Tungren
The Tungren (or Tungri) are the dominant ethnicity in Markwald, and regions to its west and north. They are said the be the most populous nation that embraces the Ecumenical Faith. The name derives either from an ancient tribe, or from an archaic word for 'tongue'. 'Tungrisch' is used to describe all people who speak a mutually comprehensible dialect.
The Tungren live in predominantly in the flat, forested regions between the Ardz and Düst Mountains in the South, and the Amber Sea in the north. Most of them live in small villages and hamlets and practice agriculture, though over the last several centuries, they have built a large number towns along the rivers that traverse their lands. Not a few of these towns have become prosperous centers of trade and handicrafts, though few hold more than 10,000 people. Most Tungri towns are walled, though suburbs have begun to grow beyond the walls. A sizable number of Tungri peasants, merchants and knights have also migrated to settle in the more sparsely populated lands to the East.
The Tungren are commonly characterized as somewhat larger than neighboring human peoples. Their skin ranges from pale to ruddy, they commonly have brown or blond hair (often curly). To the extent that they think about their commonality - they are a large, diverse group of people, who are typically far more immersed in local matters - they regard themselves as down-to-earth, pious, loyal, hardworking, brave, and sanguine. It is therefore proper, they say, that universal empire and the maintenance of earthly order have been placed in their hands (though the actual power of the Kaisers relative to that of regional magnates is quite weak - they lack a single capital, and spend much of their lives traveling from town to town and castle to castle). Neighboring peoples to the west and south, on the other hand, frequently characterize the Tungri as warlike, loutish, gluttonous, and indistinguishable from the ogres, dwarfs and hags that are said to dwell among them. The image is bolstered by the existence of numerous mercenary companies - the Landsknechte - who are hired far and wide, and have acquired the reputation for both effectiveness and brutality. To their eastern neighbors, the Tungri often appear as violent and rapacious predators, though they are also often welcome colonists bringing crafts and knowledge. Aside from some notable exceptions, the Tungren and the Anten live side by side with one another, and lines between one people and the other are sometimes not so easy to delimit.
In religion, the Tungri are almost universally adherents of the Ecumenical Faith. All their major towns have a resident bishop or archbishop, and in many cases, these prelates rule over vast territories in their own right. Many members of the Tungri nobility, and common people as well proclaim their faith by going on pilgrimages, and even Crusades to defend the cause of the Lord Gaal against the Infidel. Some attend to their religious duty by bringing the Light of the Lord to their benighted neighbors to the northeast. In recent times, owing to the decline of the Kaisers and the outbreak of the Plague, heretical movements of Whippers and Libertines have sprung up in Tungri cities and in the countryside. The Church watches these closely, worried that they will get out of hand.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Agnise, Anstrude, Bertrude, Demut, Eilika, Gele, Gerhaus, Imnechildis, Isalda, Osterhilde, Reglindis, Sigweis, Ysentrud
Masculine names
Alberich, Auberlin, Barnim, Berchtold, Cunrad, Emerich, Enolf, Gelfrat, Makko, Metfried, Otto, Sewold, Syferlin, Udo, Ugo
Family names
Typically, only members of the nobility have the right to bear family names. Others tend to be known by toponym (e.g. Ilsa of Wunschau, or von Wunschau), patronym (father's name followed by 'sohn', or occasionally, 'tochter'), or by profession (e.g. Hans [der] Fischer - 'Hans the Fisher).
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