#snelfcanons

The contents of Dawnguard undoubtedly sparked much interest in the until-then enigmatic race that was the Snow Elves, even going so far as to illuminate the status of the head of their religion, the focal point of their faiths. 

but what of the other aspects?

What of military, of economy? The status of the Falmer empire before it fell? We only see this small glimpse into a very small(though by no means minor) facet of Falmer culture as a whole. While we know Auri-El was chief among the elven gods(and no less such for the Falmer), what of the others? 

It is known that the Snow Elves also revered Trinimac, Phynaster, Syrabane and Jephre, but how heavily these featured in the daily live of the falmer peoples nor their position in the ruling governmental body(whatever that body may have been) is unknown.

Working with what we know in regards to the lore and in-game experiences, I therefore propose that the Falmer’s religion goes much further than simply faithful practice, but in actuality governed the very people itself.

The Snow Elves were a Theocracy.

I imagine given the heavy pressure that faith is shown to have presided over the Snow Elves during the course of the dlc(though it may simply be because it was their only temple left standing), that the Snow Elves gave much import to their various deities and practices, even more so than the contemporary mer of the time. 

Whereas the others however had societies made up of royal families that shared sway over the masses hand-in-hand with their various churchly bodies, the Church made up the government of the Falmer on a whole.

I believe that the Falmer society was comprised of City-States, divvied up over the land of Skyrim in various “holds” comparable to the nordic system seen today, and that each church served as both temple and center of commerce for their respective states, being the most heavily-populated area as well as the center of any major military forces the falmer had.

Given the status of Arch-Curate and Knight-Paladins(the only two confirmed ranks we’ve known to have of Falmer) it can be gleaned that the Snow Elves had at the least an advanced concept of Knighthood --- though whether that falls in line with our own codes of chivalry are unknown.

However, being that a Paladin is by definition an “honor guard” --- a knight of such skill they are plucked from the ranks to serve as holy protector of a place of worship or royality and thus acting as a living hand of that body --- it wouldn’t be too unsafe to say that each Arch-Curate of the major temples held beneath them a force of Knight-Paladins as guard and standing army.

An Arch-Curate by this means would serve as both Priest and Governor, acting as king/chief/president what have you over their respective territory. Arch-Curates were both heads of faith and state, spread across the Falmer Empire, with no one ruling body holding voice over another. In this manner a relative peace was maintained in which open trade and commerce was encouraged, as while the various holds all held their own patron deities, all of the falmer gave reverence to each of the varying gods that temples were erected for.

In tandem with this, snow elf armor and architecture heavily features animal symbols(wolf/bat motifs along the armor collar, celtic-like trinity knots, etc) that lend credit to the belief that either the worship or reverence of wildlife/natural forces was strong enough to feature on their arms and armor.

This may fall under their worship of Jephre, but it may go further than that.

Whilst the Falmer ruled their kingdom in city-states, temples serving as stronghold, capital, and church, there were still mer among them that lived in the lowlands. As stated in a previous entry of mine, not all Snow Elves lived in the frozen peaks and mountain ranges that allowed the erection of their great stone cities. Many lived in the lowlands, the pine forests, the tundra and steppe plains.

I wouldn’t doubt that among them were many nomads, and of whom the worship of the land around was much stronger than that of the residents of the cities. This isn’t to say there was a religious divide amongst the falmer, only that there was heavy respect and acknowledgement for the forces of nature; a spirit in every tree, wolf, and ridge. This aligns itself with Jephre, who is a major power in their pantheon, but also diverges into its own offshoot --- as a friend of mine pointed out, closely like the beliefs of Shinto.

Going back to the presence of military and where it falls beneath this; I don’t believe that the Falmer had any sort of standing army. At least, no standing army for the whole of Skyrim.

Each Temple had beneath it its own standing force of highly trained, almost spartan-esque honor guards. Few in number but heavy with skill. Beneath the Knight-Paladins were knights themselves, whom probably still served the church but not exclusively, and instead served to protect the people of the hold/state they occupied. Below these knights were the common foot soldiers; who I tinker with the idea of having been trained in whichever State held the temple of Trinimac, the Knight of Auri-El, but I digress.

Suffice to say there was no overall governing military that protected the whole of Skyrim, but rather that each State held its own military strength, and while lowly foot-soldiers were free to come and go from whichever hold they wished(being neither knight nor paladin), there was no sort of inter-state body that could rally a force. Each Patron-Deity had beneath it its own army, that served only the good of that State.

