Talk:The Baroque Cycle

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[edit] Redirect

Redirected The Baroque Cycle (novel) to here under the assumption that there is no other Baroque Cycle other than the novel of that name. - Tim Shell

[edit] Deviations from Real History

There is a pretty big mistake in this series. The IJsselmeer does not exist in 1600 something. It only was created in 1932. Also the capitalisation is incorrect, as that of IJ. Anyway thoughts on where and how to hack this in to one the entries regarding this bookseries. Spearhead 14:47, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Slavery did not exist in France (colonies excluded) during the 17th century — "nulle personne n'est esclave en ce royaume" — so Abigail cannot be kept there in slavery by Lord Upnor. Such was, presumably, the positive law, but that doesn't mean that Lord Upnor could not possibly have managed to do so in fact. Nit-pickingly, you could call it false imprisonment rather than slavery, but the effect for Abigail wouldn't have been much different.194.109.198.99 18:05, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

"that fine golden beer from Pilsen," (I, p. 421). The beer we call Pilsener wasn't invented until the 19th century. So there was no beer in Pilsen before then? DaddyWarlock (talk) 12:09, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

"Daniel Waterhouse founds a fledging "Massachusetts Bay Colony Institute of Technologickal Arts" that is strongly implied to be the ancestor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, when in fact MIT was founded in 1861." This is incorrect. Waterhouse's Institute gets shut down near the end of System of the World. DaddyWarlock (talk) 12:09, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Solomon Kohan

"Solomon - Anachronistic, Travelling as Solomen Kohan" Is it implied in the books that Kohan is in fact King Solomon? I never noticed that or came across it in any analysis.

He refers to himself as "the wise," and he goes way back with Enoch. Also remember all the discussion of Solomon's gold in The Confusion. Mr. Kohan has enough gold on him to prove his merit when Peter the Great finds him, and when Waterhouse et al submit Solomon's gold in the form of punch cards, it's him that identifies it and develops a scheme to have all such gold locked away in St. Petersburg, rather than floating around the world being con-fused by coiners and eaten by upstart alchemists. It's also hinted at: the tomb of the Templars is modelled after Solomon's Temple, which prompts Waterhouse to say something like "If you're that Solomon...", a question which the character dismisses without answering. Unfortunately I returned the book to the library several months ago, otherwise I might have more support. At any rate, I came to that conclusion, but I'll admit that it was never explicitly stated, and that King Solomon's use of Kohan as a last name would probably be inappropriate since he was more involved with government than with priestly activities. By the way, you can sign your messages with four tildes, like this:Joel 02:02, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)
It's never confirmed nor denied, but the way it is written it's clear that the reader is supposed to have suspicions in that direction. Kungtotte 14:04, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Witch-Hanging

Why does this entry tell us that witch-hangings were a "vestige of the Middle Ages", when in fact the Middle Ages were one of the few periods in history when supposed witches were *not* routinely executed? The major periods of witch executions were antiquity and early modern times, specifically the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries - in other words, shortly before the action of the novels. 90.197.127.144 15:53, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Renamed 'Errors' to 'Deviations from Real History'

Given that these novels are a work of fantasy-fiction, not history, I think it's a bit strong to call these discrepancies 'Errors'. We simply don't know which elements are 'wrong' because Stephenson deliberately manipulated history for the sake of the story, and which are due to his lack of knowledge. We might make a reasonable guess in some cases, but if we're to call them all errors, we might as well add to the list the facts that Newton didn't really bunk-up with Daniel Waterhouse, there is no known elixir that will revive someone from death, and people don't live as long as Enoch Root. --DudeGalea 14:40, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] On the Comstocks

I changed Comstock to Silver Comstock, and also Roger Comstock to John Comstock. I thought this befitted the background... Any suggestions? Thereforethelordgod 05:23, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

Why the move away from Roger? It has been a while since I read the books, but I seem to remember him being the major Comstock in the story. He was to Daniel Waterhouse what Ari was to Randy Waterhouse. I remember Daniel even saying "I don't want to live in a world with Roger Comstock in it". Am I remembering it wrong? -Armaced (talk) 03:30, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
Wasn't the line "I don't want to live in a world withOUT Roger Comstock in it."? DaddyWarlock (talk) 12:39, 28 January 2008 (UTC)
You are absolutely right - that was a typo on my part. Daniel liked Roger. -Armaced (talk) 19:17, 1 May 2008 (UTC)
As far as I can remember, Roger Comstock is far more important than John and any of the "Silver Comstocks", as a friend of Daniel and as the Whig leader in "The System of the World". But why not mention both the Silver and the Golden Comstocks? I see no problem doing that! --Meile (talk) 14:25, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
By the way, is there in "Cryptonomicon" a distinction between the two Comstock families? --Meile (talk) 14:33, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
I just reread "Cryptonomicon" and I didn't see any reference of any kind to a difference in the Comstock families. DaddyWarlock (talk) 12:39, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

I recommend removing the "Silver" from the Comstock row and adding Roger Comstock back in, sharing the cell with John Comstock. I don't want to live in a wiki without Roger Comstock in it.  :) -Armaced (talk) 19:21, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] On the Teufelsbaum

There seems to be some interest in this tree from "The System of the World". I had some free time in Hanover recently, and actually found it! It is the "bush form" of a genetic variant, or maybe a mutation, of the red beech tree. In German, it is called "Teufelsholz" or devilwood, because it could not be used for constructing anything. It's real name in German is Süntelbuche (Fagus sylvatica Suentelensis, or Tortuosa). This gives you the tags to search for. The tree I found in Hannover is in the "Berggarten", if you want to see pictures of the model for Stephenson's tree. It is about 120 years old. There is even a kind of cage "protecting" people from the tree. These trees do not come from the Hartz mountains but from old beech forests, of which the Suenter near Hannover is the one most famous for such trees. Very few remain there however, since many were burnt for firewood or to clear farmland. There is another lovely picture of one, just as I imagined it in the novel, on the German Wikipedia page for Süntelbuche (buschform).

Mynah (talk) 13:41, 19 April 2008 (UTC)