Pr-Reitoria Acadmica

Curso de Letras Ingls

LITERATURAS DE LNGUA INGLESA, LEITURA E
INTERPRETAO III

MEDIEVAL AND NORDIC INFLUENCES IN THE ELDER

SCROLLS ONLINE

Autor: Gabriel Ribeiro Leite

Orientador: Professora MSc.
Michelle Andressa Alvarenga de
Souza

Braslia - DF
2016

Medieval and Nordic Influences in The Elder Scrolls Online

Nowadays, in massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs),
players are designing and challenging the known cultural structures as they create,
sustain and cultivate those new virtual societies. In addition, many of these MMORPGs
are heavily dependent on the medieval and Nordic aspects, both in its content and
player base. According to 1Oliver Traxel, most of the MMORPGs have some kind of
medieval influence. Even the games which are not necessarily medieval have some
pseudo-elements throughout the core aspects of the game. Therefore, with this in mind,
it is not surprising to see types of modern medievalism having influence in the
MMORPGs lore, even when talking about non-medieval games like: EVE Online, DC
Universe Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Wildstar and many others. The games
mentioned rely on several aspects of medievalism and the ones which actually are
medieval rely even more on that medieval foundation. Games like: Guild Wars 2, The
Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, Riders of Icarus, etc. all of these mentioned
games embrace the pure form of medievalism, depicting faith in god or gods as the
pillars of the society of that world, lords, kings or religious leaders who control the lands,
mythical creatures like dragons, dwarfs, fairies, sea monsters, goblins, and huge
kingdoms waiting to be uncharted. In the Elder Scrolls: Online (TESO), signs of
medieval and Nordic elements are spread out across the game with its architecture,
religion, gods, the people, mythical creatures and the empire.

The altar of a church with wine and bread in The Elder Scrolls Online
(http://www.blogcdn.com/massively.joystiq.com/media/2013/05/church.jpg)

1 Oliver M. Traxel, Medieval and Pseudo-Medieval Elements in Computer Role-Playing

Games: Use and Interactivity, in Studies in Medievalism XVI: Medievalism in Technology Old
and New, ed. Karl Fugelso with Carol Robinson (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2008), 125.

A picture containing all the gods within TESO (http://file3.guildlaunch.net/240320/8%20divines

%20small.jpg)

With the pictures above, we can see how gods are worshipped in TESO (the
citizens of that particular world are polytheists, hence, each church and temple
symbolizes the unique god of that region or race of the game) and draw a line of how
churches were depicted in medieval times. Faith in TESO is guided through prayers and
gifts which are believed to please a god in particular. Take 2Talos, for example, he is a
deity associated with the 3Nine Divines, who are the gods and protectors of Tamriel, the
kingdom of TESO His shrines across Tamriel are filled with swords, necklaces, shields,
ale, venison, etc. Thats because he was known to be a fighter, so his followers offer
him spoils of battles as gifts. If it were another deity of the Nine Divines, different gifts
and passages of prayers would be offered from the ones offered to Talos.

2 Talos, known as Tiber Septim, Ysmir, Dragonborn, and heir to the Seat of Sundered Kings,
was, and arguably still is, the greatest hero-god of Mankind
(http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Talos).
3 The Imperial Pantheon of the Nine Divines consists of the most important religious order in
Tamrie (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Nine_Divines)l.

The village of Weynon Priory, with a church in the background

(http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/588/588957/the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion20050218015159432.jpg)

These villages, as the Weynon Priory, have the characteristic of the architecture of a
medieval town and the daily activities of the people also show a medieval way of
living. Peasants doing their daily labors, beggars in the streets asking for Septims (ingame currency), guards assuring the law stays firm, stables with horses to sell, etc. The
architecture of the cities within Tamriel vary accordingly to the region. Richer cities will
have gigantic castles made of stone, houses with glass decorated windows and with
well-dressed folks walking in and out of stores. Poverty and prejudice is also depicted
as something ethnic since the world of TESO has various races classified as humans
and non-human. As humans, we have the Imperials, Bretons, Nords and Redguards. As
for non-humans, Altmers, Argonians, Bosmers, Dunmers, Khajiits and Orsimers.
Prejudice is obviously shown throughout the game for the non-human races, since they
are considered to be thieves and beggars in the society, especially the Khajiits (feline
race) and the Argonians (reptilian race). According to the TESOs wikia [] from the
look of the buildings and its architecture, it appears that Bravil's populace is one of the
less wealthy of 4Cyrodiil. It also might be high in crime rate, as there is a 5skooma den
within the walls of the city. These Khajiits and Argonians would be the beggars of a
medieval society. When they are not involved with crime, they are begging for money.

