Deverry
Encyclopedia
Deverry is a fictional kingdom in the Deverry cycle
, a series of novels by Katharine Kerr
.
It was settled by a fictional Gallic
tribe, known as the Devetii, which fled Gaul to escape the Romans near the end of the 1st century CE
. Using magical means, the Devetii were transported to an entirely different universe, which they called Annwn
(Welsh; lit. "no place"; may refer to fairyland, or to the world of the dead).
, to which some of the changes which affected the modern Brythonic languages (Welsh
, Cornish
, and Breton
) are applied. Deverrian is thus a highly naturalistic a posteriori kind of artificial language (in contrast to e.g. Tolkien's Elvish languages). Kerr provides some explicit information about the language, particularly its phonology, in the introduction of her Deverry books.
Vowels are long in stressed syllables, and short in unstressed syllables. The vowel y, however, will always be long when it is the last letter in a word.
Note that oi is never a diphthong, and represents two separate sounds: [oʊ.ɪ]
Note the following rules:
The Deverrian political system is feudal. At the top of the hierarchy is the High King, who has his court in the Holy City, Dun Deverry. The highest rank of nobility below the royal family is that of gwerbret. A gwerbret swears fealty directly to the High King, and has jurisdiction over a large region, called a gwerbretrhyn (from rhan, roughly meaning "demesne"). A gwerbret does not generally exert direct authority over the entire gwerbretrhyn; part of the rhan is divided among a number of vassals of intermediate rank, called tieryns. A Tieryn, in turn, has as vassals all the
lowest-ranking nobles, simply called "lords" (Deverrian arcloedd), within his tierynrhyn. The lords have direct fealty from the common-born. The lowest rung on the social ladder are the bondsfolk (serfs).
When a tieryn dies without an heir, the tierynrhyn reverts back to the presiding gwerbret, who chooses the next tieryn. If a gwerbret dies without an heir, however, the new gwerbret is chosen by a Council of Electors. In either case, once a successor has been chosen, the rhan and rank become hereditary again.
Deverrian society is characterized by continual internal warfare. Each lord has a warband, or personal army, and the various lords (or entire clans) always seem to have something to fight about, most frequently territory or honor. Sometimes, a war becomes a "blood feud," which can last for generations.
Deverry cycle
The Deverry Cycle is a series of Celtic fantasy novels by Katharine Kerr set in the fictional land of Deverry. As of November 2009, fifteen books have been published in the series....
, a series of novels by Katharine Kerr
Katharine Kerr
Katharine Kerr is a science fiction and fantasy novelist, best known for her series of Celtic-influenced high fantasy novels set in the fictional land of Deverry.- Biography :...
.
It was settled by a fictional Gallic
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
tribe, known as the Devetii, which fled Gaul to escape the Romans near the end of the 1st century CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. Using magical means, the Devetii were transported to an entirely different universe, which they called Annwn
Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed...
(Welsh; lit. "no place"; may refer to fairyland, or to the world of the dead).
