The Gawedi are an Alenic people native to the Alenic Frontier but also live in the Dragonhills of the Dragon Coast. They are the most prominent of the
Alenic cultures with the Gawedi Kingdom, later the Kingdom of Gawed, under their rule. Unlike most others in Western Cannor, the Gawedi do not possess social traditions and political systems derived from the elvenization of Cannor after the War of The Sorcerer King.
History[]
Originally the proto Gawedi were numerous tribes located along the lower Alen river, from Tenbury to Drakesford. In 470, as the Dragonwake began to ravage Cannor and beyond, Godrac the Invader, the chief of the Gawe tribe, subjugated, vassalized, or drove off the surrounding tribes and marched south, seizing Vertesk from the Damerian Republic in 471. It is the tribes he subjugated that would become the Gawedi, meaning 'of the Gawe', while those who resisted or fled became other Alenic groups such as the Wexonards and the Marrodics.
With the conquest of Bal Vertesk and the establishment of the Gawedi Kingdom in 474, the Gawedi turned their eyes to other conquests. By 480, the Gawed had headed west and south, crossing into the Dragon Coast and beginning the Lencori Warlord Period as they helped crush the Lencori Empire.
In 529 the Gawedi were ousted from Lencenor and the Small Country, and though they would return in time, this defeat caused them to become separate from the other people’s of Cannor, rather than mixing with them like the Wexonards and the Marrodics, setting the stage for their isolationist and xenophobic streak.
During the War of the Sorcerer-King, Black Castanor invaded the Gawedi Kingdom at the behest of the Verteskers, and for nearly forty years, the Gawedi were subjugated by Venac the Arrogant, which led to both the Gawedi mistrust of magic, and inflaming their mistrust of outsiders and foreigners, even after they were liberated. After the war Alenn III solidified the realm into the Kingdom of Gawed, which brought about a less tribal and more pseudo feudal structure, in parallel with the developments of southern and eastern Cannor.
While the White Pestilence that followed the war a couple of decades afterwards was not as devastating in the north as other places of Cannor, some of the southern Gawedi cities such as Alenath were hit hard. Elves, being more resistant to the plague, drew ire from the Gawedi residents who suffered the plague. This culminated in the Pogrom of Alenath wherein the city’s prosperous elf district was burned down, and led to the longstanding belief that the Gawedi hate elves specifically.
In 1162, the Gawedi became locked in a brutal civil war when the house of Gawe died out and the cadet branch, house Vanbury, took over. The resulting civil war and decade of lorentish occupation inflamed the Gawedi hatred for foreigners. This ushered in a nearly 200 year period of brutal xenophobia and isolationism by the Gawedi, led by Humbert I Baldfather and his descendants, only ending in 1350.
Appearance[]
The Gawedi mostly have fair skin, with dark hair and eye colors. Men’s hair is usually simple and short, women’s long though also simple. They are usually shorter in stature, though broad and sturdy.
Clothing as well tends towards the more modest compared to their neighbours in the Dameshead and Escann. Gawedi nobility wear long coat-like robes that went down to knee length, made of wool and linen and sometimes with one’s heraldric symbols sewn into it, and then with a second layer of furs over the top as well as a cap as both additional protection from the cold, and a status symbol. Additionally nobles tend to wear armour on many occasions, usually chainmail with padding beneath, though it's considered taboo to bring weapons unless necessary.
Jewellery for nobles is mostly in the form of rings, circlets and amulets, generally made of iron, copper, and pewter due to its abundance, though gold jewellery is slightly more common amongst the minor lords along the Lower Alen river. Silver however was illegal before the discovery of Aelantir, and only to be used as weapons against the werewolves of the Greatwoods. However the great lords would traditionally wear a dagger made of silver as a status symbol. Another common form of jewellery amongst the Gawedi of all classes are religious items, usually around the worship of Nerat, Falah, or Corin, and later Ravelianist items within the cities of the Northern League.
Society[]
The Gawedi are defined by an adherence to Alenic social customs rather than those formed from Castanorian, Damerian, or Elven roots like much of Cannor. They take a great deal of pride in this, seeing themselves as a separate society to the ‘Southron’ Cannorians or the ‘barbarian’ Gerudians.
Community[]
The Gawedi organise themselves into local communities, generally villages, towns, or families. In the case of nobles, houses or great houses in the case of great lords. These are generally pseudo-feudal in nature, with minor lords reporting to great lords, who report to the king. These communities are traditionally meant to support one another in a broadly utilitarian system, though influenced by economic and personal factors to be imperfect and flawed. The peasants are meant to support one another and their lord, who provides taxes and soldiers to his great lord, who does the same with the king, who then in turn guides and protects the entire realm while also providing firm judgment upon the people, holding lords accountable for crimes or failing to fulfill their duties.
