Arnish

The Arnish

The People of the North, the inhabitants of the Aarnmark, wild rovers of the Thundering Mountains and the frozen steppes across the Cagnan River; all these describe the Arnish. Hardy, strong willed yet friendly and welcoming, the Arnish stood their ground against foreign invaders from the South and from across the mountains for centuries and developed a seperate and unique culture compared to their Galgaean brethren.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Common feminine names include names like: Bertha, Birga, Edda, Elsa/Elza, Erda, Eris/Iris, Frida/Frieda, Gunda, Helga, Konni, Kunigunda/Kunigunde, Lisa, Lina, Linda/Linde, Mara, Rosa/Rose, Siga/Siega, Urta/Urte, Uthe

Masculine names

Common masculine names include names like: Aarndt, Aaron, Arin, Arnim, Arnulf, Bert, Birg, Dagbert/Dagobert, Fridth/Friedth/Friedrich/Friederich, Helm/Helmar, Holger, Huldrich/Hyldrich, Karl/Karol, Kunibert, Malt, Marv, Roald, Rolf, Ronald, Sern, Sigismund/Sigmund, Torn/Thorn/Tjorn, Welf/Wolf/Wulf

Unisex names

Some names like Gund, Marin or Uth can be used by both feminine and masculine people.

Family names

Traditional family names are constructed by unitlizing a parents name, usually the fathers name for boys and the mothers name for girls, and adding a -dern, -dirn or -arn for girls, or a -fern, -farn, -arn, -ern, -fin, -fyn, -bjarn or -bjorn for boys at the end. This trend developed from dwarven naming conventions, who utilize a similar style. Exmples: Arin, Son of Aaron, would be called Arin Aaronfern or Aaronbjorn; Malt, Son of Fridth, would be called Malt Fridthbjarn or Fridthfarn; Helga, Daughter of Frida, would be called Helga Fridarn or Fridern; Siga, Daughter of Marin, would be called Siga Marindern or Marindirn; Interestingly enough, one chooses his last name when one turns into an adult, usually at the age of 15-20 years old.

Other names

Names like Thor/Thorin, Brotrir, Ditr/Dietr/Dieter or Hafnir are of dwarven origin yet have been accepted into the arnish boys naming convention. Some of these names are quite prominent since some settlements in the region are named after their famous founders of these names (like Hafnirs Crossing or Brotrirs Ferry, both of which are said to have been early humans, but dwarven or even elvish ruins have been found underneath the oldest human remains).

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Arnish speak a variant of the Common Human Language with their own Northern dialect. This is heavily influenced by local elven and dwarven dialects since the Arnish value their connections to the Dwarves of the Thundering Mountains and the Elves and Half-Elves of Old Valkyrion.

Shared customary codes and values

The Arnish value honesty and friendliness above all else. Even if you are a complete stranger and come to an Arnish home, they will invite you inside, offer you food and drink, a place at the hearth and even a bed for the night if need arises. The only thing they want in return is a guarantee that you won't harm your host and return the favor they offered you. This comes from the unforgiving nature of the land. If one is caught outside in a sudden blizzard and seeks refuge at a strangers home, you invite him or her in and not let them freeze to death outside. You wouldn't want that yourself so why would you bar somebody from entering the safety of your home?

Common Dress code

Due to the cold and rather wet climate of the Aarnmark the Arnish tend to wear mulitple layers of clothes to keep themselves both warm and dry. Common materials include linen and imported silk as an underlying layer that is closest to the body, aswell as wool, pelt and leather for further outlying layers. Both males and females wear a plain linen shirt or tunic as a first layer, with a woolen or linen shirt or dress on top. Woolen or linen pants are also widely spread among both men and women, yet some people, especially in the city, started wearing knee-long skirts. Men usually wear a jacket above their overshirt with an additional pelt cloak over that. Women usually skip the jacket, except when going out into the harsh surroundings. To keep their heads dry from rain and snow the Arnish usually wear pelt or wool hats and caps, shorter ones for the city dwelling nobility and longer, hood-like pointed hats or fur caps for the hard working farmers and woodworkers out in the fields and woods.

The Arnish soldiers and knights use a variety of protective gear, such as gambesons, chain or scale male and even plate armour for the wealthiest of knights. Esteemed warriors like to use wolf pelts for their cloaks, some even utilize the skalp or bears, leopards or lions they have slain as hoods to intimidate their enemies.

