Hello all,
(Back after about a year's absence from the list).
Two brief speculations on the history of the guild of torturers:
1) The tradition that masters of the guild wear a cloak but no shirt comes from Severian's imprisonment in the time of Typhon's reign, when he wore only the officer's cape. Having Severian be a founder of his own guild would be the sort of irony that is common in UotNs.
2) Severian, remembering his time in the classroom of Master Malrubius, quotes Malrubius as speaking about Severian's diligence, and trailing off with, "There was a boy..." Is it generally accepted that he was speaking of Palaemon (before his exile)?
Christopher Culver <new_sun at hotmail.com>