Elder Scrolls Lore » Discussions


Legendary Figures: Queen Barenziah

  • October 19, 2016

    Queen Barenziah. One of the most famous figures of Third Era. A queen that became a prominent voice in several Provinces of the Septim Empire, namely Morrowind, Cyrodiil and High Rock. Stories circulated about her, rumors were whispered and, frankly, most of them were about who she slept with. Sounds like fun. But not everything is at it seems at first and certainly a woman with power like her might be able to rewrite the pages of history in her favor. But let´s not get ahead of ourselves. I just urge you to keep your eyes open.

    Just before we start there are two main sources on Barenziah out there and they quite differ in their stance on her and her life. First is Biography of Queen Barenziah, the official biography written by Imperial clerks. The second is The Real Barenziah which doesn´t go far for details of her slooty life. It is said that the Real Barenziah was written by someone who was a dear friend of Barenziah herself and she told this author her whole story. So we have one official book, which most likely deliberately ignore the details and then the other which give plenty of details. But is it a truth?

    The beginning is slightly difficult, because Real Barenziah begins not with Barenziah, but with Symmachus, a common laborer in Mournhold, who will become Tiber Septim´s general one day and eventually marries Barenziah.

     

    Part 1 - On The Run

    Real Barenziah starts with celebrations in Mournhold, where a daughter was born to the royal family of the city. But Symmachus´s mother is ill and he knows that if he won´t find a healer, she will die. So he tries, but because all healers and priests are present at the Rite of Naming, he won´t find anyone willing to help and then it is too late, his mother dies. And he hears the name Barenziah being chanted all over the city. He swears an oath, that he will be the Lord´s undoing and Barenziah will become his bride. (Not sure what kind of revenge is that, but...whatever, mate.)

    Note that it is 2E 893 now. Right before Tiber Septim conquered the Tamriel and united it under the banner of Empire. So it wasn´t long before Tiber Septim conquered  Morrowind.

    The Real Barenziah says that nurse took little Barenziah and went into a carriage with her, travelling to Count Sven of Darkmoor in Skyrim, while Biography says that the nurse and baby were found in the wreckage of the city by General Symmachus who told Tiber Septim the girl might be valuable one day. So they sent her to Count Sven of Darkmoor.

    Again, this is where the sources differ. Biography says that Barenziah was loved by the Count and his children, and that a certain vile orphan lied to her to make her escape with him. Real Barenziah on the other hand says that young Barenziah wasn´t loved by the royal family and she ran away witha a stable boy named Straw because she wasn´t happy.

    So they ran - Barenziah disguised as a boy -  to Whiterun, where they got hired as guards for a Merchant caravan and eventually ended up in Riften. Real Barenziah says that she joined Thieves Guild there - and in order to join she had to bang a Khajiit. Which she quite enjoyed - and then she got caught while stealing from an Imperial officer. Caught by Symmachus himself, who then executed both the Khajiit and her friend. Biography states that she overheard a villainous Khajiit thief and her friend Straw planning the robbery. Her loyalty to Empire forced her to report this to the Officer, Symmachus, and he took her into custody. No harm came to her, instead she was about to become a queen once she reached her eighteenth birthday. Until then, she would stay at Imperial Court, in Imperial City.

     

     

     

     

    Part 2 - Queen Rising

    She stayed in the Imperial City and Biography says:

    At the Imperial City, Barenziah befriended the Emperor Tiber Septim during the middle years of his reign. Tiber's children, particularly his eldest son and heir Pelagius, came to love her as a sister. The ballads of the day praised her beauty, chastity, wit, and learning. On her eighteenth birthday, the entire Imperial City turned out to watch her farewell procession preliminary to her return to her native land. Sorrowful as they were at her departure, all knew that she was ready for her glorious destiny as sovereign of the kingdom of Mournhold.

