Lore talk:Dunmer

The UESPWiki – Your source for The Elder Scrolls since 1995

Contents 1 Dunmer appearance 2 Dunmer skin 3 Dunmer names? 4 Assyrian and Ashlanders

[edit] Dunmer appearance

With Dagoth Ur defeated at the Red mountain, wouldn't Dunmer return to their previous… eh… shape and appearance? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Never (talk • contribs).

A year too late, but regardless… why would they? They were cursed for letting it happen, I doubt Azura would want them to ever forget it. --59.100.47.179 18:32, 12 March 2007 (EDT)

There is also a document, or dialogue I don't remember which, where an Imperial scholar argues that the cause of Dunmer appearance is actually scientific - their eyes are agitated from the ash, and it's simply caked into their skin along with increased melanin levels. Shouldn't this be noted in the section?

Or did the Dunmer change to fit their gods, the Tribunal, as the Orcs changed in order to follow Malacath? Nothing is concrete about this topic.Temple-Zero 14:05, 19 October 2008 (EDT)

SPOILER: In her speech at the end of Morrowind END OF SPOILER Azura looks a lot like the Dunmer. She was probably trying to bring them closer to her instead of the Tribunal - it's as political as it is vengeful.

[edit] Dunmer skin

I have done extensive gathering, and have found that dunmer may also have green and purple skin. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.169.205.70 (talk • contribs).

[edit] Dunmer names?

what is the dunmer naming system, and what would be some common names, and do these names mean anything? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.183.127.178 (talk • contribs).

You can find some common Dunmer names here. --Michaeldsuarez ^{(Talk)/(Contribs)} 07:01, 13 April 2008 (EDT)

[edit] Assyrian and Ashlanders

Actually, there is some cause to believe that the Ashlander Dunmer names tend to be based on Assyrian names. This does not apply to all Dunmer, however. But if you look at the typical Ashlander names (as well as those of Daedric shrines, which are presumably Ashlander in origin), you'll see a lot of similiarities between them and Assyrian. Most notable is the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. "Ashur" appears frequently in Ashlander names, as does the "nipal" suffix. Now, none of the Ashlander names are directly taken from Assyrian ones that I can see, but they're clearly inspired by them at least.

And just to lend an air of semi-authority to this theory, it just so happens that my father is one of the few people who is an expert on the Assyrian language, and after I showed him a list of Ashlander names, he agreed with me - though he was upset that the names didn't mean anything, like somebody just ripped part of one Assyrian word and slapped onto part of another with no regard to their actual meaning, which is quite likely what happened. --TheRealLurlock ^Talk 13:31, 6 January 2009 (EST)

There's no denying that the names are strikingly similar. The names of Daedra ruins in particular are like Babylonian (not just Assyrian) place names. But I generally frown on real world comparisons in lore articles. Most run the gambit between obvious and drawn-out to unhelpful (a paragraph on how Nords are Vikings?), and I am kind of zealous about them. At least the style guide is on my side in this case, even if lore article rarely conform to an in-world POV. In this case, it is an interesting tidbit regarding a race that has no obvious real-world analogue, so perhaps a more specific note about the similarity of names would be helpful. But mention the names, rather than extrapolating it to whatever language the ashlanders speak- we don't know how many languages there are and who did in fact name ruins and people. Americans use hebrew names after all. Dunmer language is not based on Assyrian because almost nothing Dunmer language was never created in-game.Temple-Zero 15:50, 6 January 2009 (EST)

I think there's truth on both sides here. It looks to me like someone at Bethesda spotted the "Ash" prefix and decided to have some fun. That means I can agree with Lurlock that the Ashlander names are similar to Assyrian names, but I can also agree with Temple-Zero that spurious connections between Mundus and Milky Way should be purged. I think the best solution may be to include the information as a noincluded footnote. That way, the site gets the benefit of the information without it being too prominent. –Rpeh^{•T•C•E•} 16:24, 6 January 2009 (EST)

I'd say that maybe in this case, the information could be included on Ashlanders rather than here, because as I pointed out, it does not seem to apply to most Dunmer, only the Ashlanders. (For instance, no Dunmer names in Oblivion seem to be of this style. Presumably, it would be unlikely to encounter an Ashlander outside of Morrowind, or even outside of Vvardenfell.) --TheRealLurlock ^Talk 16:51, 6 January 2009 (EST)