English Names in Shadows for Silence

[Mage]

I was just wondering if there was an explanation for why the names in Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell all sound very English, and the only other cosmere name that sounds English that I can think of is Wayne. In the Arcanum Unbounded postscript Brandon says that Silence was the name of one of his ancestors. Did he just base the rest of the names off of that Puritan style? Is there an in-world explanation?

[Karger]

1 hour ago, Mage said:

Did he just base the rest of the names off of that Puritan style? 

Yep. 

1 hour ago, Mage said:

Is there an in-world explanation?

They have emigrated to a place their ancestors considered hell.  Giving puritanical names makes sense in this context.  A bulwark against evil.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Karger

[Honorless]

As Karger said, the Threnodites, after being forced to flee their Homeland with the advent of the Evil, settling in the Forests of Hell full of Shades, just developed a culture that had Puritanical names.

If you're wondering why Nazh doesn't, seems like he's just embarrassed:

Quote

WeiryWriter

Brandon mentions in the postscript for "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" in Arcanum Unbounded that we still don't know Nazh's name. Peter has since confirmed that "Nazrilof" is his surname and that Brandon was referring to his given name. Since Nazh is from Threnody my theory is that Nazh has some super embarrassing/convoluted Puritan given name, which is why he goes by a pseudonym derived from his surname. Would you mind revealing his full name, or at the very least tell me if I'm on the right track?

Isaac Stewart

Your ideas are sound.

Isaac Stewart r/Stormlight_Archive AMA (Oct. 1, 2019)

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by R J

[+Oltux72]

9 hours ago, R J said:

As Karger said, the Threnodites, after being forced to flee their Homeland with the advent of the Evil, settling in the Forests of Hell full of Shades, just developed a culture that had Puritanical names.

If you're wondering why Nazh doesn't, seems like he's just embarrassed:

I cannot make the timeline work on that. The Forescouts were second hand living memory in the time of SITFOH, which took place within a hundred years of Alloy of Law, which in turn took place 341 years after Kelsier met Nazh and Khrissalla. Silence's grandparents left the homeland. Even if they did that as older teenagers and generations are long on Threnody, 120 years since the Evil arrived is stretching it.

And the Ire expected the forces of Threnody.
Nazh must predate the Evil.

[Honorless]

1 hour ago, Oltux72 said:

I cannot make the timeline work on that. The Forescouts were second hand living memory in the time of SITFOH, which took place within a hundred years of Alloy of Law, which in turn took place 341 years after Kelsier met Nazh and Khrissalla. Silence's grandparents left the homeland. Even if they did that as older teenagers and generations are long on Threnody, 120 years since the Evil arrived is stretching it.

And the Ire expected the forces of Threnody.
Nazh must predate the Evil.

Could be and I do still like that theory, but I'll wait till more concrete numbers.

[Merlin]

I'm desperately hoping Nazh's actual name is something like "Fight The Good Fight Of Faith" or "If Jesus Christ Had Not Died For Thee Thou Wouldst Be Damned". (There are actual records of people with those names. I kid you not.)

[Mage]

1 hour ago, Merlin said:

I'm desperately hoping Nazh's actual name is something like "Fight The Good Fight Of Faith" or "If Jesus Christ Had Not Died For Thee Thou Wouldst Be Damned". (There are actual records of people with those names. I kid you not.)

I'm impressed that you found this topic, because I posted this months ago, but that would be hilarious if that were Nazh's name (it is funny enough that those were already real names). Another question--since this topic got brought back up I might as well--are 'Silence' and 'Threnody' translations, or are those the actual sounds that come out of people's mouths when they say those names?