Muahaha

[hope]

I pretty much just finished Part 1 of the Epic Romance - coming in at just under 10,000 words.



I have a working title but I don't know if I want it to be the title for Part 1, or the whole thing. I suppose if titles occur to me for the other parts, then that'll answer that question.

Meanwhile, I have canon/fanon questions for Merlin peeps! I have done some Arthurian research on these, but am curious as to what the fanon standards are:

1. What kingdom is Cenred king of? According to wikipedia, there was a Cenred of Mercia, and a Cenred of Wessex around the same time. While knowing that Camelot has some mystical non-location, I like to assume it's probably somewhere in Wales, therefore nearby Mercia makes sense.
   
   Mercia's mentioned in the show, right? Is it ever identified as Cenred's?


2. Speaking of kingdoms, what name is used to describe the Pendragon kingdom? I have been assuming that Camelot is the name of the city/citadel, and that "Albion" either describes the new, united kingdom that Arthur creates, or the collective name for the isle regardless of whether it's united or not.
   
   Is there a general fanon practice for this?


3. Also fanon/BBC canon question: traditionally, Gawain is of Orkney, i.e. Scottish. Obv, Eoin Macken is sporting a delightful Irish accent. Anachronisms of language and accent aside, there been established any fanon precedent for where we're considering Gwaine is from? (perhaps I can just edge around it with "over the sea/water"...)


4. And, a final language/protocol question: what is the honorific with which knights are addressed? eg would a squire address them "my lord", or "sir", or...?
   
   Is there an example of this in canon that doesn't involve the knight's name + honorific (e.g. "Certainly, Sir Gwaine, I will remove my clothes immediately")?

THANKS, TEAM MERLIN!

Comments

Wiki says

[copracat]

Here you go, ma'am: http://merlin.wikia.com/wiki/Merlin_Wiki

http://merlin.wikia.com/wiki/Cenred
http://merlin.wikia.com/wiki/Albion

Re: Wiki says

[hope]

Google-fu! Obvs I lack it :D

Thank you, lady!

(side note: Dear god, that's an ugly website. So glad the Super-wiki isn't hosted on wikia!)

Re: Wiki says

[copracat]

Well, I did know it was there.

[yue_ix]

Congrats on your steady wordcount progress! Pretty graph is pretty.


3. As far as I could see, there are no set fanon yet for Gwaine's birth place, and very little of it is mentioned at all in the fanworks I've checked. "Over the sea" would perfectly work. (Then again, I mostly read PWPs, which never goes really deep into characters origins.)

4. The show is from Merlin's POV a lot, which doesn't help in the least to gauge proper honorifics. Can't remember right now if there ever was an example like you are searching for. However, you could ask over at merlin_sceneit if in a pinch.

[hope]

The show is from Merlin's POV a lot, which doesn't help in the least to gauge proper honorifics.

HAH. That is an excellent point, which hadn't actually occurred to me.

Think I'm just going to choose one and stick with it.

Cheers!

[true_statement]

Fact: Cenred's kingdom has no name. Cenred's kingdom needs no name.

Fact: Mercia is Bayard's kingdom.

Spec: I think Camelot is the realm itself, not just the citadel. Albion is the collective name for the whole isle but is not in general usage; if referenced at all, it's in a legendary sense. Unification seems to be a recent concept.

As for etiquette and protocol, make shit up. If you went by today's standards, then Uther should be the only one addressed as 'Sire' while other male nobles like Arthur would be 'Sir'. Knights should only get 'Sir' and not 'My Lord'. But the show's so inconsistent you might as well go with your instincts.

[hope]

I knew Mercia had been in the show somehow. The Merlin wiki (linked by Vera above) apparently reckons that Escetia is Cenred's kingdom (that, or Morgause sneezed at some point, and now it's canon).

Thanks for the tips. I think I'm going to stick with Sir :)

[vanessarama]

Along with everyone else, yep, Mercia belongs to Bayard. The name of Cenred's kingdom is never mentioned. I've seen people in fic just make something up (one of which was Cenredia which made me lol).

General fanon practice, along with the show, seems to be that Camelot is the name of Uther's kingdom as well as of the castle and town surrounds (I guess if it was in the US they'd call the castle Camelot City, heh). Fanon practice is also that Albion is the new united kingdom. I think the show backs this up in a number of places although I can only remember one: the dragon tells Merlin somewhere in the first season "Without you, Albion will never exist". Or something like that.

They haven't given a name or location for Gwaine's place of origin.

And I have no idea about honorifics. I don't know that Merlin ever addresses any of the other knights with them; Uther and Arthur get "sire" but I don't know about the others. MUST REWATCH, OBVIOUSLY.

[hope]

Cool magool. Thanks for your knowledgability! the Merlin wiki seemed to have a few suggestions for things like Gwaine's origins & a name for Cenred's kingdom, so I think I'll stick with those and see how I go :D

[lolafeist.livejournal.com]

1. Fanon just comes up with whatever. Cenred was too busy having his leather pants fitted to actually name his kingdom. Mercia is Bayard's kingdom though.

2. Camelot appears to refer to both the city/citadel and the realm.

3. I don't think there's a fanon established norm for where Gwaine is from. :D

4. Oooo good question. They are supposedly all nobles (until Arthur breaks the norm) so nobles would always be "my lord," right? But I can't imagine hearing "Lord Leon" haha.

[hope]

Oh, Cenred. You were far too pretty and moody to die. Maybe there should be an A Christmas Carol crackfic where mopes around in chains and leather and tells Uther to stop being such a grump.

Re: 4, yeah, I kind of thought that unless they're lord of *somewhere*, they're not really lords? ergo, Gwaine and Lancelot and Percy and Elyan, unless given property, cannot really be lords *handwave*. In summary, "Sir" it is. (Though, given that my last fandom was Torchwood, that feels a little odd.)