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queensthiefThere has been some speculation that the woman to whom the map on the inside covers of TaT is inscribed is the daughter of Eugenides and Irene. That would be fun — keeping the stories all in the family, if you will — but I don't think it's likely.
My main reason is the princess's name. It's a good point that Eugenides's daughter might be referred to as "Kingsdaughter," analogous to how Kamet is "Kingnamer." However, Gitta does not seem like an Attolian or Eddisian name. The majority of the people from the Little Peninsula have names of Greek extraction or that simulate the phonetic construction of Greek and Latin, and the name Gitta does not fit that pattern.(Irene, Sophos, Eurydice, Galen, Agape, Thalia, Janus, Helen, Heiro, Chloe, Aglaia, Xanthe, Philologos, Hilarion, Ochto, Gorgias, Iolanthe, Xenophon, Eugenides, Erondites, Ambiades, Xorcheus, Aristogiton, Stenides, Temenus, Sejanus, Teleus, Relius, Lamion, Laecdomon…) Some names, like Costis, Pol, Tarra, and Brinna, deviate from the Greek motif, but Gitta isn't similar enough to them for me to be persuaded that the princess is Attolian.
The name "Gitta" does have a Spanish or Italian sound to it (Margita, Margherita, Gitana), but it could also be Scandinavian/Germanic (Brigitta) or Indian (Gita). I propose three possible countries this mystery princess could be from: the Braels, Ferria, or a yet-unnamed analogue to India.
At first glance, I thought "Gitta" looked Mede, mainly because TaT was set in the Mede empire, but also because of the letters and sounds involved. Although the name is not sibilant like Nahuseresh, Senesh, Sudesh, Gessiret, or Akretenesh, the 't' sound could correspond with the 't' in Melheret, Kamet, and Simkit. However, scrutiny proved a Mede princess highly unlikely: the Medes are ruled by an emperor, not a king, and they do not think highly of women as rulers.
The case for the princess being a Braeling lies mainly with her second name: Scandinavian countries historically, and Iceland still today, use patronyms rather than surnames. Girls take their father's name or title with "-dottir" at the end; boys take their father's name with "-sson."
TaT is the first book to introduce the Braels, and they are patently Scandinavian. The Braeling who Kamet met on the way to Perf was named Skell or Skerrell, both Norse-esque names; he had pale skin and fair hair, mentioned having cut off a thick beard, and referred to his familiarity with cold weather. The ambassador's name, Yorn Fordad, also sounds Norse, and the one named allied ship, the Hammer of Yeltsever, is like a reference to Thor. The Braels played a large part in dealing with the secret navy — and that indicates that they have a good-size navy of their own. Vikings were known for their prowess on the sea, and the Braelings may have a similar proclivity.
Also, in Norse culture, women were highly regarded and in many cases were equal with men (as early as the eighth century, Viking women could, for instance, own property, inherit property and authority, and divorce their own husbands — things that weren't allowed in most of the world until the nineteenth or twentieth century). The fact that the princess is being educated points to some cultural recognition of women's worth, which aligns with the notion that she could be from the Braels.
MWT never includes anything lightly, so after the subtle but key position the Braels held in the political drama in TaT, it stands to reason that the country will play a part in the next book; they're not just going to disappear offstage. If Eugenides is establishing a close relationship between Attolia and the Braels, then it very well may be that the Braeling princess is being educated about her country's political allies and their history.
The case for the princess being Ferrian lies mainly in the Italian sound of "Gitta." Just as Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis are very like Greece and Turkey, Ferria seems much like Italy. We don't have much data regarding their names besides Malatesta, Sophos's Ferrian tutor, but that name alone makes a very good case for Ferria being analogous to Italy: the House of Malatesta was an Italian noble family in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. And, according to Wikipedia, their motto is "The Indian elephant isn't afraid of mosquitos" (Elephas indus culices non timet). That is a strange motto for an Italian family to have, but given what MWT has said about the next book having something to do with elephants, it seems worth bearing in mind. As others have pointed out, Dite is in Ferria and may well be spying for Eugenides. These factors could be setting up for Ferria to enter the stage significantly in the next book.
That hint about elephants leads to the third possibility for the princess's nationality. There isn't much to support an Indian analogue except for the facts that Gita is an actual Indian name and that one species of elephant is the Indian elephant. The name Gita means "song" or "sacred poem / sacred song," which fits conceptually with MWT's propensity for including within the main story another layer of stories that parallel aspects of the plot. However, the Indian subcontinent is far from Turkey (Sounis), Persia (the Mede empire), Greece (Attolia, Eddis), Italy (Ferria), France (the Gants, the Pents), and Scandinavia (the Braels), so unless the next book is another wide-ranging travel tale, I think an Indian-analogue princess is unlikely.
