User:TJY1998/Ruttish Gaullicanism

Georges Mathias, Count of Peyrac-Peyran, founder of the 'Brotherhood of the Exodus' club, is widely credited as being one of the key figures of the theory.

Ruttish Gaullicanism is the pseudoarchaeological and pseudoanthropological belief that the people of Ruttland are descendants of a "lost group" of ethnic Gaullicans who travelled to northern Euclea following the fall of the Solarian Empire. The origins of the theory are unknown, but by the late 14th century it had been discussed in several period writings including accounts from Ponte Pilote. By the end of the 19th century, the belief had been so ingrained in elements of Ruttish and Gaullican society that organisations were set up in the Empire that advocated for Ruttish independence and further relations based on these links. Some of these organisations have continued to exist in the 21st century.

Modern archaeological evidence, genetic and ethnological research have refuted the main arguments of the Ruttish Gaullicanism theory.

History

Earliest records

Jacques Prévost, the most prolific writer of the 18th century, covered countless aspects of his contemporary society.

In Euclea's Northern Reaches which was written after arriving in Lipliškės in 1331, Ponte Pilote described the people as having "Solarian character and the spirit of the south". He would go on to write that "in my heart, the hospitality in which I have been received is indicative of a Solarian-Gaullican character, of deep religious faith and charity. And of keen architecture and literature. I would not be amiss to say, I believe, that these people are our brothers." Ponte spent the better part of six months in the Ruttish capital, visting not just the nobility but people of all works of life.

When Pilote returned to the Verliquoian Empire after almost a decade of travelling, he made these opinions and experiences on Ruttish culture known to imperial society and spurred an interest in uncovering more of these potential, if fabricated, links. Whilst an existing embassy would deal with the Rudolphine Confederation, the imperial bureaucracy in Verlois dictated that an embassy should be sent directly to Ruttland -- the first of which were exchanged in 1342. Part of the Ruttish delegation to Verlois included Princess Viktorija of Ruttland, who would go on to be wedded to Emperor Charles VIII. Their union was a highly publicised affair, and was decried by some period writers as a 'people's union' on the ideas put forward by Pilote. The imperial household made no such claims, and Princess Victoria actively stressed that her people were their own.

Aymeric Morel's 1501 gargantuan account of an attempt to catalogue the lives of the people of the Gaullican Empire, The Empire and its People made reference to numerous ethnic groups within the borders of the nation. It included, however, an attempt to historically identified the different sorts of peoples that had lived in the empire's borders at one time. In a section dedicated to 'lost Solaro-Gaullicans', it described the Suhalans of modern-day Tsabara and the Ruttish as being of this group.

Elements of the theory could also be found in the works of Jacques Prévost. Exodus in the Dark: The Trials and Tribulations of the Peoples of Liplichqués, a collection of short stories following a group of Solarians who leave their home during the crises of the fifth century and settle in modern day Ruttland, would extensively popularise and entrench the mythology of these ideas. Famously, the concluding lines from Prévost's omniscient narrator concludes: "The people who would come to be known as Gaullicans were split, but for how long?"

Foundation

Étienne du Ségrie, Bishop of Dinesie, as per a sketch done by a young Charles Telois.

In 1641 the Ruttish-born Bishop of Dinesie, Étienne du Ségrie was appointed as the head of Francois II's government. Before being appointed Bishop of Dinesie, he had been a staunch advocate for the Telois claim to the throne of Miersa. During the Miersan War of Succession he had served as the Secretary of State for War, organising the logistics of the Gaullican armies in successfully occupying the eastern portions of Miersa.

As the head of government, he oversaw a revolution of Gaullican foreign policy. Historically, the empire had kept a network of alliances throughout Euclea in the aim of preventing the consolidation of local powers that could, one day, eventually pose a threat to Gaullica's continental and later imperial ambitions. Many of these alterations to Gaullican foreign policy attempted to consolidate these friendly, smaller polities into functioning regional allies. At its core, the aim was the independence of Ruttland that would be a check in the ambitions of Cislania, Estmere and Kirenia.

By 1659, Étienne had been replaced as the head of this government and returned to a fully clerical duty at Dinesie. He would go on to publish numerous treatises that have been put forward as the original documents codifying the beliefs of the Ruttish Gaullicanism movement. Between 1659 and his death in 1681, du Ségrie had written two political pieces, a genealogical account and countless short works outlining his beliefs. They discussed the supposed genealogical evidence for the 'common origin' of the Gaullican and Ruttish peoples, as well as a lexicon of words in Ruttish that could be traced to this origin point. Cultural customs, similar ideals, a similar dedication to their faith and even attributes were cited as evidence.

His theory was popular amongst fringe elements of the elites in Gaullica, though it grew in popularity over the course of the remainder of the 17th century. By 1701 there were records of it having gained a foothold amongst some aspects of Ruttish society as well.

The first society that can be described as Ruttish-Gaullicanist was the 'Brotherhood of the Exodus', a gentleman's club turned society in Verlois founded in the aftermath of the Ten Years' War by Ruttish noblemen and aristocrats who found themselves exiled from their home due to disagreeing with either candidate for succession. The most notable of these noblemen was Georges Mathias; the club's proprietor, who had arrived in Verlois in 1711. Mathias formulated the basic tenets of the Ruttish Gaullican theory by compiling the arguments put forward by those before him into a single work that became a staple at the Brotherhood.

