Talk:Timeline of the Ultima Universe

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[edit] Where do the dates come from?

Is year 1 really the foundation of Britannia? Where is the source of information for that date?

Also, where do most dates come from? Where is the source for that? I know some of those have specific dates in documentation or in-game, but what about all the others?

I know one year from Earth is 10 in Sosaria. Lord British and friends age at the rate of earth, so when 10 years pass, they only age by 1 year. So, if year 1 is the foundation of Britannia, why isn't Lord British an old man with white hair in Ultima VII part I and II? After all, it's around year 361 at least. Maybe year 1 is not the foundation of Britannia after all.--Sheng Long Gradilla 20:16, 23 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Many dates are found in game, in books, especially in Ultima VI-VII.

Some dates are given vaguely (ie ten years after an event).

As a side note, Lord British, like all Ultima characters originally from Earth (like Dupre, Iolo, Geoffrey, etc), ages very slowly in Britannia, around 1 year for every twenty that passes in Britannia.

That's why he doesn't seem to have aged. (except for U9)

The Ultima V manual explicitly says they age 1 year every 10, not every 20. If you consider the foundation of Britannia as year 1, then counting from the days of Mondain to the beginning of Ultima VII, it has been more than 400 years already, so the age of Lord British and the Avatar would be around 60 at least, and they don't look so elderly. Iolo would be even older, since he already looked old 200 years earlier, in Ultima VI. How old is Iolo? Is he eighty? He looks vigorous enough to travel around in perilous lands. That's the reason I debate the year 1 as foundation of Britannia. Explicitly where did you find that year 1 is the foundation of Britannia? I don't really think the britannian calendar begins with the foundation of Britannia.--Sheng Long Gradilla 01:06, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

It doesn't explicitly state it anywhere really, but most of the fan-created timelines I've seen take it as a given.

The dating system first appears in Ultima V and VI, with reference to when the monks of Empath abbey stopped taking vows of silence.

Now this event has to be after Ultima IV, because Empath Abbey didn't exist before then.

Now, granted that year 103 - The monks of Empath Abbey stopped taking vows of silence, I suppose that it could be dated from Mondain's defeat or something like that.

The problem is, that doesn't seem to make much of a difference, because there's only about 25 years between the defeat of Mondain and the formation of Britannia.

Still, go ahead and change it if you can make it fit better. :)

Ultima VII expicitly states that 200 years have passed, but Lord British and the companions certainly don't seem 20 years older... I think ages of the long-lived people is a bit too funky to nail down correctly.

)

Yea, I agree with that. The ages seem screwed up. Anyways, the one that is a whole mistery is always Shamino. He ages even slower than the rest. About when the monks stop taking vows of silence, they are referred as the Brotherhood of the Rose. That brotherhood could have existed long before Empath Abbey.--Sheng Long Gradilla 02:48, 24 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I think the Shamino thing can be explained by some sort of link with Lord British - they are identical in appearance (as they are both Richard Garriott).

[edit] What happened to U8?

Okay, I admit the game was a tragic farce of an Ultima, but why has no one included the plot of Pagan in this timeline? The Avatar's adventures on the Serpent Isle are included.

I'd do it myself, but it would require reviewing a walkthrough and I'm vaguely considering replaying the game sometime soon. Anyone care to make a contribution here? Zaklog 03:49, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

I'll try adding a small section about the main events in Ultima 8, to be expanded upon later. Would that be ok? Shrumster 09:19, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Ok, started the Pagan section. No dates yet since I'm not familiar with how Pagan dates are measured. I'll need to do more research on this. Shrumster 11:14, 7 January 2007 (UTC)