Places in Kushiel's Legacy
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The geography of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series are modeled on that of medieval Europe. The countries and regions are as follows:
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[edit] Terre d'Ange
Terre d'Ange, loosely translated to Land of Angels, is the nation of focus in Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy saga. It is a fantasy equivalent of France in location, geography, and language. The country's emblem is a golden lily on a field of green, surrounded by seven golden stars, the sign of Blessed Elua and his Companions. It is also the home country of heroine Phèdre nó Delaunay.
[edit] Geography
The eastern and western regions of Terre d'Ange are rocky, with great mountains known as the Camaeline Range in the east, protecting the borders with Skaldia. To the north and central regions, Terre d'Ange is full of rivers and rich farmlands. Another mountain range separates Terre d'Ange from its neighbor Aragonia in the south.
Terre d'Ange has several rich rivers running through it: the Danrau, running in both Skaldia and Terre d'Ange, akin to the Danube; the Rhenus, akin to the Rhine, which runs too deep and fast to be forded, has been seldom bridged since the days of the Tiberium Empire, and forms the border between Terre d'Ange and Skaldia; the Lusande which runs through Kusheth, probably akin to the Loire.
The country's western border is a great ocean; the true land of Terre d'Ange, where Elua resides for eternity, is said to exist on the other side of that ocean.
The Tiberians left their legacy on the land in the form of roads; one of the greatest is Eisheth's Way, leading south to the coast.
Terre d'Ange is broken into seven regions (listed below).
[edit] L'Agnace
L'Agnace is a grape-rich territory to the north of Siovale, founded by Anael. House Courcel keeps estates and hunting lodges in this province, and the City of Elua is within its bounds. L'Agnacites have a weakness for gambling. They are also noted for their extremely proficient archers.
[edit] Namarre
Namarre occupys the land south of Azzalle. Namarre was founded by the angel Naamah. It is a place of many rivers, and has a shrine where the River of Naamah rises from beneath the earth.
The seat of House L'Envers, one of the most important noble families of Terre d'Ange, is in Namarre, as is the city Troyes-le-Mont.
[edit] Azzalle
Azzalle runs along the northern coast of Terre d'Ange. At one point, it is near enough to see across the strait to the white cliffs of Dobria in Alba. Azzalle was founded by the angel Azza. It's ruling duchy is House Trevalion.
[edit] Camlach
Camlach is the eastern province of Terre d'Ange, bordering the territories of Skaldia. The martial angel Camael made this territory his home, and as such its people are known for being warlike and tough. Its ruling duchy is House d'Aiglemort. The other great Houses of the region are Ferraut, Montchapetre, Valliers, and Basilisque; together with d'Aiglemort they make up the Allies of Camlach.
[edit] Eisande
Eisande is the smallest of the seven provinces of Terre d'Ange, founded by the angel Eisheth. It encompasses the southern coastal lands, and is home to dreamers, sailors, healers, and traders, as well as a large Tsingani population that is more well-tolerated there than in other regions.
The largest and grandest city in Eisande is Marsilikos, founded by the Hellenes long before Elua came to Terre d'Ange, akin to the French city of Marseilles. An ancient road called Eisheth's Way, built by the soldiers of the Tiberian Empire, runs through the province.
[edit] Siovale
Siovale runs the border with Aragonia in the southern part of the country. As its founder Shemhazai treasured knowledge, Siovale has a great tradition for learning.
Montrève is a small but lovely estate in the mountains of Siovale, which Phèdre inherits from Anafiel Delaunay. The manor has Eisandine touches, such as brilliant gardens, likely the influence of Delaunay's mother.
[edit] Kusheth
Kusheth occupies similar territory as Bretagne in France, a rocky coastal region running to the Point d'Oueste. Kusheth is considered the dominion of Kushiel, the angel of punishment, and is ruled over by the Duc de Morhban. One of the most important houses of Kusheth is House Shahrizai, from which villainess Melisande Shahrizai springs.
While Kusheth is rocky and harsh terrain on the coast, its interior is green and agricultural. Kusheth is home to the Hippochamp, a broad green field along the Lusande River that is the site of three major horse fairs each year. In early spring, the Tsingani gather there to trade yearlings and foals.
[edit] City of Elua
The capital of Terre d'Ange is the City of Elua, a fantasy equivalent of Lyon. It is home to the royal family of House Courcel. The City of Elua is so called, and is the capital of Terre d'Ange, because it is the only place Elua was known to tarry during his wanderings.
[edit] The Palace
The royal House Courcel resides in the Palace complex, which includes a throne room, grand hall, gaming rooms, and a theatre. A secret passage connects the Queen's quarters to the theatre, built by Josephine de la Courcel, who had an affair with a player. Many courtiers also reside in apartments in the Palace complex, particularly if they are only in the City of Elua for a short time.