4 Cyrodiil is the capital of Tamriel

5 Skooma is a drug made mostly in the city of Bravil by Khajiits and Argonians.

The main races of Tamriel (https://www.esouniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/elderscrolls-online-races-1024x604.png)

The most influential races are the ones who are directly associated with the church and
have descended from the crown. Imperials, Bretons and Dunmers are the richest
amongst the races, and that mainly because the Imperials bloodlines are connected to
the crown, the Bretons are usually scholars and preachers of the church and they are
also very skilled with magic, Dunmers (commonly known as Dark Elves) have their own
Island in 6Morrowind, which contains a high variety of minerals and the Nords, who
practically own one of the largest regions of Tamriel, 7Skyrim. Nords are very important
to this article since they are tied to the Nordic culture and the vikings; that is pretty
apparent with their race name Nord. The Nords are among the strongest warriors and
they plunder close regions by sea or land. Their fleet is the strongest of Tamriel, thus
leading the sea when compared to the other races. The gods they worship are
extremely similar to the ones of the Nordic mythology and they even have a place called
Hall of Valor for those who were great warriors and died heroically. The Hall of Valor can
be compared to Valhalla in that sense of only the great are allowed entering there. The
realm in which The Hall of Valor exists is called Sovngarde and it also influenced by
Asgard, which is heaven for the Nordics.

6 Morrowind is a province located in the northeast region of Tamriel.

7 Skyrim is one of the biggest provinces of Tamriel and it is very rich in the logging commerce
since the region has a tundra biome and a vast array of trees.

The Spiritual Realm of Sovngarde

(http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/3/3b/Sovngarde.png/revision/latest?
cb=20120124141015)

In Skyrim, land of the Nords, dragons are one of its many threats. Scattered across the
land, these dragon often protect shrines with chests full of gold, rare weapons and
jewels. Most of the time, they are peaceful creatures, but when they are hungry or when
someone threatens their territory, they become extremely aggressive; burning close
villages, eating the cattle of farmers and attacking cities. Those dragons in Skyrim can
be related to the dragon in Beowulf, since he starts to attack when someone steals the
dragons gold. Some ancient dragons, however, were sentient beings, considered to be
even smarter than some humans. They come from an ancient and lost (within the lore of
TESO) region called Akavir. Akavir contains the race Akaviri, which is lost as well, but
we have faint signs of how their culture worked. They basically were the oriental people
from Tamriel. With samurais, big fiefdoms, etc. So, in that manner, TESO also draws a
bit of inspiration from the medieval Japanese and Chinese era, even though its shallow
appearance in the game.
Now analyzing one of Skyrims cities, Dawnstar, it becomes transparent how the game
relies on the structure of the Viking villages. When you arrive at Dawnstar, youll see a
big village with fishermen loading barrels into the ships, vendors with racks of various
types of fish, children playing near the sea and Nord warriors (or 8thanes) training with
an axe and shield or bow and arrow.

8 Thane is an honorary title which is given by the jarl of a hold to a person of great importance
in a particular city, often a hero.

The village of Dawnstar (http://images1-1.gamewise.co/Dawnstar-814-full.png)

In Conclusion, The Elder Scrolls online had the influence in its making of several
medieval and Nordic aspects. Going from landscapes, architecture, people, religion and
various others already mentioned.

References
Available at: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Bravil
Available at: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Morrowind
Available at: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Talos
Available at: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Thane_(Title)
Available at: http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Weynon_Priory_(Quest)
JONES, Lindsey. Modern-day Ring-givers: MMORPG Guild Cultures and the Influence
of the Anglo-Saxon World. Edition: NED - New edition, published by: Boydell &
Brewer, D. S. Brewer, 2015. Pages 217-236.
TRAXEL, Oliver. Medieval and Pseudo-Medieval Elements in Computer Role-Playing
Games: Use and Interactivity, in Studies in Medievalism XVI: Medievalism in

Technology Old and New, ed. Karl Fugelso with Carol Robinson (Cambridge: D. S.
Brewer, 2008), 125.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited: released in April 4 th, 2014.