KKC Theory Wiki

E'lir, Re'lar, and El'the Are Decayed Naming Titles for Seer, Speaker, and Listener

plausible mechanism · popularity 95 · 1 source thread

The University's student ranks were once true naming titles whose original standards have eroded as the school broadened.

About: Naming, The University

Also involves: Elodin, Fela, Kvothe, Puppet

The theory§

The University grants students the rising ranks of E'lir, Re'lar, and El'the, treated in the modern Arcanum as roughly equivalent to bachelor, master, and doctorate. This theory holds that the titles originate from an age when the University was chiefly a school of naming, carrying the meanings of seer, speaker, and listener, and that they were once conferred only on those who could genuinely see, speak, and listen to the names of things. As the University broadened to admit students without naming aptitude, the titles were extended across the lesser disciplines and their standards eroded, so the old true meanings and the new administrative ranks now coexist separately. This split explains why Puppet flatly tells Kvothe he is not truly a Re'lar despite holding the rank, and why Elodin treats Fela's mastering of her first Name as the real promotion even though she already bears the title. The pattern suggests Elodin and Puppet still measure the ranks by the old standard while the institution measures them by tuition and time served.

Evidence§

  • these names (E'lir, Re'lar, and El'the) are leftovers from the time when the University was primarily a school of naming, with meanings of see'er, speaker, and listener
    Core claim: ranks were once true naming titles meaning seer, speaker, listener. — u/SteeITriceps
  • as the University grew, it attracted people seeking to learn, but without the aptitude for naming. These people formed other classes around less 'prestigious' fields.
    Mechanism: University broadened to admit non-namers across other disciplines. — u/SteeITriceps
  • E'lir, Re'lar, and El'the were titles/ranks within the school of naming originally, but eventually were applied to the other schools with the decline of naming prowess. In order for these titles to be applied to non-namers, the standards obviously had to be lowered significantly.
    Explains how titles spread and standards eroded. — u/SteeITriceps
  • both the original meanings of the words, and the current rank denotation exist within the University, just separately. Somewhere along the line, the titles of E'lir, Re'lar, and El'the diverged from their original definitions.
    Central thesis: old meanings and new ranks now coexist separately. — u/SteeITriceps
  • This explains why Puppet, upon hearing that Kvothe has achieved the rank of Re'lar, insists that Kvothe in fact does not.
    Textual evidence: Puppet denies Kvothe is truly Re'lar despite the rank. — u/SteeITriceps
  • the original meanings of the titles were based on accomplishment, and had unchanging standards, while the current bar for attainment is just set by the masters.
    Refines the split: fixed merit standard versus master-set administrative bar. — u/SteeITriceps
  • This is also why Fela, who is a Re’lar already, gets ‘promoted’ by Elodin when she shows true control of her first Name.
    Adds corroborating evidence: Elodin promotes Fela by the old standard. — u/nIBLIB
  • I don’t think there’s anything as organized as a community. I think the three are seer, speaker, and shaper? … Puppet and Elodin think that calling people these things when they mean bachelor/master/doctorate (essentially) is silly and that’s why they only refer to them when they actually *are* those things the old way.
    CounterCounter/refine: disputes the listener gloss and the hidden-community framing. — u/elizabif

Book refs: NOTW, WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier holds: well-grounded in the Puppet and Fela scenes

Contributors§

Source threads§