[edit] Mont Nuit
Mont Nuit is a district of the City of Elua, a hill home to the thirteen Houses of the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers.
[edit] Night's Doorstep
Night's Doorstep is the area of the City just below Mont Nuit, home to low-class brothels, inns, taverns, playhouses, and other such forms of entertainment.
- Hyacinthe and his mother live on Rue Coupole.
- The Mask and Lute is a players' house, a tavern open only to members of the theatre guild and their friends.
[edit] History
The inhabitants of Terre d'Ange are descended from Elua and his Companions, and are called D'Angelines. Elua and his Companions came to Terre d'Ange at the end of their wanderings, at the same time the empire of Tiberium was being forced out of the region. Each of Elua's Companions took a region of the country, excepting Cassiel, who wandered eternally at Elua's side. It is claimed that every single D'Angeline is thus descended from angels, and for this reason, they are a blessed race with exceptional aesthetic qualities.
House Courcel has traditionally ruled Terre d'Ange, as they are descended in a straight and unbroken line from Elua himself.
[edit] Culture
The D'Angelines think quite highly of themselves as a people, reckoning themselves a blessed race due to their supernatural heritage. They are all exceptionally beautiful in form and grace; even the men have a certain delicacy, not growing hair on their faces in the abundance of the Skaldi, and in some of the older lines where the angelic blood is particularly strong, they grow no facial hair at all.
The D'Angelines are an extremely sexually liberated culture, accepting of homosexuality, bisexuality, and bdsm, so long as all activity is consensual. Rape is not only a crime in Terre d'Ange, it is heresy because it violates the Precept of Elua to love as thou wilt. The D'Angelines are neither matriarchy nor patriarchy, instead tracing their familial lines through both parents.
[edit] Caerdicca Unitas
Caerdicca Unitas is the name given to a coalition of loosely-allied city-states in the peninsular region south of Terre d'Ange and Skaldia. They are former provinces of the empire of Tiberium, and are the fantasy equivalent of the city-states of medieval Italy, with Tiberium referencing the Roman Empire . The language spoken by their people is Caerdicci; they are known as great scholars and craftsmen.
When rumors reach Caerdicca Unitas of the Skaldic peoples uniting under the leader Waldemar Selig, the city-states scramble to form military alliances with each other, and ignore d'Angeline requests for aid.
[edit] Important Places in Caerdicca Unitas
La Serenissima is one of the foremost cities of Caerdicca Unitas, ruled by the Stregazza family. It is equivalent to Venice.
Milazza is another important city, equivalent to Milan. Waldemar Selig, before deciding to invade Terre d'Ange, attempts to form a marriage alliance with the Duc of Milazza's daughter.
Tiberium, equivalent of Rome, is the great center of learning in Caerdicca Unitas. The former republic has in the recent past fallen out of fashion with the D'Angelines, with fewer children of nobility choosing to study there. Anafiel Delaunay and Rolande de la Courcel studied there under Maestro Gonzago. It is also where Anafiel Delaunay learned the arts of covertcy.
[edit] Skaldia
Skaldia is a nation roughly equitable to Nordic and Teutonic cultures. It is geographically located in the same area as Germany, to the east of Terre d'Ange and north of Caerdicca Unitas.
The Skaldi, unlike the D'Angelines, keep slaves, though they are generally well-treated. Their religion is akin to Nordic mythology, including worship of Odhinn the All-Father, Freja, and Baldur. They consider the D'Angelines barbarians, just the same as the D'Angelines consider them, though Phèdre nó Delaunay says they view Terre d'Ange with a mixture of derision and yearning, contempt and envy.
Though they have no proper written language, they have a system of runes known as the futhark, a gift taught to their people by Odhinn. The Skaldi have an elaborate system of law, wherein the lord hears complaints twice a week; his judgments are final and unquestioned. The Skaldi do not kneel before their leaders, instead standing straight and proud to show their strength. They are fierce but unorganized warriors, given to infighting between tribes. The Skaldi women are responsible for stripping the dead of spoils, and sing as they perform their duties.
As a people, the Skaldi have a deep streak of sentimentality and emotion, given to crying and loving as easily as they are to fighting. The Skaldic women sing songs of life, the harvest, courtship and love, childbearing and loss, while the men sing of war, death, and fighting. As a people, they are fond of wagering, bickering, and drinking, not least because there is little else to do while snowbound during their long winters. They treat their animals without coddling them, in order to keep them strong and hardy.
The Skaldi ally themselves with Isidore d'Aiglemort, who pays them to raid border towns, in order that he may drive them back off and look like a hero. They refer to Isidore as Kilberhaar, or Silver-hair.
