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unhonestlymirror · 5 months

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The Spider (павук) in Ukraine and in Belarus, or Straw Garden (šiaudų sodus) in Lithuania is an ancient pagan traditional decoration for the Christmas and other holidays, made of straw. Such "spiders" are considered talismans and symbols of the universe.

This decoration reflects pagan ideas about the creation of the world, the organization of space: a "spider" that "sweeps" the world - an image of the cosmos-universe.

According to Christian legend, the spider "founded" the entrance to the cave (according to another version around a tree), in which the Mother of God and the Child hid from Herod's soldiers, thus saving the Holy Family.

Spiders were hung in the house in the centre on a long hair from a horse's tail. Thanks to the circulation of air - through the front door and from the burning stove - the big "spider" together turned in different directions, casting whimsical shadows.

The Spider or Garden used to hang over the bed of the newlyweds on the first night because it was believed to have an influence on the growth of the family. When expecting a baby, the mother would tie a straw garden specially for the child and then hang it above the cradle, and the neighbors would bring a bird, angel, racket or small garden tied from straw, which they also used to make the little one happy. The baby used to observe these straw pendants, a mini model of the universe.

During the year, the spider "protected" the owners of the house, and all misfortunes and diseases were "entangled" in its web. Since ancient times, people valued fire as a sign of purification, so a spider that "lasted" for a whole year was necessarily burned before Christmas, and a new one was hung in its place.

In Ukraine, the Spider is nowadays called the Christmas Spider and is especially popular in the north. In Latvia, it has several names: puzurs, ķists, saulīte, lukturi, krīģi, spurguļi. In Lithuania, it has even more names: liktorius (Varėnos, Panevėžio r.); voras (Ukmergės r.); vorys arba pajonkas (Suvalkai, lenk. pająk – voras); pajokas (Kaišiadorys); žarondeliai (Ignalinos r.); reketukas (Kupiškio apylinkėse); rekėžis (Kupiškio apylinkėse); krijelis (Kupiškio apylinkėse); širšuonas (Kupiškio apylinkėse); dangus (Kupiškio apylinkėse); rojus (Kupiškio apylinkėse); karulys (Mažojoje Lietuvoje).

#which allows me to suggest the Spider is the Grand Duchy of Lithuania tradition :>#Ukraine #Lithuania #Ukrainian traditions #Lithuanian traditions #Latvia #Belarus #paganism #укртумбочка #укртамблер #украрт #art

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mapsontheweb · 5 months

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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Baltic Crusades, 14th century.

by LegendesCarto

#maps #LegendesCarto #twsourced #central europe #grand duchy of lithuania #lithuania #14th century

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copperbadge · 11 months

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A very important question about the history of Askazer-Shivadlakia has just occured to me. Have they ever found themselves at war with the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, and if so, who won? (Since I'm not allowed to post links in here, look up "The Mouse That Roared" on Wikipedia if you need context.)

I desperately want to take this ask seriously but first I have to say that all I can think about is Jerry saying scornfully, "Grand Fenwick isn't real, it's from that book," while folding his hands in his lap and looking slightly smug that he has read The Mouse That Roared. "It's not like Askazer-Shivadlakia or Ruritania."

I did look it up and the Duchy of Grand Fenwick is only three miles by five, making it as wide as Galveston Island but about one-fifth of its length (hello BOIs and IBCs). Now, when I was inventing Askazer-Shivadlakia I didn't have a super strong handle on just how small European micronations tend to be, so I actually made it kinda large. Monaco, on which it was meant to be based, is about half the size of my neighborhood in Chicago (0.78 square miles to 1.58 square miles). Askazer-Shivadlakia stretches from Menton in France to Ventimiglia in Italy along the coast, and from the Ligurian sea up the French-Italian border, tapering to a point just south of Geneva. I think it might actually be bigger than some European countries (well, bigger than Vatican City and Monaco for sure) but shh.

