Compilation by Deksar in Dark Ages
Note: All of this is out-of-character, of course.
Mileth: Pagan Ireland
Celtic Mythological
Names
Abel: Norse Kingdoms
Norse Mythological Names
Suomi: Dark Ages Sweden
Norse Mythological Names
Undine: Ancient Greece
Greek Legendary Heroes
A few note before we continue: When you develop your accent, remember that postings on a board or letters shouldn't include your accent. You are writing these posts and letters, not saying them outloud. Also note that all "suggestions" assume English is your native language. And, finally, if the name ends with an "a", there is a good chance its a feminine name. If you want to know, check the sources.
The mythology of Pagan Ireland is that of the ancient Celtics and some Irish sects. Also known as the Druids, the Celtics worshipped the stars and the earth. Their religion is what fuels Darks Ages, and therefore is extremely important to understand.
Mythology:The race of Irish gods were supposedly created by the goddess Danu. They were called the tutha dé dannan (People of the Goddess Danu). The gods were believed to have "mastered" the art of magic, and taken root in what was going to be known "Ireland". Note that the Celtics worshiped nature, so that had a vast number of river, forest, etc. gods and goddesses.
The Celtics had MANY gods of academia and written works, but not that many of war, death, etc. This makes sense, since the Druids were more philosophers then war-makers.
Language: Irish Gaelic is not an easy thing to learn. However, it sports the backbone of the "old tounge" of Dark Ages. Irish Gaelic is used in the names of all of the spells. So, here goes. Note that one of the manual's regular links is a very good source of Irish Gaelic.
Nuair a bhíonn an fíon istigh,
bíonn an ciall amuigh.
When the wine is in(side), the sense is out(side).
The exact sounds "Z", "Q", and "W" don't seem to be in the gaelic language. As well, the sound of "V" is totally absent. You could replace "Z" with "sr" (say "srs", it's very similar), "Q" with "Huah" or "Ca", "W" (in some circumstances) with "h", and finally "V" with just an apostrophe. Remember, however, you don't need to have an "exact" Gaelic accent. You could have lived in many differen places as a child, and picked up on many different accents. Here's how I would type "How are you doing?" and "May I ask you a question?".
Hoh' are ye doing?
May I ask ye a ca'estion?
The apostrophe are there to indicate a larger deviate from the normal english language. And, I said "ye" instead of "you" since I believe "ye" was used around the end of the Dark Ages, around Ireland. However, there is such a thing as having too heavy an accent, meaning the people can't understand what you are saying (typing). Don't go overboard. Although it may actually be truer with the heavier accent, it is still important for people to understand what you are saying. For more information on accents, this is a good place to try: http://www.monmouth.com/~daltai/home.htm.
Too Heavy: Hoh' aere ye dhoing tod'y? "How are you doing today?"
And, if you can't figure out what name would be appropriate, try this reference:
Abel: Dark Ages Norse Kingdoms
Mythology: At this time, the inhabidants of the Norse kingdoms developed a mythology very similiar to the ancient Celtics and Greeks. However theirs was a warrior culture, and a warrior religion. The greatest god of all, Odin, was the god of storms, knowledge, and of war. One of the more celebrated gods, Thor, is the god of thunder. After death, a brave warrior could go up to Valhalla and fight for an eternity, without the chance of death. Remember that Norway is located far from the equator, so it was VERY cold there. Battle kept the heart pumping, and kept them warm. Also note that the mythology of Noreway and Sweden are both included in "Norse Mythology".
Language: Here is a little excerpt...
(source: http://www.sofn.com/language/language.html)
God dag! "goo dagh" Hello (good day)!
God kveld! "goo kvelh" Good evening!
Morn! "morhn" Hi! (informal)
Obviously, the language is "harsher" compared to modren English-speaking person. Instead of flowing easily, it has jumps with consonant-vowel combinations and shorter words. Instead of "Good day", it is "God dag". Say "Good day" and "God dag" one after the other. I'm sure you'll have a little bit of a rasp with the second. If you wish to "speak" in an Norwegian accent, you may consider shortening the words. Instead of "good" say "god". Instead of "meet" say "met". Instead of "greetings" say "grets", etc., etc. Think of all the vowels and vowel-consonent combinations that makes your mouth go into any odd position (like puckering or open really wide), and change the spelling to emphasize them. If you wish to know more about the Norwegian language, click on the source.
