[Lore Theory] Nevarra is Thedas's analogue of the Low Countries/Kingdom of Lotharingia
Oct 8, 2019 3:26:18 GMT
tatarforas, Absafraginlootly, and 1 more like this
Post by gutza1 on Oct 8, 2019 3:26:18 GMT
So, I'm a major history buff and fan of historical grand strategy games in addition to a fan of Dragon Age, and after doing some research, I'm pretty sure I've figured out the historical European nation that BioWare was referencing when they wrote Nevarra. My guess is that Nevarra is based upon the historical Kingdom of Lotharingia that existed in the century after Charlemagne and the Duchy of Burgundy under the House of Valois. Now, some historical context: After the death of Charlemagne's son, his empire was partitioned into three kingdoms by his three sons: Charles the Bald received West Francia, which eventually became France, Louis the German received East Francia, which became Germany, and Lothair received Middle Francia, which was nestled between the two and stretched from what is now the Netherlands and Belgium to Provence. While the first two kingdoms would live on for centuries, Lotharingia would collapse and be divided between the two Francias only a century after its foundation. This entire scenario is likely referenced in Dragon Age with the division of Maferath's barbarian empire between his three sons, with one getting the future Orlais (France analogue), the other getting the future Free Marches (Germany analogue), and one getting the future Nevarra in the middle, and whose rule would soon collapse after the partition.
Now, this isn't the only reference to Lotharingia that the BioWare team put in - in real life, the former parts of Lotharingia in the Low Countries were one of the most developed and urbanized regions in medieval Europe, with cities in Flanders sometimes boasting over 200,000 inhabitants (approximately the same population as Dragon Age's Cumberland). In addition, the Low Countries, which were initially part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the more southern regions of former Lotharingia were reunited in the 15th century as the Duchy of Burgundy, a rebellious French vassal that, under the House of Valois, became not just a major military power that could hold off both France and the Empire, but a major center of art and other cultural products due to the wealth of the Low Countries. This all parallels Nevarra's military might, wars against Orlais and the Marches, and great artistic output. The Duchy of Cumberland in particular seems to be a parallel to the Low Countries. Plus, Nevarra's history of starting off as a member of the Free Marches before growing into a nation of its own parallels the reunification of Lotharingia as Burgundy. Finally, the linguistic associations of Nevarra add extra evidence - Nevarra uses both Latin-sounding and Germanic-sounding names, mirroring Burgundy's Franco-German cultural union, and its currency is called the "guilder," which was also the name of currencies used in the Low Countries. All in all, there's a pretty strong case that can be made for this association. Just a thought from a long time fan.
Now, this isn't the only reference to Lotharingia that the BioWare team put in - in real life, the former parts of Lotharingia in the Low Countries were one of the most developed and urbanized regions in medieval Europe, with cities in Flanders sometimes boasting over 200,000 inhabitants (approximately the same population as Dragon Age's Cumberland). In addition, the Low Countries, which were initially part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the more southern regions of former Lotharingia were reunited in the 15th century as the Duchy of Burgundy, a rebellious French vassal that, under the House of Valois, became not just a major military power that could hold off both France and the Empire, but a major center of art and other cultural products due to the wealth of the Low Countries. This all parallels Nevarra's military might, wars against Orlais and the Marches, and great artistic output. The Duchy of Cumberland in particular seems to be a parallel to the Low Countries. Plus, Nevarra's history of starting off as a member of the Free Marches before growing into a nation of its own parallels the reunification of Lotharingia as Burgundy. Finally, the linguistic associations of Nevarra add extra evidence - Nevarra uses both Latin-sounding and Germanic-sounding names, mirroring Burgundy's Franco-German cultural union, and its currency is called the "guilder," which was also the name of currencies used in the Low Countries. All in all, there's a pretty strong case that can be made for this association. Just a thought from a long time fan.