Wikipedia says the Duchy of Grand Fenwick lies in the Northern Alps, so I like to think they share a disputed border with Askazer-Shivadlakia and have been at war with them for centuries over it without either side ever sending an army to fight said war. Grand Fenwick says Askazer-Shivadlakia is too cowardly to invade and the Shivadh reply that they'd invade but it's so small and remote they can't find it. The actual border dispute is entirely between Francois Jones, a Shivadh dairy farmer, and John Belotti, a sheep farmer from the Duchy. The fence between these two farms demarcates the entire Fenwick-Shivadh border, and Jones and Belotti have been fighting over the ten-foot span of grazing land on said border for fifty years. If they could each raise an army they would.

At some point when he feels everyone could use a nice party or an excuse to go touring, Gregory is going to call up whoever is ruling the Duchy now (who he was definitely at school with in Switzerland) and suggest they formally broker peace and have a peace-signing treaty at a beautiful chalet-spa he knows of in the area. Make a weekend out of it, hold a parade, maybe co-sponsor some sort of feast. Gregory is a serious young man with an MBA and a high political office but he also knows what his people want, which is to be entertained and amused.

(This novel: definitely Gregory and Eddie uncovering a star-crossed romance between the children of the two farmers, who have secretly been teaching each other to spin wool and make cheese.)

Anyway once the peace treaty is signed and Gregory and Eddie return to Fons-Askaz they are greeted with a banner informing them that the people of Fons-Askaz in their absence have consulted with Prince Noah and Princeps Ioanna and declared His Majesty "King Gregory the Peaceable". Gregory immediately has a commemorative coin minted (Gregory also knows his people want to sell useless tchochkes to clueless tourists).

An unofficial side poll declared Eddie "King Theophile the Friend of Farmers" because there is not a dairy farmer in the country that Eddie hasn't bought cheese from. Eddie, on discovering this, is so touched he cries a little.

#shivadhverse #the mouse that roared #duchy of grand fenwick

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la-belle-histoire · 27 days

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Queen Victoria with her granddaughters, Princesses Irene, Victoria, Elisabeth, and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine. 1880s.

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oldschoolfrp · 1 year

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Karameikos, a major power in the Known World (Clyde Caldwell art for The Grand Duchy of Karameikos by Aaron Allston, TSR, 1987, first of the Gazetteers for BECMI D&D). The top figure most resembles the description of Aleena Halaran, a 12th level cleric of the Order of the Griffon in the Church of Karameikos. She usually is seen in brightly decorated armor, but wears Thyatian gowns to society events she attends as the niece of the Baron of Threshold.

Aleena Halaran is based on the cleric Aleena that Frank Mentzer fridged in the opening pages of his version of the Basic D&D rules (1983). Allston's Gazetteer suggests changing her name to Anielle if you consider her death in the rulebook to be canonical.

#D&D #Dungeons & Dragons #Clyde Caldwell #The Grand Duchy of Karameikos #Karameikos #fantasy #fantasy art #Aaron Allston #Known World #Mystara #dnd #BECMI #Basic D&D #Aleena #Aleena Halaran #Dungeons and Dragons #TSR

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liroyalty · 4 days

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I like to call this the Wife Catalog.

#(we got the husband catalog on my other blog. now the wife catalog over here)#musings [lore and ideas]#ann aesthetic 【in sunlight blooms the peony】#suzanne aesthetic(varies trigger warnings) 【in darkness blooms the spider lily】#lilianée de'pierrette d'amaryllis {la plus belle dauphine}#kamelya volusiarus {4th child and only daughter of flaming ignis}#fukuyama meihui; gulun princess {princess of ixora and of the first rank}#stela imanuela enache von zedessanici {1st tsarevna of zedessa}#wakamure hinta {2nd princess of vlaqinn}#priscilla silver diamonds von lytton {grand duchess of diamonds}#christine felipa clovers von lytton {grand duchess of clovers}#zatanna i. dorweal {heiress to the xu duchy}#arabella st.buckingham {illegitimate daughter of the viscount of yingling}#jennifer v'neptuna paladino {wolfen heiress of the kyren duchy}#『v!house of the dragonriders』#『v!afterlife reign』

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1-800-helltalia · 28 days

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phew

my back hurts but the boy he is finished

#first time using krita!!!#god forbid my art style stay consistent #my art #hetalia oc #hetalia #hetalia world stars #hetalia axis powers #oc: grand duchy of draostein #oc art

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teecupangel · 1 year

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An AU with King Altair, his consort Desmond, Ezio the royal guard, and Ratonhnhaké:ton the Hunt Master. In the grand hall, Altair rules over all. And behind closed doors, it's Desmond that controls the three men. (And the rumors are rampant about the royal consort sleeping with both the royal guard and huntsman behind his husbands back, when in reality, Altair is there for nearly all 'encounters'.) Basically it's a harem AU lol.

