The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first no ...
's ''
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ...
'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
, named Great A'Tuin (similar to
Chukwa or
Akupara
The World Turtle, also called the Cosmic Turtle or the World-bearing Turtle, is a mytheme of a giant turtle (or tortoise) supporting or containing the world. It occurs in Hindu mythology, Chinese mythology, and the mythologies of the indigenou ...
from
Hindu mythology) as it slowly swims through space.
The Disc has been shown to be heavily influenced by
magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
and, while Pratchett gave it certain similarities to planet
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, he also created his own system of physics for it.
Pratchett first explored the idea of a disc-shaped world in the novel ''
Strata'' (1981).
Great A'Tuin
Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star
Turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
(of the fictional
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
''Chelys galactica'') who travels through the Discworld universe's
space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...
, carrying four giant
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) who in turn carry the Discworld. The narration has described A'Tuin as "the only turtle ever to feature on the
Hertzsprung–Russell diagram".
Great A'Tuin's
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
is unknown to the inhabitants of Discworld (though in ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'' Pratchett describes the turtle as male), but the subject of much speculation by some of the Disc's finest scientific minds. The sex of the World Turtle is pivotal in proving or disproving a number of conflicting theories about the destination of Great A'Tuin's journey through the
cosmos
The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity.
The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...
. If, as the Discworld version of the popular "
Big Bang theory
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
" states, Great A'Tuin is moving from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, then at the point of mating the
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Ci ...
s of the Disc might be crushed, simply slide off, or else the entire world will end. The hypothesis is that all stars in the sky are obviously also worlds carried by giant turtles, and that when all the turtles meet they will mate passionately, for the first and only time; from that mating, it is hypothesized that new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. Attempts by
telepaths
Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
to learn more about Great A'Tuin's intents have not met with much success, mainly because they did not realise that its brain functions are on such a slow timescale. All they have been able to discern is that the Great A'Tuin is looking forward to something.
The other theory, described as being popular among the Discworld's academics as the Discworld version of the
steady state theory
In cosmology, the steady-state model, or steady state theory is an alternative to the Big Bang theory of evolution of the universe. In the steady-state model, the density of matter in the expanding universe remains unchanged due to a continuous ...
, which in-universe is known as the "steady gait" theory, is that he/she came from nowhere and is going to keep swimming through space to nowhere forever. ''
Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
'' shows Great A'Tuin being made instantly from nothing, seemingly in support of the "steady gait" theory; however, the events in ''
The Light Fantastic
''The Light Fantastic'' is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the ''Discworld'' series. It was published on 2 June 1986, the first printing being of 1,034 copies. The title, taken from a poem by John Milton, in which it r ...
'', in which the Great A'Tuin attended the hatching of eight baby turtles, each with four baby elephants and a tiny discworld of their own, would seem to support the Big Bang hypothesis.
The little turtles have since gone off on their own journeys. Whether this was the event the Great A'Tuin was looking forward to or merely one step towards its ultimate goal is not mentioned.
Great A'Tuin has been mentioned to frequently roll on its belly to avoid asteroid and comet collisions, or even to snatch these projectiles out of the sky which might otherwise destroy the Disc. These stunts do not affect the Disc's population, other than to induce severe seasickness on anyone who happens to be looking at the night sky at that time. A'Tuin has been known to do more complex rolls and corkscrews, but these are rarer. This is similar to real-world sea turtles' habit of rolling over with their shell down to protect themselves from sharks.
Due to the Great A'Tuin's travelling through the universe, the night sky of the Discworld changes markedly over the course of decades, as the turtle departs older constellations and enters new ones. This means that astrologers must constantly update and alter their horoscopes to incorporate all-new zodiacs.
A tiny
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
and
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
orbit the Great A'Tuin, both about in diameter when described at the start of the series, but the description of their diameter is increased to at least later in the chronicles. The moon is slightly closer to the Disc than the sun. One half is covered with silvery glowing plants, which feed the lunar dragons. The other half is burnt black by the sun. The moon rotates and completes a full revolution in about a month; the full moon occurs when the luminescent side is completely visible from the Disc; the new moon when the dark side is shown. The sun's orbit is so complex that one of the elephants has to cock its leg to allow the sun to continue on its orbit.
According to the wizards of
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
, ''Chelys galactica'', and thus Great A'Tuin, are composed largely of the fictional element chelonium, the properties of which are apparently known to them (they do tests to look for it in Roundworld
he Discworld analogue of Earth
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
in ''
The Science of Discworld
''The Science of Discworld'' is a 1999 book by novelist Terry Pratchett and popular science writers (and University of Warwick science researchers) Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. Three sequels, '' The Science of Discworld II: The Globe'', '' The S ...
''), but not to readers.
Magic
Magic is the principal force on the Discworld and operates in a similar vein to real-world elemental forces such as
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
and
electromagnetism
In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of ...
. The Disc's "standing magical field" is essentially the local breakdown of reality, which allows a flat planet on the back of a turtle to even exist. The force called "magic" is really just a function of the relative absence of reality in the local area, much in the same way that the absence of heat is described as "coldness". Magic warps reality in much the same way as the real universe's gravity warps its space-time. The act of performing magic is, essentially, telling the universe what form it must take, in terms that the universe cannot ignore. This is very draining to magic users, due to Discworld science's Law of Conservation of Reality, which states that magic and mundane methods require the same energy expenditure. This is why most Discworld wizards store magic in a staff, which is a sort of
capacitor
A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy in an electric field by virtue of accumulating electric charges on two close surfaces insulated from each other. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals.
The effect of ...
for magical energy.
On the Discworld, where magic has more in common with
particle physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...
than
Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician R ...
, high-level background magic (most likely a reference to real-world
background radiation
Background radiation is a measure of the level of ionizing radiation present in the environment at a particular location which is not due to deliberate introduction of radiation sources.
Background radiation originates from a variety of source ...
) occurs when a very powerful spell hits, creating myriad sub-astral particles that severely distort local reality. Building a house in (or even walking into) a region where this has happened is extremely dangerous, as it is mentioned that an individual may not remain the same species, shape or level of sanity as they were when they entered. Medium levels cause odd effects, such as coins landing on their edges and turning into caterpillars. Areas with larger than normal quantities of background magic tend to display unusual qualities, even for the Disc. Very high quantities of magic can knock a hole in Discworld reality, leading to an invasion by
Lovecraftian
Lovecraftian horror, sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic horror", is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named a ...
monstrosities from the Dungeon Dimensions, or, almost as bad, the world of the
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
.
In the Discworld universe, magic is broken into elementary particulate fragments in much the same way that energy and other forces are in real-world
quantum physics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...
. The basic unit of Discworld magic is the thaum (from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''thauma'', marvel), equal to the amount of mystical energy required to conjure up one small white
pigeon
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
, or three normal-sized
billiard ball
A billiard ball is a small, hard ball used in cue sports, such as carom billiards, pool, and snooker. The number, type, diameter, color, and pattern of the balls differ depending upon the specific game being played. Various particular ball p ...
s. Several
SI-modifiers have been applied to it (e.g. millithaum, kilothaum) in the books. Magic can be measured with a thaumometer, which is described as a black cube with a dial on one side. A standard thaumometer is good for up to a million thaums, beyond that level, Discworld reality starts to break down. Parodying the introduction of the metric system, later Discworld novels refer to the introduction of the newer unit, the Prime, to avoid arguments over the standard sizing of pigeons. It is defined as the magical energy required to move one pound of lead one foot, referencing the
Joule
The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applie ...
.
The thaum also appears to be a particle, the Discworld physics equivalent of the
atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, ...
. "Splitting the thaum" revealed that it was in fact composed of numerous sub-particles, called resons ("thingies") which in turn are created from a combination of up to five "flavours": up, down, sideways, sex appeal, and peppermint (parodying the real-world
quarks
A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly ...
).
In the opening books, the number eight is generally significant and has magical properties on the Disc, (e.g. the number of the colour of Magic, octarine) and should never be spoken by wizards especially in certain places. Doing so may allow the ancient dungeon dimension creature "Bel-Shamharoth the sender of eight" to break through (this is taken to a somewhat extreme end in one book, as even the ''narrator'' takes great pains to avoid saying the word). On the other hand, eight turns up in many places one would expect the number seven in the real world (e.g. the Discworld week contains eight days, not seven). After ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'', both the colour and the number eight no longer appear as dangerous.
The Disc's magical field is centred on Cori Celesti. Everyday natural forces, such as light and
magnetism, are muffled by the power of the Disc's magical field, and rather than a magnetised needle, navigators on the Disc use a compass with a needle of the magical metal
octiron
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, which will always point towards Cori Celesti. Light is so oddly affected by magic that, as it passes into the Disc's atmosphere, it actually slows down from millions to hundreds of miles an hour. One odd effect of this is that the Disc has
time zones
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
, however, as a flat world, it should not. Another effect is that, as reported in ''
Thud!
''Thud!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 34th book in the ''Discworld'' series, first released in the United States on 13 September 2005, then the United Kingdom on 1 October 2005. It was released in the U.S. three wee ...
'', the
red- and
blue-shift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and simultaneous increase in f ...
ing of light becomes noticeable when travelling at speeds of merely a .
The power of belief
Reality is spread thinly on the Disc, so events may be affected by expectations, especially those of 'intelligent' species such as humans, dwarves, etc. As such, the Discworld is not governed by real-world physics or logic but by belief and narrative resolution. Essentially, if something is believed strongly enough, or by enough people, it may become true. Jokes such as
treacle mines
Treacle mining is a joke about mining black treacle (also known as molasses) in a raw form similar to coal. The subject purports to be serious but is an attempt to test credulity. Thick black treacle makes the deception plausible. The topic has ...
and
drop bear
The drop bear (sometimes dropbear) is a hoax in contemporary Australian folklore featuring a predatory, carnivorous version of the koala. This imaginary animal is commonly spoken about in tall tales designed to scare tourists. While koalas are t ...
s are real on the Disc; in reality lemmings do not actually rush ''en masse'' off cliffs; on the Disc, they do, because that is what people believe. These concepts of Discworld physics are also exploited in both wizard and witch magic. For example, when a character wishes to turn a cat into a human, the easiest way is to ''convince'' the cat, on a deep level, that he is a human. In fact, the main reason the Auditors of Reality dislike sentient beings in the Discworld universe is that the Auditors are the personifications of the real-world laws of physics, but the Discworld physics' power of belief and the humans' ignorance constantly remake the world, making their work fruitless.
More significantly, it is also belief that gives Discworld's gods their powers. Discworld gods start off as tiny spirits, and gain power as they gain believers; this is explored most thoroughly in ''
Small Gods
''Small Gods'' is the thirteenth of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels, published in 1992. It tells the origin of the god Om, and his relations with his prophet, the reformer Brutha. In the process, it satirises religious institutions, peop ...
''. A similar effect has led to the personalisation and "reification" in the Discworld universe of mythological beings symbolising abstract concepts, such as
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, the Hogfather and other anthropomorphic personifications. In ''
Hogfather
''Hogfather'' is the 20th ''Discworld'' novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee. It was first released in 1996 and published by Victor Gollancz. It came in 137th place in The Big Read, a BBC survey of the most loved ...
'', the assassin
Mr. Teatime tries to kill the patron of Hogswatch by using an old magic that involves controlling a person with a part of their body (in this case, the teeth collected by the Tooth Fairies), in order to stop children from believing in him, and almost succeeds.
Such is the nature of belief on the Disc that temporary new gods come into being on a regular basis, and often for such mundane things as stuck drawers; Anoia, Goddess of Things That Get Stuck in Drawers, came into her powers in such a manner, though she was previously a volcano goddess.
Narrative causality
The Disc's nature is fundamentally
teleological
Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
; its basic composition is determined by what it is ultimately ''meant'' to be. This primary element, out of which all others spring, is known as narrativium, the
elemental substance of Story. Nothing on the Disc can exist without a Story first existing to mould its destiny and determine its form. This is, perhaps, a take on the fact that nothing can ever ''happen'' on the Disc unless it is
written in a story by Terry Pratchett. On the Disc, if a story or legend is told often enough and believed by enough people, it becomes true. This is known as the law of narrative causality.
