Heraldry depicting the Holy Grail of the Lady of the Lake sacred to Bretonnians.
Bretonnian, also known as Breton, is the language in use in the Human nation of Bretonnia in the Old World.
Though Breton is similar in some ways to the Reikspiel spoken in the Empire, suggesting some common, albeit ancient, heritage, it is a wholly distinct language of its own. Certainly, the Bretons have borrowed words from their Imperial neighbours and vice versa, but Breton has evolved in different fashion, making communication between these people challenging. This has led to bigotry, and exaggerated parodies of the Imperial speech are often used when being rude about merchants.[1a]
Whilst communication between speakers of Bretonnian and speakers of Reikspiel is generally possible, there are a number of potential pitfalls. Two in particular stand out. First, the Bretonnian vocabulary for food and drink is much richer than in Reikspiel and different even when they overlap. There are a number of Bretonnian dishes that do not even have names in Reikspiel. This makes ordering a meal difficult and finding out what you have been served even harder. A number of Imperial travellers make it a rule not to eat anything that the chef cannot name in Reikspiel. (And sometimes not even then.)[1a]
Second, in spoken Bretonnian there is a very strong tendency to use the future tense for talking about the past. This is rather casual and a bit lower class, but members of the nobility also do it among friends. Scholars tend to avoid it, and writing in this form is a sign of ignorance. Thus, a Bretonnian talking about an accident the previous day might say:
“Well, the ostler, right, he’ll tell the horse to stop, but the horse, he won’t listen, and he’ll charge straight out of the gate. What do you think? The maid’ll be just coming out of the door, and the horse will go and hit her. She’ll break her arm in three places, and she won’t be back at work for months. What’ll I do?”[1a]
Of course, the last two occurrences of the future tense are actually future, but they don’t sound any different. This habit often leaves foreigners utterly confused.[1b]
The Bretonnian dialect of Old Worlder has many similarities with that of south-western Albion, although Bretonnians are notorious for their inability to pronounce "th" which usually becomes "z". The inltial "h" is invariably dropped by native speakers, while "r" is always rolled at the back of the throat.[5a]
Common Female Names[]
- Armengild[1c]
- Bertha[1c]
- Chrodegard[1c]
- Dhuoda[1c]
- Eleanor[1c]
- Hrotswitha[1c]
- Heloise[1c]
- Isabel[1c]
- Isolde[1c]
- Lisseut[1c]
- Marie[1c]
- Mathilde[1c]
- Nimugild[1c]
- Perlesault[1c]
- Rhadegund[1c]
- Rumengild[1c]
- Sirisgard[1c]
- Sonengund[1c]
- Vermengard[1c]
- Walswitha[1c]
Common Male Names[]
- Aiden[1c]
- Aigulf[1c]
- Bertelis[1c]
- Carloman[1c]
- Chrodegang[1c]
- Ferragus[1c]
- Hrodbert[1c]
- Jacen[1c]
- Louis[1c]
- Merovech[1c]
- Odo[1c]
- Orderic[1c]
- Panteleon[1c]
- Piers[1c]
- Redemund[1c]
- Roland[1c]
- Suidbert[1c]
- Theudis[1c]
- Waldon[1c]
- Yonec[1c]
Lexicon[]
F[]
- Feuille Sorceiere – The Bretonnian name of Mage-Leaf, an herb used by the spellcasters to regain magical power.[4a]
R[]
S[]
- Souriscarle - Plague Priest[2a]
Trivia[]
The Bretonnian language is based on real-world French, and Bretonnians typically speak in French-accented English.
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Knights of the Grail (RPG)
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Children of the Horned Rat (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 10
- 3: End Times: Nagash
- 3a: pg. 37-39
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Apocrypha Two-Chart of Darkness (RPG)
- 4a: pg. 80
- 5: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st Edition: Core Rulebook (RPG)
- 5a: pg. 275