If you can't figure what name would be appropriate, try this
little list:
Norse Mythological Names
History: Now this is a bit easier. In the Dark Ages, France was mainly Christian. It was right next to Italy, and was part of the Roman Empire, so was left with a majority of Christians with the fall of the Roman Empire. One of its greatest leaders, "Charlemange", declared France a "Holy Empire", along with Germany. The Christians, at that time, were extremely wary of "heretics" and "paganists". This is what lead to the unsuccesful and incredibly violent "Crusades". During the Dark Ages, France was indeed one of the strongest empires of all Europe, so it makes sense "Loures" is as well. Language: This is French. If you know English, you have a very good start on French. A little bit after the Dark Ages, England was invaded and conquored by France. Because of this, modren English is made up of 70% french (or french-sounding) words. French is a much "softer" language then English. When you try to speak it, think like you are trying to make the words land on a pillow. Instead of "word", try saying "wourd". Instead of "color" try saying "colour" (which, is the British spelling too). Instead of "pair", try saying "paihr". Most of all, however, try to pair your "o"s with a "u" when appropriate. Also note that some English slang phrases contain french ("moi?"), so many native English speakers won't have too much trouble deciphering a little bit of actual French. To play around with French, try http://babelfish.altavista.com/.
Oh, and for names...many English names have similiar French equivilents or are just French names. Any Christian name has its French equivilent. "Matthew" is "Mathieu". "John" is "Jean" or "Jean-Luc". "Robert" is "Robeire" (might be mis-spelling that one).
History: Portugal is on the left side of Spain, and about under France (with water seperating them). They are a small country, but Christianity swept them up none-the-less. They were also one of the greatest sailors, for they charted many a land. Later in the Middle Ages, they even divided up the world with Spain. For that time, Portugal was one of the greatest powers of all. But in the Dark Ages, Portugal was just discovering their secrets of exploration. If you were raised in "Rucesion", there is a good chance you have the urge to explore other lands. As well, since Portugal was like a port-country, all kinds of different cultures passed through them. You could have been influenced by a great number of things.
Language: Like French, Spanish, Italian, and English, Portuguese is a Romantic language (came from Latin). Since it borders Spain, its language is more similiar to Spanish then French. If you can type English, then it won't be hard to throw in a little bit of an accent. Unlike French, Portuguese is a harsher language, but also not as soft as English. I suggest going to...http://babelfish.altavista.com...and actually subistuting a few common english words with Portuguese ones, but only if they are easily recognizable for their english counter-parts. The only other piece of advice I could give is more towards Spanish then Portuguese, but they are very similiar. Try speaking with a little bit of a "rasp", like if you have a bad throat cold.
Mythology:During the Dark Ages, Sweden was part of the Norse Kingdoms (Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were the Norse Kingdoms). Therefore its mythology was mainly that of Norse Mythology. See Abel: Norse Kingdoms. Language: Swedish is NOT a Romantic language. It probably came from German, which came from various barbarian tribes. German is a very harsh languages, making tons of uses of harsher sounds like "r" and "v". In fact, there is no "w" sound in the Swedish vocabulary. If you have ever heard Swedish or German people speak English, they usually substitute a "v" for the "w".
Vaht? Vaht do you vant? "What? What do you want?"
For German translations, try http://babelfish.altavista.com/.
History: The records on it are so extensive since the Roman Empire was so greatly influenced by the ancient Greek's teachings and religion. In fact, they even adopted the religion of Greece for a long time, before they converted into Christianity around the start of the Dark Ages. Note that the age of the "Dark Ages" is almost directly after the Roman Empire's fall. It is called this because "heathen barbarians" destroyed the Roman Empire, and took over the its providences. However soon enough the Barbarians themselves became Christian.
Mythology: "The big one". This is probably the most-known and understood multi-thesistic (multi-god) ancient religion. The Sky and Earth fell in love, and had the first of the gods. That god tried to destroy his children to stop them from killing him, but one of his children, Zeus, killed him. Now Zeus ruled the gods, which consisted of his brothers, sisters, nephews, neices, and his very own sons and daughters. The gods loved to indulged in "mortal pleasures", and sometimes even made "heroes" by fathering (or mothering) mortals with super powers. The ancient Greeks believed that everything had its god or magical being. Even the forests had "dryads" and "nymphs".
Language: The Greek lanuage is probably the most difficult language of all of the ones talked about here. It came long before Latin, so was not Latin-derived, and whatever Latin did to it caused some parts of it to be somewhat like Latin, but other parts much different. If you know Latin, you have a better shot of understanding Greek. If you know English...well, I suggest sticking with the Greek numbers. "Psi" sounds like "sigh", for example. The rest are at this link...http://www.mathacademy.com/platonic_realms/encyclop/articles/greek.html.
And, if you can't figure out what name would be appropriate, or just can't think of a name, try this reference:
For those curious if you actually speak with me, I use a combination of what
I consider to be an Irish Gaelic and Norwegian accent.
May g'od luck be 'hith ye! (May good luck with you!)