This lends credit to the relative swiftness in which the Snow Elf Empire fell at the hands of the Atmorans, for as powerful as each states’ army was, it was by no means a match for the sheer numbers rallied beneath Ysgramor. In this manner each Arch-Curate probably distanced him/herself from whichever state was currently under siege, having wished not to lend their own armies and leave themselves vulnerable but to continue to deal with the affairs of their own State so that their army was intact if Ysgramor should break through.

This in addition to their preference for mountainous terrain for cities limited their areas for major population centers, making an easy target for Ysgramor once having ended one State and moved onto the next.

In summation:

The Falmer Empire was a Theocracy divvied up into City-States, each ruled by an Arch-Curate who acted as both head of faith and government beneath their Patron Deity. There was open trade between all the states as a whole, and each state boasted its own standing army that served the needs of the territory and their temple.

the Temple-State of Trinimac, as the god of the knight, served to train would-be soldiers hand in hand with the Temple-State of Syrabane, who taught them to combine their martial training with arcane arts to become proficient spellswords. 

The Temple-State of Auri-El(prior to the Chantry, which was built during the Atmoran Invasion), served as head of the empire(while no “official” capital nor temple took precedent over another in any real capacity, Auri-El was their chief god and thus considered their grandest hold). 

Now, as everyone knows, the contemporary history of man and mer has been a rocky one through and through. Though exceptions shine diamonds in the rough throughout time, there has near-always been a general distrust between the races of man and those of elves.

This, howsoever, was not the case, initially.

The Atmorans are generally regarded to be the first men to set foot upon Tamriel, with the nedic peoples of the arctic continent to the north spreading to become the imperial, nordic, and breton races(Along with a theorized extinct race of men in Vvardenfell). Though elsewhere many of the men met hostility or outright subjugation at the hands of the other Mer varieties, in Skyrim Proper harmony reigned for quite some time.

In tandem to the later genocide and hostilities between the Atmorans and the Ancient Falmer, it is noted in varying sources that the initial encounters between the two were militant, as opposed to their treatments at the hands of elves elsewhere. In Cyrodil and High Rock, it was noted that the men there had intermingled with elves, as opposed to their seclusion in Skyrim.

But this does not mean peace. In fact, Cyrodillic man was enslaved by the elves of the region, and in high rock, they were kept as lower in the caste system of the early altmer of the time; often only kept as servants and laborers. Man was oppressed, mistreated, and enslaved without of the borders of Skyrim, whereas within, they remained a free people. 

Curious that, that the Falmer --- who are noted to be, at the time, more advanced than to be expected of any culture at the time, and rivaled in power the current aldermi dominion --- would somehow not subjugate early man as their equal-but-lesser in power brethren managed to do elsewhere.

As of the events of TES: Skyrim it is discovered that there may not have been any hostility between the Snow Elves and the Proto-Nords whatsoever. But that the entirety of their hostilities began solely with the Night of Tears.

the Falmer initially felt little to no racial tension towards the Nedes, allowing them to propagate and prosper along the northern shores, and even setting up trade with early man. This seems proper in line with their rather spiritual nature, and attempts at understanding the world about, instead of seeking simply to control it for their own gain.

This peace was broken, however, during the Night of Tears. 

Whilst other sources list the campaign as one urged by growing territorial disputes or else an attempt at culling the fastly reproducing human populous, these wild theories, in my eyes, have no physical evidence to support them. Instead I lend ear to Night of Tears, by Dranor Seleth.

Here it is mentioned that a mysterious artifact of great power was discovered underneath Saarthal, the then-capital of the Nedes of the time. The Snow Elves learned of this power they attempted to keep buried and, wanting it for themselves razed Saarthal to the ground. 

This theory is given credit by the discovery of the Eye Of Magnus underneath the Saarthal ruins during an excavation by the College of Winterhold, and as such is the one I give the most credit to as the likeliest possibility.

However, I give personal belief to the idea that it was not out of want that the Falmer attacked, but desperation. For if the Falmer did indeed know of the Eye of Magnus, why then did it remain buried where it was?

Perhaps it was that the falmer knew of its existence, and for reasons unknown wished for it to REMAIN hidden. Upon its unearthing by the Atmorans, mayhaps diplomatic attempts were made to take custody of their artifact back, but early man refused. With all other options exhausted, the Falmer turned to war.

