Ghyll:Extraordinarily Bloodless Revolution

There are many scholars who would suggest that the Conflict That Is Not Happening has only been in progress for the last hundred years or so. But as Mr. Cowan has pointed out, the Extraordinarily Bloodless Revolution is a noted component of the conflict.

Most agree that anecdotal evidence suggesting the revolution began some time in the year -249EC is generally correct. This is despite a paucity of contemporary records that can confirm this.

Some links have been made to the battle occurring at the time the Budgerigar Master joined the court of Odgar IV. Since the Budgerigar Master is but a myth it hardly qualifies as supporting evidence.

Like the start date, the cause of the revolution is not clear. Phylostarus (-232EC to -162EC) suggested in his accounts of the revolution, that a deep seated antagonism existed between the two major participants - the people of Threel and their ruling class. Various anecdotes provide glimpses of the tensions between the two groups but nothing is clear about the triggering event.

What is known, is that the revolution was only short - it lasted a mere three months. It also seems clear that nobody lost their life as a direct result of the revolution. This is most probably due to the fact that the most commonly used weapons were fungo bats, sock puppets and on occasion, poison gas. The most effective weapon appears to have been the Kreem Pye.

From our vantage point some 250 years later, it is unclear how a revolution could be resolved through the use of such weapons. But we do know that the battle for the Palace of Lost Souls was the final event in the revolution. When it was over, the ruling class of Threel surrendered. This highlights another puzzling aspect of the revolution - what was the final outcome? While it would appear that the ruling class surrendered, there is no evidence to suggest any form of social change having occurred. The people of Threel had no change of government and their way of life seems to have gone on much as it was prior to the revolution.

Indeed, this author has come across some interesting tales that suggest the whole affair was the result of a wager made in a tavern over the results of a beauty contest. It is presented here as a suggested reason for the apparent lack of violence in the revolution. Other scholars may debate this point, although there is no evidence for another cause.

Citations: Budgerigar Master, Kreem Pye, Threel

--Dok 17:38, 8 Oct 2004 (EDT)