most ethnic Lithuanians remain pagan in the 21st century,
> which accounts for the close traditional alliance between the Republic
> and the Armorican Federation (aka the Channel Islands).
Interesting. Since Catholicism is so predominant in Poland, I am curious how
the Lithuanians managed to resist the pressure of Polish missionaries,
especially if the two countries were in such a stable unity.

> What happened between the RTC and the Swedes in Gustavus Adolphus's day?
That question is not for me to answer.

> > Besides, how do you explain Low Saxon to be its main language?
>
> Not the main language of the population, but rather the language of
> administration.  The RTC is also a successor of the Hanseatic League,
> or at least the eastern part thereof.
>
> > Perhaps my Romance-Polish language Wenedyk could play a role here as the
> > native language of Poland, as an alternative for Polish?
>
> A distinct possibility!  I assume this represents a conquest of Slavic
> territory by Italic-speaking peoples from the Venice area?
Not at all! "Veneti" or "Venedi" is a name used by Roman writers for completely
different tribes: those who lived in the Venice area and spoke something
between Italic and Balkan, a tribe somewhere in Gaul (or in Germany, don't
catch me on that), and at last the Slavs (and in later sources: the West
Slavs). It is the latter that Wenedyk inherited its name from.

Jan

=====
"Originality is the art of concealing your source." - Franklin P. Jones

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