Senomordas ta Keinoser

From FrathWiki
Jump to: navigation, search

The Senomordas ta Keinoser, literally meaning "Chronicles of Senomordas" in Mirselec, is the oldest extant historical work in the Mirselec language. Estimated to have been written in the late 2nd century DN by Senomordas, during the period in Risevan history known as the age of the Hesgarigani states, the work is a seminal one that has had immense influence on Mirselec historiography as well as its culture and religion.

Organisation

The Senokei, as the work's title is often shortened to, is a massive work that is divided into several categories:

  • Keinoser, or Chronicles; year-by-year records of happenings around the world, including such things as wars, diplomatic changes, changes in rulers and even in appointments to the courts of rulers. This is the bulk of the work and takes up 16 volumes, spanning from semilegendary times to around 166 DN.
  • Karon ta Dinansai, or Biographies of Kings; a 9 volume compilation of biographies of ruling figures and their families.
  • Dinansai, or Biographies; a 12 volume compilation of biographies of important figures, including generals, writers, officials, advisors, and in some cases even famous performers or infamous criminals.
  • Ichomurtane, or Origins; a 6-volume work on the legendary origins of the Mirsel people; this is by far the most intriguing part of the history, as well as the one with the greatest literary value.

History of the Text

Impact and Legacy

The impact of the Senomodras ta Keinoser is profound on many levels, extending down to the script in which it was written - the compiler, coming from one of the foreign kingdoms just founded and exposed to the culture of mainland Osonde, was quick to adapt their script to writing the Mirselec language. The resulting script, which was then adapted farther and used in most literary works up to the 9th century DN, was known simply as Senotakisarimi, literally the "Pen Traces of Seno(mordas)". In highly modified form this script is the one used to write Mirselec in modern days; ironically the modern script in fact bears more resemblance to the oldest script found within these chronicles than to the later scripts of the 10th century onwards, primarily due to other outside influences complicating the latter orthographic system.