For example, characters in ''
Guards! Guards!
''Guards! Guards!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighth in the '' Discworld'' series, first published in 1989. It is the first novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The first ''Discworld'' point-and-click adventu ...
'' describe the marauding (noble) dragon as an "impossible" creature, yet it is able to fly and breathe fire because that is what dragons are ''expected to do''. Similarly, a witch gone bad may meet a bad end after
building a house of gingerbread. If a miller has a third son,
he will invariably leave him only his cat. A hero will always win when outnumbered, since million-to-one chances are dramatic enough to "crop up nine times out of ten", but always lose when faced with "a little bald wrinkly smiling man" who is almost always highly trained in martial arts.
Discworld witches often employ narrative in their magic, but consider it ethically tricky since it interferes with
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
. Discworld wizards avoid doing so because narrative that severely strains credibility requires outright sources of magic to feed on, sometimes indiscriminately. Knowledge of stories, their use and how to change them forms the basis of many forms of magical power in Discworld physics. Pratchett characters who use and/or change stories include Lilith, Black Aliss, and Granny Weatherwax. The habit of many Discworlders to take
metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...
literally has combined with the power of belief to produce some very odd areas on the Discworld. The Place Where The Sun Does Not Shine, for instance, is a deep crevasse in Lancre, incidentally located between A Rock and A Hard Place.
Octarine
The colour of magic on the Discworld, also referred to as the ''eighth colour''. This fictional colour is strongly indicative of magic and can only be seen by wizards (who sometimes describe it as resembling a fluorescent greenish-yellow purple) and cats, who both possess "octagon cells" in addition to the normal
cone
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...
s and
rods possessed by humans. (See
tetrachromacy
Tetrachromacy (from Greek ''tetra'', meaning "four" and ''chromo'', meaning "color") is the condition of possessing four independent channels for conveying color information, or possessing four types of cone cell in the eye. Organisms with te ...
for the real-world equivalent.)
Substances
The Disc contains a number of magical substances. One such is octiron, a dense black metal that is a large part of the Discworld's crust. Its melting point is above the range of metal forges. The gates of
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
are made out of it, as is Old Tom, the university's bell. It is used to make magic needles and bells. It releases magical radiation, but if it becomes negatively polarised, it can be used to absorb such radiation. It generates significant amounts of heat under pressure, accounting for most of the volcanic geological processes on Discworld. When struck (such as with Old Tom), instead of producing a sound it briefly silences anything around it.
Another is fingles, insinuated in ''
Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
'' to be an important part of human psychology. Their absence, according to the Creator, can cause psychological problems. "On the surface they were all right, but deep down they knew something was missing", as he put it, referring to the inhabitants of a world where he forgot to include any. Since fingles do not exist on Earth, it is implied that Earth is the planet the Creator is referring to, and humanity is the species that is fundamentally incomplete because of their absence.
Another is slood. First mentioned in ''
The Last Continent
''The Last Continent'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-second book in his ''Discworld'' series. First published in 1998, it mocks the aspects of time travel such as the grandfather paradox and the Ray Bradbury s ...
'', slood is a natural substance that could be discovered by intelligent beings, but that humans on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
have been too unintelligent to find; it is said to be much easier to discover than fire, and only slightly harder to discover than water. One of Rincewind's many accumulated positions is Reader in Slood Dynamics. The General Theory of Slood was discovered by Archchancellor Sloman, and a stained glass window representing this event is in the meeting room of the
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
college council. The University's plumbing system contains pipes for maintaining slood differential.
The Disc
The Disc itself is described as roughly wide, giving it a
surface area two-fifths that of the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, which would make it roughly the size of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. In addition to its flatness, Pratchett gives it another principal geographic feature; Cori Celesti, a mountain that lies at its exact centre and is the point of origin for its standing magical field. Cori Celesti is also the location of Dunmanifestin, the home of many of the Disc's gods and the Discworld analogue of real-world
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
's
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
. The area surrounding Cori Celesti is known as The Hub, a land of high, icebound mountains that serves as an analogue to the real-world
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, polar regions (since, although the Disc has no poles as such, it is as far as possible from the Disc's edge and thus the sun), and
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
– the Hublanders share many features with
vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
.
Polar bears
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
are renamed "Hubland bears", while the Disc's equivalent of the
aurora borealis
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...
(described as being produced by the Disc's magical field, rather than by magnetism) is known as the "Aurora Coriolis".
The areas closer to the Rim are warmer and tropical, since the Disc's sun passes closer to them in its orbit. At the Rim, a great, encircling waterfall (the Rimfall) sends the Disc's oceans cascading into space. Pratchett is evasive about how the water eventually returns to refill the oceans, only saying, "Arrangements are made." The mist from the plunging waters creates the Rimbow, an eight-colour (the eighth is
octarine
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
) double rainbow consisting both of light and of magic.
Cardinal directions
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...
within the Discworld are not given as North, South, East and West, but rather as directions relating to the disc itself: ''Hubward'' (towards the centre), ''Rimward'' (away from the centre) and to a lesser extent, ''
turnwise'' (direction of the disc's rotation) and ''
widdershins
Widdershins (sometimes withershins, widershins or widderschynnes) is a term meaning to go counter-clockwise, to go anti-clockwise, or to go lefthandwise, or to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left. Literally, it means to take ...
'' (against the direction of the disc's rotation). The drawing on the front cover of ''
Jingo'' shows a weathercock fitted with the requisite ''H'', ''R'', ''T'' and ''W'' letters. The disc rotates clockwise as seen from above.
Circle Sea
The Circle Sea is an almost landlocked body of water approximately halfway between the Hub and the Rim, opening at the Turnwise side into the Rim Ocean. The Circle Sea is analogous to the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
, in that it is bordered both by countries on the Sto Plains (Europe) and continent of Klatch (Middle East, North Africa). Its principal trading ports are
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
, on the Sto Plains coast, and
Al Khali and Ephebe on the Rimwards side.
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ...
civilization, which can broadly be defined as those countries that have invented the fork as well as the knife, is found around the Circle Sea's historic coasts. The countries around the Circle Sea are
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
,
Ephebe
''Ephebe'' (from the Greek ''ephebos'' ἔφηβος (plural: ''epheboi'' ἔφηβοι), anglicised as ephebe (plural: ephebes), or Latinate ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi'') is the term for an adolescent male. In ancient Greek society and myth ...
,
Djelibeybi
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, Klatch,
Omnia
Omnia may refer to:
* Omnia (band), a pagan folk band from the Netherlands
* Omnia (DJ), Ukrainian trance/progressive house DJ and producer
* Samsung Omnia, a group of smartphones by Samsung
* Omnia Township, Cowley County, Kansas
Omnia Township ...
and Tsort. The Circle Sea is the location of Leshp, an island that occasionally rises to the surface on a cushion of foul-smelling gas, before settling back to the seafloor once more. Leshp's last appearance sparked a near-war between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch in ''
Jingo''.
Unnamed Continent
The unnamed continent is the one on which most of the books are set. It is essentially the analogue of Europe, and contains among other things the Sto Plains and Ramtops, as well as the more
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
an lands around
Überwald.
Sto Plains
The Sto Plains are the rough analogue to Western Europe on the Discworld. They are a land of rich black loam, upon which rests a great squat forest of
cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
s. In ''Soul Music'', a footnote states various facts of the region:
*Principal export: Cabbages
*Flora: Cabbages
*Fauna: Things that eat cabbages and do not mind not having any friends.
The cabbage has an almost mythic status among the people of the Sto Plains, and is an emblem of its largest and dominant city,
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
, which is located near the northeast of the coat of arms. Many young people who leave the farming areas of the Plains for life in the big city would happily never see a cabbage again.
Although they have been an empire in the past, the Sto Plains currently exist as a loose collection of independent city-states, ruled over by a close-knit (and probably interrelated) ruling class. The Sto Plains could be thought of as being similar to Germany prior to the unification of the states into the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, with no overall authority. According to ''
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
'' the area was to be united in the coming decades. As reality was given a
retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...
in the book, the Duke who united the Sto Plains was Mort, and he did it by diplomacy rather than conquest.
Ankh-Morpork
The principal city of the Sto Plains is
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
. While it does not exert any political power over its neighbors, its economic domination of the region (summed up by the phrase, "Attack us, and we'll call in your mortgages") has meant that the smaller cities around it are essentially its satellites. For some reason, on both sides of the coat of arms has two hippos on each side.
Pseudopolis
Pseudopolis (its name translates to "false city") is first mentioned in the first ''Discworld'' novel, ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
''. That novel also refers to Psephopololis, which according to ''
The Discworld Mapp'' is the same place. The city is not to be confused with Pseudopolis Yard, the headquarters of the
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is the police force of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork in the ''Discworld'' series by the English writer Terry Pratchett.
The Watch, its growth and development, and its inner workings are explored through a series ...
(a reference to
Scotland Yard). Pseudopolis possesses a school of magic, Braseneck College (a parody of
Brasenose College, Oxford), which is apparently in competition for prestige with the larger, older
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
in Ankh-Morpork. In fact, the novel ''
Raising Steam
''Raising Steam'' is the 40th ''Discworld'' novel, written by Terry Pratchett. It was the penultimate one, published before his death in 2015. Originally due to be published on 24 October 2013, it was pushed back to 7 November 2013 (and March 18, ...
'' makes clear that this rivalry extends to the city level, as Pseudopolis refuses to accept an Ankh-Morpork-constructed trainline. As of ''
Unseen Academicals
''Unseen Academicals'' is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal."Tough at the Top", '' ...
'', the aristocracy of the city appear to have undertaken an experiment in
representative democracy
Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...
, much to
Lord Vetinari
Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lord Patrician (Primus inter pares) of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series, a series of forty-one books describing a parallel universe whose main world has ...
's amusement.
While no ''Discworld'' novels have been set in Pseudopolis, a number of characters have roots there. Eric Thursley lives/lived at 13 Midden Lane (''
Faust Eric''). Charlie, a man with an extraordinary physical resemblance to Ankh-Morpork Patrician
Havelock Vetinari
Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lord Patrician (Primus inter pares) of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series, a series of forty-one books describing a parallel universe whose main world has ...
, ran a clothes shop there (''
The Truth
The Truth may refer to:
Film
* ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy
* ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot
* ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial crim ...
'').
Nobby Nobbs
{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009
Nobby is the diminutive form of the name Norbert. It is also a nickname most commonly used in English for those with the surname Clark or Clarke.
Origins as a nickname
A number of possible explanations exist f ...
had an early career as an armourer in one of the Pseudopolis city militias; curiously (and this may be no more than a coincidence, although there may be a connection given Nobby's penchant for nicking and flogging
.e., stealing and sellinganything not nailed down), Pseudopolis always lost its wars at this period because of an unaccountable shortage of weapons. John Keel, a city watchman, moved from Pseudopolis to Ankh-Morpork and was the mentor of the young
Sam Vimes
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and ...
(''
Night Watch'').
Quirm
Quirm is most significant as the location of the Quirm College for Young Ladies (formerly attended by
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit (also spelled Sto-Helit), once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. She is the granddaughter of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and has a number of his a ...
) and the birthplace of Leonard of Quirm (the Disc's
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
).
Quirm is a quiet and peaceful town, and for this reason is a popular holiday destination. It is also where Morporkians go when they retire (including
Lord Vetinari
Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lord Patrician (Primus inter pares) of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series, a series of forty-one books describing a parallel universe whose main world has ...
's aunt, Lady Roberta Meserole). In this regard, it relates to
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
as
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
relates to London, or possibly as Spain relates to the United Kingdom, or even Greece (as a description in ''
Unseen Academicals
''Unseen Academicals'' is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal."Tough at the Top", '' ...
'' describes Quirm as having "strange water", which is the typical stereotype of the Greek Water Supply).
The Quirmian language is occasionally mentioned in the books as being similar to French or Spanish, but ''Snuff'' notes that all Quirmians speak perfect Morporkian. Spoken Quirmian is heard in ''
Making Money
''Making Money'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, part of his ''Discworld'' series, first published in the UK on 20 September 2007. It is the second novel featuring Moist von Lipwig, and involves the Ankh-Morpork mint and ...
