#tredwill

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Up next in our name analysis list is (probably) the last Southlander that I'll be able to do prior to season two: Tredwill! He's the villager who brings Bronwyn and Arondir his sick cow, and is shot at the same time as Bronwyn outside of the tavern during the orc attack. He also has this sweet interaction with Arondir right before he dies:

TREDWILL YOU WERE A REAL ONE!

As far as his name goes, "Tredwell" is an English surname that derives from the Old English tredan "to tread, step on, traverse" and wel "abundantly, in good fortune." Combining, this means "one who steps abundantly," which makes sense given that Tredwell as a surname likely arose from fulling, a process in making woolen cloth where raw cloth is submerged in ammonia and trampled underfoot to remove oils and tighten the weave. People who were paid to do this literally did a lot of treading, hence the name! (Fun fact: last names like Walker, Fuller, and Tucker also originate from fulling.)

Fulling was a pretty gross process at the time, as the most viable source of ammonia was urine. It's unclear if Tredwill actually held this occupation, or whether people just called him by his surname and he wasn't a fuller himself. Personally, I think it's the former-- his pant legs are cropped, which seems to be against the trend for Southlander men, but would make a lot of sense given his profession:

Whatever the answer, Tredwill's name serves the dual purpose of giving context to the culture and way of life in the Southlands, and providing an interesting counterpoint to Waldreg. I think it's fascinating that Waldreg complains about living "in the muck," but that Tredwill, who either wades in piss for a living or is descended from someone who did, is not swayed by the lure of power despite his materially worse circumstances. And I think a large part of that is because of the relationship that we see him build with Bronwyn and Arondir, where they help him and he helps them in return. His name also foreshadows his choices-- he does, ultimately, walk a path of good fortune by refusing to side with evil.