Not gonna lie, I saw “... there for nearly all ‘encounters’.” and my mind went for “Cuckling? We going for cuckling?” and I’m like “yeah, okay, I can get behind that” XD

Okay, let’s set this up…

(warning, there is hint of mpreg on this one)

Altaïr and Desmond married for political reasons due to certain complications concerning how Altaïr had succeeded to the throne.

William Miles is the head of the Grand Duchy of Miles withDesmond Miles being the oldest of his children and the only child he bore with his first wife. House Miles is one of the most prominent noble families in the kingdom, gaining more power and influence during the reign of Grand Duke William Miles as the head of House Miles. His first wife being able to trace back her ancestral line to the first rulers of their kingdom has also helped in adding more legitimacy to the possibility of the Grand Duchy being ‘worthy’ of taking the throne… in case there is a need to do such a thing.

And such a thing almost came to pass thanks to how King Altaïr had taken the throne. The previous king, King Rashid, had started to push forward concerning plans and laws that all seem to lead to one conclusion: “declaration of war to neighboring countries”.

Because of this, majority of the noble families tried to dissuade the king, many of them worried for the people while others did it because they knew the risk it possesses in their current standing in the nobility hierarchy. Rashid pushed forward with the plans, together with the support of the other noble families (either willing to go to war for greed or honor), and planned to strip those who opposed him of their noble ranks.

Including William Miles.

Now, this is where the story gets muddy.

Some would say it was Crown Prince Altaïr, grandson of King Rashid and his only remaining family, who went to William Miles, propelled by a desire to stop the war before it begins. Others would say that it was William Miles who approached the crown prince, promising him the throne if he was to side with his faction.

Those who believe the latter would also say that the main reason why the Crown Prince had sided against his own blood is that they did not actually share the same bleed.

Crown Prince Altaïr was officially the son of the late Umar, a knight from a minor house with a mysterious unknown origin, and Rashid’s daughter, the late princess. But the rumor was that the late princess had been barren and Altaïr was Umar’s son from another woman to ensure a successor.

It’s a rumor that had been gaining steam since the crown prince had shown how ‘perfect’ he is to succeed his grandfather.

Some would say ‘too perfect’… as if he was compensating for his ‘dirty blood’.

Regardless of the reason, the crown prince became the face of the noble faction against war and they were able to remove Rashid from the throne with minimal bloodshed.

The then Crown Prince Altaïr married Desmond Miles a month later.

And two weeks later, he ascended the throne as the new king.

Unorganized Notes:

A lot of people believe that Altaïr and Desmond married for political reasons. House Miles married into the royal family which means that House Miles’ influence had grown even further while Altaïr would quell any whispers of his questionable blood (which might not even be true) by marrying Desmond who has been recorded and confirmed to have royal blood thru his ancestral line.

Because of this, a lot of people liked to ‘joke’ that Desmond has all the right to have lovers on the side and, even if any children he bore are not Altaïr’s, they are still a legitimate successor since Desmond is the one with the royal blood.

House Miles would never speak of this to outsiders but Desmond had already been passed over as the next head of House Miles when he was a child because the grand duke considered him lacking in many areas and focused his attention on Desmond’s younger half-sister who showed promise, a girl William had with his second wife. (Whether this is Lucy or Layla is up to you). Desmond had been raised with the knowledge that he is nothing more than a bargaining chip to further House Miles’ influence.

Desmond’s mother isn’t dead. She and William divorced when Desmond was around 5 years old and she’s living in her family estates in the capital. Desmond would visit her every summer and that is when he and Altaïr had first met.

They’re not exactly childhood friends, they’re not even friends at all. At most, they were acquaintances who would sometimes be at the same tea party or gala or something and their eyes would just… find one another. Altaïr never knew him as a member of House Miles and Desmond isn’t stupid enough to not know he wasn’t the prince. Desmond developed a crush on him in that “he’s so far out of my league” kind of way while Altaïr… well… Altaïr wasn’t sure what he feels for Desmond was until his aide/royal guard Malik informed him that it was called ‘attraction’ while calling him an idiot.

