the EB required help thread

**Kull** · 05-07-2006, 02:09

Originally Posted by Pius

I would like to offer my help to this formidable mod! I lack experience in the actual modding business but would like to contribute with my knowledge to the description work. I would be most helpful doing research on old Scandinavian/Norse names for Eleuthoroi settlements, buildings and units in that region (as I am of Swedish descent) if this hasn't already been addressed, but can of course help with anything you need. Command and I will obey!

Yours truly, and with outmost respect, Pius.

Thanks for volunteering! There isn't a faction for that area, but if you could come up with some information covering our time frame (272 BC to 14 AD), that might be helpful. In particular, these items:

1) Information on the tribes and peoples (and what they were known for). This could be used to create a Sweboz "ethnic" trait (for a family member who comes from the Northlands) or even an Ancillary.

2) Natural Wonders. Anything which had known religious significance or is such a marvel of beauty or power that the ancients would surely have told stories about it. Extra Points if these stories have come down to us in any way, either as rock carvings (or being surrounded by such) or pre-norse sagas (these can be iffy as they are well beyond our time frame).

**Zalmoxis** · 05-07-2006, 04:30

I didn't want to start a new thread, but for some reason I can't download the 0.74 patch, when I click the websites it won't display the page. Any suggestions?
EDIT: Also, how do you put the faction banners in your sig? I know I must have asked this at least twice before, but I can't find a thread telling me how.

**Pius** · 05-07-2006, 13:41

Originally Posted by Kull

Thanks for volunteering! There isn't a faction for that area, but if you could come up with some information covering our time frame (272 BC to 14 AD), that might be helpful. In particular, these items:

1) Information on the tribes and peoples (and what they were known for). This could be used to create a Sweboz "ethnic" trait (for a family member who comes from the Northlands) or even an Ancillary.

2) Natural Wonders. Anything which had known religious significance or is such a marvel of beauty or power that the ancients would surely have told stories about it. Extra Points if these stories have come down to us in any way, either as rock carvings (or being surrounded by such) or pre-norse sagas (these can be iffy as they are well beyond our time frame).

1) I have been doing some research on the late nordic bronze age/early pre-roman iron age (time span approximately 1000 BC - 200 AD) and have come up with some very interesting information. Even though this civilization didn't leave much text/scripture for archeologists to find (they did, however, posses the elder Futhark, or elder Fuþark, the old runic alphabet, in the first centuries AD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elder_Futhark), I found this description by the Roman historian and scholar Tacitus:

"Tacitus wrote in AD 98 that the Suiones were a powerful tribe (distinguished not merely for their arms and men, but for their powerful fleets) with ships that had a prow in both ends (longships):

Beyond these people (the Rugii and the Lemovii) are the states (civitates) of the Suiones, but these are in the ocean itself (i.e. on an island and not, like the Rugii and Lemovii, on the South Baltic coast of the mainland). The Suiones are distinguished not merely for their arms and men, but for their powerful fleets, though the style of their ships is unusual in that there is a prow at each end so that the boat can advance head-on in either direction. Moreover, they do not use sails, and the oars are not fixed in rows along the sides, but are detachable, and are removed on certain rivers; they can also be reversed, if occasion demands. These people respect wealth, and one man among them is supreme, there being no limits to his power and no question as to the full obedience due to him. Promiscuous carrying of arms is not allowed here, as it is among the other Germans, but weapons are kept shut up in the charge of a slave who acts as guard. This is because the sea prevents sudden inroads from enemies, and because bands of armed men who have nothing to do often become unruly. It is not found expedient for the king (regia utilitas) to place a nobleman or a freeborn man, or even a freedman, in charge over these arms...["

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suiones" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suiones

The Scandinavian tribes, one of the most remarked the Suiones (from which the word Sweden has derived) differed on many points from the germanic tribes on the mainland. They were master seafarers. The Scandinavians adopted many central European and Mediterranean symbols at the same time that they created new styles and objects. Mycenaean Greece, the Villanovan culture, Phoenicia and Ancient Egypt have all been identified as possible sources of influence in Scandinavian artworks from this period.
I'll continue my search and see if I can find something more concrete to base a trait on.

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2) I gave this some thought, and I have come up with three possible Natural Wonders. There are various Stone Monuments in Scandinavia, I have listed the most common.