Art & Architecture

Arnish architecture relies on keeping the elements out of their living place. The simple farmers will build wattle and daub longhouses covered by straw or reed thatched roofes. Richer farmers and craftsmen might be able to afford brick walls. Only in the cities one might find houses built from stone blocks and covered with shingled or tiled roofes. Generally buildings won't go scratching the skies, they are built rather short and stocky. Only the towers and steeples of castles and fortifications will rise higher from the ground. Single story houses with an attic under the roof predominate the cityscape and especially the villages. In some cities larger two or even three story buildings have appeared recently. The style of the architecture remains plain and simple. Decorations restrict themselves to acroteria and elaboratly worked roof joists, plastic reliefs and pilasters on the walls and free standing sculptures at the entrance to a house.

A house is usually divided into multiple rooms. You will enter an entrance hall, where you are expected to change your outdoor shoes for something cleaner as not to bring the mud and dirt into the home. Next usually comes a commons room, where the fire of a hearth will always be burning in a fire pit. The floor may be made from wood or stone plates. In the commons room the household and the guests meet to eat, talk and do official business. Around the commons room the other rooms are located: bedrooms, stores, baths, in some town houses even a toilet. Workshops and animal stables are either located in a different building or have a seperate part of the main building for themselves, mostly without direct access from the living quarters. Common longhouses measure around 20x50ft, longer houses may also house a small corridor to connect to different parts of the house and channel the heat of the hearthfire, since that is the only source of warmth in the house. Townhouses again might use fancy fireplaces and ovens to heat seperate rooms, most commonly the ladies room or a bedroom or bath.

Foods & Cuisine

Arnish food is hearty and delicious, even though it might not look the way at first sight. The land provieds for everything that may come to the table. Vegetables include carrots, onions, garlic, leek, rhubarb, celery, cabbages red and white, kale, cauliflower, sprouts, fennel, beets, lettuce, garden rocket, spinach, peas, beans, lentils, cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, parsnip, asparagus, salfry, grapes, apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches, quinces, apricots, all sorts of nuts from wallnuts to hazelnuts to acorns and chestnuts, strawberries, raspberries, currant, bramble, blue- and black- and red- and elderberries. Grain comes in form of wheat, barley, rye, oats, emmer aswell as millet and is made into flour, bread, pulp, which is not visually appealiing but is healthy and satiating, and most importantly: beer and ale. Meat comes in form of everything hunted and kept in stables. This includes pork, beef, mutton and goat, chicken, turkey, pheasant, pidgeon, hare, venison from deer and wild boar and every other piece of prey a hunter might encounter. They also fish a lot around the many rivers, streams and lakes and also in the ocean. What comes onto the table includes carp, pike, perch and bass, mackerel, cod, salmon, trout, herring, haddock, eel, turbot and plaice. In line with their believes the Arnish wont eat ducks, geese or otters, as they regard these animals as sacred. Food is usually made directly on the central fireplace of the house. The cook being surrounded by friends and family and everybody that might come by for a hearty snack. Meats are typically roasted over the flame or grilled above the hot coals while veggies are either baked in a pot or made into a soup or compote. Each home either has its own baking oven or has access to a communal oven for making bread; and the Arnish eat loads of bread! Each meal usually comes with bread in forms both solid and liquid, i. e. beer and ale. Some wealthier Nothmen have a steady supply of stronger liquids such as Nurian or Elven Wine, Dwarven Cognac and Schnaps or Galgaean Lager, the latter is more widely spread due to the current occupation and the proximity of both the land and the culture.

Coming of Age Rites

Once an Arnish kid turns 15 years old, they are expected to turn into adulthood. This is for one part connected to choosing their last name, since from now on they won't be referred to simply as the child of somebody. For a second part they have to prove that they are actually worthy of being considered an adult. This could be achieved by completing varying tasks, depending on the region where someone is from. A youth from Arnheim or Starshaven might be expected to climb the highest visible or sacred mountain, while an adolescent from Hafnirs Crossing or Deemouth might have to hunt a boar in the local woods or even swim across the treacherous rapids of the nearest river. These rites usually end in a formal and great ceremony where the youths of a village that have successfully completed the task entrusted to them, are celebrated as adults. This includes the festive slaughter of a lamb or goat kid while an adult animal was chased of into the wild to signify the advance from child- to adulthood. This tradition could vary from the size of the group transcending into adulthood, so that a number of animals unequal to the numer of people are sacrificed, to not waste an entire herd.

Parent ethnicities