Altaïr actually only learned that Desmond is William Miles’ son when he visited House Miles’ ancestral home to talk to the grand duke about Rashid. Before this, they barely talked.

Altaïr was the one who requested Desmond’s hand. William believed that Altaïr had done such a thing to ensure the legitimacy of his rule. Nope. Altaïr had been pining for Desmond for yeeeaarrrssss while Desmond had been pining for him at the same time and both of them are idiots who didn’t do anything because they believe their stations are too far for a relationship to be approved (Altaïr believing Desmond is a son of a minor lord and Desmond believing a ‘failure’ like him would never be given the time of day) and, now that Altaïr knew that William Miles needed his cooperation, he had an excuse to marry Desmond. (Because fuck courting, Altaïr is in it for the long haul)

Desmond went into the marriage believing it was a political one, only to be surprised when Altaïr treated him with kindness and, really, Altaïr was pretty clear when he straight out told Desmond that he had been carrying a torch for him for years… even if it took Desmond a few weeks (and a lot of gifts and awkward Altaïr trying to be charming) for him to believe it.

Their sex life did quite start off being quite vanilla and it’s only when they started experimenting that they realize how much they enjoyed a change of their dynamic where Desmond is the one in control.

Desmond taking in Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton would come quite a bit later when they’re both comfortable with their feelings for one another and it started off as something ‘fun’ they wanted to try out. Primarily, Altaïr wanted Desmond to have sex with someone while he watches and fuck Desmond after.

They both decided on Ezio because they believed he could be trusted and he’s hot af.

Ezio is actually the second son of a noble family that got burned by Rashid during the few last years of his reign. Ezio had been preparing to kill him in a suicide mission when he learned that Altaïr had taken the throne. He became a guard to check if Altaïr is worthy to be king and kill him if he’s not.

He did not, however, expected to like Altaïr as king and have a crush on Desmond that he wouldn’t do anything about… until he got invited in the royal couple’s bed and well…

He became a frequent visitor.

He and Altaïr grew close because of it and he likes to joke about Altaïr’s ‘kinks’ when they’re alone.

Being in love with Desmond came soon after that and he became Desmond’s lover with Altaïr’s approval (there was a bit of angst on Ezio’s part for being in love with a married man who is in love with his husband but that got thrown out of the window when Altaïr told him that they both knew his love for Desmond and that Altaïr wishes to nourish it).

Ratonhnhaké:ton was more of happenstance. To be more specific, Ratonhnhaké:ton saw Desmond during the yearly Royal Hunt and was attracted to him. Altaïr saw his potential and just… suggested him to Desmond during one of the Royal Hunts. After the celebrations, Ratonhnhaké:ton took the mantle of Hunt Master in the capital and never left.

Ratonhnhaké:ton is the illegitimate child of Count Kenway and there are rumors that he joined the royal court as the Hunt Master as a big ‘fuck you’ to the count who is part of the noble faction that is against (not openly) Altaïr’s rule. There are conflicting rumors of his ‘rumored’ relationship with the Prince Consort as either another way to insult House Kenway or is actually a ploy of Count Kenway to destabilize King Altaïr’s rule from the inside.

Nope. Ratonhnhaké:ton has cut all ties with the count even before he started sharing Desmond’s bed and he doesn’t give a shit about House Kenway after his last ‘confrontation’ with the count.

Desmond sometimes top… as a treat XD

“You would do anything for love, after all” is a phrase Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton have heard from Altaïr before and they’re not sure if it’s meant to be an explanation to why Altaïr is fine with Desmond having lovers or if Altaïr supporting their relationships was a way to ensure Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton would prioritize Desmond’s safety above all else in the worst case scenario. Altaïr never bothered to answer that one.

#you know when you get an idea that just screams ‘hot smut hot smut hot smut’#then you focus on building the plot instead?#yeah that’s what happened in this one #the grand duchy of miles being stationed in the north is not an asoiaf reference #it’s a reference to how the farm (south dakota) is northish in the us #no usual tags because #altdes #ezides #condes #cw mpreg #tw mpreg

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