Hints about Conciliator from volume names

Just a thought about how the titles of tBotNS volumes might imply that Severian is the Conciliator. Now, it is obvious that Severian is a torturer, a lictor and an autarch - each of which appears as the second noun of the title on one of the volumes. So, this might suggest that this is part of the title format. But, in this case, Claw doesn't fit. However, if Severian is the Conciliator, then there is a consistent pattern of titles. Furthermore, it might mean he always has been the Conciliator (since he performs the functions of the title in the other books, but is no more the Conciliator in Claw than anywhere else before Urth)

Brilliant! (And though it's not relevant to your broader point, the pattern continues in Urth; Severian is the New Sun too. And there's a pattern to the first parts of the titles: in the first book it's something completely insubstantial, and in the succeeding books they're larger and larger objects.) So I was wrong: in retrospect there are clearly clues in BotNS that Severian is the Conciliator. I still suspect, though, that these clues would not have been picked up for what they are in retrospect had Urth not appeared. In BotNS there is always a distinction made between the Conciliator, who will be the New Sun, and Severian who will bring the New Sun. Before Urth these two functions don't even appear compatible; what sense could we make from BotNS alone of the idea of Severian undergoing a trial to determine whether he was the Conciliator? And these considerations are even more applicable to the more ambiguous clues cited by Dave and by Don Parmenter. But here we're faced with the impossible task of determining how the discussion of BotNS would have developed after fifteen years if Urth had never appeared. --Adam

Just to throw my two cents in on this one, I think that clues are strewn about TBOTNS for all of the major revelations of UOTNS. While I can't offer proof for any particular case, I can say that I did not read UOTNS for some months after completing the tetralogy, and I went into Urth assuming, among other things, that Severian was in fact the Conciliator. The most obvious clue to this--as has already been noted--is the title of the second book. In Castle of the Otter (p. 297 of Castle of Days) discussing contract negotiations for The Book, Wolfe says: "I responded with [snip] the suggestion that the word title be struck from a list of things to be controlled by the publisher." It is obvious that the titles held some meaning greater than just using big words and sounding good. The symmetry of the titles is consistent throughout the series, not only in the four individual volumes, but also in the title of the tetralogy (it is, after all, Severian's Book), and also in Urth of the New Sun As for clues to other revelations made in URTH, I'm sure they are there even if I can't find any at the moment. But considering all the detective work this group has done, it seems like a worthy case to delve into. Jason Voegele

I think the wine in the water ewer, which is repeatedly mentioned in UotNS, is a good clue that Sev is the Conciliator. He returns to the same town, Saltus, as Conciliator. My first post! marc

id XAA17212 for urth-errors at lists.best.com; Tue, 23 Jun 1998 23:01:18 -0700 (PDT)

I'm new to the list and this is my first message. It was pretty clear to about halfway through the BotNS that Severian was the Conciliator. It's just seems eminently obvious.

In what sense? Did you feel Severian was, unknown to himself, the "reincarnation" of the Conciliator, or did you guess that he would end up time travelling and becoming the Conciliator, or did you imagine it some other way? -Rostrum