Notes on the Nordic Clan System

In sharp contrast to neighboring Morrowind's rigidly defined system of five Great Houses, Skyrim is home to a great many clans, large and small. The clan has been and remains a defining aspect of life in Skyrim; while the era of migration and change fostered by the Septim Empire certainly lessened their traditional power, almost every Nord still identifies with a clan from which they descend. As with many Nord traditions, the rules these clans operate by vary wildly, though while they demonstrate the stereotypical Nordic defiance in the face of classification, enough is held in common to derive an understanding.

Families, Clans, and Nations

While we in the south may think of our northern cousins as a homogenous whole, the truth is far more complicated. A wave of pan-Nordic identity seems to have risen in opposition to the reign of Potema Wolf-Queen in the mid 3rd Era, and shared cultural "Nord-ness" has certainly existed since at least the Merethic, but society in Skyrim can be broken down into roughly three levels of varying allied or feuding sub-societies. The smallest and most basic level is the immediate family; children, parents, and their immediate ancestors, called the Kiin.

Above that is the clan, also called the Brod, a larger network of cousins and relations sharing descent from an often mythical ancestor. Traditionally, each clan is based out of a large, shared house called the clanhall or clanhouse, which houses the wealth of the clan, its' records and artifacts, and operates as the seat of the chieftain. In the case of the larger clans, the hall might only be the actual home of the chief and his or her Kiin. However, as power has become more centralized in the Jarls, many great clanhouses are disappearing; in the urban areas of Solitude and Whiterun this is especially noticable.

The succession of chieftains is very loosely defined; tradition seems to hold that the eldest child of the previous chief takes the mantle, but this is often not the case, and it is not seen as a guaranteed birthright. Often, the chieftain appoints a erfingyi to act as assistant leader, trained to succeed them on their passing.

Contrary to common misconception, not all families within a clan necessarily share lineal descent with the chief, especially in the case of the largest clans. Peasant families in areas long controlled by a clan are largely considered to be of that clan, and support the chiefly Kiin in return for protection and a sense of shared identity. Families and individuals may also be adopted into a clan, and warriors in service to a clanhall chieftain often take the clan's name as a show of solidarity. While the clan may claim common descent from an ancient ancestor, it is acknowledged that proving this descent is restrictive, and as such the clan operates more as a social support network.

Above the clan sits the Reyliik, often termed the People or Nation. These are largely irrelevant in the modern era, but exist as larger sub-ethnicities for the Nordic people, composed of a number of clans with a shared history and territory. They descend from the various petty kingdoms of Skyrim's distant past, and still map fairly well to the current Jarl-ruled Holds. The Whitrungyar have ruled the plains of Whiterun since the Merethic, the Hjaalmannar dwell in the swamps and hills of Hjaalmarch, and the Nordurvolk cover the northeastern Holds, the core territory of the original High-Kingdom of Skyrim.

As relative newcomers to Skyrim's dominion, Nordic identity in the Reach and Falkreath has often developed in opposition to the native cultures. In the Reach this has lead to tension over the Nordic subjugation of the Daoin Riach, and Reach-Nords, the so-called Hruturmen, have developed an almost stereotypically Nordic culture in response. Falkreath has proved less problematic; while the current ruling house seized power in the succession crisis following the death of Cuhlecain, Emperor Zero, control of the region had flipped between Skyrim and Colovia for centuries, and the populace had long seen themselves as Cyro-Nordic.

A Note on Names

Visitors to Skyrim may awe at such imposing and inspiring names as "Shatter-shield" and "Battle-born", and at the similarly imposing Nord warriors that bear them. Indeed, most clan names follow the formula of aspect-noun, and typically reference an acheivement or trait of the mythical ancestor. However, the clan-name is only one of three common sources of Nordic surnames. Also popular are the patronymic and the sobriquet, "and the bloody Nords refuse to be consistent about it", as noted by Imperial Census-taker Servio Rufus.

Patronymics are common amongst Nords settled in other lands, away from the support system of the clan. Simply put, they acknowledge the Nord as the son or daughter of their parent; Haroldsen, Berinsdottir, and the like are common formats. Occasionally a patronymic becomes used as a clan name, if adopted by following generations, but these are rare.

Sobriquets are far more common, in the form of titles or nicknames. Confusingly, these often follow the same format as clan names- I spoke to Kodlak Whitemane, the young Harbinger of the Companions in Whiterun, who was named as such when his hair turned a shocking white in his youth, as well as his advisor Vignar Graymane, whose name can be found in some of Whiterun's oldest documents. Lastly, a Nord may use any and all of these surnames throughout his life, giving an added layer of challenge to enterprising historians and geneaologists across Skyrim.

-Caoran Fiascian, U. Gwilim