Given the cues in the books so far, which country do you think the princess is most likely from? Or do you have another reason to think that the map really is for future progeny of our favorite queen and annux?
My main reason is the princess's name. It's a good point that Eugenides's daughter might be referred to as "Kingsdaughter," analogous to how Kamet is "Kingnamer." However, Gitta does not seem like an Attolian or Eddisian name. The majority of the people from the Little Peninsula have names of Greek extraction or that simulate the phonetic construction of Greek and Latin, and the name Gitta does not fit that pattern.
The name "Gitta" does have a Spanish or Italian sound to it (Margita, Margherita, Gitana), but it could also be Scandinavian/Germanic (Brigitta) or Indian (Gita). I propose three possible countries this mystery princess could be from: the Braels, Ferria, or a yet-unnamed analogue to India.
At first glance, I thought "Gitta" looked Mede, mainly because TaT was set in the Mede empire, but also because of the letters and sounds involved. Although the name is not sibilant like Nahuseresh, Senesh, Sudesh, Gessiret, or Akretenesh, the 't' sound could correspond with the 't' in Melheret, Kamet, and Simkit. However, scrutiny proved a Mede princess highly unlikely: the Medes are ruled by an emperor, not a king, and they do not think highly of women as rulers.
The case for the princess being a Braeling lies mainly with her second name: Scandinavian countries historically, and Iceland still today, use patronyms rather than surnames. Girls take their father's name or title with "-dottir" at the end; boys take their father's name with "-sson."
TaT is the first book to introduce the Braels, and they are patently Scandinavian. The Braeling who Kamet met on the way to Perf was named Skell or Skerrell, both Norse-esque names; he had pale skin and fair hair, mentioned having cut off a thick beard, and referred to his familiarity with cold weather. The ambassador's name, Yorn Fordad, also sounds Norse, and the one named allied ship, the Hammer of Yeltsever, is like a reference to Thor. The Braels played a large part in dealing with the secret navy — and that indicates that they have a good-size navy of their own. Vikings were known for their prowess on the sea, and the Braelings may have a similar proclivity.
Also, in Norse culture, women were highly regarded and in many cases were equal with men (as early as the eighth century, Viking women could, for instance, own property, inherit property and authority, and divorce their own husbands — things that weren't allowed in most of the world until the nineteenth or twentieth century). The fact that the princess is being educated points to some cultural recognition of women's worth, which aligns with the notion that she could be from the Braels.
MWT never includes anything lightly, so after the subtle but key position the Braels held in the political drama in TaT, it stands to reason that the country will play a part in the next book; they're not just going to disappear offstage. If Eugenides is establishing a close relationship between Attolia and the Braels, then it very well may be that the Braeling princess is being educated about her country's political allies and their history.
The case for the princess being Ferrian lies mainly in the Italian sound of "Gitta." Just as Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis are very like Greece and Turkey, Ferria seems much like Italy. We don't have much data regarding their names besides Malatesta, Sophos's Ferrian tutor, but that name alone makes a very good case for Ferria being analogous to Italy: the House of Malatesta was an Italian noble family in the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. And, according to Wikipedia, their motto is "The Indian elephant isn't afraid of mosquitos" (Elephas indus culices non timet). That is a strange motto for an Italian family to have, but given what MWT has said about the next book having something to do with elephants, it seems worth bearing in mind. As others have pointed out, Dite is in Ferria and may well be spying for Eugenides. These factors could be setting up for Ferria to enter the stage significantly in the next book.
That hint about elephants leads to the third possibility for the princess's nationality. There isn't much to support an Indian analogue except for the facts that Gita is an actual Indian name and that one species of elephant is the Indian elephant. The name Gita means "song" or "sacred poem / sacred song," which fits conceptually with MWT's propensity for including within the main story another layer of stories that parallel aspects of the plot. However, the Indian subcontinent is far from Turkey (Sounis), Persia (the Mede empire), Greece (Attolia, Eddis), Italy (Ferria), France (the Gants, the Pents), and Scandinavia (the Braels), so unless the next book is another wide-ranging travel tale, I think an Indian-analogue princess is unlikely.
Given the cues in the books so far, which country do you think the princess is most likely from? Or do you have another reason to think that the map really is for future progeny of our favorite queen and annux?
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no subject
Date: 5/28/17 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/29/17 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/28/17 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/28/17 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/29/17 12:00 am (UTC)I still think it's curious that MWT threw something as similar as "Kingnamer" into the text, but that may not have been intended as a clue. From what she's said about Gitta in recent interviews, it doesn't sound like Gitta is going to be a major character (yet?).
no subject
Date: 5/30/17 01:50 am (UTC)It is curious, but it's also so ambiguous I'm trying not to count on it too much while theorizing.
