Rogal Dorn isn't considered Greek or Roman. The only thing that points to either is his title as Praetorian, and that is more about protecting the Emperor. The Imperial Fist Legion is a hodepodge of Germanic influences.
[Sigismund](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/e/ee/SigismundEC.jpg) is named after a Holy Roman Emperor and leads the Templars (later Black Templars) that use the symbol of the Teutonic Knights, an Order that's base of strength was in what is now Germany and Eastern Europe.
Fafnir Rann is the proto-typical Germanic barbarian stereotype. Having come from the Tribe of the Rann, he is boisterous and likes to fight. Just [look at the guy](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/4/43/FafnirRann.jpg) and tell me he doesn't look like every Germanic barbarian cliche.
The Imperial Fists themselves tend to follow the [Junker Model of Behavior](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperial_Fists#Disposition_and_Culture), a famous Prussian code.
Dorn himself is a blank slate. He really doesn't have too much cultural influence other than "doing his duty."
They had a special rule in heresy 1.0 called "Blood and Honour," so yeah, lots of influences from different German eras...
Rogal Dorn's name itself is a germanic or celtic styled word for "royal castle" iirc.
Of course. OF COURSE! Of course he's called imperial fist!
Never change GW.
Fan fact: Rogal in Polish means a type of pastry.
Fan fact 2: the crimson fists book world of Rynn (translated to 'świat rynn') was a source of many laughs among my friends as it sound like "world of gutters"
No. It's actually meant to sound like French. Like you took Robert Williamsman and badly translated it into French. In French William becomes Guilaume. For the sole purpose of having the flavour of a Haitian revolutionary.
Also in Eastern Canada there is agas station chain called Ultramar. Who's colours are blue and gold.
Ultramar is also basically the Latin translation of [Outremer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusader_states), the French term for the Crusader states established in the Levant. It means "over/beyond the sea."
It is really interesting to think of the Ultramarines as French. It's a tiny little reference compared to their overwhelming Greek/Roman coding, but it's neat. France was an infamous military and economic juggernaut for large parts of its history, after all.
I always liked the faux French pronunciation of Guilliman's name anyways. Rowboat Gillyman always sounded stupid to me and I've always been a fan of the way Arbitor Ian pronounces the name.
So we’ve got Royalregal Fist the Imperial Fist, Iron Hands the Iron Hand, Raven the Raven Guard, Bloodius the Blood Angel,
There’s also Lionel Johnson of the Dark Angels, Robert Williamson (or Robbie Williams for short) of the Ultramarines, Jaghatai Khan (did you mean “Chagatai Khan?”) of the White Scars aka space mongols, and Vulkan the forge god of the Salamanders aka the forge boys.
Anyone got a translation for Leman Russ? A quick Google suggests the Russ were a particularly bloody minded tribe of Scandinavians, which scans.
The Rus were the Viking founders of the Kievan Rus - a state which eventually expanded into what is today's Ukraine, Belarus, and the European parts of Russia.
Though the state itself was multi-ethnic (of European ethnicities), and the Viking influences had largely vanished by the 1400s.
>Fan fact 2: the crimson fists book world of Rynn (translated to 'świat rynn') was a source of many laughs among my friends as it sound like "world of gutters"
Not just from their book, goes baxk to rogue trader days. Wpulsnt be surprised if it's called that because the player was called Ryan.
Dorn is definitely fist in Irish just straight up, no change is spelling
Irish doesn't have a nice word for Imperial so usually we go with "royal" instead, which is Ríoga
I do think its both, just seperate for first & last name.
Something about rogal = Regal = english (germanic) and dorn being similar to the gaelic word for fist or something
IIRC Celtic and Germanic linguistic had a lot of similarities in the northern parts of todays germany as many seafarers would influence cultural and lingustic structures over the years. Correct me if im wrong though
Fafnir was a dwarf who together with his brother, held Loki for ransom. Loki being Loki, paid the ransom in cursed gold that turned Fafnir mad enough to kill his brother and hoard away the gold in the woods until he became a dragon. Sounds familiar doesn't it?
Anyways, Fafnir's other brother Regin wanted revenge, and the gold, so he forged a legendary sword and gave it to the adventurer Sjurdur (or Sigurd) to kill the dragon. Long story short, Sigurd succeeded in killing Fafnir but not before the dragon told him about the cursed gold. Sjurdur said yolo and took the gold. Regin being corrupted by the gold planned to kill Sjurdur and take the gold, but Sjurdur ate the heart of Fafnir and heard about the plot from animals. So when Regin came for the gold, Sjurdur killed him, fed the rest of Fafnir's heart to his wife and rode off into the sunset.
