Severian's family tree

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · 25 Aug 2006, 16:38 · from 2006-August.txt.gz

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From: danldo at gmail.com (Dan'l Danehy-Oakes)
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:38:09 -0700
Subject: (urth) Severian's family tree
In-Reply-To: <001a01c6c7ff$828ceee0$533ec6d8 at rclackey.stic.net>
References: <001a01c6c7ff$828ceee0$533ec6d8 at rclackey.stic.net>
Message-ID: <1f7617370608250938y753934dame0703e641eb95bc4 at mail.gmail.com>

On 8/24/06, Roy C. Lackey <rclackey at stic.net> wrote:
> Dan'l asks:
>
> >Why do people keep referring to Severian's immediate predecessor
> >as Appian? Is there some reference I've missed? I thought Appian was
> >rather further back in the history of the Commonwealth, and that  Sev's
> >predecessor was (deliberately?) left unnamed.
>
> Appian isn't mentioned by name in NEW SUN. The name is used in the related
> short story "The Cat", in ENDANGERED SPECIES. (p.-215, paperback)

That story establishes, if I'm not mistaken, the following:

1. Odilo the Steward tells the story in the fifth year of Severian's reign.
2. Odilo is not a young man (he has known Inire for "many years").
3. Odilo's father Odilo served the Autarch Appian.

This implies to me that Appian reigned sometime within the past
sixty or seventy years. He thus _might_ have been Severian's
immediate predecessor, but against this I set Severian's mentions
of Appian in _New Sun_ proper; Severian never says anything that
can absolutely date Appian, but he speaks of him as in the past
tense, as one speaks of an honored monarch of the past.

-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes, writer, trainer, bon vivant
-----
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sturgeonslawyer
"Shovels are essential to the fantasy genre.
However, they are primarily used by the authors rather than the
characters." -- Stephen R. Donaldson

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