Sketch of three nobles

[Jeff Richard]

These sketches by Jan Pospisil depict three nobles – the first from Esrolia, the second from Sartar, and the third from Tarsh.
Figure 1: Noblewoman
This Esrolian noblewoman wears a close-fitting tube dress, sewn at the side, that is held up by two straps that attached behind the neck. The straps come together at the front and expose her breasts. The dress is made of fine linen or even silk and might be brightly dyed or nearly transparent. I imagine something like the Egyptian kalasiris:
http://www.historiadeltraje.com.ar/images/Programa%20Hist%201/Kalasiris.jpg
http://www.fashion-era.com/images/100_bc_ALLancient_history/bwbare.jpg
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/fashio2.gif
http://di-ta.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/001.gif
http://myrdinfashion.com/english/files/2012/02/egyiptomioltozet.jpg
(We’ve already hinted at this fashion with the picture of the Esrolian queen:
http://www.glorantha.com/gallery/nggallery/guide-to-glorantha/jan-pospisil)
She wears a white feathered cape over her shoulders.
She wears a large and ornate necklace of gold and gemstones, and bracelets of gold or precious stones. She also wears arm rings, showing her authority and status.She has large golden or copper earrings, possibly square shaped (showing her Earth connection).
Her long hair is intricately braided and coiled upon her head in the Minoan or Mycenaean fashion (let’s avoid her looking too Egyptian).
She wears kohl to rim her eyes, darken her eyebrows and eyelashes. She wears rouge on her lips.
She is barefoot.

Fig. 2. Sartarite noble
This Sartarite chieftain or petty king has adopted the Pelorian styles of his conquerers. He wears a long tunic that goes down to his knees over riding leggings. Over this he wears a long fringed cloak that goes down to near his ankles.
Despite the “Pelorian style clothing”, he is still tattooed as a traditional Orlanthi with the runes of Air, Movement, and Mastery, as well as clan and tribal markings.
Around his neck he wears a golden torc or pectoral that shows that he is a chief or king. These torcs are magical regalia and the symbol of his authority. He also wears an armband and bracelets.
The noble has a beautifully decorate bronze sword
(like a Mycenaean type B or C sword http://www.salimbeti.com/micenei/weapons1.htm),
with a magical crystal on its pommel (the crystal is the blood of a god wounded in the Gods War). This sword is also part of his regalia of authority.

Fig. 3: Tarshite noble
This Tarshite nobleman from the capital city of Furthest is the height of Provincial aristocratic fashion. Although he still bears his clan initiation tattoos and markings of his tribal gods, he is also initiated into the Seven Mothers and bears both the Moon Rune and the rune of Yanafal Tarnils (http://www.etyries.com/images/hw-yanafal.gif).
His long beard is well-groomed, and has been curled with tongs to create hanging curls
(http://wordinfo.info/words/images/beard-Grecian-curls.gif).
He wears a long tunic that goes down to above his knees and leggings for riding. Over that he wears a long embroidered robe that goes down to his ankles, and has been split for riding. It is hemmed with fringe and decorated with patterns like:
http://s704.photobucket.com/user/kenzo945/media/syrianarchers.jpg.html
http://s342.photobucket.com/user/MBvonBlood/media/HittiteKing.jpg.html
He wears golden jewelry to display his status, including a golden neck ring
(like http://images.ookaboo.com/photo/m/Torque_Susa_Louvre_Sb2760_m.jpg),
golden bracelets, and arm-bands.
He wears a decorated short sword (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bronssvärd_fr_Segerstad_sn%2C_Västergötland_%28Montelius_1877_s134_fig192%29.jpg). It is likely belted over his shoulder.

[Scott Martin]

Love these, love her apparent manicure. She can definitely have bright colors even if she can’t afford silk — although I’m told linen is an incompatible dye chemistry from what the wool-wearing Sartarites enjoy, which may be a bone of contention between the cultures.

[Jeff Richard]

Long fingernails are always a sign of not needing to do manual labor. As for not mixing linen and wool, my understanding is that comes from Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and has not non-religious basis (although I could be wrong). Linsey-woolsy is certain an old fabric.

[Scott Martin]

She is very fancy! I wish it was color so we could see her henna work.

Funny you mention Leviticus because the practical distinction between dyeing vegetable and animal fiber is often explained to me in terms of having to keep two sets of dishes in a kosher kitchen. Apparently the mordant chemistry required to brighten up the one will ruin the pots of the other, so the two shops need to maintain separation or else it gets very expensive very fast.

On the other hand my sources may simply hate working with cotton, but I can see the logic.