Mathias would go on to organise monthly readings on literature that supported this ideal and found himself in support of the movement, translating its works into his native Ruttish and produced at a printers' owned by his neighbour. These works allowed for the creation of a sister 'Brotherhood of the Exodus' chapter to be founded in Lipliškės by 1721.

Contemporary Ruttish Gaullicanists cite historic records from the time of the early Verliquoian Empire, which make vague references to 'great migrations of people' as proof of the possibility of an exodus of Gaullo-Solarians.

Adherence in Gaullica

Though a theory started by a Ruttish nobleman, the Ruttish-Gaullican belief has been widely shaped and moulded by Gaullican thought and Gaullican thinkers. It was in Gaullica where the Brotherhood of the Exodus was first founded, and were it attracted a large portion of its early membership base. Though it initially began as a small club of likeminded thinkers, its popularity experienced a meteoric rise following a visit to the Brotherhood by Louis V.

Louis V had visited to gauge the feasibility of sponsoring claims to Ruttish independence, even though his country was allied to Kirenia at the time, over the basis of potentially further destabilising the situation in northern Euclea for Gaullican interests. It is also speculated that Louis travelled to seek out Mathias' services as a vampire hunter, given the Emperor was deeply concerned of the supernatural after becoming enamoured by Euclean folk mythologies. Regardless of intent, it was clear that there were interests other than any genuine belief in the links between both countries.

Following Louis' visit, the theory gained a newfound credence as it became a popular topic within the Gaullican nobility. By 1726 a lobbying 'club' of members of the senate who held the views expressed in Mathias' work was formed to push interests of Ruttish independence, whilst through Kirenia Gaullica aimed to secure elements of Ruttish identity and guarantees on the respect of the peoples' culture.

Tenets

Ruttland was founded by Solaro-Gaullicans

Adherents of the theory believe that following the crises in the Solarian Empire during the early 5th century, before a consolidation of power was evident and successful in the province of Gallia, inhabitants of the province underwent an exodus to flee from invaders, destabilisation and war. They argue that these groups "likely numbered in the thousands" and "those who survived arrived to found the city of Lipliškės". The theory stipulates that the founders of Ruttland created it on their Solarian ideals, were the first missionaries to northern Euclea, and provided a bastion of Sotirianity that would survive well into 're-contact' with the rest of southern Euclea. They also argue that the Solaro-Gaullicans likely intermixed with the native peoples but passed on their cultural legacy to their descendants.

Many contemporary theorists, such as historian and anthropologist Edmond Fabien, were adamant that an archaeological discovery of Solarian coinage, weapons and pottery within Lipliškės at a dig site in 1981 was proof "of the settlement and foundation of the nation of Ruttland by Solaro-Gaullicans", though many critics argue that the presence of those items only confirms that trade-links existed between native people and the Solarian Empire.

The theory holds that the earliest Ruttish dynasties were in fact Solarian and that this explains a "strong cultural link between later Ruttland and the Empire", as well as "progression in art and culture, as well as a strong Catholic faith in an otherwise pagan region".

Ruttish people are a 'Solarian People'

Building off of the commentary of Ponte Pilote's description of Ruttland, theorists have maintained that there are three categories of proof that Ruttish people are Solarian in origin. Étienne du Ségrie compiled them into an argument in his Persons of Solaria, taking great inspiration and information from Aymeric Morel's The Empire and its People.

He outlined that there were three 'definitive proofs' of the 'Solarianness' of Ruttland and he identified these as 'cultural', 'linguistic' and 'value-based'. Du Ségrie argued that with the information outlined by Ponte Pilote, through the descriptions of the structure of Lipliškės, that it was designed in such a way that 'evoked Solarian design'.

A Gaullican-Ruttland single state is an ideal to achieve

Mathias compiled his evidences during the 1710s but he also added to the theory. Rather than basing his ideas solely on the works of Pilote, du Ségrie, Morel and Prévost, Mathias added beliefs and ideas that were moulded and influenced by his time. Having just left the brutal Ten Years War, Ruttland had been transferred from the Rudolphine Confederation to Kirenia's possession. Many Ruttish noblemen were dissatisfied with this outcome, but many had come to dislike Rudolphine association as well. Mathias built on these sympathies and argued that Ruttland's destiny was not with either state and remarked, "if we can not be an independent Ruttland let us turn to our ancestors in the south, and let us join together as one".

The arguments put forward by the successive members of the brotherhood indicated that a single Gaullican-Ruttish polity was preferable to one in which Ruttland was part of Kirenia or the Rudolphine Confederation was a matter of Ruttland not 'being of either group'.

Ruttish culture is targeted by non-Gaullicans out of jealousy

A central belief of those who subscribe to the theory of Ruttish-Gaullicanism is that 'Gaullican' culture is something to be emulated; and is the purest form of 'Solarian' culture that continues to exist. Ruttish culture, which is therefore a Gaullican culture (or, some theorists maintain, Gaullican culture itself), is an idealised form of living. It is because of this 'elevated' status amongst the cultures of the world in art, science and linguistics, that Ruttland has been targeted so 'viciously' by its neighbours.