    Well, guess what. Real Barezian tells a completely different story. Apparently, she and Tiber were lovers and she even conceived a child with him. But Tiber Septim was married and he didn´t want a bastard threatening his heir´s claim to the throne, so he made his healer abort the childbirth, even though Barenziah protested. She left Imperial City with Symmachus - who was serving as military governer in Morrowind - quite broken again. This is actually the third time Real Barenziah portrays young Dunmer queen as the victim. Poor soul.

    But was she really? What if she seduced Tiber on purpose? Got pregnant on purpose? Think about it.

    Now we move into Mournhold, where she finally became a queen and eventually married Symmachus.

    After several hundred years of marriage, a son, Helseth, was born to the royal couple amid celebration and joyous prayer. Although it was not publicly known at the time, it was shortly before this blessed event that the Staff of Chaos had been stolen from its hiding place deep in the Mournhold mines by a clever, enigmatic bard known only as the Nightingale. - Biography of Barenziah, v3

    Oh, yes, mysterious bard Nightingale. Rings a bell? We´ll get to it in a second, because Real Barenziah again tells different story. She and Symmachus weren´t able to conceive a child and during that time, the bard Nightingale showed up in Mournhold. She and him fell in love but the book is trying really hard not to say they had sex. The bard said that he can make her pregnant, but they have to go into the deep mines, that Moraelyn´s (big Morrowind hero, King Edward series) Horn of Summoning will allow her to become pregnant. When they go there, Barenziah will realize she was betrayed, because there was no Horn of Summoning, but Staff of Chaos.

     

     

    And it is later revealed that Nightingale is Jagar Tharn, but that is much later, now we are in 3E 376 . And this is where I would like to stop for a moment. Barenziah was trying to portray this as a romantic mistake, something that would make others pity her and of course she blame Jagarn Tharn, said that it was he  who put some spell on her. But...Gallus´s book The Nightingales says something different.

    In actuality, the individual identified as "the bard Nightingale" was not Jagar Tharn at all. This master of disguise was a Nightingale thief named Drayven Indoril. Jagar Tharn hired Drayven, one of the greatest master thieves in Skyrim, to seduce Barenziah and coerce her into revealing the location of the Staff of Chaos. After the Staff was given to Jagar Tharn, he attempted to eradicate Drayven, but his Nightingale abilities aided his escape. Jagar Tharn searched for Drayven but eventually had to abandon the pursuit in order to enact his plans involving the emperor.

    It is interesting to note that history refers to Jagar Tharn as "Nightingale" well after the point Drayven would have vanished from the story. The distortion of actual events is very typical of Barenziah's manipulation. With the pressure of blame falling squarely on her shoulders for Uriel Septim VII's imprisonment, she twisted the truth and created the notion that the "bard" named Nightingale was Jagar Tharn himself. She felt the tale of being enthralled by the master sorcerer held more of a forgiving if not romantic notion than simply being seduced by a master rogue. Some also further speculate that eliminating Drayven from history was her attempt at protecting the reputation of Jagar Tharn, whom she was rumored to have been quite fond of.

    Yeah. Nightingale of Nightingale Trinity. The Staff of Chaos allowed Jagar Tharn to become an Imperial Battlemage and eventually leading to the events of Arena, where he imprisoned Uriel Septim in Oblivion and pretended to be him.

    But it is an interesting notion. She was rumored to have been quite fond of Jagar Tharn. What if she wasn´t trying to just protect his reputation but protect him as whole? What if she was his acccomplice? Maybe, just maybe.

    Also, Helseth - Hlaalu Helseth, future king of Mournhold - is said to be born before these events, but Real Barenziah states it was later. So whose child is he? Symmachus´? Drayven Indoril´s? Or Jagar Tharn´s? She also had another child, eight years later. Daughter Morgiah who eventually marries a king of Firsthold in Summerset Isles. Gallus´s books also suggests that Barenziah had a child with Drayven, who she abandoned with a midwife. The child, Dralsi eventually become Nightingale too, and then she had a daughter. Karliah. Ding ding!

