Migration of Majority-Hyur Population based on Cultural Schemes

[Aethornes]

I noticed that while Aldenard is a melting pot- there are hints and implications from the cultures of Eorzea of where their naming schemes and culture came from. I only mapped out what I believe to be is the bulk of the Hyur migration to Eorzea which consists of the briton, franco, germanic, scandinavian, and a lesser bit of the greek inspired cultural trends and naming schemes.

Blue: Briton, Franco, Germanic, Scandinavian inspired cultural migration (Explains french inspiration of Ishgard and a smaller inspiration of french in Ul'Dah with paladins and fleur-de-lis armor. However, also explains the english and germanic/scandinavians names for plenty of Midlanders and Highlanders.)

Cyan: A small migration or influence of Sharlayan (Greek) on Eorzea

If this proves accurate- an expansion within western Ilsabard may see a heavy western European theme, one similar to Ishgard but with likely heavier influence of west Europe generally. It is key to note but- western Ilsabard has very little info available to us, but very obviously is where the dominant Hyur cultures of Eorzea came from. It is an integral part of the world, as the unveiling of western Ilsabard will very likely explain where a bulk of Hyur of Eorzea originated.

[AlecIzaRogue]

I noticed with Werlyt it was giving a southern mediterranean vibes and Corvos having the latin name Locus Amoenus

[Cleretic]

I noticed with Werlyt it was giving a southern mediterranean vibes and Corvos having the latin name Locus Amoenus

Locus Amoenus is a Latin name because the Garleans colonized and renamed it, and Garleans use Latin names.

[MikkoAkure]

While many Hyur in both Eorzea and Ilsabard have the standard English/Germanic names, I don't believe your theory is true and I don't think anything here is obvious. The situation with the Hyur is really messy.

For starters, there are Hyur here in Eorzea who are descended from Eorzean Hyur from a previous age, not migrations of Ilsabardians. Despite being the nation in Eorzea closest to Ilsabard, Ala Mhigan Highlanders have no stated Ilsabardian ancestry and are instead said to be descended from the Hyur of the Eorzean city-states of Mhach and Amdapor. While they have Germanic names, their aesthetic and cultural/historical background seems to be taken from the Ottoman Empire. And their accents are from the North of England.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Ghimlyt Dark in Western Ilsabard, Terncliff, the only part of Western Ilsabard we actually get to visit, has Greek looking architecture despite the people of Werlyt having English names.

On the topic of Greece, I would not consider Sharlayan to be Greek. The Hyur native to there have English names and exactly like the Ala Mhigans, they are descended from 6th era Eorzeans. Their first leader and founder came from Aerslaent which is the Scandinavian land that's nearby. And while a lot of Sharlayan terms are a mix of both Greek and Latin, this seems to be more to inform the player about the nation's "wisdom" than anything actually lore related. I would say the Ancients more fully represent Greece than Sharlayan does. It could also be argued in-universe that Sharlayan's use of Greek and Latin terms comes from their study of the Allagan Empire which also used Greek and Latin and likely got that from the Ancients before them via the Ascians.

Another thing to remember is that there have been multiple calamities and waves of people coming and going so cultural influences would be all over the place. Gridanian Hyur have names from across the Isle of Britain but the Padjal who are originally Hyur use Ainu language and names, as do their old, influential Gridanian Hyur families and spots in Gelmorra.


Point that I'm trying to get across is: the names of this game, especially in the older zones, do not make a lick of sense, seemingly aren't meant to make a lick of sense, and are likely a relic of the game and setting being a lot smaller than it is now and less attached to fully committing to copy-pasting real world civilizations into the game fully intact. I don't think that Eorzean Hyur names will help inform us of any themes or aesthetics in Ilsabard since Hyur names were all over the place in Eorzea in ages previous to this as well and names don't necessarily connect with real-world countries in this game. See my example above about Ala Mhigo.

On top of all that, there's a friggin city in Ilsabard called Mannatheihwo. Good luck if you can connect that to any Western European culture. Gods know where Matsuno pulled that from.

[Aethornes]

I understand the point being made- However, I do believe that there are clues none the less that point to Ilsabard very clearly being a 'Europe' counterpart. I am aware there were Hyur of ages past- but to disregard any notion that the Hyur of modern Eorzea had no other prior ancestry may be rigid. I believe the claims or at least the very concept has merit, and we can only see with due time. Of course, fantasy is 'messy' but there are trends none the less of the world, which we can hypothesize about.

[Aethornes]

Furthermore to add on, the Eorzea Encyclopedia does clearly state as well that Hyur quite literally did come from the northeast of Ilsabard, originally.

[MikkoAkure]

Furthermore to add on, the Eorzea Encyclopedia does clearly state as well that Hyur quite literally did come from the northeast of Ilsabard, originally.

That same exact passage also says that they came from there before the First Astral Era, Eitherys' stone age, which could have been as long as 12,000 years ago. Nothing of Europe today would have any resemblance of modern Europe culturally or linguistically and would have looked completely different to the people who are "native" to those lands now. During the same time scale, people of Britain had very dark skin, black hair, and blue eyes.

While there were still heavy migrations of Hyur from Ilsabard, we already know there were Hyur still in Eorzea before that. While it could be argued Ala Mhigo's Germanic names being different from the British ones of the Midlanders is evidence of original Eorzean Hyur vs Ilsabardian migrants, the Mhachi they're descended from had Celtic names and while I can't think of any names from Amdapor, the name of the city-state itself strikes me as vaguely Indian.

Meanwhile the oldest Sharlayan families are descended from Eorzean Hyur refugees from all over during the War of the Magi and have English names just like the Gridanians. And on the flip side I got super excited to see people from fantasy Vietnam (Nagxia) after we got teased with ao dai and it turns out they're blond Europeans...


While I love delving into lore and theorizing based on what we have, the reality in FFXIV is often that new lore is just stapled on top rather than something organically developed. For example, every single last one of the Thavnairans we met throughout the whole game until Endwalker were Hyur (Nanaa's family migrated there from elsewhere when she was young), but Endwalker suddenly hit us with "well actually, Hyur only make up 50% of the population and the rest are Au Ra or Matanga and we have no explanation to you why you haven't seen any or heard about that before this".

[Aethornes]

Okay, but that is comparing evolution or the way culture develops 1:1 with the modern world. It has clearly not developed within that exact fashion. Point being made is: yes the lore and world is 'messy' and new lore is stapled on- but that is part of the fun to me. Perhaps we never saw the rest of the Thavnairan races for certain reasons that we do not know, but we can theorize. Granted, yes, we cannot know for sure. However, in regard to Nagxia- I feel colors on characters are often used a lot more loosely by the Japanese than the west, so- white blonde Nagxian. However, the cultural representation is there regardless, which is great to see.

I agree to disagree though, but I see where you come from. It is 'messy' for lack of a better word. It is not always interpreted the exact same by everyone, which is fine. It is a game, and we are free to theorize or apply our own standards or concepts.

However, last note I would like to point out is that the book and similar passages refer to Eorzea as a world (the Eorzea which they came to pre First Astral Era), rather than the singled out Aldenard. It can be argued they were referring to Eorzea as a continent though, but I personally do not see that.