The Gawedi have large family groups, with children moving out after marriage, and elderly moving in with their next of kin when they get too old. Though even when they move out, the patriarch of the family will hold power over every member through social and legal obligations. Often younger children will move to cities or large towns in search of opportunity due to not being able to inherit any land. This created a culture within the cities of competition and innovation that, in combination with the Alen river trade and high population, formed the beginning of what would become the Magnates. This led to a popular, if derogatory term for the Magnates: Second Sons.
Traditionally, Gawedi regard those from outside Gawed with distrust and concern, and therefore will often be cold and to the point with them, though usually not outright cruel. This has created a stereotype of the Gawedi as a harsh and unforgiving people, when in reality this is only with outsiders. Those within their communities are treated warmly and often Gawedi will go to great lengths to help their community.
This is commonly evident in weddings, where traditionally the entire village, town, or in cases of kings, much of the kingdom will help with the preparations, such as to bless the marriage. During Welyam III and Karina Deland’s wedding, it is said great lords would personally arrive with decorations and set them up, while the people of Gaweton ran out of honey making all of the baked sweets with them.
Another misconception is that the Gawedi hate elves or non-humans specifically, and this is only true if they’re from outside Gawed. To the Gawedi, there is little difference between a Lorentish human and a Lorentish elf, they are equally outsiders and will be treated as such. There have been cases of Gawedi violence against non humans, most infamously the burning of Alenath’s Elven Quarter during the White Pestilence, but these are generally a part of anti-foreigner violence.
The most infamous example of Gawedi distrust of outsiders is their rivalry with the Lorentish, which began when the founder of Lorent slew the Gawedi prince, Alenn ‘The Broken Eagle’ at the battle of Red Reach, but continued due to various wars and battles. It has also developed due to misunderstandings, where the Gawedi have seen the Lorentish chivalry and poetry as a sign of them being effeminate and unmanly, the Lorentish have seen the Gawedi coldness towards outsiders, humble appearance, and foreign customs such as eating horse, as a sign that they’re savage and barbarous.
Outsiders can indeed join Gawedi communities, though it is difficult and often can take months or years, with the outsider having to demonstrate a willingness to help a group of people that have yet to show them kindness. However when done, an outsider is usually given a gift of bread and salt to show they have joined the community, though some have joked this is evidence of Gawedi being stingy or poor.
For serious crimes such as kinslaying or breaking a serious oath, a Gawedi lord can be given ‘The Black Hound’, a letter with a black seal in the shape of a dog, stating they either are to be executed, or have a month to gather their items and settle their affairs before being exiled from Gawed. Both options result in them being disowned from their family.
Oaths[]
Oaths comprise the basis for the Gawedi legal system as well as offices within the Kingdom of Gawed such as the great lords, being both legally binding and strictly followed. As such there is a high bar for an oath to be considered ‘true’ and therefore enforceable, they must be: Sworn in person and with a neutral witness. Sworn by someone usually over the age of 16. And oath-swearers must neither have their wits compromised nor be forced into a position where their oaths are coerced.
An example of an oath being important to the legal system is the Gawedi kings, who, when crowned, swear a series of oaths. First to their great lords and minor lords, swearing they will honor their service and uphold their privileges and positions. Next to the Gawedi people, swearing they will be just and protect them from outside threats. Finally the king swears an oath to his predecessors and to Godrac, taking up the role of Gawed’s king and protector, to guide their people and lords to prosperity and security.
Bastardy is a concept heavily influenced by the Gawedi fixation of oaths. A bastard is considered less taboo if born before their parents were married, as no oath was broken. They would still not take their father’s last name or be able to inherit, but their parents would be obligated to take care of and raise them. However if the bastard is born from adultery, then it is considered one of the greatest sins one could commit, a violation of an incredibly important oath to their spouse, and as such the parents are likely ostracized from the community and exiled, while the child either sent with them, or live with relatives who are in the community.
Religion[]
Religiously, the Gawedi favour the gods of Nerat and Falah, and Ara as a minority. Later, Corin became a vastly popular deity though largely in the countryside, which split the peoples with the urbane Alen river-dwellers following Regent Court and the countryside Corin. Nerat is favoured by the Gawedi as a god of judgement and laws, leading to a common Gawedi saying: “Death holds every oath to question.” Often, they will have wooden carvings of the gods and avatars within their temples. In the later centuries, urban areas would adopt Ravelianism, though would still venerate Saint Corin and keep iconography of her within their homes and churches.
One common religious tradition is the usage of crypts in Gaweton for the kings of Gawed, where Gawedi kings are all buried in a royal crypt, away from their family. This is seen as both a burden and a privilege, and has also led to the Neratic ceremony where every five years, the king of Gawed and the court would walk through the royal crypt with priests of Nerat. The king would then give speeches about the kings before them, or at least the legendary kings such as Godrac the Invader, Ulric the Eagle, or Welyam III the Young Eagle, in a tradition that was meant to foster a sense of legitimacy.