     

    Part 3 - Imperial Simulacrum

    Now we´re getting to the time called Imperial Simulacrum.

    Old troubles resurfaced, forgotten grudges rekindled, and wars flared throughout the land. In the east, Morrowind attacked Black Marsh in the Arnesian War; in the north, Skyrim battled High Rock and Hammerfell in the War of Bend'r-Mahk; in the south, Elsweyr took arms against Valenwood in the Five Year War; in the west, Valenwood also lost land to its old ally Summerset in the War of the Blue Divide. — A Pocket Guide to the Empire, 3rd Edition: All the Eras of Man

     

    Plus, suddenly the Empire put very high taxes on Morrowind and continued raising them until Mournhold reached a point where a revolt was about to happen. Queen Barenziah ventures into Imperial City along with her children, where she gains an audience with Emperor Uriel Septim.

    Biography says that through magic, she was able to recognize that the Emperor was actually Nightingale, hiding behind an illusion. Real Barenziah states that in that moment she realized that Nightingale is Jagar Tharn (but did she really?)

    She goes to her estate in Imperial City and there she learns Symmachus died during suppresing a revolt in Morrowind. In that moment King Eadwyre of Wayrest shows up and tells her that Empreror is actually Jagar Tharn and together they start planning how to end Tharn.

    But let´s stop for a second here. How did Tharn became Emperor without anyone noticing? Biography says that Tharn had supposedly retired to seclusion from public work and installed his assistant, Ria Silmane, in his stead. The assistant then died under suspicious circumstances. Real Barenziah on the other hand states that both Tharn and Silmane died while protecting Emperor from an atempt on his life.

    Do you see what Barenziah did here again? Protecting Tharn´s reputation. Why I don´t know.

    Now, Biography here states that Barenziah plotted against Tharn, charming him and befriending him to gain his confidence. But Real Barenziah suggests she had to do...more to gain his confidence. And was she really uncomfortable with it? It is stated that this eventually led to releasing Eternal Champion from the prison and feeding him with information on the locations of pieces of Staff of Chaos.

    Plus, the Real Barenziah says that she and Jagar Tharn argued very often - which is interesting considering Tharn actually revelead to her who he is, stating that she wants her love. So after one of this arguments - while Eternal Champion was dragging his arse all over the Tamriel - she packed her things, grabbed her children and went to exile with King Eadwyre to Wayrest. She eventually married him and Imperial Simulacrum ended in the meantime, Tharn defeated by Eternal Champion.

    And again, I ask...what would Barenziah gain by sleeping with Tharn, maybe even becoming his wife? Power? Maybe.

     

    Part 4 - Exile and Homecoming

    And now we are getting to the events of Daggerfall. Barenziah is a queen of Wayrest and she was one of the powers fighting over the Totem of Tiber Septim, eventually being one of the four city states profiting from the Miracle of Peace or Warp in the West.

    It should be also noted, that during this time, her daugher Morgiah became queen of Firsthold, marrying the King. How she did that? She sacrificed her firstborn to the King of Worms who then allowed the King of Firsthold to talk with his dead son, all played as if it was Morgiah´s influence. Really nice family…

    When King Eadwyre died, Barenziah and Helseth went back to Mournhold, who was ruled by Barenziah´s uncle. Funnily enough, that uncle very soon died and Helseth became King Hlaalu Helseth, with Barenziah taking the title Queen Mother.

    And you can meet her again during Tribunal. Helseth sends assassins to kill the Nerevarine, then admits it was a mistake. Then later asks Nerevarine to protect his mother from assassins, which is quite odd. Nerevarine waits for hours, alone, with no guards between the assassins and Barenziah, just Nerevarine. Another plot by Barenziah? She by that time says she is retired but everyone out there knows that she is still pulling strings.