As a perennial shabbos goy I would be tempted to rationalize the talmudic prohibition as good sense from a land use perspective. Pastoral country does not lend itself to even casual cotton production unless you can irrigate hell out of everything (as the Uzbeks have learned, for better or worse) and there may also be a memory of Egypt to wrestle with — either way, by the time they get to Jericho, the beautiful textiles of Babylon are a dangerous temptation and a problem for cultural discipline. (I’m sure Mr Quaife and others can jump in.)

Linsey-woolsey is gorgeous because it builds the inability of the linen to take the wool dyes into the weave. I seem to recall hearing that the colonists couldn’t find stable mordants anyway, so occasionally the dye would break on both sides and you’d get a very angry bright orange pilgrim scowling around.

To pull one of the infamous tangent threads a little bit further, I always figured the Dendara temple “had” [i.e., is] an industrial loom set-up, the Esrolians have a tension between commercial mills for other people’s children and luxury homespun for yours (tiger moms lean in), families from the Heortland high countries tend to spin and knit at home. This would make linsey-woolsey a lowland import rather than the other way around — hints of foreign craft and luxury “bought” fabrics coming up the hollows — and maybe a signal of increased cooperation between the boy tribes and girl tribes.

(Does Esrolia have Voriof? Is he a scowling juvenile delinquent down there, James Dean?)

We can probably track the linen/wool seam according to what tools they put in Arachne Solara’s hands. Shuttle = weaver, sticks = knitter. Naturally to most boys it all looks the same. By the time she has only a spindle, you know you’re pretty far up country. For Cragspider’s people the world may simply be bound in intricate knots or nets — but that takes us dangerously close to Jajagappa’s lost mysteries.

[Mark Mohrfield]

Quote:

Quote from Jeff Richard on May 27, 2014, 08:02
Long fingernails are always a sign of not needing to do manual labor.

I suspect that a large number of modern-day women will beg to differ on that point 🙂

[Jeff Richard]

Hah! Well, my wife at least has sensible fingernails. Hard to do archery with long manicured nails!

[Eric Vanel]

I love these artworks from Jan.
I love the way Ernaldan proudly bear their female attributes.
More !

[Runeblogger]

So, even if they look more Mediterranean and sort of “thracian-hitite” now, there are still blond sartarites out there. Variety is good.

[Evilroddy]

Tarshite beards look ridiculous! I hope the rigid-dreadlock beard is only a passing fashion fad and not a cultural icon or as a game master I shall be forced to wipe the kingdom out….brutally.
Rod Robertson

[David Scott]

Quote:

Quote from Evilroddy on May 29, 2014, 18:50
Tarshite beards look ridiculous! I hope the rigid-dreadlock beard is only a passing fashion fad and not a cultural icon

I don’t think you can dreadlock a beard (wouldn’t want to try it on mine). These are stylish oiled beards, look here for tips on doing your own.

http://beardcoach.com/2011/12/curling-your-beard/

They are of course emulating a Dara Happan style, not everyone would do it, just like real life beards.

[Jeff Richard]

The nobility of south Peloria looks to Dara Happa for the trappings of status and power (even if they worship Orlanth). Beard curling is a common aristocratic Dara Happan fashion.

[Evilroddy]

Jeff:
With all do respect, that beard is not curled nor pleated, it’s spiked! I have seen many Elamite, Assyrian and Persian bas-reliefs but I have never seen a beard like the one on that Tarshite noble.
I seem to remember an old theme in Gloranthan Lore that the Dara Happan civilization can be a gateway to the emergence of evil in the world. If this beard is any indication, Wakboth cannot be far away! The Gates of Banir and the Beards of Tarsh; both portals for evil in the world.;) What is the Pelorian word for Jihad? And for that matter what is Stormspeech for Jihad too? They must be stopped!

[Harald Smith]

Quote:

What is the Pelorian word for Jihad

Release Shargash.

[Jan Pospíšil]

@Evilroddy: it’s not very simple to indicate that kind of curling in only black and white at that picture size. For that same reason, I have some of the other characters’ hair blowing in the wind etc. Maybe the noble gestures so hard his beard is flopping around, but this has indeed been the inspiration:
http://beardcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/beard-Grecian-curls.gif

@Rungard: the “white” is supposed to stand for anything from blonde to light brown or reddish. There’s plenty of dark hair, but anything that’s not pale white blonde and darkest black is kinda hard to do convincingly in these black and white ink drawings. But yes, the idea was to have some variety among the majority of dark haired people.

[Martin Helsdon]

With apologies to the artist: merging the Tarsh noble with an Assyrian beard.

[img]http://www.glorantha.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/39oki-Tarshite-Noble2.JPG[/img]

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