Ghyll:AuroAnthropology

AuroAnthropology is the social-humanist study of the history of light and light sources in culture, in contrast to the long theological tradition of the Brothers of the Lantern. Modern AuroAnthropology is a fairly young science, as clear and objective study into light and related matters was until relatively recently the subject of strong taboo, if not outright persecution. Consider the obscure approach which a scribe of the Fylesgate Annals seems to think necessary in referring to the invention of Andelphracian Lights: (Please forgive the translation from ternary script)

Hail Andelphracia! Hail!
Seventh mayor, seven times chosen,
Ripped a secret from heaven
Any other would surely be smote to ash
Or struck by lightning as an unrightous thief
Also, she commissioned a rather-charming clock tower
Presided over festivals seven times
Resolved the farm dispute fairly to either side
Until you build a clock
Be wary in following the example of your betters.

Even in our contemporary times, the pursuit of AuroAnthropology has been at best considered fairly controversial. Consider this recent clipping from our own Folktown Records, edition 312:

"Why does the Sun Shine?" - Gibbous Saunders, age 11.

Garth Haversham (Managing Editor) replies: "Dear readers, while it is the policy and mission of this publication to provide clear answers to questions, in this case myself and my staff have had to make a tough call--Master Saunders, ask your mother."

In very recent years, however, thanks to the pioneering work of many scholars toiling in obscurity, a few courageous city 'docs', and the higher profile activities of the Unquisition, many questions about the history of portable and celestial light have begun to be addressed.

Citations: Brothers of the Lantern, Unquisition.

--Joe Bowers 16:41, 2 Sep 2004 (EDT)

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I'd just like to emphacise, having studied the Fylesgate Annals for some time, just how strained that translation of the ternary script is: in several places it could easily be interpreted as meaning the opposite with a few very straightforward arguments. Nontheless, I recognize the extreme difficulty in providing translations of ternary script in core script. Perhaps when the Encyclopaedia comes around to defining Ternary Script, we can include some examples of the original. I'd also like to thank Mr. Bowers for including an entry on the oft' neglected field of AuroAnthropology so early on in the creation of the Encyclopaedia. --Sean B. Palmer 13:34, 3 Sep 2004 (EDT)

My apologies again for the weak translation- for example, in the sixth (translated) line above, my reading of a 45 degree westward bend in the second-order script as 'rather-charming' could also be read "terrifying", or simply "yellow". Alternative translations by other scholars would be welcome in this space, editors permitting. --Joe Bowers 13:58, 3 Sep 2004 (EDT)

I can already hear husbands all across Ghyll saying "why, my dear, you're looking 'rather-charming' in the Bowersian sense today". --Sean B. Palmer 14:07, 3 Sep 2004 (EDT)