'', where it is identical to French. In ''Raising Steam'', the Marquis des Aix en Pains speaks Morporkian with a French accent.
Quirm is famous for its
floral clock
A floral clock, or flower clock, is a large decorative clock with the clock face formed by carpet bedding, usually found in a park or other public recreation area. Most have the mechanism set in the ground under the flowerbed, which is then pla ...
: a circle of flowers, each of which opens its petals at a different hour. Quirm is also famous for its (blue-veined) cheese. Quirmian cuisine is generally characterized by containing ''avec'' (French for "with").
Quirm is a
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
, ruled by the Rodley family. Members of this family seen in the books include Lord Rodley, an upper-class twit in ''
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
'', and Brenda Rodley, the swamp dragon-breeding dowager duchess in ''
Guards! Guards!
''Guards! Guards!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighth in the '' Discworld'' series, first published in 1989. It is the first novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The first ''Discworld'' point-and-click adventu ...
''.
In ''
Sourcery
''Sourcery'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the fifth book in his '' Discworld'' series, published in 1988. On the Discworld, sourcerers – wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful ...
'', Quirm was destroyed by wizards during a magical war, but was presumably restored by Coin when he put everything back as it was before the war.
The Quirm College for Young Ladies is an educational institution located in Quirm. In the books,
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit (also spelled Sto-Helit), once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. She is the granddaughter of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and has a number of his a ...
,
Lady Sybil Ramkin
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and ...
and
Miss Perspicacia Tick were educated there. The school's headmistress and founder is Miss Eulalie Butts (possibly a reference to
Frances Buss
Frances Mary Buss (16 August 1827 – 24 December 1894) was a British headmistress and a pioneer of girls' education.
Life
The daughter of Robert William Buss, a painter and etcher, and his wife, Frances Fleetwood, Buss was one of six of thei ...
). It is explained in ''
Soul Music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
'' that few of the Discworld's higher-class schools (such as the
Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art o ...
School) see fit to admit female students (although the Assassins have since changed this policy), so Miss Butts founded the College "on the astonishing principle that, since gels had nothing much to do until someone married them, they might as well occupy the time with learning things."
The school resembles a traditional English independent girls' school, with an academic curriculum and a heavy emphasis on respectable and decent behaviour. The school's strong emphasis on decency reportedly makes it rather difficult to teach certain areas of
Biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
; students come out of that class "with the vague idea that they were supposed to marry a rabbit" (''Soul Music''). Students at the school do not seem to be preparing for any particular profession. As the known universities on the Disc are solely for wizards (who must be male – see
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
), and most other higher education institutions on the Disc do not admit females, there is no clear lifelong aim for the school's alumnae. Susan Sto Helit describes it as "an education in, well, education" (''
Hogfather
''Hogfather'' is the 20th ''Discworld'' novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee. It was first released in 1996 and published by Victor Gollancz. It came in 137th place in The Big Read, a BBC survey of the most loved ...
''). It appears that those students who do not marry upon leaving school generally go into the teaching profession themselves, or become
governesses.
Staff include Miss Butts, the Headmistress; Miss Delcross, the Biology mistress; and "Iron Lily", the gym mistress.
Sto Lat
Sto Lat, ruled by
Queen Kelirehenna, is located about from Ankh-Morpork.
According to the books, Sto Lat is a sizable walled town in the Sto Plains, although eclipsed enormously both in size and influence by the neighbouring city of
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
. Sto Lat is the nearest major city to
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
(approximately a half
day's journey
A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible, ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance.
In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the dis ...
by horse, less if the horse is Boris from ''
Going Postal
''Going Postal'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 33rd book in his '' Discworld'' series, released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, ''Going Postal'' is divided in ...
'') and to which it is connected by two clacks towers. It encompasses a large boulder emerging out of the Sto Plains like 'a geological pimple', left there by the retreating Ice Giants. The castle is built into this rock.
Its most recent king before the present monarch was King Olerve, who was shot with a crossbow by an assassin hired by the original Duke of Sto Helit, a thoroughly nasty man who staged a bid for the succession, thwarted only by
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
in ''Mort''. At the end of ''Mort'', Princess Keli became Queen.
Politically, Sto Lat is the capital of a kingdom ruled by Queen Kelirehenna, which includes Sto Helit, Sto Kerrig and the Eight Protectorates. Her authority is exercised through a Mayor. The kingdom was one of the first places outside Ankh-Morpork
to adopt its own
stampings for the
post
Post or POST commonly refers to:
*Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries
**An Post, the Irish national postal service
**Canada Post, Canadian postal service
**Deutsche Post, German postal service
**Iraqi Post, Ira ...
.
Astolat
Astolat (; French: Escalot) is a legendary castle and town of Great Britain named in Arthurian legends. It is the home of Elaine, "the lily maid of Astolat", as well of her father Sir Bernard and her brothers Lavaine and Tirre. It is known as Sha ...
is a legendary location in
Arthurian mythology
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western ...
, and ''
Sto lat'' is also a traditional
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
song equivalent to ''
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known as "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognised song in the English language, followed by " Fo ...
'' (''sto lat'' literally means "hundred years").
Sto Helit is a duchy within Sto Lat, which was given to
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
in ''
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
'', after he'd saved Queen Kelirehenna. After his death in ''
Soul Music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...
'', his duchy apparently was passed to his daughter,
Susan. She works as a teacher now, but, apparently, as of ''
Thief of Time
''Thief of Time'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 26th book in his ''Discworld'' series. It was the last Discworld novel with a cover by Josh Kirby.
Plot summary
The Auditors hire young clockmaker Jeremy Clockson to b ...
'', she still is duchess of Sto Helit.
The Ramtops
The Ramtops are the Discworld's principal mountain range. Across their vast extent, from the Hub to the Rim, they incorporate elements from virtually every noted mountain range of Earth, from the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
(Lancre) to the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
(the High Tops) to
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
(Slice). They are the Disc's main magical conduit, as they lie like a metal rod across the centre of the Disc's magical field (indeed, the source of the field, the Cori Celesti, is technically part of the Ramtops), and are thus alive with unreality. Portals to various otherworlds dot the range's hidden crevices; "''gnarly ground''" compresses vast areas of land into tiny patches, and where witches, wizards, and godlike monks alike practice their arts within these secluded communities.
Due to a relative rarity of horizontal flat surfaces (vertical flat surfaces are plenty), kingdoms in the Ramtops tend to be small, isolated, and sparsely populated. Much of the economy is agrarian and communities largely consist of loosely affiliated groups of self-sufficient farms. The Ramtops are known for their harsh winters; snow drifts can rise up to during the worst storms. "Ramtoppers have
18 words for snow," Pratchett says, "''none of them printable''."
Pratchett mentioned that the name of the Ramtops comes from ''RAMTOP'' (i.e. top of
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
, or random-access memory), a system variable in the
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer.
Referred to during development as t ...
computer.
Lancre
Lancre is situated in the
Ramtop mountains, about Hubwards of the city of
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
. It is the best-known of hundreds of tiny countries in the Ramtops, occupying a vertiginous shelf looking over the
Sto Plains.
Lancre is based mainly on rural areas of Southern England with which Pratchett was familiar. In an article in ''Folklore'' entitled, 'Imaginary Worlds, Real Stories,' Pratchett writes, "the kingdom of Lancre
..I suspect is a somewhat idealised version of the little fold in the
Chiltern Hills where I grew up, stirred in with the western area of
the Mendips
The Mendip Hills (commonly called the Mendips) is a range of limestone hills to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. Running from Weston-super-Mare and the Bristol Channel in the west to the Frome valley in the east, the hills o ...
where I spent a great deal of my adult life." Pratchett described the tiny country as "solid
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
"; it is the place all the
legends
A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief.
Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to:
Narrative
* Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth
* A fictitious identity used in espionage
Books, co ...
of Earth's countryside ''really happened''. Ankh-Morpork serves a similar function for urban folklore, but not as blatantly. The name seems to echo
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
(with the inhabitants called ''Lancrastians'') and the associated
witch trials
A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...
in
Pendle Pendle may refer to:
* Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England
** Pendle (UK Parliament constituency)
* Pendle Hill in Lancashire, England
** Forest of Pendle, hilly landscape surrounding the hill
* Pendle College of the University of Lancaster
* ...
in that county in the seventeenth century.
Part of the reason for Lancre's mystical quality is that the Ramtops are a major earthing point for the Discworld's magical field. Headless horsemen and walking trees are part of the landscape, as are
witches. Lancre is famous for witches, especially since the publication of ''The Joye of Snackes'', an erotic cookbook by "A Lancre Witch", i.e.
Nanny Ogg
Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven.
Personality
The character of Nanny Ogg is based on the Mother stereotype of the Triple Goddess ...
. Though it is not clear if the phenomenon is related to background magic, Lancre also serves as the physical location for (possibly two) independent gateways to a "parasite universe" inhabited by
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
.
The other thing Lancre is famous for is young people going off and seeking their fortunes, usually in Ankh-Morpork.
Although most maps show Lancre to measure roughly in size, its true area remains unknown – partly because of its mountainous terrain and the fact that it borders on the Ramtops, but also due to the warping effect of high level of background magic. Owing to this background magic, geography in certain areas of Lancre can take on additional properties that exist either outside, or in addition to, the conventional geographic dimensions. Such areas include the Lancre Moors, where reality can become folded into deep troughs and ridges known as "Gnarly Ground". This can create the illusion that two points in space are adjacent, when in reality they are several miles apart, or vice versa. The effect, as mentioned in ''
The Discworld Companion
''The Discworld Companion'' is an encyclopaedia of the Discworld fictional universe, created by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. Four editions have been published, under varying titles.
The ''Companion'' contains precise definitions of word ...
'' is that Lancre contains more landscape than a kingdom of its apparent size should be able to contain (a similar magical effect occurs in the
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
Library, which has a diameter of 100 yards, but an infinite radius). "Gnarly Ground" can be detected by those with magical senses, or those with keen eyesight who observe how clouds and shadows appear to fracture as they pass across it. Flying over such areas is not for the faint-hearted and walking across it can be fraught with peril for the unwary. Similarly, Lancre contains areas where the landscape echoes the state of mind of those who pass through, leading confident travellers to find babbling brooks while, in the same place at the same time, disheartened travellers find deep valleys and raging mountain torrents.
In times past, Elven incursions were common. Both gateways have been sealed from the Lancre side by standing stones made from thunderbolt iron, a form of
meteor
A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space.
Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
ic ore which is one of the few sources of magnetism on the Disc; humans, but not Elves (except in exceptional circumstances), may pass through them.
The capital "city" of Lancre is Lancre Town, by dint of being slightly bigger than the other villages, and containing Lancre Castle. Due to Elven incursions, Lancre Castle was built to an exaggerated scale in order to accommodate fleeing citizens.
Bad Ass is the home of
Granny Weatherwax
Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax (also Granny Weatherwax or Mistress Weatherwax) is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven. She is the self-appointed guardian of her small cou ...
. It got its name when a donkey, carrying the supplies of a group of settlers, stopped on a ford and refused to move, forcing them to build their town there. The valley occupied by Bad Ass overlooks a panorama of lesser mountains and foothills. From there, one can see to the edge of the world. In the long winter snows, the roads out of the village are lined with boards to reduce drifting and to stop travellers from straying. A narrow bridge over a stream leads to the village smithy, birthplace of
Eskarina Smith.
Hublands
The lands around the Hub, also called the High Tops, are icy, mountainous and cold. They are also the areas closest to the Cori Celesti, and so are crackling with magic. They are roughly equivalent to Earth's
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, being home to Yeti and various
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
-style monastic orders, such as the
History Monks
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
, which give the area the nickname "Enlightenment Country". The Hublands are also the closest thing the Disc has to a pole, and so are home to its equivalent of
polar bears and
walrus
The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the fami ...
es, mentioned in ''
The Last Hero
''The Last Hero'' is a short fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-seventh book in his ''Discworld'' series. It was published in 2001 in a larger format than the other ''Discworld'' novels and illustrated on every page by ...
''.
Überwald
Überwald () is a region located near the foot of the
Ramtops
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, farther from
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
than
Lancre
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
is.