    So what do you think? Was Barenziah just a victim in all this? Hero of Empire? Or maybe just doing anything to survive? Or what if all that was for power? Let´s hear it people.



  • Member
    October 20, 2016

    Womer like Berry make Nirn a better place. Sexy, sharp and deadly - does this Dunmer queen come with whipped cream?

    This is an excellent article Karver. No, it's better. There are few things which can surprise me in terms of TES, but you've genuinely gone and done it with this. Not only is it very well researched as you have methodically cross referenced two sources as well as the timeline, you have also made connections I have never noticed. I fear I have been guilty of believing the propaganda and so to have that questioned and the flaws pointed out is a genuine thrill.

    The Nightingale who was and was not Jaggy T depending on who you believe, Barenziah's intentions and her promiscuity coupled with the possibility that she wields such charms to aid her political career... all these things paint a very different picture of her. Less of the victim, more the puppeteer.

    And Karliah?! Man, where'd that come from? It's pure gold, dude. While there isn't much that can surprise me, there are even fewer things which can make me want to play the Thieves Guild questline again and go on a hunt for Berry's jewels. Yet somehow by making that connection you have succeeded. Nicely done, a pleasure to read :)

  • October 20, 2016
    Hehe, Karliah being Barenziah's relative is quite mind blowing. It is interesting that Gallus knew about it, mentioned in his book, but Karliah never hints it. Makes me wonder if she even knows.
  • October 20, 2016

    As for Barenziah...Gallus´s books clearly states that she was quite known to blur truths and warp everything in her own benefit. Real Barenziah makes her a victim, foolish Mer pursuing love and all that, but when you meet her in Daggerfall or Tribunal, you have this old, shrewd politician who is trying to maintain a facade of not being dangerous. Real Barenziah works perfectly for her. 

    Also, the author who wrote Real Barenziah, Plinitus Mero, can be met in Tribunal too. He became a friend with Barenziah (yeah, sure. "Friend") and he changed his name. Plinitus Mero is pseudonym and he did it not to bring shame on his family if I remember it correctly. I wonder why...

  • October 20, 2016

    Yeah, I knew Karliah was related to her from a while back, I think when I did the Freelancer it refreshed my memory. But it's still cool to find out.  

    Yes, this is a great article Karver and I like the juxtaposition of two sources. 

    Makes me wonder where is the old slooooooot now. 

  • Member
    October 20, 2016

    Ah Barenziah, a true femme fatale. Biography of Barenziah and The Real Barenziah paints her both as a cultural figure and a victim respectively. I think personally Barenziah's motives are very difficult to understand, be it either for survival, power or just lust.

    Seriously, is there anyone else in TES lore who had slept with more men than Queen B?

    Also does this mean Karliah could potentially be Queen of Morrowind by bloodline?

  • October 20, 2016

    There definitely could be someone who slept with more. It´s just that Barenziah got it recorded for herself. But as far as sleeping with rockstars...Barenziah rocks :D

    Hmm, it´s difficult to say. You have to understand that Barenziah was Queen of Mournhold, which is like one city state of Morrowind. Ebonheart had its own king too. Hlaalu Helseth became king of Mornhould, maybe sometimes called King of Morrowind because in that time, House Hlaalu had very big political power in Morrowind, thanks to their alliance with Empire. 

    But yeah, technicaly, Karliah has a claim for the throne of Mournhold.

  • October 20, 2016

    Nice she has a claim to a city smothered in ash. :D

  • October 20, 2016
    More likely overrun by Lizards. Mournhold is deep mainland and to the east.
  • October 20, 2016

    Karver said: More likely overrun by Lizards. Mournhold is deep mainland and to the east.

    Haha, that's true!

    Truth be told, however, I don't think Barenziah is stupid enough to be there currently either. Hmm, past history says she's far too smart and opportunistic to let an angry mountain and a bunch of lizards get the better of her. I think she's long gone and I don't mean dead.