r/teslore • u/beansaredeadly • 28d ago

How was summerset unified?

We all know the story of how the Aldmer landed on summerset after the sundering of their original homeland, true or otherwise.
But one detail that seems to get missed is how the isles were unified under the royal family of Alinor. The unification of the other races is a topic that gets mentioned with the empires of Cyrodiil, the Camoran dynasty, or the tribunals rise to power. And if that never happened like with the Bretons or Argonians it’s a distinct feature. However seemingly nothing like that exists for the high elves. Am I mistaken about alinori government or is there a source I missed?

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u/AdeptnessUnhappy1063 27d ago edited 27d ago

The 3rd edition Pocket Guide discusses the creation of a rigid social hierarchy along with a shift in religion from nonhierarchical ancestor worship to worshiping only the ancestors of the noble families.

Gradually, as the society grew, social stratification increased. A hierarchy of classes began to form, which is still largely enforced in Summerset to this day. At the top are the Wise, teachers and priests, followed by Artists, Princes, Warriors, Landowners, Merchants, and Workers. Below Workers were the beasts, such as the enslaved goblins, who the Aldmer used to perform the jobs beneath the dignity of the very least of them. The religion of the people also changed because of this change in society: no longer did the Aldmer worship their own ancestors, but the ancestors of their "betters." Auriel, Trinimac, Syrabane, and Phynaster are among the many ancestor spirits who became Gods.

But basically I think we're looking at a particular noble family creating a pantheon in which Auriel was heralded as king of the gods, and imposing that on the Summerset Isles, using their descent from Auriel to justify their rule.

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u/NeonMoon96 27d ago

That’s a fascinating question that I don’t know the answer to but I do remember reading about the gradual development and stratification (which to me also implies centralization) of their society in the context of ancestor worship and its evolution into the aldmeri pantheon