Its name is German for "''over the woods''", a play on
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
(which is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "''across the woods''" - a name actually used for Transylvania in some 13th century writings). The region is based less on the real Eastern Europe, and more on the
Hammer Horror
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of thes ...
stereotype of the area. In keeping with the Discworld's affinity for
narrative
A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
, Überwald's climate and conditions contrive to fulfill human expectations: for example, Überwaldian thunderclaps occur whenever someone makes a particularly forceful pronouncement. In ''
The Truth
The Truth may refer to:
Film
* ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy
* ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot
* ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial crim ...
'' this phenomenon is referred to as "''psychotropic weather''".
The spelling of the German-language word is certainly "''Überwald''". The usage in some of the books is uneven, but the later narratives use "''Uberwald''" exclusively. In ''
Carpe Jugulum
''Carpe Jugulum'' (; Latatian for "seize the throat", cf. ''Carpe diem'') is a comic fantasy novel by English writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-third in the ''Discworld'' series. It was first published in 1998.
In ''Carpe Jugulum'', Terry Pra ...
'', Pratchett writes:
The region was previously united under the rule of the Unholy Empire (a play on the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
), which had a two-headed bat as its symbol (a play on the
double headed eagle
In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, originall ...
). The Empire has long since collapsed leaving the area fragmented, chaotic, and under the rule of lore, not law.
Although Überwald has a large human population, they play a secondary role in the region's history. It is ruled by dwarfs,
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s, and
werewolves
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...
. Sergeant (later Captain)
Angua of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is from an old aristocratic family of Überwald werewolves. While there are indeed a number of
human barons, they all tend to be uninterested in politics, preferring instead to dabble in experimental surgery and "''
Meddling In Things Man Was Not Meant To Wot Of''," each with the help of their personal Igors.
From the 'Diet of Bugs' (a play on the
Diet of Worms) onwards garlic and silver were considered
contraband across Überwald until the events of ''
The Fifth Elephant
''The Fifth Elephant'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 24th book in the ''Discworld'' series. It introduces the clacks, a long-distance semaphore system.
Plot summary
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is expanding; there i ...
''; the undead simply promised they would not be needed. Apparently this system left something to be desired.
Überwald's economy is apparently based on mining. Though precious metals are plentiful, the most crucial mineral resource is fat, which is believed to have been deposited by a fifth great Discworld-bearing elephant, which was dislodged from the back of
Great A'Tuin and crashed into the ground around Überwald. Boiling fat rising to the surface is the reason for the country's many
hot springs.
Überwald effectively comprises two utterly distinct societies; the dwarfs (who exist below in their cavernous cities and tunnels), and everybody else, who lives above on the surface. By tradition, the laws of the surface people do not apply underground, and vice versa. Überwaldian dwarfs are far more hidebound and traditional than their cousins near the Sto Plains, which has led to a certain culture clash between the two (cf.
marching season). Überwald is the centre of Dwarfish history and politics; the Low King, the final arbiter of Dwarfish law, has his seat of power in the underground Überwald city of Schmaltzberg (literally "mountain of fat"; a double or even triple play on the Austrian town of
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
:
Schmaltz
Schmaltz (also spelled schmalz or shmalz) is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, lat ...
means lard or fat in German, but can also mean 'excessive sentimentality').
Koom Valley is a location somewhere in Überwald. Hundreds of years ago, the trolls and the dwarfs met in a battle at Koom Valley in which each side apparently ambushed the other. Nowadays, dwarfs celebrate the Battle of Koom Valley Day, on the same day that trolls celebrate Troll New Year. Sometimes, in a city where both dwarfs and trolls live (e.g.
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
), the two groups are careful enough to plan their celebratory marches so that they are on the same street. Some people (e.g.
Susan Sto Helit
Susan Sto Helit (also spelled Sto-Helit), once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. She is the granddaughter of Death, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and has a number of his a ...
), after carefully studying history books, point out that the Battle of Koom Valley seemed to have been repeated several times. The name comes from the Welsh word ''cwm'', which means "valley".
Borogravia
Borogravia is located Rimwards of
Überwald, on the Discworld's unnamed main continent. The capital city is PrinceMarmadukePiotreAlbertHansJosephBernhardtWilhelmsberg. Borogravia is a
Duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once exis ...
, and as such is ruled by a Duke or Duchess. The ruler at the time of ''
Monstrous Regiment'' was Duchess Annagovia, who has achieved virtual godhood among the people.
Borogravia is an extremely backward and reactionary nation, whose laws are defined by their god Nuggan. Nuggan dictates "abominations", which are things that have been banned by him, to his worshippers via the ''Book of Nuggan'', a "living testament" in which new "abominations" appear "religiously" from Nuggan, with the necessity of adding fresh pages making it the only holy book to be kept in a
ring binder
Ring binders (loose leaf binders, looseleaf binders, or sometimes called files in Britain) are large folders that contain file folders or hole punched papers. These binders come in various sizes and can accommodate an array of paper sizes. Th ...
. These enforcements can be very impractical and inconvenient, such as banning chocolate, Borogravia's main export; depictions of living things (apart from the Duchess); babies (this law is usually overlooked); crop rotation; and any means of airborne communications (namely semaphore and carrier pigeon). The banning of semaphore led to the Borogravians cutting down the clacks towers along the Zlobenian border, which was one of the main causes of war between the two nations (with intermittent conflict going on for so long that no-one can remember why it is actually happening), and the reason for Ankh-Morporkian diplomatic intervention. Perhaps the most militarily aggressive nation on the Disc, Borogravia is known for invading its neighbours and fighting wars (in ''Night Watch'', it is mentioned in passing that Borogravia has invaded Mouldavia). However, it struggles to keep up with this demand because of its crippled economy (caused by highly inconvenient "abominations"), and as a result of fighting the country is seriously short of young men, so much that a proportion of its soldiers are in fact women in disguise (see ''
Monstrous Regiment'').
Zlobenia
Zlobenia, a pun on
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, with its capital Rigour, a pun on
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, is a
principality ruled by Prince Heinrich, who is described as tall, handsome, and smug. It has fought numerous wars with Borogravia, usually
territorial dispute
A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities.
Context and definitions
Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources s ...
s over the River Kneck, which forms the border between the two nations and frequently changes its course after flooding. Zlobenia's soldiers wear blue uniforms. Borogravians call Zlobenians '
swede eaters'. Heinrich has visions of making Zlobenia "the
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
of the mountains", much to the amusement of
Samuel Vimes
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and ...
. Heinrich is also heir to the Borogravian throne after the death of the Duchess Annagovia. In ''
Monstrous Regiment'' he declares war against Borogravia to assert his claim.
Chalk
The Chalk is an area of rolling
chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
downland
Downland, chalkland, chalk downs or just downs are areas of open chalk hills, such as the North Downs. This term is used to describe the characteristic landscape in southern England where chalk is exposed at the surface. The name "downs" is deriv ...
near
Lancre
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, bearing a great resemblance to Pratchett's native
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. The "soft" geology of the area is, according to some mountain witches, not conducive to the channelling of magic. In fact this is a misconception (the bones of the hills are
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
), and powerful witches can and do reside there, although the local baron has outlawed witchcraft, meaning they do not identify themselves as such. This law has since been repealed or at least ignored by the new baron since
Tiffany Aching
Tiffany Aching is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's satirical ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Her name in Nac Mac Feegle is Tir-far-thóinn or "Land Under Wave".
Tiffany is a trainee witches (Discworld), witch whose growth into ...
began openly practising magic there.
Llamedos
Llamedos is a land noted for its
druids, its
bards, and its rain. Rain is the chief export of Llamedos; it has rain mines,
in addition to
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
and
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
mines. Holly is the one plant that can grow in Llamedos's climate; everything else just rots. Llamedos is run by druids, who dot the land with stone circles used for computation. This is a lifetime job, since they frequently need upgrading. Llamedos is a fairly obvious parody of the British constituent country
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. Its annual bardic competition, the
Eisteddfod
In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music.
The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...
, is still held in Wales. The name is a reference to
Dylan Thomas's radio play "
Under Milk Wood
''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...
", for which he created the fictitious Welsh town of
Llareggub
''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation o ...
("bugger all" spelled backwards); Llamedos, accordingly, is "Sod 'em all" spelled backwards. The inhabitants tend to speak with a doubled-L accent, i.e. "Llots of lluck!" Its native son
Imp Y Celyn changes the course of the Discworld's musical history in ''Soul Music''.
Octarine Grass Country
The
Octarine
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
Grass Country is an area of rich farmland which, thanks to its proximity to the Ramtops, also happens to be saturated with magic. So saturated, in fact, that it is possible to grow re-annual crops: crops that germinate and grow the spring before they are planted. This is the homeland of
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
. The Octarine Grass Country predominantly features in ''
Reaper Man'', where
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
goes to work under the name Bill Door.
Genua
The most notable region beyond the Sto Plains is the small city of Genua, a Morporkian-speaking nation that bears some resemblance to
. Its most significant appearance in the books is in ''
Witches Abroad
''Witches Abroad'' is the twelfth ''Discworld'' novel by Terry Pratchett, originally published in 1991.Fantastic FictioWitches Abroad (Discworld, book 12) Terry PratchettRetrieved 2009-05-9
Plot
Following the death of the witch Desiderata Hollo ...
''. It is in an area called the Swamplands, some distance from the
Sto Plains/
Ramtops
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
locations of most of the books.
The name Genua is probably based on
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, a city in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. However, Genua bears a striking resemblance to the French and
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
-influenced American South, especially
. Local transport is by
cattle- or troll-powered paddleboats with onboard gambling. The local witch,
Erzulie Gogol, is a
Voodoo
Voodoo may refer to:
Religions
* African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups
* African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo
** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
* Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
complete with personal
zombie
A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in w ...
(in her case, that of the former ruler of the principality,
Baron Saturday, who himself shares a name with a famous Voodoo god) and the local food is essentially
Cajun cuisine
Cajun cuisine (french: cuisine cadienne , es, cocina acadiense) is a style of cooking developed by the Cajun–Acadians who were deported from Acadia to Louisiana during the 18th century and who incorporated West African, French and Spanish c ...
, including
gumbo
Gumbo (Louisiana Creole: Gombo) is a soup popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the official state cuisine. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish (or sometimes both), a thickener, and the Creole "h ...
.
During the events of ''Witches Abroad'' the city was ruled by an evil
fairy godmother
In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale wit ...
,
Lily Weatherwax, (sister of
Lancre
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
witch
Esme Weatherwax) though she went by the name Lilith de Tempscire (a French
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
of "weather"+"wax"). She was obsessed with
fairy tales and thought she could force everyone to be happy if only she could get them to follow the logic of the "happy ending." Under her rule, innkeepers who were not fat and jolly or inclined to tell jokes were sent to the dungeon, and Genua's ruler, the Baron Saturday, was murdered so that his heir apparent,
Ella, could be a neglected orphan, as the tales dictated. Soon, the city began to resemble a skewed version of
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
. The name "Genua" therefore could also be an ironic echo of "genuine", which is exactly what Genua, at this time, was not. Eventually, thanks to the efforts of the
Lancre Coven, Lily was deposed and sent to a dimension of endless mirrors, and Ella was able to assume her role as Baroness of Genua without marrying a frog like Lily had intended.
Genua was most likely established as a far flung colony of the Morporkian Empire, explaining why it shares more similarities with
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
/Sto Plains than its immediate neighbours Überwald and Muntab. The state first gained power under
General Tacticus
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
, who, having been sent there by the Morporkian Empire to stay out of the way, proceeded to declare war on Ankh-Morpork.
According to the novel ''
Going Postal
''Going Postal'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 33rd book in his '' Discworld'' series, released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, ''Going Postal'' is divided in ...
'', Genua is located approximately from
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
by road, a journey of two months by
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
. A faster method is to travel by flying
broomstick
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...
, whereby the city can be reached in a single day, though this may involve losing one's ears or freezing to death.
Klatch
The continent of Klatch consists of that part of the Discworld's super continent that is rimwards of the Circle Sea. Like the distinction between Europe and Asia, the difference between Klatch and the unnamed continent that
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
stands upon is arbitrary and cultural rather than geographically evident. The continent includes the Circle Sea states of
Ephebe
''Ephebe'' (from the Greek ''ephebos'' ἔφηβος (plural: ''epheboi'' ἔφηβοι), anglicised as ephebe (plural: ephebes), or Latinate ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi'') is the term for an adolescent male. In ancient Greek society and myth ...
