(urth) Calde of the Long Sun and Learning to Read Wolfe

[Paul B]

A "calde" is a mayor if etymology and the things we see Caldes do have
anything to say about it.  The word, like "ayuntamiento" and "juzgado" has
Spanish roots in "alcalde" which means "mayor", which itself comes from the
Arabic "al-quadi", "the judge".  There is no theocratic component to it,
which is fitting since neither Silk's predecessor nor successor (a teeny
spoiler from RttW) are religious authorities.
Keep in mind that Viron is one city among many, so terms like Pope and
Emperor are right out.

Paul

On Wed, Jan 14, 2009 at 12:04 PM, Son of Witz <sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org>wrote:

> Just finished Calde of the Long Sun.
> what a read!
> I haven't searched the list yet, in order to avoid spoilers,but I can't
> find anything to define "Calde".
> I'm not clear if Calde is a higher office than Prolocutor.
> Obviously it's the theocratic civil ruler, but I'm not clear on the
> hierarchy.
> Is Calde like a Bishop/Mayor or a Pope/Emperor?  the book doesn't exactly
> make it clear.  The fact that it's specific to Viron makes me think it's
> like a Bishop/Mayor role, and that the Prolocutor is the equivalent to a
> Pope for the whole whorl.
> any help?
>
> thanks
> ~witz
>
>
>
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