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Maps |
Language |
Outlanders |
Links |
Herb Lore |
EXTRA |
MapsThere are several maps of Abertawe (the kingdom) and Cai Newydd (the island) that have been created, with more being added on a semi-regular basis (if you have one or suggestions for one, please pass them along). The maps are listed below. To view just click on the appropriate title. It should be noted that the maps are constantly evolving and never fixed. If you need to add a town, river, secret place, or geographic feature, just let me know and I will try and adjust them.
The .PDF files are the most detailed and the largest. You'll need Adobe Acrobat in order to view them. It can be downloaded for free here. LanguageFi erioed cyffyrddedig chwrw gwnawn mo cara. - I never met an ale I didn't like. Not surprisingly, people have enquired as to what language is commonly spoken in Abertawe. The short answer is Welsh, but the long answer... well that's a story in itself (and one which I'm not going to go into now). Abertawe is based loosely on 4th through 9th Century Wales. This covers a period from the fall of Roman Britain through to the Angles-Saxon "invasion" of the British Isles. According to my research, this would mean that several languages would be spoken in Cai Newydd, but the most common would be the fore-runner of modern Welsh - our lingua franca. In addition to Welsh, the following languages would also probably have been found commonly:
In addition there would probably be some Nordic languages spoke in isolated coastal regions. The one question remaining about language, is what we actually call it. Obviously we are not in Wales so Welsh probably isn't appropriate. Sir Fiera (aka Steve Lawrence) suggested Cymraeg, which is Welsh for Welsh, and pending other suggestions perhaps this is what it should be called. OutlandersWe should probably preface any discussion of Outlanders by making a distinction between the place and the people. The outlands, in a geographic sense, represent those underpopulated and undergoverned border regions that lie between the various kingdoms of Cai Newydd. The term Outlander, by contrast, is specifically applied to descendants of the original inhabitants of Cai Newydd--proto Newyddians as it were. These people would have been originally of Celtic stock, but would have been displaced by successive waves of other Celtic peoples, and finally by Germanic tribes. For this reason I have always referred to them as the 'old tribes' as opposed to 'new tribes' - though through intermarriage and cultural cross-over, they would probably consider themselves essentially part of the larger Celtic-Welsh culture. I have ascribed general traits to Outlanders that players may or may not wish to follow (if you want to add or change this list or other aspects of the Outlanders just drop me a line):
I should point out that not all of this is entirely fictional. Much of this has been adapted from a Welsh saga called the Mabinogion Chronicles (c. 1300 or 1400), and from various historical and fictional sources. LinksThese are some useful links I've found for adding colour and information to my posts (I've tried to rate them for usefulness).
I will add more as I come across them. Herb LoreFrom the baneful to the beneficial, here you will find information on various herbs referenced in posts:
EXTRAThere's nothing extra yet... ----------------------- |
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