, Tsort,
Djelibeybi
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, Omnia, and the more rimwards territories of Howondaland, Tezumen Empire, Betrek, Smale, Klatchistan, and Muntab. It can be thought of as roughly equivalent to Africa.
In the words of Terry Pratchett: "Not loosely based on Africa at all. Honestly."
The continent's principal nation, also called Klatch, is a large multi-ethnic empire rimwards to turnwise of the
Circle Sea
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
. It resembles medieval
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
ic states, and has a political system similar to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Its capital is Al Khali (popularly known as 'the Gateway to the mysterious continent of Klatch'), and it includes outlying regions such as
Hersheba and Syrrit. Klatch is a commercial rival of
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
– the book ''
Jingo'' depicts a brief war between the two mainly on economic land ownership grounds. It is also a common metaphorical boundary for anything considered genuinely "foreign", despite other areas of similar distance not being considered as such. There is some cultural mistrust between the
Sto Plains and Klatch, as evidenced by the phrase
"Pardon my Klatchian" upon speaking a rude word.
Despite the tendency of Morporkians to see Klatchians as savages, ''
Jingo'' makes clear that Klatchians are technologically and scientifically advanced. It is said that the Klatchians had 15 distinct words for assassination before the rest of the world had caught on to the idea of hitting each other with rocks. This situation parallels that which existed between Europe and the Arab world throughout the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. The ruler of Klatch is called the Seriph (perhaps a play on ''
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
'', ''
sherif/sharif'', ''
seraph
A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Chr ...
'' and ''
serif
In typography, a serif () is a small line or stroke regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. A typeface or "font family" making use of serifs is called a serif typeface ...
''). In ''
Sourcery
''Sourcery'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the fifth book in his '' Discworld'' series, published in 1988. On the Discworld, sourcerers – wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful ...
'', the Seriph was
Creosote
Creosote is a category of carbonaceous chemicals formed by the distillation of various tars and pyrolysis of plant-derived material, such as wood or fossil fuel. They are typically used as preservatives or antiseptics.
Some creosote types were ...
, a rather vain and foolish man who was obsessed with poetry. A genie reportedly granted a great fortune to his grandfather, which was more or less squandered by modern times. It is unknown whether Creosote is still Seriph; the Prince Cadram and Prince Khufurah appeared in ''Jingo'', but it is unknown whether they are relatives of Creosote. The "Klatchian Foreign Legion" parodies
French military activities in North Africa. The name is probably a play on "
coffee klatsch"; a recognition of its most famous export, Klatchian coffee. The principal deity of Klatch is Offler, a
crocodile-headed god.
Al Khali has been described by
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the ''Discworld'' novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to ...
as "like
Ankh
Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene.
This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphat ...
, only with sand instead of mud". It is bisected by the Tsort River. The city is noted for its wind, which blows from the vast deserts of Klatch, and has been described as "a gentle but persistent breeze". Notable features of the city include
* The Rhoxie: The Seriph of al Khali's resplendent palace, in the centre of the city. Surrounded by an artificial paradise, it contains the Seriph's harem and courtiers. However, it was heavily damaged during the events of ''
Sourcery
''Sourcery'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the fifth book in his '' Discworld'' series, published in 1988. On the Discworld, sourcerers – wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful ...
'', and it is unknown whether it was repaired. However it was mentioned in ''
Pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
'' as being "down the coast".
* The ''soak'' (a play on ''
souk''): A bazaar highly spoken of by
Cohen the Barbarian
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
. A series of alleys, frequented by the criminal underclass.
* The Temple Frescoes: Famous frescoes of people involved in sexual acts. Tours leave hourly from the Square of 967 Delights (Khalians are meticulous about things that interest them).
Klatchian coffee is a strong, nearly magical coffee, brewed in Klatch and drunk only by the initiated in very small cups. Presumably an exaggerated version of
Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee is a style of coffee prepared in a '' cezve'' using very finely ground coffee beans without filtering.
Preparation
Turkish coffee is very finely ground coffee brewed by boiling. Any coffee bean may be used; arabica varieties are ...
, Klatchian coffee has a strong sobering effect, bringing the drinker "to the other side of sobriety". This state of sobriety is referred to as knurd ("drunk" spelled backwards; compare the entry in the ''
Jargon File
The Jargon File is a glossary and usage dictionary of slang used by computer programmers. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab (SAIL) and others of the old ARPANET A ...
''). To be ''knurdish'' is described as the opposite of being drunk: Not sobriety – the mere absence of drunkenness – but just as far away from sobriety in the opposite direction, resulting in an appalling existential clarity. According to ''
Sourcery
''Sourcery'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the fifth book in his '' Discworld'' series, published in 1988. On the Discworld, sourcerers – wizards who are sources of magic, and thus immensely more powerful ...
'', being knurd strips away all the comforting illusions in which people usually spend their lives, letting them see and think clearly for the first time. This is a very traumatic experience, although it is noted that it sometimes leads to important discoveries. To counteract the effects of Klatchian coffee, in Klatch it is drunk with Orakh (a very violent alcoholic beverage made by mixing scorpion venom and
cactus
A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...
sap and fermenting it in the sun for several weeks), possibly referring to Italian "espresso" coffee which is often drunk with "grappa", a very strong, often homemade, alcohol (although the name "Orakh" is presumably a reference to
arak). After a few screams, a lie down and a stiff drink, the occasional drinker will try never to be "knurd" again.
Although knurdness is a state usually only obtainable by drinking Klatchian coffee,
Samuel Vimes
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and ...
, one of the Discworld's most notable characters, is described in ''
Guards! Guards!
''Guards! Guards!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighth in the '' Discworld'' series, first published in 1989. It is the first novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The first ''Discworld'' point-and-click adventu ...
'' as being naturally two drinks short of actual sobriety. This makes him slightly knurd by default, which partially accounts for his depressive nature and tendency towards alcoholism—he started out looking for a cure to knurdness. Once he starts drinking, however, he cannot stop and always gets the dosage wrong.
Ephebe
Ephebe is largely the Discworld analogue of
Athenian Greece. However, it also takes influences from
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and
Minos; the name is an Anglicization of the Greek concept of
ephebos
''Ephebos'' (ἔφηβος) (often in the plural ''epheboi''), also anglicised as ''ephebe'' (plural: ''ephebes'') or archaically ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi''), is a Greek term for a male adolescent, or for a social status reserved for that ...
. Ephebe lies on the hubwards shores of the
Circle Sea
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
on the
Klatchian continent, widdershins of the Klatchian Empire,
Tsort
The tsort program is a command line utility on Unix and Unix-like platforms, that performs a topological sort on its input. , it is part of the POSIX.1 standard.
History
According to its info page, this command was initially written for providi ...
and
Djelibeybi
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
and turnwise of Omnia.
Ephebe has only been visited twice in the novels, in ''
Pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
'' and ''
Small Gods
''Small Gods'' is the thirteenth of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels, published in 1992. It tells the origin of the god Om, and his relations with his prophet, the reformer Brutha. In the process, it satirises religious institutions, peop ...
''. However, we know from ''
Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
'' that in its early history, it fought a series of damaging wars against Tsort, with which it remains in a cold-war situation to this day. The disappearance of the Djel River valley in ''Pyramids'' briefly sparked a resumption of hostilities, which mostly involved highly reluctant soldiers hiding in wooden horses, waiting for the other side to take them into the city. This was quickly ended by the Djel's abrupt reappearance. In ''Small Gods'', it was briefly invaded by Omnia; however, this occupation quickly collapsed and Ephebe launched a decisive counter-strike in alliance with the other nations along the Klatchian coast.
The country was heavily affected by the first temporal shattering mentioned in ''
Thief of Time
''Thief of Time'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 26th book in his ''Discworld'' series. It was the last Discworld novel with a cover by Josh Kirby.
Plot summary
The Auditors hire young clockmaker Jeremy Clockson to b ...
'', as a result of which the philosophers living there appear extraordinarily long-lived. Ephebe has a population of about 50,000, according to ''
The Discworld Companion
''The Discworld Companion'' is an encyclopaedia of the Discworld fictional universe, created by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs. Four editions have been published, under varying titles.
The ''Companion'' contains precise definitions of word ...
''. Much of this population is made up of slaves, who have steadfastly refused any efforts to give them more rights; they are quite happy with their guaranteed income and safety as slaves (and the possibility of owning slaves of their own).
As a democracy, Ephebe is unusual on the Discworld. Those citizens who are not disqualified on account of being foreigners, mad, poor or female elect a Tyrant to run the city, who invariably turns out to be a criminal madman. They then elect another Tyrant, who is much the same. At the time of ''Small Gods'' (the position of which in the Discworld chronology is somewhat obscure), Ephebe was ruled by a small, fat man with skinny legs, who resembled an egg hatching upside-down. It is unknown whether he is still ruler.
According to ''The Discworld Companion'', it does not have an economy. The people are perfectly happy living off the fish and olives farmed by the slaves, or the way Teppic described it in ''Pyramids'', they made wine of everything they could stuff in a bucket and ate whatever couldn't crawl out of one, which gives time for Ephebe's major export: philosophy. For what it's worth (about one
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
penny), the currency of Ephebe is the
talent. Ephebe is a city of philosophers; some hardware merchants have taken to stocking towels, in case of clothing-challenged brilliant thinkers (an allusion to
Archimedes' "Eureka!"). The philosophers are noted for pondering the existence of gods, but carefully in case the gods get angry. Brawls between varying philosophical factions frequently erupt across Ephebe's many taverns, but Ephebe is on the whole a peaceful city, which ''ambles by from day to day'' (''The New Discworld Companion''). One of the philosophers Teppic met in Ephebe was instrumental in the building of a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
. The proposed location for the lighthouse was deemed to be disruptive to the view of the
harbour and so it was placed some distance inland. Sailors who find themselves stranded on the rocks of the harbour have considered the lighthouse a quite beautiful thing to look at whilst waiting to be rescued.
Djelibeybi
Djelibeybi is based on the cultures of
Ancient Egypt. Also called the Kingdom of the Sun and the Old Kingdom. Principal crops: melons, garlic and, since they are increasingly encroaching on the fertile agricultural land, pyramids. The name "Djelibeybi" is a pun lost on most people outside the UK, South Africa and Australia, playing on "
Jelly baby
Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Basset ...
", a popular
gummi
Gummies, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Gummi bears, Sour Patch Kids, and Jelly Babies are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. Gummies are availab ...
sweet in those countries. The joke is compounded when Pratchett says that "Djelibeybi" means "Child of the Djel" (its main river; the line is a parody of
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
's famous claim that
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
was the "gift of the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
"). Djelibeybi is wide and long and is on the
Circle Sea
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
coast of
Klatch
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
. The ancient country of Ur lies Rimward of it. The kingdom is almost entirely underwater during the flood season, and both threatened and protected on either side by stronger neighbours (
Tsort
The tsort program is a command line utility on Unix and Unix-like platforms, that performs a topological sort on its input. , it is part of the POSIX.1 standard.
History
According to its info page, this command was initially written for providi ...
and
Ephebe
''Ephebe'' (from the Greek ''ephebos'' ἔφηβος (plural: ''epheboi'' ἔφηβοι), anglicised as ephebe (plural: ephebes), or Latinate ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi'') is the term for an adolescent male. In ancient Greek society and myth ...
). It was once great, but all that now remains is an expensive palace, a few ruins and pyramids. The entire economic life of the country is, until after the events of ''
Pyramids
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
'', devoted to building them. As a result, Djelibeybi is permanently bankrupt. The country has an enormous number of local gods, unknown to the world outside. Its ruler, the
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
, is also a god, although in human form. He wears a gold mask (the Face of the Sun) and during his official functions carries the Flail of Mercy, the obsidian Reaping Hook of Justice, the Honeycomb of Increase, the Asp of Wisdom, the Sheaf of Plenty, the Gourd of the Water of the Heavens, the Three-Pronged Spear of the Waters of the Earth, the Cabbage of the Vegetative Increase and the Scapula of Hygiene. However, the then Pharaoh Pteppicymon XXVIII, also known as Pteppic, discovered that the mask was in fact gilded lead, the original gold one having likely been sold to pay for the pyramids.
