History, Request, Poll.

[tatooine.livejournal.com]

I've been gnawing a little on Geass's AU history, and the biggest problem I've hit is the defeat of the Romans -- probably the greatest moment of divergence from, well, the real world. Working with verity_isle's translation here, the date of that invasion is the date of the founding of the Britannian monarchy and the a.t.b. calendar (2017 years before Geass). Thing is, that invasion (Caesar's, as per the DVD extra) took place in 55 BCE, placing Geass in 2017 - 55 = ... the 1960's. While I can see how this explains Euphie's hippie skirt in episode five, I was wondering if the comm had any other ideas (ie "they probably meant one of the first century invasions").

I'm also looking to collect tidbits about historical and scientific differences -- er, stuff like "Elizabeth I had a child" (what was his name? I know someone mentioned it somewhere) and "they don't have internal combustion." So this post is also sort of a request for interviews/world-builder factoids stashed across the 'net. ♥

[Poll #964598]

EDIT: Oh, also. The "Holy" part of "Holy Britannian Empire" -- Christianity? Celtic traditions? Ego trip? World of C?

Comments

[thomasvye.livejournal.com]

Maybe the 'Holy' part of the Britannian Empire comes from the tradition of Absolutist Monarchy, whereby the ruler claims his authority directly from God and is King/Emperor by the grace of God with no higher authority than he (as he is God's direct representative).

Absolutism was a popular political theory written on at length by Elizabeth I's successor James I, and it reached it's reached it's most well known expression in the 17th century in the courts of monarchs such as Louis XIV (known as an Enlightended Despot).

However, many rulers throughout many cultures in all periods of history have claimed that they rule because they are God's chosen representative, or because they are themselves Gods or are the descendants of Gods. Japan's Emperors have been no exception to this rule. Roman Emperors, for example, might undergo apotheosis, whereby they would be elevated to the status of a divinity when they died to reinforce the power of the Imperial office.

However, I don't think the Britannian Emperor has actually claimed to *be* a God. ^-^ The show isn't specific about the nature of Britannian religion and the presence of the Church (if Britannia even has an organised Church) is pretty much conspicuous by it's absence from the story.

[nayami.livejournal.com]

I think the Emperor is after some divine right there since Geass is supposed to be the power of the king. I also don't think that one has to believe he is a god to claim divine right. The Emperor's whole speech about the strong prevailing over the weak speaks directly to the concept of divine right. You survive because you were made to be the chosen ones.

[thomasvye.livejournal.com]

Oh no; Absolute Monarchs did not claim to *be* Gods; just his direct representative on Earth.

[meitsu.livejournal.com]

if he's the pope, then yes, though it's amazing that there hasn't been a successful coup (violent or nonviolent) against that authority, seeing as how the King is still the pope in Britannia, the kings must have been like, really good at controlling their empires, or something =\

[thomasvye.livejournal.com]

It's true that the absence of any kind of apparent Church in Britannia is interesting. However, Britain herself rejected the authority of Rome in the reign of Henry VIII (politically) and in the reign of his daughter Elizabeth (religiously).

Politically, the figure of the Pope has often become problematic; what King wants the authority of his office divided, with his people splitting their loyalty between him and the Church (with the Church likely to win in a conflict, since it is responsible for Man's eternal soul)?

[meitsu.livejournal.com]

well, the King of Britannia is also the Pope, so that's settled in Geass world. WHat I'm surprised of, is that for 2000 years, the king remained as the pope? maybe not as long, but still, that's pretty amazing that this role wasn't overthrown.