Phèdre nó Delaunay and Joscelin Verreuil are sold to the Skaldi by Melisande Shahrizai when she betrays them, to get them far from the City of Elua and prevent them from delivering a message from Admiral Quintilius Rousse to Ysandre de la Courcel. The tribe they are sold to are the Marsi, who are in turn under the domain of Waldemar Selig.
Phèdre finds that though she can not love the Skaldi, for their intentions to destroy her homeland, she can not hate them either, for she knows kindness at their hands, and no more cruelty than they show each other. She is surprised when they are moved to tears at her singing of Thelesis de Mornay's The Exile's Lament.
[edit] Notable Skaldi
Gunter Arnlaugson is the lord of the steading to whom Phèdre and Joscelin are sold.
Hedwig Arnildsdottir is a pretty Skaldic woman with sun-colored hair and sharp blue eyes. Her father was the previous lord of the steading that Gunter Arnlaugson now rules over; he has proposed marriage to her three times, and she has turned him down each time. She is a forceful woman accustomed to command, known to wield a ladle as though it were a sword, and the men and women of the steading obey her as readily as they do Gunter. When Phèdre nó Delaunay and Joscelin Verreuil are sold to Gunter, Hedwig becomes somewhat protective over Phèdre, and keeps her from being harmed or used as a bed-slave, fixing Phèdre a pallet in her own room and ensuring that she is warmed and given food. Hedwig attends the Allthing with other members of Gunter's steading. At their lodgings there, she acts with bustling command despite having seniority of neither age nor position. She attends Waldemar Selig's meeting and is among the women hesitant over the thought of invading Terre d'Ange, thinking of the realities of war and the probable death toll, but is won over in the end by the longing for conquest and glory. When she is going back to her steading, Hedwig is advised by Phèdre not to reject Gunter if he proposes a fourth time, and Phèdre asks that she light a candle to Freja for her, as she deems that the Skaldic goddess closest to her own Naamah.
Lodur the One-Eyed is the oldest teacher of Waldemar Selig. He offered his eye to Odhinn hoping to gain wisdom, and learned only that no one can bribe the gods. He does not approve of Selig keeping Phèdre so near him, calling her a "weapon thrown by a d'Angeline god".
Waldemar Selig is the self-made King of the Skaldi, who has designs on conquering Terre d'Ange.
[edit] Skaldic Terms
- Allthing
- the term for a massive meeting between Skaldi of various steadings and tribes. Waldemar Selig calls one of this to discuss his plans to invade Terre d'Ange.
- Gambrivii
- one of the Skaldic tribes. A group of men from this tribe try to rape Phèdre at the Allthing.
- holmgang
- a challenge between two men. Each fighter is given one sword and three shields. The first to shed the other's blood wins, and if either man sets both feet outside the field, he forfeits.
- Manni
- one of the Skaldi tribes. Their lord Kolbjorn is one of Selig's top thanes. These tribes live in the southern part of Skaldia, near the border with Caedricca Unitas; some of them are quite wealthy and live in a fashion almost as civilized as Tiberian nobles.
- Marsi
- one of the Skaldic tribes.
- Suevi
- one of the Skaldic tribes.
- Vandalii
- one of the Skaldic tribes; Waldemar Selig is said to have been taken prisoner by them.
- White Brethren
- the handpicked personal guard of Waldemar Selig
[edit] Elsewhere
[edit] Aragonia
Aragonia is a nation to the south of Terre d'Ange, geographically the area of Spain and Portugal. The crest of their royal house is a golden lion; they send one thousand foot soldiers to aid Ysandre de la Courcel against invasion.
[edit] Khebbel-in-Akkad
Khebbel-im-Akkad is a nation in the east, akin to the Arabian Peninsula.
[edit] Tiberium Empire
Tiberium is south of Terre D'Ange, akin to the Rome. The series takes place after the Tiberium Empire (similar to the Roman Empire) has already fallen.
[edit] Hellas
Hellas is an ancient nation to the east, akin to Greece.
[edit] Bodhistan
Bodhistan is a nation to the far east that is akin to India.
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| Novels | Kushiel's Dart • Kushiel's Chosen • Kushiel's Avatar • Kushiel's Scion |
| Characters | Phèdre nó Delaunay • Anafiel Delaunay • Joscelin Verreuil • Hyacinthe • Melisande Shahrizai • Ysandre de la Courcel • Drustan mab Necthana • Waldemar Selig • Other Characters |
| Groups | Court of Night-Blooming Flowers • Servants of Naamah • Cassiline Brotherhood • Yeshuites • Tsingani • Phèdre's Boys • Stregazza family |
| Places | Terre d'Ange • Skaldia • Alba and Eire • Caerdicca Unitas • Other |
| Mythos & Culture | Elua and His Companions • Anguissette • Midwinter Masque |
| Noble Houses | Courcel • L'Envers • Shahrizai • Somerville • Trevalion |
| History | Battle of the Three Princes • Battle of Troyes-le-Mont |
