Avimimus Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I was wondering if there is more than a passing similarity between the title of God Emperor of Yi Ti and the Magnar of Thenns? Both titles go back to the dawn age... ...were the First Men tied to a common culture with the predecessors or the Great Empire of the Dawn? Is it coincidence or does it suggest a common pre-Long Night origin of the institution (similar to Proto-Indo-European word roots surviving until the present in our world - even though the cultures have diverged greatly)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avimimus Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Are there any other cultures with deified God Emperors in the world book? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Blue Eyes Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Likely. Of course that applies to each and every single theocracy, and most countries with non-monotheistic religions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSovereignGrave Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Leng is ruled by a God Empress. And I don't think the tile of the Thenn's Magnar goes back to the Dawn Age, since there probably weren't any Thenns left. "Magnar" is just the word for "Lord" in the Old Tongue, and it's likely that at some point the Thenns started to view their Magnar as deified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avimimus Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 If this were the real world - I'd be likely to agree with you. But this is fantasy... The Thenns show signs of being the most isolated and purest remnant of First Man culture (with the possible exception of the Skagosi). The Thenns keep a variant of the Old Tongue, live in one of the furthest inhabited places beyond the wall, live in a valley which isolates them from other wildlings, practice bronze working and use the old runic language (or runic magic?). In comparison the Hill Tribes are urbane, the Great houses of the First Men (e.g. Starks) are virtually assimilated, and the Reeds seem more like inheritors of the Children's culture than that of the invading First Men. So the Thenns may be set up by the author as paragons of a bygone age. If the First Men date to the era of the Fisher Queens, and the Great Empire of the Dawn... which is plausible if their migration happened during or before the long night... then there may have been a common ancient tendency to make rules Gods upon Earth. Currently Yi Ti and Thenn culture have nothing in common - but 4000-8000 years ago they could have had much more similar political structures... even more similar beliefs. We are talking about the primordial culture of the Dawn Age. Given what little we know of how the Magnar is viewed by the Thenns, Magnar means something close to 'God Emperor' - although currently the closest Westerosi equivalent is Lord or King... Is there any evidence that Garth Greenhands or the Barrow King was deified? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LmL Posted August 18, 2015 Share Posted August 18, 2015 I was wondering if there is more than a passing similarity between the title of God Emperor of Yi Ti and the Magnar of Thenns? Both titles go back to the dawn age... ...were the First Men tied to a common culture with the predecessors or the Great Empire of the Dawn? Is it coincidence or does it suggest a common pre-Long Night origin of the institution (similar to Proto-Indo-European word roots surviving until the present in our world - even though the cultures have diverged greatly)? You might be on to something there, at least in a general sense. The Thenns seem very unique, and notably so. I have often wondered about them... I do think there were some "men before the First Men" in Westeros, as TWOIAF suggests in the section about the fused stone fortress on Battle Isle at Oldtown. You might enjoy this thread from Lord Martin: The Starks are Not First Men. You might also enjoy these two by yours truly ( 1 , 2 ), as well as this one: Fingerprints of the Dawn, which is my essay about the Great Empire of the Dawn. The previous two help the third one make more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediterraneo Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 I'm lack information, culture and a fresh read on the world book about the Thenn and Yi Ti to take part oon this point but if you ask if Garth Greenhand has been deified.... Hell yeah, if there is some deified figure in Westeros he is the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion of the West Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 I'm lack information, culture and a fresh read on the world book about the Thenn and Yi Ti to take part oon this point but if you ask if Garth Greenhand has been deified.... Hell yeah, if there is some deified figure in Westeros he is the one. I thought it was the other way around with Garth the Green. He started out as a deity but was then converted to a mythical king after the First Men first adopted the Old Gods and then the Seven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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