Tsort
Tsort: A mythical place (no books have yet been set there, with the possible exception of the events portrayed in ''
Faust Eric'' where Rincewind and Eric Thursley appear briefly), the Disc's analogue to ancient
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
. Its enmity with Ephebe began with the famous
Tsortean War, when King Mausoleum of Tsort kidnapped
Queen Eleneor of Ephebe, leading to a siege that lasted for decades. To this day Tsort and Ephebe believe there is a place for giant wooden horses in combat. Tsort possesses a Great Pyramid, although pyramid-building has long been out of fashion and – no doubt because of the example of nearby Djelibeybi – modern Tsorteans scorn the things. Tradition claims Tsort was razed by the armies of Ephebe under
Lavaeolus
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
, and that it was home to the famed
Tsortean Knot until the Knot was undone – sliced in half – by Carelinus. The people of Tsort worship all manner of gods, some of which seem to comprise all the bits the other gods had left over. The river Tsort bisects the desert rimwards of
Al Khali.
Omnia
Omnia is a desert
theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy originates fr ...
ruled by the Cenobiarch, the head of the Omnian Church, from the Citadel in the capital city of Kom (a sort of cross between
Qum
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
). There is also a connection to the Latin word '
Omnis {{other uses, Omnis (disambiguation)
OMNIS (Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Stratégiques, formerly known as Office Militaire National pour les Industries Stratégiques) is the Malagasy government organisation, operating under the aus ...
', meaning all or everything, ironic due to the nation's unipolar outlook. When Omnianism was an intolerant religion it was known for its
imperialism
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
, having conquered the neighbouring countries of Betrek, Istanzia and Ushistan in the name of the Great God Om. After Brutha became the Cenobiarch, the country reversed directions and became the home of a renowned theological college and library. These days it is known for the constant arguing amongst the clergy, as new interpretations of Brutha's teachings spring up every day. The currency of Omnia is the
obol. In ''The Truth'', it was mentioned that Omnia (or possibly the Agatean Empire) developed movable type printing in the production of religious texts.
Deepest Klatch
Howondaland is the Discworld's principal "jungle" region. It lies on the Klatchian continent, and is the Disc's rough analogue to
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
, although the Tezumen Empire gives it
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n overtones as well. Howondaland is not so much a country as a blank patch on the map. Just as "darkest Africa" remained largely unexplored by Europeans until the 19th century, "darkest Klatch" is largely unknown to most Discworlders. Exploration of the land has been hampered by the habit of explorers ending up nailed to trees. Its name is probably a play on
Gondwanaland
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
or perhaps a play on the expression "How on earth ...?" transformed into "How on the land... ?" There is also an echo of Lewis Carroll's "Wonderland" in the name. In some of the early Discworld novels (American publications) it is spelled "Howonderland." In ''
Snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
'', it was discovered that inexpensive tobacco for consumption in Ankh-Morpork was produced on Howondaland plantations, using slave labour by goblins transported from the Shires.
The Great Nef is a vast desert on the Klatchian continent, noted mainly for containing the Dehydrated Ocean, an ocean consisting of dehydrated water. Dehydrated water is a peculiar substance found only in areas of high magical concentration. It resembles fine sand, but can be reconstituted into normal water by adding water. The Dehydrated Ocean is home to its own, unique, kinds of fish. The name "Nef" is a reversal of
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...
, a type of wetland; "Great Nef" in particular may be a reference to the Great Fen, an historical wetland area in England in the area now known as The
Fens
A fen is a type of wetland.
Fen, Fenn, Fens, Fenns, may also refer to:
People
* Fen (name), a Chinese given name and surname
* Fen Cresswell (1915–1966), New Zealand cricketer
* Fen McDonald (1891–1915), Australian rules footballer
* Kees ...
and the subject of a restoration effort known as the
Great Fen Project
The Great Fen is a habitat restoration project being undertaken on The Fens in the county of Cambridgeshire in England. It is one of the largest restoration projects in the country, and aims to create a 3,700 hectare wetland and aims to connect ...
.
Only briefly mentioned in the books, Hersheba is a small desert kingdom rimwards of Klatchian empire, practically on the more-or-less vague boundary of Howondaland. The country is said to be ruled by a queen who lives forever (probably a reference to
H. Rider Haggard's ''
She
She most commonly refers to:
*She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English.
She or S.H.E. may also refer to:
Literature and films
*'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...
''). The nomadic tribes known as the D'regs occupy areas of Hersheba as well as Klatch. Depredations against Klatch by Hersheban
D'regs
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
, against Hersheba by Klatchian D'regs, and against both sides by their own D'regs has led to the border being in a permanent state of war. The name is a play on
Hershey bar
The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar (commonly called the Hershey's Bar, or more simply the Hershey Bar) is a flagship chocolate bar manufactured by The Hershey Company. Hershey refers to it as "The Great American Chocolate Bar". The Hershey Milk Ch ...
and also resembles Israeli
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
; Pratchett initially suggested it as an alternative name for
Djelibeybi
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, to aid American readers mystified by the pun.
Very little is known about the
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs.
Etymology
The word theocracy originates fr ...
of Muntab. Its ruler is known as a Pash (
Lu-Tze
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
, the
History Monk, once had to make sure one of them choked on a fishbone). It is often used as a generic third-world country, as in "Eat your dinner, there are starving children in Muntab who'd be glad to have that!" It is more or less on the border between the continent of Klatch and the Unnamed Continent, and is located more or less rimwards of
Borogravia
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
. Muntab is known to be eager to emerge as a dominant nation in the modern world, and is suspected to have ambitions to conquer the hubward nations, most notably Borogravia. As a result, it figures into the famous political problem, the Muntab Question – most often quoted as "Where's Muntab?", but in serious political discussion is more likely to concern the sides on which the more developed nations would fall in a war between Muntab and Borogravia. Muntab is very likely one of the nations in the Alliance that Borogravia is fighting in the novel ''Monstrous Regiment''. Muntab's calendar ''counts down''; no-one really knows why, but it's probably NOT a good idea to stay there to see for oneself what happens when the count reaches zero.
Nothing is known of Istanzia, although it is a state big enough to send an Ambassador to Ankh-Morpork for Commander Vimes to frighten: when in ''
The Fifth Elephant
''The Fifth Elephant'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 24th book in the ''Discworld'' series. It introduces the clacks, a long-distance semaphore system.
Plot summary
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is expanding; there i ...
'' the Istanzian forces were reported to be making repeated armed incursions across the Slipnir River, Vimes's offer to arrange for the Istanzian Ambassador to "...go home in an ambulance" resulted in the Istanzian forces pulling back so far that they were "...nearly in the next country." At some point, Istanzia was controlled by Omnia (''
Small Gods
''Small Gods'' is the thirteenth of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels, published in 1992. It tells the origin of the god Om, and his relations with his prophet, the reformer Brutha. In the process, it satirises religious institutions, peop ...
''), but it can be assumed they have gained personal jurisdiction.
The Tezumen Empire is a jungle civilisation in the darkest depths of Howondaland that resembles the
Aztecs
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
. They are renowned as the most pessimistic and angst-ridden culture on the Disc; their writing is engraved on giant slabs of stone rather than more conveniently written on paper. Large discs of precisely-carved stone with holes in the middle are used for almost every imaginable purpose except making wheels, a technology which they have not yet discovered. Before the events in ''
Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
'', they worshiped the "feathered boa" Quezovercoatl, a parody of the
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
n deity
Quetzalcoatl, who was a junior demon who supplanted the previous Tezumen god, a stick; after manifesting himself to his worshippers, he was revealed to be only six inches high. The Tezumens have since tired of gods and killed all their priests.
Counterweight Continent
The Counterweight Continent is situated on the opposite edge of the Discworld from the Unnamed Continent and Klatch. It is smaller than these other two landmasses but acts as a counterweight because its crust is made up largely of gold and
octiron
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
, both dense, heavy metals. It is (roughly) comma-esque in shape, and the tip of the comma extends all the way up to the
ice cap at the Hub. Its closest point to the Unnamed Continent is about away but, as the channel is under an ice cap, it is often referred to as an
isthmus
An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...
. The cultures of the Counterweight Continent are a play upon those of Earth's Far East, or at least Western perceptions of it. In a pun on
the Orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, th ...
, it is also known as the Aurient, from the Latatian (Latin) word 'aurum' (gold), meaning 'the place where gold comes from'.
The Agatean Empire is the home of
Twoflower and
the Luggage
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the ''Discworld'' novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to ...
. The country was first mentioned in the very first Discworld novel ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'', but was not explored: its main role was as the place from which Twoflower had come. It appeared in a brief segment of ''
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
'', and was the setting for most of ''
Interesting Times
''Interesting Times'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the seventeenth book in the ''Discworld'' series, set in the Aurient (a fictional analogue of the Orient).
The title refers to the common myth that there exists a Chi ...
''.
The Agatean Empire is similar to
feudal Japan
The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inve ...
or
Imperial China, most obviously in the vast wall that surrounds it, and the belief that anyone from outside the Empire must be an invisible vampire ghost (probably a play on ''
gwailo'', lit. ghost man). The name is a pun on the term "Jade Empire," referring to ancient China. The capital of the Empire is Hunghung and the biggest port (and only one mentioned) is Bes Pelargic. However, in ''Mort'', Bes Pelargic was depicted as the Agatean capital, as Mort travelled there for the death of the Grand Vizier Nine Turning Mirrors.
The crust of the Agatean Empire is composed largely of gold,
octiron
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
and other heavy metals. Exchange rates between the Ankh-Morpork dollar and the Empire's currency, the rhinu, has never been established because the solid gold coins are worth significantly less on the Counterweight Continent than on the
Sto Plains. Because of the readily-availability of gold, the Counterweight Continent is comparable to the Roundworld's African
Mali Empire. Gold is such a ubiquitous metal in the Agatean Empire that it has taken on the role of lead as a material for roofing and plumbing; gold is only used for small denominations of the rhinu, whilst larger denominations such as ten rhinu are issued in the form of paper notes.
Large amounts of
octiron
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
make Agatean Empire home of the rare
sapient pear trees. The wood of this tree is used to build
luggages.
The Empire was founded thousands of years ago by the Emperor One Sun Mirror. Until fairly recently it was ruled by a number of constantly fighting and somewhat psychotic noble families (the Hongs, the Sungs, the Fangs, the Tangs and the McSweeneys), all jockeying to be emperor. They viewed politics as similar to
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
; the goal was to put one's opponent in an untenable position, and the best way to do that was to take as many opposing pieces as possible through the sacrifice of pawns.
As in feudal Japan (and later
imperial Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
), the Emperor was seen as a god, and could do anything he liked. Given how nastily inventive a noble had to be to get to this point, this was not a good thing. In ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'' and ''
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
'' the Emperor was an idealistic young boy; however, by ''
Interesting Times
''Interesting Times'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the seventeenth book in the ''Discworld'' series, set in the Aurient (a fictional analogue of the Orient).
The title refers to the common myth that there exists a Chi ...
'' he had been supplanted by an elderly man who was quite insane (and who is said to have killed his nephew for the throne). During ''
Interesting Times
''Interesting Times'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the seventeenth book in the ''Discworld'' series, set in the Aurient (a fictional analogue of the Orient).
The title refers to the common myth that there exists a Chi ...
'',
Cohen the Barbarian
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
was declared Emperor, and started changing the system into one a no-nonsense barbarian could feel comfortable with. It was felt by many of the peasantry that he was the "preincarnation" of One Sun Mirror, because Agateans believe in a form of backward
reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
in which the soul's next life takes place chronologically earlier than its previous life. Since the events of ''
The Last Hero
''The Last Hero'' is a short fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-seventh book in his ''Discworld'' series. It was published in 2001 in a larger format than the other ''Discworld'' novels and illustrated on every page by ...
