Funny question

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

Why isn't the country Attolia called Attolis? The common thread running through the countries' names seems to indicate that the kings are called after the country - Sounis, Eddis - and that the queens are a female version of that - Eddia, Sounia, and Attolia. Do you think there's some sort of unmentioned history that resulted in the country being named after their queen?

Comments

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

I thought it was that country was called after whatever the ruler was called at the time. So, since Helen was crowned as Eddis, in deviation from how queens are usually crowned and at the insistence of the Minister of War, the country was called Eddis. Since Irene was crowned as Attolia, rather than Attolis, then her country is called Attolia. If Sophos had been Sophia, then Sounis would have turned into Sounia upon her uncle's death.

Eddis is the exception there, not Attolia.

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

That's interesting, I didn't know that! I find it kind of - funny - that a country's name would regularly change a little. But it's not as though it's a tremendous change, I guess, and it's a pretty direct way of acknowledging a ruler's authority.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

My guess is that the title wouldn't change too often, because I don't think the crown is inheirted by the female line on a regular basis.

Take England for example. Throughout hundreds of years of history, there have been only about seven queens who've ruled with the authority of a king.

The first being my namesake. :)

[tenar-padmire.livejournal.com]

On the subject of constantly changing names, Kristin Cashore does the exact thing in her Graceling Series. In the Known World, the capital cities of the Seven Kingdoms change names according to their current ruler. Case in point, Leck City had become Bitterblue City by Book 3.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

My first inclination is to go with what the above commenter says, but the alternative requires someone to write an awesome mythic fic explaining why Attolia has a girl's name.

/ducks

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Challenge accepted!

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

If I remember correctly, (which is not likely, I know...) Megan was asked this once during one of her interviews. Don't ask me which one, because my memory isn't that good. However, I believe she said there was a reason, but she was... yup, you guessed it. Not telling.

I would say Knitting's explanation is most satisfactory, though. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, I think that's right. And I actually think it might have been in our podcast interview. Definitely, I remember that "not telling" in answer to this question ...

But I really like the first answer here, too.

But also... Could the countries be named for famous historical figures or Gods / Demigods? It's notable that Attolia evokes the Great Goddess in her dress, jewelry, manner, and beauty. Maybe this is a political thing, too. Maybe she is -- in some sense -- going back to the roots of her country to cement her power.

Does this make any sense?

~deirdrej

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

It goes back the the very early days, when Eddis, Attolia, and Sounis were actually one country. The warlord-like person (we'll call him Warlord 1) who ran the section that is now Attolia decided that he wanted a separate country. The leaders of the other two sections (Warlords 2 and 3, for convenience) did not want to separate. Warlord 1 insisted that he was breaking away. 2 and 3 insisted that no, he wasn't. He said the equivalent of "Wanna bet?" and there were great stratagems and battles. On the final field of battle, where Warlord 1 had triumphed decisively, he met with Warlords 2 and 3. "See?" said Warlord 1. "Attolia so. Now, are you two also going to break away?" "Oh, yeah," said Warlord 2. "Sounis I can get my army back together."

[(Anonymous)]

"Eeee! Dis is stooopid!," said Warlord 3, and went off to skulk in the Mountains, and study proverbs, and other abstruse things. His favorite proverb? "The man who would make a pun would pick a pocket." So he did, and thus the Thieves of Eddis were born.

The End!

;-)

~deirdrej

PS Aged Crone, have I told you lately, you are awesome!

[frosted-feather.livejournal.com]

Ha, ha, ha, I really like the humor on Sounis!

Personally I like the idea that there is a distant tale that explains it but that we may never learn. Sort of like how C.S. Lewis tells readers he may tell the story of how the Lone Islands became part of Narnia (but never does), or the rumor in the Hobbit that one of the Tooks took a fairy wife. It is left a mystery and readers may speculate, and these hints do a lot to make the worlds bigger.

[filkferengi]

You know, we don't really know what alphabet they use. It could be, if they use something not ours, the name of the country would always look the same, with just the final sound changing with the gender of the ruler. They you'd only have to change how to say it, not how to spell it, kind of like how Hebrew is written with just consonants & the vowels are dots that may or may not be added around the consonants.

[(Anonymous)]

Or another language possibility is that maybe if theirs is a gendered language (I think that's the term?), certain words are always either masculine or feminine. Like in French, France is always "la France" (feminine), but Mexico is always "le Mexique" (masculine). It's a grammar thing, and doesn't reflect whether a thing even has a biological sex.

--Handmaiden

[beth-shulman.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, this is really interesting.

[(Anonymous)]

I've always assumed that the names are based on the original rulers--so, the first rulers of Sounis and Eddis were male, but the first ruler of Attolia was female.

-TLE

Ps. For people who remember me: sorry I've sort of grown away from the comm--I still love the books and read them all the time! However, combination losing my livejournal account info and a pretty busy life have made keeping in contact hard. But I love that this is still around, you guys rock!