Re: Nur-ellen in the world of Brithenig (was Re: Nur-ellen universes)

Am 08/29 01:33  J?rg Rhiemeier yscrifef:
> Me govanen!
>
Benlligad!


> Is the concept alive *there* at all (other than in the shape of the
> Nur-ellen folk), or buried in old mythology?  I mean, there might not be
> an equivalent to JRRT *there*.
>
The fact that the Nur-ellen folk are there suggests that the concept
exists.  Even if there is no JRRT *there* the old mythology that he
mined to revive elvishkind does!  Who knows?  Perhaps the age of
nationalism of the 19th-20th C. lead to the rise of a Kemrese Sibelius
or a Wagner - or possibly an Ossian.


> BTW: Does Kemr include what *here* is Warwickshire and Staffordshire?
> (It seems so judging from the description of the boundary on your page.)
> I ask this because this way, both Mindon Gwar (Nur-ellen Mind`n War,
> English Warwick) and Tavrobel (Nur-ellen Tavrob`l, English Great
> Haywood) would be in Kemr.  They could be decent-sized cities (perhaps
> about 100,000-200,000 each)
> with substantial Nur-ellen speaking minorities.  What would they be
> named in Brithenig?  Are the Brithenig names translations of the
> Nur-ellen names (Mind`n War means "watchtower", Tavrob`l means
> "forest-town") or adaptations to Brithenig pronunciation of spelling
> (which would give something like "Mindyn War" and "Tafrobyl")?
>
Wrestling with the maps has caused half an hour of anguish.  This would
be my responsa - Tavrobel is definately within Kemr, probably in the
province of lla Ferch (the March).  Mindon Gwar is less happy.  It lies
virtually on the border, probably on the English side.  In a more
violent age it has changed hands several times.

> How strong can the "Elvish" element be in Kemr?  How many people still
> speak Nur-ellen, and how alive is their original culture?
> I can imagine that there is some kind of "Elvish Heritage Revival
> Movement" of young (and not-so-young) people seeking a better life who
> study the ancient (pre-Celtic!) culture of the Elves (I imagine those
> pre-Celtic Elves to have been culturally actually quite similar to
> Tolkien's, even though they were not immortal or anything), worship Eru,
> celebrate festivals at the old sites (such as the Stonehenge or the one
> in the city centre of Tavrob`l - right in the heart of the city, there
> is a circular open space surrounded by standing stones and tall trees) -
> and learn the Nur-ellen language.
>
I would say that 10% of the population (400 000+) would claim to by of
Nur-Ellen descent (maybe more because I don't know how widespread Beaker
folk genetic material is).  Statistically a large number of that could
claim to speak Kemrese Nur-ellen as a first or second language.
Intellectually they would be very important to national cultural
heritage.  Older druidic orders which are meso-pagan or monotheistic
would find worship of the One comparable to their own beliefs.  The
relationship between the Cambriese Uniate Church and the Elves probably
included unfriendly clashes.  Kemrese Environmentalists might see the
Elvish renaisance as very appealling.


> According to Padraig's post, there was a German Empire which seems to me
> to have caused trouble *there* as well even if they weren't Nazis.  So
> perhaps the German borrowings exist in Nur-ellen *there* as well?
>
So it appears.  No one has wandered across the Channel that far to find
out yet.

On other issues the idea that Great Britain could move from union to
federalism within its parts in a European Union led me to introduce the
Federated Kingdom *there*, possibly accompanied by a pro-Europe
sentiment.  (Although the idea that the Europeans there still work off
stress by beating up their neighbours could be an interesting one :)

- andrew.
--
Andrew Smith, Intheologus                       hobbit@earthlight.co.nz

             Jesus Christ is raging, raging in the streets.