Either way, this single act spelled doom for the Falmeri people. Ysgramor and his sons fled to Atmora, not to be seen again for some time. In between the Night of Tears and the Return, however, all relations broke between the Nedes and the Snow Elves.

The deliberate and viciously calculated assault on Saarthal sent all other nedic holds in the territory up in arms, closing their gates to the elves, and sowing a suspicious distrust of their once-peaceful neighbors. But even still, the Snow Elves did not press their attack. They had the Eye, and so had no more quarrel - and the attack didn’t extirpate the Atmorans entirely.

As for the eventual genocide of an entire people, it is recommended to note that should the legends of five hundred companions ring true, then a force of five hundred is a bit small to remove an entire nation from a country entirely, EVEN WITH the aide of Ahzidal’s enchantments.

More likely, this invasion force landed upon the coast and, garnering more bodies to the cause by the Nedic settlements that now feared their neighbors, became a full fledged army before the Ancient Falmer could muster a counter. 

With this Ysgramor spearheaded his infamous campaign, driving out the Falmer People, either into hiding or into the treacherous arms of their Dwemer brethren. This coupled with the Nedic Peoples’ more advanced metallurgies, the Falmer --- by comparison a magically superior, but technologically inferior people --- and man’s ability to simply outbreed the longer-lived mer, assured victory for the proto-nords.

So ended the reign of the Snow Elves.

This is not to detail the atrocities of man, however, nor is it in any way a justification of the Night of Tears. There is no justification for such an attack, however proper the Falmer thought it at the time --- nor are the Snow Elves entirely blameless. Despite their faiths and spiritual ways, they were still soldiers, mer and womer capable of falling prey to the fog of war as any upon this earth do.

Throughout the eras very little if any trace at all remained of the Falmer people, recorded only in the songs of the Nords and what few tomes survived, translated and translated again, down through the centuries. Now, while it is a known fact the mythical Snow Elves did exist, it brings up quite a few questions; perhaps the largest being if this once-great nation of Mer once dominated the entirety of Skyrim, why do we not see any ruins? 

After all, it is not as though their cities could not withstand the test of time. The much more primitive nordic ruins, dating back to the days of the Dragon Cults, most definitely survived with little wear. Many civilizations of the past, now-long extinct, leave their mark to the passing of time by their empty ruins, the cities and tombs and temples left as testament to their existence.

However in the Fourth Era, during the events of the Dragon Crisis, it seems one ruin DID indeed persist into modernity; and from this, though scant the ruins are, some semblance of the Falmer peoples’ ways of living can be gleaned.

The first being they were a very scattered people. Not in the sense of isolation, but in that they lived, for elves, a very simple life, one of spiritual pursuits and artistic wants --- which reflected in their architecture. 

The closest comparison visually one can give to the Falmer stoneworks are those ruins of their southern Ayleid counterparts. Pale stone, perhaps marble or some other strong mountain rock, was used in the creation of what stone structures they had. Smoothly hewn stone bricks, sanded so they practically gleamed, were used in construction. These were fashioned into sturdy, simplistic buildings, decorated with smoothly arched windows, high doorways, and domed ceilings.  Many of their works were further accentuated with the inclusion of Moonstone frames, mostly placed about the edges of ridges in arches, gilding their doors, and fashioned into shutters along the many windows their larger buildings possessed.

As for the interiors, many of their buildings were spacious, built within the expanse of mountain peaks or otherwise simply made to have a vast interior. What walls existed between rooms were built near-entirely of moonstone windows with marble bases, allowing a greater feel of general roominess. Few furnishings of stone and wood decorated internal halls, and most Snow Elf dwellings could not be described ever as “cluttered.”

However, what stonework they had was few, and far between.

While Snow Elves lived all across Skyrim --- from the great plains, to boreal forests, to coastal communes --- their greatest cities were located upon the slopes of mountains and high vales. This is because the snow elves followed a practice of using only the immediate land to construct their dwellings, and to achieve harmony with the landscape. Their greatest works were found in secluded mountain passes, whilst elsewhere many of their villages were constructed of wood.

This isn’t to say the snow elves were PRIMITIVE in their towns --- far from it. But Snow elf architecture mirrored their spiritual ways of life, and so they constructed their cities to fit the land, instead of clearing the land to fit their cities. It was not uncommon for beautifully crafted houses, sung from dying wood and accented with pale metals, to be found spread across light or heavy forest, with what roads they built marked only by single stone archways at the town entrances. 

