This book cover image looks like an Ythrian fighting two Terrans. If Arinnian and Draun had held their duel, that would have been a fight between two Avalonians - also between two Ythrians if by that we mean two beings belonging to the Domain of Ythri. Tabitha calls herself an Ythrian in conversation with Rochefort. (XI, pp. 568-569)
What is honor?
Because Arinnian has no cause to challenge Draun, he insults the latter in order to provoke that being into challenging him. In order to do this, he also insults Highsky Choth. Issuing the challenge, Draun invokes the honor of named witnesses.
Tabitha/Hrill interjects that it is not to Draun's or Arinnian's honor to kill or cripple each other during a war. Agreeing reluctantly, Draun insists that meanwhile he must not meet or talk to "'...the Walker.'" (p. 618) (An insult.) Arinnian tells Tabitha that she must be their go-between. Draun reminds her that she too is of Highsky. Tabitha can nevertheless be the go-between.
When the two human choth members, Arinnian of Stormgate and Hrill of Highsky, are alone, he says:
"'I didn't mean that last. Of you I beg grace, to you I offer gild.'" (ibid.)
Having insulted Highsky to provoke Draun, he must now in honor offer gild to Hrill. So what is honor? And what indeed is "gild"?
We are told that choths can differ fundamentally. If I were to join one, then it would have to be very unlike either Stormgate or Highsky.
4 comments:
"Gild" (or "geld") is an old Germanic term and concept -- it's the second term in "weregeld", the compensation you gave in a case of homicide.
It means "price" but not in exactly the same way we use the concept. It implies something more like the medieval concept of the "just price" -- it was tied to a concept of inherent worth that was constant and not variable according to supply and demand.
In the judicial context, the "gild" you paid for an offense satisfied the honor of both parties, because there was now a public acknowledgement of an obligation incurred by an offense against the worth (not quite the rights, but a related meaning), a mutual agreement that this was the "just price" to be offered in recompense, and also a public acknowledgment that i had indeed been paid.
That meant that both parties were now quits, and neither could legitimately pursue further actions against the other.
In THE BROKEN SWORD, when Orm the Strong kills the Englishman who won't sell him the land he wants, he eventually offers "weregeld and land-bott" to the man's relatives -- man-price and land-price.
They accept it (partially because they don't want an ongoing feud with a powerful Danish chieftain) and that makes the land "his in law, as well as by might" (quoting from memory here).
To offer "gild" was to offer to make restitution for an offense.
In the context of the conversation in PEOPLE OF THE WIND, it's a similar admission of offense and offer of compensation.
Honor came into it because it required that you acknowledged obligations, and that you didn't let someone impose on your or take what was yours or injure your kin.
If someone did, it was a slight on your honor, your will and capacity to uphold your own worth, until you secured either revenge, or compensation by "gild".
This was a deadly serious matter. Other people's perception of you as someone who would uphold their honor was crucial to how they treated you -- if you didn't have the will and strength to do so, you were 'easy meat', and it would be an offense against -their- honor to treat you as someone worthy of their respect.
Mr Stirling,
Thank you. Of course I am familiar with "weregild" and have mentioned it on the blog so "gild" sounded familiar but I could not find it in a dictionary.
Our ideas of responsibility, obligation etc no longer correspond to "honor."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I second your view of Mr. Stirling's comments. And, could you TRULY join a Ythrian choth? The inference I drew from the stories was that ALL choths had similar views of death pride, honor, gild, etc.
Sean
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