Lore talk:Altmer

2010-09-12T01:46:39Z

125.237.209.205: /* Real life basis */

==Lifespan==

Does anyone know the average lifespan of the mer?
: I can't find anything definite but [http://www.imperial-library.info/pge3/summerset.shtml this article] on TIL implies lifespans of at least hundreds of years. That article has the quote "Over the past thousand years, only seventeen new initiates were brought into the [Psijic] order. In the past two years, however, another thirty have joined." If only seventeen joined in a thousand years, there wouldn't be much to join if they didn't live a long time. --[[User:Rpeh|Rpeh]][[User_Talk:Rpeh|Talk]] 03:24, 3 October 2007 (EDT)
::[[Morrowind:Divayth Fyr|Divayth Fyr]] claims to have lived for thousands of years, though he is described by others as one of the oldest mortals in Tamriel. --[[User:TheRealLurlock|TheRealLurlock]] [[User_talk:TheRealLurlock|Talk]] 09:35, 3 October 2007 (EDT)
::[[Lore:The Real Barenziah, v 2|The Real Barenziah, v 2]] mentions that "the gods granted elves thousand-year lifespans." [[User:Twentyfists|Twentyfists]] 21:46, 23 January 2008 (EST)

In my reading's Altmer can live up to 300 years. [[User:Lillia|Lillia]] 08:15, 20 August 2010 (UTC)
== origin of Mer names ==

Can someone add to the article that 'alt' is German for old, and in the Bosmer article that 'bos' is Dutch for forrest

Dun(from Dunmer) is Dutch for thin, but i dont think that has anything to do with the Dark Elves {{unsigned|81.206.147.51}}

:If you had a reference to an interview or other source where a developer stated that these languages were the sources of the various prefixes, then the information would be relevant and it should be added to the article. But otherwise, it seems like unsupported speculation. In particular, the fact that "alt" is a German word meaning "old" seems to me to be coincidence rather than intentional. Given that the common name for Altmer is "High Elf" it would seem far more likely that the derivation is Latin, since "altus" in Latin means "high." --[[User:Nephele|Nephele]][[User_talk:Nephele|Talk]] 01:44, 22 January 2008 (EST)
::Hooray for Latin! [[User:Twentyfists|Twentyfists]] 21:40, 23 January 2008 (EST)
:::Additionally, "bos" is similar to "bois", which is the French word for "wood". Since French is derived from Latin, I'd say that's probably where that comes from. The Dutch word is a possible cognate or borrowed word, but I'd say the Latin has more credence. (Much of the ancient language in these games seems to have Latin influences.) --[[User:TheRealLurlock|TheRealLurlock]] [[User_talk:TheRealLurlock|Talk]] 23:35, 23 January 2008 (EST)

== Bethesda's vision problems ==
Bethesda did label that picture as male? On the codex or somewhere?[[User:Temple-Zero|Temple-Zero]] 16:05, 5 September 2008 (EDT)

:why is that so hard to believe? he's just wearing a robe, and has his hair up.--[[User:GUM!!!|GUM!!!]] 11:56, 20 August 2010 (UTC)

== Real life basis ==

I was thinking about the Altmeri caste system earlier, and it got me thinking as to how similar they are to the aryan peoples. By this of course I mean Indo-Iranians. Indo-Iranians bought their language and culture to the Middle East (like the Altmer to Tamriel), and in particular their ''caste system'' to India. This caste system is actually fairly similar to the Altmeri one. The Aryans had a profound effect on history, with the various Persian empires, for example the Sassanids, being descended from them. Sound familiar?

Additionally, the Aldmer, which we can assume to be similar to the Altmer due to lore sources, spread throughout Tamriel and divided into races. This can be seen in the Indo-Iranians clearly, as they have dispersed into numerous ethnic groups. This could be extended to early Indo-Europeans, and shows the extent of the genetic influence.

Another point to make is that propagandist Imperial sources accused the Altmer of eugenics, killing infants for racial impurity. This echoes the common misuse of the term Aryan that was used by the Nazis. Any thoughts? [[User:Corvus|Corvus]] 10:24, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

: As GK has already indicated, this is irrelevant speculation. If you want to continue, please do so on a forum - not here. [[User:Rpeh|rpeh]] •[[User_Talk:Rpeh|T]]•[[Special:Contributions/Rpeh|C]]•[[Special:Emailuser/Rpeh|E]]• 12:18, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
:: It's similar to the Bretons being based on the French etc, if there is evidence then it is trivia that people may be interested to know [[User:Corvus|Corvus]] 14:48, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

::: The equation of Nord/Norse; Imperial/Roman; Breton/French is well-established with dozens of similarities to back up the statement. This is pure speculation based on selective sampling of coincidences. [[User:Rpeh|rpeh]] •[[User_Talk:Rpeh|T]]•[[Special:Contributions/Rpeh|C]]•[[Special:Emailuser/Rpeh|E]]• 15:46, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
:::: Not really that selective, there are always going to be similarities and differences. Take the Bretons- French name British accent. I don't see the opposition to this really, there seems to be a link. When I have more time I intend to delve into Altmeri lore a bit more [[User:Corvus|Corvus]] 15:51, 30 June 2010 (UTC)

: Two great nations sir. The Imperials and the Altmer. Like the Romans and the Greeks. The Imperials are the Romans - power, armies, strength. The Altmer are the Greeks - ideas, civilisation, intellect. Between them they shall rule the world - David Hare

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Lore talk:Altmer