As a general rule, most snow elf settlements upon the plains and woods only had a single stone monument to denote a marketplace or town square. Perhaps a stone arch(like those we see frequently throughout the vale) marked the entrance into city territory, inscribed with falmeris text informing the name of the town.

This alone explains the absence of Falmer ruins in modern day Skyrim, for unless otherwise enchanted even the stoutest wooden structures would rot and weather away, collapsing and joining the soil they rose out of as their masters disappeared. 

But it still would bring up question as to why their mountain holds, which otherwise should have remained untouched, disappeared as well. Though, that answer is simple enough --- the Nords.

Or, rather, their ancestors; the Atmorans who swarmed across skyrim, wreaking genocide upon the Falmeri people. As we of today know, the genocide was an absolute one. What Snow elves deigned to stay within skyrims’ borders were hunted as animals for vengeance of their massacre at Saarthal. 

However, the Nords would not be settled with simple death alone. From their vantage point, the cities, towns, any great works that remained as the Snow Elves fled had to be done away from as well, as final insult to the banished mer, for the nords of today inherited their savagery from the pride and anger of their Atmoran ancestors.

From a more practical standpoint, the already hewn, shaped, and smelted metals, stones, and woods of their settlements would have been opportunistic resources to the humans who could cannibalize the Falmer cities to be used for their own purposes. Metals could be re-smelted into jewelry or weapons, stones could be cracked, reshaped, formed into cobblestones and hearths, wood used for tinder or fencing. 

credits go to @rhupa​ for doing the work, I’m merely compiling it into a somewhat organized list. Makes use of both rhupa’s translations and those shown here.

Falmer Architecture: detailing the cities, or lack thereof, and why no snow elf ruins are found today.

Falmer and Early Man: dealing with the initially peaceful relations with the atmorans and nedes prior to the Night of Tears

the Falmer Faiths: regarding the Falmer variant of the current elven pantheon and their inclusion of the worship of natural forces and animal spirits.

[ NNGHHH THIS WAS SUCH A TREAT TO READ, THANK YOU!!! you’ve definitely given me a deeper insight to the ancient Falmer!!]

omg no problem!!!

In fact actually you of all people might love this: I’ve noticed that given what we’ve seen, there’s sort of a duality between the dwemer and falmer of ancient Tamriel.

Like, just briefly skimming the knowledge on their cultures it seems to me that at the time, they were the most sophisticated of the Elven Peoples, yet for completely OPPOSITE reasons.

The Dwemer pursued the sciences and mysteries of the world, seeking to uncover more knowledge; through this, they became one of the most TECHNOLOGICALLY advanced cultures in history, preferring reason and logic over blind faith, building great monuments to their culture.

Whereas the Falmer pursued the faiths, seeking a symbiosis between themselves and the lands surrounding, creating (theoretically) great works of art and becoming naturally attuned to the snow-covered north. Through this, they became the most SPIRITUALLY advanced culture, having great reverence not only for their gods but for the land they lived in.

Send me a “ 🔥 “ for an unpopular(??) opinion.

— huh. You know, I’m actually not quite sure? I mean, I know I’ve been greatly frustrated by quite a few things encountered throughout the series, but attempting to actually recall any of them I draw a huge blank. Perhaps this is not the MOST frustrating to me, but the simple ambiguity surrounding many of the dates, and the sheer vagueness surrounding the descriptions of them?

Like.

Attempting to create Varondil I actually ran into so many problems with figuring out dates. I am aware very little if any records from the Merethic era still persist to the modern day, and so of COURSE in-game nobody would know exactly the dates and timeline of the early age. But it would be nice if Out of Game, lore-wise, we as players could know definitively the specifics surrounding many of the events.

Frankly, the sheer lack of information on the snow elves is incredibly disappointing. I mean, the dwemer and ayleids followed suit only centuries after, yet many of their works still persist into the modern day that enable us a rather complete picture of their respective cultures, beliefs and great works. With cultures such as the Lilmothiit(fox folk) of Argonia and the Feathered Men of Cyrodil for example its understandable, because their societies were little more than primitive tribes at the time; not much of their works remained because they did not have many works to begin with.

I mean, it could be attributed to both the severity upon which the Nedes’ genocide ran, and the fact Snow Elves preferred mountainous regions which I’m sure to this day hide hidden ruins of theirs, but it would be nice to, y’know, have some hidden histories to be able to read to get a bead on their culture and specific influences.