History
| The Dawntime | This is the period when the Devetii still lived in the Homeland of Devetia Riga, in Gallia. They learn humor theory Humorism Humorism, or humoralism, is a now discredited theory of the makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers, positing that an excess or deficiency of any of four distinct bodily fluids in a person directly influences their temperament and health... and herbal medicine from the Rhwmanes (Romans Rome Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half... ) and Greggyn (Greeks Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... ). |
| The Great Migration | About 68 C.E., following Vindex Vindex Gaius Iulius Vindex, of a noble Gaulish family of Aquitania given senatorial status under Claudius, was a Roman governor in the province of Gallia Lugdunensis. In either late 67 or early 68, he rebelled against the tax policy of the Emperor Nero... ' unsuccessful rebellion against the Rhwman emperor, the Devetii flee Gallia along a dweomer road and arrive in their new world, Annwn Annwn Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed... . Vindex and Vercingetorix Vercingetorix Vercingetorix was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars.... are revered as heroes in Deverrian mythology, though their names are pronounced Gwindyc and Gwercyngetoryc in the Deverrian dialect. The "invasion" of Deverry would result in forced migration Forced migration Forced migration refers to the coerced movement of a person or persons away from their home or home region... of the Horsekin (who attacked the elves) and eventual enslavement of the "Old Ones," the indigenous humans of Annwn. |
| Year 1 | After eight years of wandering, King Bran sees an omen instructing him where to build Dun Deverry. |
| 1st century | Rule by King Bran's descendants. |
| 1st and 2nd centuries | War among the Great Clans for the crown when Bran's last descendant dies. |
| 3rd century | Founding of Eldidd. |
| 5th century | First contact with Bardek. First contact with the elves. |
| 8th and 9th centuries | The Time of Troubles, during which the Gwerbrets of Cantrae and Cerrmor vie with each other, and with Eldidd, for the throne. Pyrdon secedes from Eldidd. The prince of Pyrdon marries gwerbret Cerrmor's daughter and takes the crown. Deverry conquers Eldidd and makes it a province. Pyrdon becomes a province when its king abdicates. |
| 10th century | Numerous rebellions in Cerrgonney. |
| 11th century | Unrest stirred up in Aberwyn by dark dweomer. |
| 12th century | War with the Horsekin. |
Language
Deverrian belongs to the Celtic group of the Indo-European language family. It is derived from GaulishGaulish language
The Gaulish language is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken by the Gauls, a people who inhabited the region known as Gaul from the Iron Age through the Roman period...
, to which some of the changes which affected the modern Brythonic languages (Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
, Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, and Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
) are applied. Deverrian is thus a highly naturalistic a posteriori kind of artificial language (in contrast to e.g. Tolkien's Elvish languages). Kerr provides some explicit information about the language, particularly its phonology, in the introduction of her Deverry books.
Vowels
| Vowel | Long | Short |
|---|---|---|
| a | /aː/ | /a/ |
| e | /ɛ/ | |
| i | /ɪ/ | |
| o | /oʊ/ | /ɔ/ |
| u | /ʌ/ or /ə/ | |
| w | /u/ | /ʊ/ |
| y | /i/ | /ə/ |
Vowels are long in stressed syllables, and short in unstressed syllables. The vowel y, however, will always be long when it is the last letter in a word.
Diphthongs
| Diphthong | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ae | /eɪ/ |
| ai | /aɪ/ |
| au | /a/ |
| eo | /ɛo/ |
| ew | /ɛu/ |
| ie | /ɪə/ |
| ui | /ʊɨ/ |
Note that oi is never a diphthong, and represents two separate sounds: [oʊ.ɪ]
Consonants
Consonants are much the same as English, with the following exceptions:- c always represents the sound /k/, never /s/.
- g always represents the sound /ɡ/, never /dʒ/.
- dd is a single letter, and represents the voiced sound /ð/.
- (The unvoiced sound /θ/ will always be spelled with th.)
- r seems to be a trill (/r/), rather than an approximant (/ɹ/).
- rh is a voiceless r (/r̥/). In Eldidd province, it is almost indistinguishable from r. It is pronounced with a puff of breath before the r, in Deverry Proper it could be spelled as hr.
- w is the consonant /w/ when it follows d, g, or t.
Note the following rules:
- Doubled consonants are both pronounced.
- Primary stress is generally on the penultimate syllable, though placenames and compound words are often the exception.
Politics
The kingdom is divided into nine provinces: Eldidd, Pyrdon, Arcodd, Gwaentaer, Cerrgonney, Cantrae, Deverry, Auddglyn, and Cwm Pecl.The Deverrian political system is feudal. At the top of the hierarchy is the High King, who has his court in the Holy City, Dun Deverry. The highest rank of nobility below the royal family is that of gwerbret. A gwerbret swears fealty directly to the High King, and has jurisdiction over a large region, called a gwerbretrhyn (from rhan, roughly meaning "demesne"). A gwerbret does not generally exert direct authority over the entire gwerbretrhyn; part of the rhan is divided among a number of vassals of intermediate rank, called tieryns. A Tieryn, in turn, has as vassals all the
lowest-ranking nobles, simply called "lords" (Deverrian arcloedd), within his tierynrhyn. The lords have direct fealty from the common-born. The lowest rung on the social ladder are the bondsfolk (serfs).