1) Petroglyphs - During the Nordic bronze age, ca 1800 BC - 600 BC, the Scandinavian tribes practised the art of stonecarving. The Swedish west coast in particular is wellknown for having these magnificent stone carvings. They carved thousands of symbols, figures and images of varying size in the rocks, some pretty small, some huge. They mostly portrayed animals (like elk, deer and various cattle), humans (warriors, human figures with clear sexual themes, suggesting the existence of a fertility cult, and god-like depictions) and last but not least the famous longships. These were sometimes portrayed in a much bigger scale than the other carvings, some streching as far as a couple of metres. (In modern Swedish, these petroglyphs are known as 'Hällristningar', fused by the two words 'häll' and 'ristning', 'häll' meaning a big, flat rock or rockside, as these figures were carved on the big rocks close to the coast that had been flattened during the ice age, and 'ristning' simply meaning carving.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanumshede

2) Stone circles - These Stone Circles (not to be confused with the Stone Circles of the British Celts) are in modern Swedish called Domarringar, meaning Judge-rings. These mysterious monuments consisted of giant rocks raised in the shape of a circle. The number of rocks were often of an odd number, often seven or nine, but bigger circles have been found. The function of these monuments is believed to be connected with the deathcult and burial rituals of the Scandinavian people. Parts of skeletons and ashes have been found in some sites. The knowledge of the function of these monuments seem to have survived in folklore as late as the 13th century, when the icelandic historian and poet Snorre Sturlasson wrote his famous Heimskringla, the Norweigan Kinglegends. In this epos he writes the following:

As to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the Age of Burning; because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were raised standing stones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_circle_%28Iron_Age%29

3) Stone Ships - One of the strangest remains from the Nordic Bronze age, and certainly the biggest, are the magnificent stone ships. The custom is believed to be of Germanic origin, but nowhere do they get as common, or big, as in Sweden. They are believed to have represented the actual burning ship in which the dead was sent out to the sea. They served as places for worship and burials. There are theories stating that they functioned as a sort of calendar. The Stone Ships are built from stones and rocks of various sizes, in the shape of a ship. The size of the Ships varies as well, from just a few metres to monumental sizes. The double ships in Amund's Mound have a total length of over a 100 metres, along with many smaller ships and burial mounds. It has been dated to late Bronze age/early pre-roman iron age (ca 100 BC - 100 AD).

I have personally visited and seen all of the monuments in my list, as I live on the west coast. They are all very interesting and mysterious in a very attractive way, if I may say so :P
All of these monuments were present in all of Scandinavia, including Denmark and Gotland.

On another note, I was checking the buildings available in the settlements in Scandinavia and found that the Shrine of Nêrthuz had been labeled 'meaning unknown' or something similar. I wish to shed some light on that.
Nêrthuz, or Nerthus, translates as the 'Earth Mother' and is probably from where the word 'Earth' has derived. Worship of the fertility goddess Nerthus was common throughout the whole of Germania, including Scandinavia. I have myself laid my eyes on a stonecarving in Tanumshede which many archeologists believe to be a depiction of Nerthus.
Nerthus was mentioned by Tacitus in his work Germania. He recorded a second-hand account of a sacrifice to this goddess in a lake on what is often interpreted as the island of Fyn, in Denmark. For a full account, visit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerthus

Also, I was wondering if you can tell me what language the names of the cities in Scandinavia are in, in EB, and if I can see the source? This would help my research a lot.

Yours Sincerely, Pius.

**Moros** · 05-07-2006, 17:51

nice Pius! Maybe you can help the Sweboz people? I believe they could use a hand, right? Do you think you might be able to do that?

**Pius** · 05-07-2006, 18:31

Absolutely. I can help with the Sweboz, or any other faction/team that needs help. After all, it's just a matter of research.

It would be great if the Wonders I mentioned could actually be implented in a future build, as they played a big part of the named civilization. Do you have any suggestions as to where I might go from here? I am in need of a little push in the right direction.

Best regards, Pius.

**Radier** · 05-07-2006, 18:33

Pius, I am glad you are trying to make us fellow northes better representated in
the mod. Keep up the good work!

**Pius** · 05-07-2006, 18:35

Thanks a lot, just doing my duty :D
It's an honour to be able to contribute to this fantastic mod!

My humble regards, Pius

**Moros** · 05-08-2006, 18:56

Well if you like I can contact the Sweboz or another faction coordinator and ask him if you can't help with description or other research stuff.
If you think you can help the Sweboz a lot you can contact TheTank.

About the descriptions and stuff I like them but as I'm not an historian nor a native speaker I'm not really qualified to judge about it. But if you want I can ask the Sweboz guys what they think about it.