'', it can be presumed Cohen is no longer Emperor. Details of his replacement are unknown, although it is implied that most of the duties of governance had already been assumed by his Grand Vizier
Twoflower by the time of his intended-to-be death. In the companion book ''The Compleat Discworld Atlas'', the Empire has been supplanted by the People's Beneficient Republic of Agatea, led by the Chairman of the Central Committee of the People's Revolution Madame Butterfly (possibly Twoflower's daughter and the former leader of the revolutionary Red Army).
Bhangbhangduc is a subject island of the
Agatean Empire
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
.
The island fulfills the role of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
, in that it is large, covered in jungle, and home to the
orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
. It is also the site of the death of explorer Sir Roderick Purdeigh, after he yelled at a "native" and jabbed him with his walking stick in an attempt to make him stand up straight and say something other than
"ook". Bhangbhangduc's unusual flora includes the
sledgehammer plant, one of the Disc's carnivorous plants.
It appears unusual in the economics of the disc in that Bhangbhangduc uses the Silver Standard to base its money. This is unpopular in other areas who use gold (which does not tarnish).
Bhangbhangduc has its own distinct ethnic cuisine, encountered via Feeney Upshot's grandparents in ''
Snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
''. Examples include:
* ''Bang Suck Duck'' (swede and chips optional)
* ''Man Dog Suck Po'' (with mashed carrots, but only as a Sunday special)
Fourecks
EcksEcksEcksEcks or Fourecks (previously known as XXXX or Terror Incognita) is clearly influenced by Australian culture, as seen in ''
The Last Continent
''The Last Continent'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-second book in his ''Discworld'' series. First published in 1998, it mocks the aspects of time travel such as the grandfather paradox and the Ray Bradbury s ...
''. Like Australia, Fourecks is both a country and a continent. It consists largely of
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
land, which for some time remained unfinished. It was created some time after the rest of the Discworld by the old man who carries the universe in a sack.
Lu-Tze
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
and other sources state that on Fourecks time and space are very twisted up, and there is a big time source right in the middle (probably the Red Rock, the Ecksian version of
Uluru
Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the Northern Territory, southwest of Alice Spring ...
). The continent's name is a play on
Castlemaine XXXX
XXXX (pronounced four-ex) is a brand of Australian beer brewed in Milton, Brisbane by Queensland brewers Castlemaine Perkins (now a division of the Japanese-owned company Lion). It enjoys wide popularity in the state of Queensland, where i ...
, a
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...
, and advertised there with adverts playing on Australian stereotypes. According to the books, maps used the label "XXXX" because no-one knew what the place was called.
Both the flora and fauna of the continent are extremely dangerous, as
Death's Library attests. A book series known as ''Dangerous
Mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s,
Reptiles,
Amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s, Birds, Fish,
Jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...
, Insects, Spiders,
Crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s, Grasses, Trees,
Moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...
es and
Lichens of Terror Incognita'' extends at least into ''Volume 29c Part Three'', while a list of the harmless ones contains only "Some of the sheep." There are few poisonous snakes in XXXX, the explanation being that "most of them have been eaten by the spiders".
For much of its history, the entire continent was surrounded with a huge
anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from abov ...
which effectively prevented rainclouds from arriving or ships from leaving. This was due to interference by the wizards of
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
while fleeing the bug-obsessed god of evolution during the creation of Fourecks. Shortly before the permanent drought reached catastrophic proportions the anticyclone was dissipated by Rincewind, although, as usual, he received no credit. Many Ecksians have since taken the opportunity to explore the Disc. According to Lu Tze, the relief
barman
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...
everywhere now comes from Fourecks.
The indigenous population are very similar to
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
, with a strong mythology. Until recently, their main peculiarity was a tendency to attack anyone who talked about the weather. There is also a population of
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
ian settlers, from various shipwrecks.
The capital of Fourecks is evidently Bugarup. Other known settlements are Dijabringabeeralong, Cangoolie (a parody of
Kalgoorlie) and Worralorrasurfa. Time and space appear more consistent in these areas. An odd quirk of the Fourecksian government is that they immediately put their politicians in jail as soon as they are elected. According to the locals, "It saves time."
[''The Last Continent'' (2000), p.332] Another important feature of the city is the Old Brewery, where Roo Beer
lager
Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "storag ...
is made. It has a huge billboard featuring a grinning kangaroo. The New Brewery is abandoned, because it was built on an "unsacred site" which made the beer flat- a reference to the
Old Swan Brewery of Perth, Western Australia. There is also a local magic college for
wizards. The university's motto is ''Nullus Anxietas (no worries).'' The university is similar in some ways to
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
in
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
, although rather than an
Tower of Art
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The ...
they have one that is tall at the bottom, but a tall at the top. The Archchancellor is named Bill Rincewind, possibly a relation of
Rincewind
Rincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the ''Discworld'' novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to ...
, Unseen University's Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography and trained coward.
Bugarup has a regular festival in which female impersonators play a notable part, very similar to the
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
. It is called the Galah, possibly after
a local bird and also a play on "gala"; galah is also Australian slang for someone who is a bit of a fool.
Just off the coast of Fourecks are several islands: the Land of Fog or the Foggy Islands, home of the
morporks (a reference to the English translation of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
's
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
name ''Aotearoa'', the Land of the Long White Cloud); and Purdeigh's Island (or Purdeighsland), discovered by the explorer Sir Roderick Purdeigh, who somehow missed the continent itself (in much the same way the Dutch sailor
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...
managed to do with Australia, but did get to have an island named after him).
Krull
The most notable nation to lie on
the Rim (it actually juts slightly over it) is the island kingdom of Krull. The nation's capital is also called Krull (featured in ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
''), and a local river is known as the Hakrull River (mentioned in ''
Mort
''Mort'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth ''Discworld'' novel and the first to focus on the character Death, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels. The title is the ...
'').
Its economy is largely based on the capture and salvage of nautical wreckage as it heads towards the Rimfall. To aid in this, the Krullians constructed the Disc's largest manmade object: the Circumfence, a great net that extends across a third of the Disc's perimeter. Now in disrepair, it is still maintained by the occasional guardian, such as Tethis the sea troll.
Due to its unique position, Krull is one of the Disc's main centres of astronomical and astrological learning; indeed until recently, its high priest was also its chief astronomer. Krull possesses a magical University and, unlike the
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
in Ankh-Morpork, the Krullians have no problem educating female wizards.
Krullians are noted for their habitual nervousness and fatalism, the product of spending their lives overlooking a bottomless black abyss of infinity. On the Disc, the phrase "being on edge" is a reference to the Krullians.
In ''The Colour of Magic'' and ''
The Last Hero
''The Last Hero'' is a short fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-seventh book in his ''Discworld'' series. It was published in 2001 in a larger format than the other ''Discworld'' novels and illustrated on every page by ...
'', it has been shown that life does exist over the Rim of the Discworld, whether that be specially evolved rimfishers or entire islands populated by the survivors of shipwrecks and their possible descendants.
Lifeforms
Pratchett created or adapted a variety of fictional lifeforms for the Discworld setting, both sentient and non-sentient.
Sentient species
Pratchett populated the Discworld with his own interpretations of numerous classic fantasy and mythological races as well as humans. While humans are portrayed as the main inhabitants of the major Discworld cities, many other races have left their traditional domain and integrated with other, sometimes hostile, species in Discworld's cities. Though Discworld races are often inspired by other authors' versions or by real-world mythologies, they may have different characteristics than their prototypes. For example, Discworld trolls are made of stone rather than being turned to stone by sunlight like
Tolkien's trolls; Discworld Furies have physical similarities to the
Furies
The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes the ...
of Greco-Roman myth, but have different roles. In the list below, Discworld races are followed by the real-world inspiration for them.
;
Centaurs
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
: Believed to be the result of magical mutation. (
Greco-Roman mythological definition)
;
Dragons
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
: A genus of reptiles which apparently evolved from a group of ''Draco lunaris'' (Discworld definition). Dragon kind includes ''Draco lunaris'', ''Draco nobilis'', ''Draco vulgaris'' and more (
Other definitions)
;
Dwarfs: Short, stocky, bearded metal-workers, generally seen wearing chain mail and brandishing axes. They are similar to the
Dwarves of
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
's
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...
, to which they largely started out as a homage. (
Other definitions)
;
Elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...
: Are based more on the nastier kind of
fairy-folk in European (and other)
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
s than
elves as portrayed in most modern (post-Tolkien) fantasy fiction
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...
. An encounter with Discworld Elves is a thing to be avoided if possible, as they are fiercely isolationist and ''do not'' like humans. (
Other definitions)
;
Fauns
The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology.
Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...
: Believed to be the result of magical mutation. (
Greco-Roman mythological definition)
;Furies: Furies are birdlike creatures from
Ephebe
''Ephebe'' (from the Greek ''ephebos'' ἔφηβος (plural: ''epheboi'' ἔφηβοι), anglicised as ephebe (plural: ephebes), or Latinate ''ephebus'' (plural: ''ephebi'') is the term for an adolescent male. In ancient Greek society and myth ...
who can be trained to target a single individual, forcing people away from him/her. In that sense they act like guard dogs, whether their "master" likes it or not. They appear to be barely sentient. Featured in ''
Unseen Academicals
''Unseen Academicals'' is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal."Tough at the Top", '' ...
''. (
Greco-Roman mythological definition)
;Gargoyles: Made of stone and possessing stone's patience, gargoyles crouch for long periods of time on the edges of buildings. They feed by filtering small bugs out of rainwater with their mouths. Their superb ability to sit still and stare at something for days on end makes them excellent watchers for the clacks. There are at least two gargoyles in the City Watch: Constable Downspout and Constable Pediment. (
Architectural definition)
;Gnolls: Members of this race carry everything they own on their backs, some supplemented by carts. Their appearance and smell repels most other races, but their extreme collection habits are credited with keeping the streets of Ankh-Morpork clean (for a limited value of 'clean'). (
Other definitions)
;
Gnomes
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its character ...
: Ranging in size from to , they are, Pratchett says, more or less interchangeable with the
Nac Mac Feegle
The Nac Mac Feegle (also sometimes known as Pictsies, Wee Free Men, the Little Men and "Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to be Armed") are a fictional type of fairy folk that appear in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels '' Carpe Jugulum'', ...
s. (
English folkloric definition)
;
Goblins
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...
: Small humanoids who inhabit dank caves, they are seen as less than animals by most other races, and were often enslaved or exterminated until the events of ''
Snuff
Snuff may refer to:
Tobacco
* Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose
** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco
** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste
Media and entertainment
* Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder
Literat ...
'', after which they were granted full sentient rights. Goblin spirituality revolves around ''unggue'', the collection of bodily secretions such as earwax in magical pots. (
Other definitions)
;Gods: These are divided into major gods that are parodies of the
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
s of Greece and Rome, and "small gods" that are relatively powerless but by acquiring more believers may graduate to the Discworld Pantheon.
;
Golems
A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...
: A form of clay
robot
A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...
, awakened by a spell or priestly words to do people's bidding. Most golems on the Discworld are known to be several centuries old, and at least one (named Anghammarad) was over nineteen thousand years old before his destruction in ''Going Postal''. Play a major role in ''
Feet of Clay
Feet of clay is an idiom used to refer to a weakness or character flaw, especially in people of prominence and power. It can also be used to refer to larger groups, such as societies, businesses, and empires. An entity with feet of clay may appe ...
''. (
Jewish folkloric definition)
;
Gorgons
A Gorgon ( /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. While descriptions of Gorgons vary, the te ...
: It is mentioned that a Gorgon had joined the
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is the police force of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork in the ''Discworld'' series by the English writer Terry Pratchett.
The Watch, its growth and development, and its inner workings are explored through a series ...
and accidentally turned 3 people to stone. Referenced in ''
Unseen Academicals
''Unseen Academicals'' is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal."Tough at the Top", '' ...
''. (
Greek mythological definition)
;Igors:Igors are a race/clan of transplant surgeons native to Überwald, often acting as professional assistants to vampires or mad scientists (they are essentially a parody of
Igor
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
from the film ''Frankenstein''). Most are male, hunchbacked, and speak with a lisp; one was discovered to be female — an Igorina — in ''
Monstrous Regiment''. They often modify their bodies by sewing limbs and organs from corpses (or "passed down" from older relatives) into themselves, leaving large stitches similar to
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...
.
