03-06-2012, 01:24 PM
Lately I've been mulling something over.
I've mentioned before that I'm not thrilled with calling the Great Empire "Thonia" as a formal name; mostly because that name was slapped on by TSR fanboys in the mid 1980's and has no history with the setting. I don't mind using it as a name of a race or class of people (high Thonians, etc.), but have only reluctantly used it for the Great Kingdom.
Because Greyhawk, Khalibrun, and Blackmoor were originally on the same continent and essentially the same setting, I think most of us are comfortable merging info from the these campaigns from the 1970's but balk at anything after and including the World of Greyhawk publication, for much the same reason I don't like using Thonia.
We've talked a little about that with quag keep geography. Anyway, apparently Gygax BiTD referred to the Great Kingdom as They Great Kingdom of Aerdy. I haven't found to much about it, but here are some interesting quotes from one of his Qand A's online:
"…Aerdi has Gothic architecture, BTW, while the Great Kingdom has Byzantine...
The Great Kingdom has parts other than Aerdi…
The United Kingdom is often referred to as England, but it included Wales, Scotland, and various parts of Ireland during the middle ages; it also included Normandy and various other parts of contemporary France.
Think of the Great Kingdom as en empire, Aerdi as the core. It is the Great Kingdom because it rules all the other parts outside of Aerdi, just as Great Britain was and is more than England."
I've mentioned before that I'm not thrilled with calling the Great Empire "Thonia" as a formal name; mostly because that name was slapped on by TSR fanboys in the mid 1980's and has no history with the setting. I don't mind using it as a name of a race or class of people (high Thonians, etc.), but have only reluctantly used it for the Great Kingdom.
Because Greyhawk, Khalibrun, and Blackmoor were originally on the same continent and essentially the same setting, I think most of us are comfortable merging info from the these campaigns from the 1970's but balk at anything after and including the World of Greyhawk publication, for much the same reason I don't like using Thonia.
We've talked a little about that with quag keep geography. Anyway, apparently Gygax BiTD referred to the Great Kingdom as They Great Kingdom of Aerdy. I haven't found to much about it, but here are some interesting quotes from one of his Qand A's online:
"…Aerdi has Gothic architecture, BTW, while the Great Kingdom has Byzantine...
The Great Kingdom has parts other than Aerdi…
The United Kingdom is often referred to as England, but it included Wales, Scotland, and various parts of Ireland during the middle ages; it also included Normandy and various other parts of contemporary France.
Think of the Great Kingdom as en empire, Aerdi as the core. It is the Great Kingdom because it rules all the other parts outside of Aerdi, just as Great Britain was and is more than England."