When a tieryn dies without an heir, the tierynrhyn reverts back to the presiding gwerbret, who chooses the next tieryn. If a gwerbret dies without an heir, however, the new gwerbret is chosen by a Council of Electors. In either case, once a successor has been chosen, the rhan and rank become hereditary again.
Deverrian society is characterized by continual internal warfare. Each lord has a warband, or personal army, and the various lords (or entire clans) always seem to have something to fight about, most frequently territory or honor. Sometimes, a war becomes a "blood feud," which can last for generations.
Religion
The people of Deverry do not worship a single god, but instead have a pantheon containing a large number of deities, each with his or her own areas of interest and influence. The deities in the Deverry pantheon appear to derived from the beliefs of both mainland Gallic Celts as well as the Celts of the British Isles.- BelBelenusIn Celtic mythology, Bel, Belenos was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul, and Celtic areas of Austria, Britain and Spain. He is particularly associated with Cornwall, West Cornwall being anciently called Belerion, the place of Bel...
: The chief god in the Deverrian faith. A sun god and lawgiver, Bel is also the king of all the other gods. Priests of Bel shave their heads, and wear golden torcs around their necks. - AranrhoddaArianrhodArianrhod is a figure in Welsh mythology who plays her most important role in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. She is the daughter of Dôn and the sister of Gwydion and Gilfaethwy; the Welsh Triads give her father as Beli Mawr...
: A goddess associated with witchcraft. - TarnTaranisIn Celtic mythology Taranis was the god of thunder worshipped essentially in Gaul, the British Isles, but also in the Rhineland and Danube regions amongst others, and mentioned, along with Esus and Toutatis as part of a sacred triad, by the Roman poet Lucan in his epic poem Pharsalia as a Celtic...
: A god of weather and storms. - WmmOgmiosOgmios was the Celtic deity of eloquence. He looked like an older version of Heracles. He was also a binding god who would use his powers of persuasion to bind men onto himself and then lead them into the underworld....
: A god of knowledge and learning. He is associated with pelicans. Priests of Wmm refrain from drinking alcohol. - MannananManannán mac LirManannán mac Lir is a sea deity in Irish mythology. He is the son of the obscure Lir . He is often seen as a psychopomp, and has strong affiliations with the Otherworld, the weather and the mists between the worlds...
: A sea god. - LughLugusLugus was a deity of the Celtic pantheon. His name is rarely directly attested in inscriptions, but his importance can be inferred from placenames and ethnonyms, and his nature and attributes are deduced from the distinctive iconography of Gallo-Roman inscriptions to Mercury, who is widely believed...
: One of many war gods. - AgwenAbheanIn Irish mythology, Abhean son of Bec-Felmas was a poet of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and in particular of Lugh. He was killed by Óengus in front of Midir, according to a poem by Fland Mainistreach in Lebor Gabála Érenn...
: A patron of bards. - EponaEponaIn Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures suggested that the goddess and her horses were leaders of the...
: A goddess of horses. - KerunCernunnosCernunnos is the conventional name given in Celtic studies to depictions of the horned god of Celtic polytheism. The name itself is only attested once, on the 1st-century Pillar of the Boatmen, but depictions of a horned or antlered figure, often seated in a "lotus position" and often associated...
: A horned godHorned GodThe Horned God is one of the two primary deities found in some European pagan religions. He is often given various names and epithets, and represents the male part of the religion's duotheistic theological system, the other part being the female Triple Goddess. In common Wiccan belief, he is...
. - NwddNodensNodents is a Celtic deity associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs. He was worshipped in ancient Britain, most notably in a temple complex at Lydney Park in Gloucestershire, and possibly also in Gaul...
: A god of trade and commerce. - The Goddess of the Moon: She has four aspects, which are: harvest, love, motherhood, and destruction.
- The Lord of Hell: A death god. Possibly cognate to Welsh ArawnArawnIn Welsh mythology, Arawn was the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn, appearing prominently in the first branch, and alluded to in the fourth. In later tradition, the role of king of Annwn was largely attributed to the Welsh psychopomp, Gwyn ap Nudd...
or PwyllPwyllPwyll Pen Annwn is a prominent figure in Welsh mythology and literature, the lord of Dyfed, husband of Rhiannon and father of the hero Pryderi...
. In Deverrian belief, the nine Hells are filled with ice.