Oral Histories from Whiterun Hold

In my travels across Skyrim I have met many of the native Nords, many of whom with a deep knowledge of their history, who have helped me in my studies of their traditions and subcultures. When I remarked on this, one of my sources gave me a quizzical look and noted, "A Nord who does not know his people's history, is barely a Nord at all." It would appear that Nords take the view that their history and cultural identity are one and the same, with the present generation as active participants of a living tradition being handed down to their own descendants. As the people who spawned the great and ever-growing Skaldic Edda, this is hardly surprising.

My source further mentioned that every Nordic child is taught their history from an early age, typically by a clan-elder or similar figure. Especially in rural and traditional communities, Cyrodisized schools and text-based learning is not available, and most teaching is done through carefully preserved oral recitations. While these oral histories are often highly mythological, they play a massive role in the Nordic cultural identity, and often have a kernel of historical truth behind the layers of symbolism. I had the good fortune to record one of these recitations in the longhouse of Clan Swift-Falcon, one of the last great clan-houses in Whiterun hold. It is a series of set, proscribed phrases, a conversation between "Utibe-ljos" and "Heilja-ljos", Nordic terms of endearment literally translating to "Branch-light" and "Hearth-light". A transcription I found in Whiterun's Library recorded a similar session in the early 3rd Era, and there has been remarkably little drift over the centuries. -Caoran Fiascian, U. Gwylim

Utibe-ljos- "Heilja-Ljos, Heilja-Ljos, where do the people come from?

Heilja-ljos- "From the Snow-Throat, little one, from the Mother Wind. There Kyne breathed us into the world, before we even knew we were Nords. So it was, Utibe-ljos"

U- "Heilja-ljos, Heilja-ljos, why is our banner the Horse?"

H- "Because, little one, because of our founding. When Jeek River-king, father of our halls, and his companions came to Valtheim, they could sail no further in their great ship, Jorrvaskr. So he made an offering to Kyne-in-the-river, of troll fat and cut logs, and made it sacred with sweat from his own brow. River-mother saw this, and smiled, and whispered together fifteen great white horses from the foam of the falls, and with them, Jeek hauled his ship up the slope and all the way to where it sits today. So it was, Utibe-ljos." See note below

U- "Heilja-ljos, Heilja-ljos, where does the Tor come from?" (This appears to be the hill on which Whiterun's citadel is located)

H- "From the Dawn, little one, from the Dawn. Great Tsun Sheild-thane went to forge a spear for his King, a spear like no other. So mighty was it to be, little one, so mighty, he shouted a chasm in the earth and called forth its fire for a furnace. Plunging the metal in, he drove up the earth in a mound, and when he withdrew the metal to hammer it, it took all the mountains fire with it. He shaped his forge to honor the Storm-Mother, and she approving, filled its heart with her tears, which even today spring up from it. So it was, Utibe-ljos."

U- "Heilja-ljos, Heilja-ljos, what happened to the spear?"

H- "Alas, little one, betrayal. The elven giants stole it from Tsun, and cast away our King's heart on it, so he could never find it. So it was, Utibe-ljos."

Note-Some of the oldest records in Whiterun's Library mention 15 clans dating back from the hold's founding. Many are now extinct or have migrated elsewhere, but all claim descent from a member of the crew of the Jorrvaskr, great ship-turned-hall of the Companions. Often such claims prove mostly mythical, but many of these seem to have at least a base in historical fact. However, in the case of Whiterun's sigil, records from the late-mid First Era indicate one of the semi-nomadic western clans, from whom the hold's reputation for spectacular light-cavalry descends, seized control of the capital and established a ruling dynasty which has survived, through various branches, to today.