Dave wasn't being a prat on this thread. His comment was that:
"The medieval Jewish ghettos were the original inspiration behind the alienages, yes. It grew to encompass other things, of course, but all of Thedas started as a fictionalized version of European history, so that is indeed where it began."
And then later, he asked that people take the real-world discussions of race to the off-topic forum.
The medieval ghettos were my first thought, but there's also hints of the Native American (original inhabitants of the continent enslaved and forced off their lands and into small, confined areas by the newcomers) and African-American (lost much of their original culture and worshipping the oppressor's deity) experiences.
What I'm wondering about is what the City Elven culture would look like, because I think that after 600-odd years they would have developed something with elements of scraps remembered from the Dales, and the human culture around them. The obvious one is the vhenedahl, but there would probably be others, right?
I'm particularly curious about religion. I don't think we ever see any elven priests of the Maker in game. How deep does their belief really run? Someone on LJ suggested that the elves may venerate Andraste over the Maker, which is an interesting idea, especially if it's a City Elf Warden who finds the Urn.
I suspect that for my Tabris girl's fic, I'm going to move in the direction of a possible future schism, with the Ferelden Chantry pulling away from the central hierarchy in Orlais--not least because the King's mistress has a strong hand in setting government policy. (I hardened Alistair, but I totally went with the dialogue option "You should look out for yourself more, as long as you do what I tell you."
I read it so you don't have to!
"The medieval Jewish ghettos were the original inspiration behind the alienages, yes. It grew to encompass other things, of course, but all of Thedas started as a fictionalized version of European history, so that is indeed where it began."
And then later, he asked that people take the real-world discussions of race to the off-topic forum.
The medieval ghettos were my first thought, but there's also hints of the Native American (original inhabitants of the continent enslaved and forced off their lands and into small, confined areas by the newcomers) and African-American (lost much of their original culture and worshipping the oppressor's deity) experiences.
What I'm wondering about is what the City Elven culture would look like, because I think that after 600-odd years they would have developed something with elements of scraps remembered from the Dales, and the human culture around them. The obvious one is the vhenedahl, but there would probably be others, right?
I'm particularly curious about religion. I don't think we ever see any elven priests of the Maker in game. How deep does their belief really run? Someone on LJ suggested that the elves may venerate Andraste over the Maker, which is an interesting idea, especially if it's a City Elf Warden who finds the Urn.
I suspect that for my Tabris girl's fic, I'm going to move in the direction of a possible future schism, with the Ferelden Chantry pulling away from the central hierarchy in Orlais--not least because the King's mistress has a strong hand in setting government policy. (I hardened Alistair, but I totally went with the dialogue option "You should look out for yourself more, as long as you do what I tell you."