Either that, or Gitta became a major character in the moment of her inception and MWT is trying to resist writing about her. Megan's emphatic declaration that she is not going to write about Gitta does make me think that perhaps the lady doth protest too much.
no subject
Date: 5/30/17 12:01 am (UTC)Oh, is Sounis an analogue for Turkey? I thought it was also Greece, since Sophos says in ACoK they all spoke the same language and are culturally similar to Attolia.
Anatolia
Date: 5/30/17 01:03 am (UTC)The western half of Turkey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AnatolieLimits.jpg) was historically known as Anatolia and as Asia Minor, and it had a lot of Hellenistic influence, especially in the coastal areas. It's just across the Aegean Sea from Greece, so it isn't global-geographically analogous to the Little Peninsula, where the countries are contiguous. However, the cultures and the local geography still seem analogous (Sounis and Turkey have plains and a somewhat arid climate, Attolia and Greece have mountains that lead into coastal plains and have a more verdant climate). Here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ethnicturkey1911.jpg) you can see how close Greece (blue) and Anatolia (red) are. I've associated Sounis with the Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_regions_of_Turkey) more than with Anatolia as a whole. Sounis's history seemed to have some similarities to the Hittite and Byzantine empires with perhaps a touch of Assyrian, while the Mede empire seemed closer to the Medes, the Persians, and the Assyrians with perhaps a bit of Egyptian, and the Attolian/Eddisian history seemed Grecian. Sounis's lion motif is one reason for that association. The Hittites and Assyrians liked their lions. Doesn't this gateway (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lion_Gate,_Hattusa_01.jpg) make you think of the lion statues that Gen mentioned in The Thief?
If you don't have time to read the whole Wikipedia article, the sections about the Greek West and Classical Antiquity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolia#Greek_West) are the ones most relevant to the parallels.
no subject
Date: 5/30/17 12:58 am (UTC)Just wanted to chip in that a Braeling / Ferrian / non-Attolian or Eddisian name doesn't necessarily mean it's not the daughter of Gen and Irene though. Especially if the theory about the princess being "miscarried" but actually brought up in some far-off place holds weight. It could be the name given her by those who bring her up in whatever place that is, which could include Braeling / Ferria...
:)
no subject
Date: 5/30/17 01:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/30/17 01:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/30/17 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/19/17 04:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 5/30/17 07:21 pm (UTC)I can't imagine she's Gen and Irene's daughter, personally; based on MWT interviews with comments about Gitta's backstory, I can't see Gitta as part of Gen and Irene's story. It reads as totally separate. But what do I know.
no subject
Date: 6/3/17 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/3/17 12:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 6/30/17 05:37 pm (UTC)Just for the sake of more wild speculation being out there, I'll add a couple of thoughts that have been floating vaguely around since looking at the maps. I looked at the maps while waiting for an author appearance/book signing to start so I wasn't temped to start reading when I couldn't finish right then. So my initial impression was that perhaps "Gitta Kingsdaughter" was perhaps a tribute to an early fan or editor who was among the first or perhaps the most active in pestering Megan for a map. Megan has said Gitta has a story, and I definitely think there is enough textual evidence to suggest she'll have at least some level of appearance in the coming story, but it's still possible the character started because of a fan.
I also have toyed around with the idea of Gitta being Mede, despite the many logical reasons it's not as you suggest here. There isn't enough evidence or cues from the books for this, but I've just wondered if perhaps Gitta is the new power in town after the conflict resolution with the Medes, through a surprising treaty or redraw of country lines, or simply out and out battle in the final book. I've also half-wondered if perhaps Gitta might actually be the current Mede emperor - I know everyone says 'he', but there are touches of Egyptian to the Mede empire as described (especially in TaT) and there have been female pharaohs on the past, and some speculation that male pharaohs were in fact female ruling as men. The fact that everyone was slaughtered who knew of the mysterious illness makes me wonder if the previous emperor died, the daughter seized power and slaughtered everyone who might know she wasn't in fact a male. Very, very wild speculation, but an idea that entertains me at least, and it would be in keeping with Eddis and Attolia being nontraditional female rulers and Megan's love of subverting traditional literary tropes. It would also be a nice resolution of Kamet's story if he were the future Relius or tutor to the next Mede emperor, but as a free man instead of powerful slave.
Like is said below, I've also wondered if the entire series will turn out to have been part of a much larger framing device (again, the POV play Megan seems to love) and Gitta will turn out to be someone far in the future studying or compiling the history of this little peninsula. Or even a ruler or royal daughter of a power we haven't met yet (Continental powers, etc.) or even an entirely new country created in the resolution of the series.