KKC Theory Wiki

Stapes Is the 'Stick by the Maer' the Cthaeh Referred To

fringe connection · popularity 84 · 1 source thread

The Cthaeh's pun about sticking by the Maer points to Stapes, whose name may mean 'stick' or 'stirrup.'

About: Stapes, The Cthaeh

Also involves: Maer Lerand Alveron, The Amyr, Kvothe, Vintas

The theory§

This theory reads the Cthaeh's line, “Stick by the Maer and he will lead you to their door,” as a pun pointing at Stapes, the Maer's manservant. It proposes that stapes is an old Vintic word for a stick, so that Stapes is literally the stick by the Maer who will lead Kvothe to the Amyr's door, possibly when Kvothe calls in the favour Stapes owes him for the bone ring. The Cthaeh's own remark that it wished people had the wit to appreciate it is taken as confirmation the line is a deliberate joke. Competing readings note that stapes is the Latin word for stirrup and the name of a bone in the middle ear, and that the pun may instead lean on the word door, with the Cthaeh speaking literally rather than figuratively about the Amyr's door. Other candidates for the stick are floated, chiefly Bredon, who carries a walking stick and is rumored to keep pagan rites on his estate.

Evidence§

  • The Cthaeh said: “Stick by the Maer and he will lead you to their door.”
    OP's premise: the line under interpretation. — u/ShanonymousRex
  • Then the Cthaeh chuckled and said it wished people had the wit to appreciate it. So it’s obviously a joke or pun of some sort.
    OP argues the chuckle signals a deliberate pun. — u/ShanonymousRex
  • I reckon ‘stapes’ is an old Vintic word for ‘stick’, (or a type of stick) and it’s actually Stapes who’ll lead Kvothe to the Amyr’s door.
    Core claim: stapes means stick, so Stapes is the stick. — u/ShanonymousRex
  • Kvothe could play his bone ring to call in the favour Stapes owes him.
    Mechanism for how Stapes leads Kvothe onward. — u/ShanonymousRex
  • "Stick" could also mean a person.
    Comment supports reading 'stick' as a person, i.e. Stapes. — u/headnecklace
  • stapes means “stirrup” in Latin
    CounterCounter: stapes has a Latin meaning unrelated to stick. — u/Ok_Brain_1114
  • I've always assumed the joke was that the Cthaeh was speaking literally and not figuratively when it said the Maer would lead Kvothe to the Amyr's door.
    CounterCounter: pun is on 'door', not on Stapes. — u/michellanger
  • I always took the “stick by the Maer” to be Bredon. Not only does he have a walking stick but the rumours that Kvothe collected had Bredon having “pagan frolics“ on his estate.
    CounterCounter: rival candidate Bredon, who literally carries a stick. — u/Apart_Culture_3564

Book refs: WMF

Tier reasoning§

tier kept: speculative pun, contested etymology

Contributors§

Source threads§