Note: I meant to say "on the Klingons".
As I became familiar with the
Game of Thrones franchise, I realized that the Klingon Great Houses are very similar to the
Great Houses of Westeros, such as House Baratheon and House Lannister.
From the
Game of Thrones wiki on the
Great House:
The Great Houses are the most powerful of the noble houses of the Seven Kingdoms. They exercise immense authority and power over their vassals and territories and are answerable only to the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, King of the Andals and the First Men.
Of course, this concept was largely inspired by the English royal houses and their branches.
Notice that the
Klingon wedding attire from DS9 looks quite medieval English in design.
Now, onto the meaning of the word
Klingon:
- Open Google Translate and type the word "blade" in the left-side box.
- Select "Danish" on the right and press the "listen" (speaker) icon.
- Select "Dutch" on the right and notice "kling" as one of the translations.
- Select "German" on the right and press the "listen" (speaker) icon.
- Select "Polish" on the right and notice "klinga" as one of the translations.
- Select "Russian" on the right and click the second word in the translationsnotice the Latin spelling as "klinok" below the left-side box.
- Select "Swedish" on the right and notice "klinga" as one of the translations.
- Select "Ukrainian" on the right and click the first option in the noun listnotice the Latin spelling as "klynok" below the left-side box.
Finally, select "English" on the left, enter "Kahless" and click "Detect Language". Google detects it as "Zulu", which may or may not be accurate.
Interesting, wouldn't you say?
Comments
Klingons originally had a very different race design but kept the same name. When they changed that the inspiration came from nordic and feudal japanese culture. Having houses (clans), great houses (council), a shogun (chancellor) and a emperor (khaless) is almost a carbon copy of japan's sengoku-jidai era.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Which is probably because Game of Thrones and Star Trek are both lifting from history.
Most states with a significant history have had similar conflicts between regional / tribal leaders and a central authority, with a strong push towards central government only in the last couple of hundred years. Japanese, English and Norse inspirations have all been quoted as inspirations.
I mean, the current British state is rooted in a literal conflict between great houses - Yorks and Lancaster - which raged for decades and ended in the establishment of the Tudor English state.
Sure, the writer Ronald D. Moore compared Klingons to "the Samurai of feudal Japan, the Vikings, and the Hell's Angels." However, unlike the Klingons in TNG: "Rightful Heir", the Sengoku period did not seek to reinstate a sovereign, it already had one in place. In fact, Kahless was reinstated to unite the Klingon people. By comparison, Sengoku period's unification happened through a shogun.
In addition, the Klingon wedding attire is evidence that is closer to medieval England than feudal Japan in design. The directors and the producers would have had enough control over such a significant detail. Therefore, it cannot be written off as a mere coincidence. Interestingly, DS9: "You Are Cordially Invited" was written by Ronald D. Moore.
Here are some more "coincidences":
Say what you want but it paints a certain picture, which is more than just the comparisons already made.
Take a close look at the symbol of the Klingon Empirethree blades and a circle. Sometimes it's just three blades, but the symbol was created as early as TOS.
From TOS: "The Day of the Dove":
A blade is an alternate name for a sword.
Notice that the TOS Klingon uniforms were made to appear as a combination of mail and clothfitting the medieval theme.
"The son of a Klingon is a man the day he can first hold a blade."a Klingon proverb from TNG: "Ethics".
There's even a dedicated entry on Memory Alpha called Klingon blade weapons.
As you can see, the evidence tells a different story.
The spoken Klingon was developed only after the original series. Therefore, they could not have used it as a reference until then.
They called it that because of the gold rush in the area at the time. The locals used the word gold for gold. It doesn't contradict the translations from blade.
How do you think someone gets their family name? Take Dan Stahl, Cryptic's former EP for STOhis family name "Stahl" literally means "steel" in German. In fact, stahl is one of the possible English-to-German translations for blade, as in a steel blade.
They could have chosen a different person but they picked someone with the family name "Clingan", if such a person really existed. Otherwise, an alternate spelling of a family name is not unusual, while its origins point to one of the aforementioned languages in the translation. The evidence rules out a "pure coincidence" in this case.
Of course, it is known that Game of Thrones was inspired by the Wars of the Roses.
Same thing with Romulans/Remans. IIRC Romulus and Remus are actually ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, respectively. Romulans are Rihannsu and Remans are Havrannsu. Romulan and Reman are simply the human names for them.
Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's, and yours.
I dare you to do better.
The Klingons were originally a blend of Soviets and Mongols in TOS (amusing combo, BTW). In the movies until Undiscovered Country, they were simply aggressive brutes. TNG takes the movie appearances then provides the basic framework of what we know now of the Klingons. DS9 and such merely expanded upon it, especially DS9. The current iteration of the Klingons are a hybrid of Vikings, Samurai, and all the aggression associated with the 2.
The Romulans had an interesting series of changes in canon also. In TOS, they were displayed as an extremely aggressive people that one does not dare show weakness, for weakness invites further aggression from the Romulans. The warbird captain in "Balance of Terror" was shown to be a veteran, clever, competent leader but was tired of the wars and losses incurred by his comrades. But he carries out his duties as expected of a man of his rank and position. But we see from within his own ship and crew that aggression, more aggression, and glory was what ruled the Romulans. TNG flips the table. It sets the standard of what we take Romulans as these days: Clever, deceitful, isolationist.
Holy ****! I had no idea that she used a Bat'leth. That's so awesome.
Is that still official, though? I guess it is since it's the Queen and she can do this however the hell she wants...
Nope, nope sorry but that's nonsense:
http://www.treksinscifi.com/trekdaily/pictures/2010-06-03_Sir_Patrick.jpg
While, in current iterations of the Klingon Language (tlhIngan Hol) originated by James Doohan (RIP) and expounded upon by Marc Okrand, the self identifying term does in fact sound like "Klingon", it's origins are less than clear and may have been alien influenced.
In STII:WoK, Spock says to Saavik in Vulcan, "Kling akklami buffik, Saavik-kam" Meaning "No one is perfect, Saavik."
If the Vulcan word for "No one" or some substandard or undesirable thing is "Kling", this may have been the origin of a term which became widely used to refer to the Klingons. It may also give insight to general the Vulcan opinion of the Klingon people. To my knowledge, we have no definitive canon record of how long the Vulcans and the Klingon have been aware of each other.
Me: Did you read past the title? Posts about flying from the bridge are not allowed. They are prohibited.
Game Master Urizor: Yes, and while I understand your suggestions, however, the forums is the best place to discuss suggestions. I apologize for the confusion.
And this thread, I think tinfoil hat sales just skyrocketed.
I am baffled that some people even believed the bat'leth to be real. It doesn't even fit into the picture, it's a work done with ms paint, not even gimp or photoshop XD
But I guess some people want to believe very hard... :P
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!