;Kvetch
: Creatures covered from head to foot in hair who fled their native Mouldavia for Ankh-Morpork after a war broke out.
Sam Vimes
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and ...
snidely remarks that Vetinari will demand that some be allowed on the Watch before too long.
;Lizard Men: Near-extinct, exceptionally unintelligent creatures who make ideal henchmen for
Dark Lord
In fiction and mythology, a dark lord (sometimes capitalized as Dark Lord or referred to as an Evil Overlord, Evil Emperor etc. depending on the work) is an antagonistic archetype, acting as the pinnacle of villainy and evil within a typicall ...
s.
Evil Harry Dread
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
had two lizard men in his horde, both named "Slime" (as they could only remember one name between them). Featured in ''
The Last Hero
''The Last Hero'' is a short fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-seventh book in his ''Discworld'' series. It was published in 2001 in a larger format than the other ''Discworld'' novels and illustrated on every page by ...
''. (
Other definitions)
;
Orcs
An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, ...
: A near extinct race who were bred/made from men (as goblins, according to
Lord Vetinari
Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lord Patrician (Primus inter pares) of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series, a series of forty-one books describing a parallel universe whose main world has ...
, were not vicious enough) to be weapons in a great war. So far only one living orc (by name "Mr Nutt") is known to exist although it is suspected that others exist in the wilds of far Überwald. Mr Nutt initially had to hide his species, even from himself, due to the brutal reputation and legends about orcs. Orcs themselves are shown to be not necessarily 'bad' creatures; given the opportunity they can easily educate themselves, gain wisdom and a great sense of honesty and morality. However, many were forced into battle by men and knew only lives of cruelty thus giving rise to their fearsome reputation. They possess exceptional levels of strength, as well as a special organ hidden deep inside their body that is designed to heal the orc, even capable of bringing them back from some types of death. Featured in ''
Unseen Academicals
''Unseen Academicals'' is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal."Tough at the Top", '' ...
''. (
Other definitions)
;
Trolls
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
:Trolls on the Discworld are, essentially, living, mobile rocks. Consisting largely of
silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
, Discworld trolls vary in intelligence depending on their body temperature (as silicon heats, it loses efficiency; thus, 'keeping a cool head' is a literal fact of troll existence). Trolls have grown to overcome those vicious stereotypes of yore and have lived very prosperous lives in heavily populated cities with (relatively) little killing. (
Other definitions)
;Undead : Species in the Discworld novels categorised as undead include: Banshees (
Celtic folkloric definition), Bogeymen (
Other definitions), Ghouls (
Other definitions), Ghosts (
Other definitions), Mummies (
Other definitions), Vampires (
Other definitions), Werewolves (
Other definitions), and Zombies (
Other definitions). In the case of zombies, they are (unlike the classic horror-fiction depiction) fully sentient; for many of them, 'dying at their desk' merely presented a minor inconvenience and a chance to request bereavement leave on behalf of their families. (
Other definitions)
Other life forms
Pratchett also created a variety of other fictional life forms on the Discworld. Like the sentient species, these also have real-world connections, although most of these connections take the form of slight changes to existing real-world animals, as shown in the .303 bookworm, which is a worm that evolved differently due to the danger of consuming magic books, or the hermit elephant, which is an elephant who has evolved hermit crab-like living conditions.
Calendar
The Discworld's
Unnamed Continent's fictional calendar was first defined in a footnote in ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'', and has been expanded upon in later novels and ''
The Discworld Almanak
''The Discworld Almanak'' is a spin-off book from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels, in a similar format to the Diaries and ''Nanny Ogg's Cookbook''. It was written by Pratchett and Bernard Pearson
Bernard Stanley Pearson (born 13 ...
'' (2004). It has numerous oddities, the chief of which is its length.
The
calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...
is based on a
Great Year, or
Astronomical Year
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in Earth's orbit, its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in wea ...
, defined as the time it takes for the Disc to revolve once on the backs of the elephants. This lasts 800 days and contains two of each
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
(
Midsummer
Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe.
The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...
occurs at a given point when the sun passes directly overhead,
midwinter
Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars.
Attestations
Midwinter is attested in the early Germanic calendars, where it appears to have been a specific day or a number of days during the winter ha ...
when it passes perpendicularly. However most people, especially farmers, consider four seasons to be a year, so an Agricultural Year of 400 days is used for most purposes.
The agricultural year is divided into 13 months:
*Ick (16 days) (the "Dead Month")
*Offle (32 days)
*February (32 days)
*March (32 days)
*April (32 days)
*May (32 days)
*June (32 days)
*Grune (32 days)
*August (32 days)
*Spune (32 days)
*Sektober (32 days)
*Ember (32 days)
*December (32 days)
Each week has eight days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Octeday.
[GURPS Discworld, Steve Jackson Games, 1998. ]
Hogswatchnight
The first of Ick is Hogswatchday, the Disc's
New Year
New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...
, and the winter
solstice
A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many countr ...
from the perspective of
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
. In the Astronomical Year the second midwinter (the year's midway point) is called Crueltide, but due to people using the Agricultural Year this is the same festival.
The 32nd of December, or the day before the New Year, is known as "Hogswatchnight". Traditionally associated with pig-killing, to ensure there is enough food for the rest of the winter. Many Hogswatch traditions are parodies of those associated with
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
, including a decorated oak tree in a pot, strings of paper sausages, and, of course, a visit by the Hogfather.
Witches do not leave the house on Hogswatchnight more because of tradition than any practical reasons. The witch
Nanny Ogg
Gytha Ogg (usually called Nanny Ogg) is a character from Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven.
Personality
The character of Nanny Ogg is based on the Mother stereotype of the Triple Goddess ...
gets around this by simply inviting everyone to ''her'' house for the holiday instead.
In the Omnian religion, Hogswatchnight is called the Fast of St Ossory. Omnians celebrate with fasting, prayer meetings, and the exchange of religious pamphlets.
Hogswatch was also a holiday celebrated in ''
The Dark Side of the Sun
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', a non-Discworld book by Pratchett.
The Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May
The 25th of May is quietly celebrated by the survivors of the People's Revolution, which ended the reign of Lord Winder. They wear a sprig of lilac and gather at the Small Gods Cemetery to honour the Watchmen who fell: Cecil Clapman, Ned Coates, Dai Dickins, John Keel, Horace Nancyball, Billy Wiglet, and (albeit temporarily) Reg Shoe.
In the Roundworld (following Terry Pratchett's diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease), Match It For Pratchett called on fans to wear lilacs on 25 May in support of Terry.
[Wear the Lilac – May 25th](_blank)
As of 2015-04-10, the domain home page http://www.matchitforpratchett.org/ was in Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
and appeared to be advertising a casino.
The slogan of the People's Revolution is "Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard-Boiled Egg!"
Usage
The calendar in general use in the
Sto Plains and
Ramtops
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which ar ...
("Ankh-Morpork years") uses the agricultural year, and counts from the founding of
Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by a faculty composed of mostly indolent and ine ...
. Years and centuries are also given names by the UU's astrologers. 2005 AM, for instance, is the Year of the Prawn, the fifth year of the Century of the Anchovy. The majority of the ''
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ...
'' novels are set in the 20th century AM, the Century of the Fruitbat, with the later ones entering the 21st, the Century of the Anchovy.
Other calendars count from various other events, and different schools of astronomy give the years different names. The Theocracy of Muntab has a calendar that counts ''down'', rather than up. The reason for this is unknown, though it is agreed that waiting around for it to reach zero is unwise.
Languages
Pratchett gave Discworld a variety of fictional languages, though most, if not all, of these are versions of real-world languages renamed to match country names created for the novels. Alongside those of the non-human species such as Dwarfs, Trolls and
orangutans
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ' ...
, the Disc's fictional human languages include:
; Morporkian : Language of the Discworld locations of
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which features prominently in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels.
Overview
Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in Discworld and its corrupt mercantile capital.
In ''The Art of ...
, the Sto Plains, the Ramtops, Genua, and Fourecks (modified). Also, from characters' perspectives, the
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of the Discworld (or, as referenced in ''
Raising Steam
''Raising Steam'' is the 40th ''Discworld'' novel, written by Terry Pratchett. It was the penultimate one, published before his death in 2015. Originally due to be published on 24 October 2013, it was pushed back to 7 November 2013 (and March 18, ...
'', the ''lingua quirma''). Comparable to real-world English.
; Latatian :
Dead language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers, especially if the language has no living Genetic relationship (linguistics), descendants. In contrast, a dead language is one that is no longer the native language of any commun ...
of the majority of Morporkian-speaking countries; Pratchett did not state how widespread Latatian was in Discworld but it was in use beyond simply Ankh-Morpork. Used, most often for humor, in novels in the mottoes of noble families, civic organizations and Guilds of Ankh-Morpork, in legal principles, and by Discworld wizards, doctors, and scientists, the latter a satire of those professions' use of Latin to obfuscate language to laymen. Comparable to real-world
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, though Pratchett describes it as "very bad
doggy Latin". Examples: Motto of
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is the police force of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork in the ''Discworld'' series by the English writer Terry Pratchett.
The Watch, its growth and development, and its inner workings are explored through a series ...
: originally "Fabricati Diem, Puncti Agunt Celeriter", meaning "Make the day, the moments pass quickly"; due to erosion, this later shortened to "Fabricati Diem, Punc"; that is,
Make My Day, Punk. The legal principle ''Acquiris Quodcumque Rapis'' — "you get what you grab".
; Quirmian : Language of the Discworld country of Quirm. Comparable to real-world French. Often used in elegant restaurants. Featured frequently in ''
Raising Steam
''Raising Steam'' is the 40th ''Discworld'' novel, written by Terry Pratchett. It was the penultimate one, published before his death in 2015. Originally due to be published on 24 October 2013, it was pushed back to 7 November 2013 (and March 18, ...
''.
; Ephebian : Language of the Discworld country of Ephebe. Comparable to real-world
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
.
; Klatchian : Language of the Discworld country of Klatch. Also, the font is changed to a classical "Arabian Nights"-style when Klatchian is used in the novels. Comparable to real-world
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
. Featured most prominently in ''
Jingo''.
; Agatean : Language of the Discworld Agatean Empire. It is written in complicated
pictograms
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...
. Minor differences in pronunciation alter word meanings completely. Pratchett sometimes used pictograms in the font of characters speaking Agatean. Comparable to real-world
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
. Featured most prominently in ''
Interesting Times
''Interesting Times'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the seventeenth book in the ''Discworld'' series, set in the Aurient (a fictional analogue of the Orient).
The title refers to the common myth that there exists a Chi ...
''.
; Uberwaldian : Language of the Discworld region of Überwald. The font is changed to German Gothic when Uberwaldean is used in novels. Comparable to real-world German and/or
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic, spoken during the Ear ...
. Featured most prominently in ''
The Fifth Elephant
''The Fifth Elephant'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 24th book in the ''Discworld'' series. It introduces the clacks, a long-distance semaphore system.
Plot summary
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is expanding; there i ...
''.
''The Folklore of Discworld''
''The Folklore of Discworld'' is a book written by
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels.
Pratchett's first no ...
and
Jacqueline Simpson
Jacqueline Simpson (born 1930) is a prolific, award-winning British researcher and author on folklore.[Paul Kidby
Paul Kidby (born 1964) is an English artist. Many people know him best for his art based on Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld''. He has been included on the sleeve covers since Pratchett's original illustrator, Josh Kirby, died in 2001.Alison Flood ( ...]
.
As it was the only ''Discworld'' book published in 2008, 25 years after the appearance of the first Discworld book, ''
The Colour of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'', some of the hardback editions displayed a sticker stating "25 Years of Discworld".
See also
*
World Turtle
The World Turtle, also called the Cosmic Turtle or the World-bearing Turtle, is a mytheme of a giant turtle (or tortoise) supporting or containing the world. It occurs in Hindu mythology, Chinese mythology, and the mythologies of the indigenous p ...
*
The Discworld Mapp
*
List of Discworld characters
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), ...
Notes
External links
Discworld & Pratchett WikiDiscworld reading order– a guide to the different story arcs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Discworld (World)
Fantasy worlds
Discworld locations
Fictional elements introduced in 1983
Fictional planets