Once a year we sing all sorts of viking songs, telling these stories, on the Faroe Islands. [Here is a clip singing Regin Smiður](https://youtu.be/lL3e8doV9kI) which is this tale, but more detailed ofc with its 270 million verses.....
I would question Sigismund being named after Sigismund of Luxembourg. Siggy L wasn't known for prowess in battle or courage. I think he was just given a badass sounding Germanic name.
Great explanation otherwise, though.
Plus Rogal Dorn means “royal fist” is Gaelic. So not necessarily Germanic (though that seems to be the bulk of the influence) but more generally Northern European.
I’ve seen him and the fists as a whole compared to the Holy Roman Empire which, if you didn’t already know the difference between the HRE and the, uh, *regular* Roman Empire, might cause a bit of confusion.
Same. The theme I always thought was Spaniard/Conquistador for the fists (With names like "Camba Diaz").
....which of course contrasts with Inwit and its Eskimo style naming and climate.
Which just reinforces the Imperial Fists as the HRE, due to the links with Imperial Spain.
The Imperial Fists are basically a hodge podge of the HRE:
Black and yellow colour scheme, a very "Prussian" set of values, Huscarls for the bodyguard, ubiquitous fortifications, and the two most divergent offshots are Spanish conquistadors and crusading Templars clad in black and white.
Yeah I think when it came to the Heresy, they had to give the Fists a character with a Spanish sounding name as a nod to the Crimson Fists having mostly Spanish-sounding names in 40k.
The only weird thing is that Alexis Polux is the one who goes on to found the Crimson Fists, not Camba Diaz lol.
>The only weird thing is that Alexis Polux is the one who goes on to found the Crimson Fists, not Camba Diaz lol.
The real tragedy is that Camba Diaz was *way* more of a badass
Hey don't put Polux down, didn't he outfight Peturarbo at the big space battle? Also he had a mega bromance with Barabas Dantioch which was extremely wholesome considering the IW/IF rivalry
It is actually because of a friend of Rick Priestly. His marines were the crimson fists and he was spanish, thus the influence and why they were the poster boys for a while. Just mates being mates.
I always thought the Conquistador names was more of a crimson fists thing? I thought Imperial Fists and Black Templars lean towards germanic sounding names?
Praetorians were the elite bodyguards of the roman emperor irl if I remember correctly so, with all the pseudo roman aesthetic of the imperium it makes sense to call the guy who specializes in defence a praetorian.
As the poster above stated, they are styled after the HRE, the Holy ROMAN Empire, where the elites spoke Latin, so a few Latin titles make sense. After all, Kaiser is just a different spelling of Caesar, too. The pronunciation is the same in German and Latin (unlike in English, where most Latin and Greek pronunciations are hilariously butchered).
Lol, yeah, we are just used to calling it a see-saw salad, would be strange to switch now.
Btw I just realised Germans usually pronounce Latin 'c' as 's' too, today. Tseh-zar... just as wrong, actually. Just when the word Kaiser was coined they did it right. Would be interesting to know how medieval English pronounced it.
Well the salad isn’t named after the Roman, but the chef who invented it, who was from Spain or Mexico I can’t remember. The Spanish pronunciation and English pronunciation are pretty similar
Might have something to do with Gothic being mostly influenced by classic Latin without proper grammar, so they would‘ve called anyone in charge of Terra‘s defence ‚the praetorian‘.
I have always seen him compared more to the holy Roman empire, which is more like Germanic I think. The tectonic knights and crusades kinda tie in pretty well with the templars and crusading his sons get up to as well
Guilliman is definitely Roman inspired
Sanguinius has some clear Greek themes too
I wish I could just respond with a gif of the guy telling you to shush don't say that out loud or they will hear you. (Real people will hear you I mean. Not the human doves.)
>tectonic knights
Thats an awesome name for a Marine Chapter that causes Earthquakes and stuff!.
Now, to be a pedantic cunt, you meant the [Teutonic Knights](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Order) I apologise for being a dick but I do want a Chapter called something like The Tectonic Knights lol have a good one haha
Do not be silly. Tectonic knights just are dishonored regular knights that are dropped onto the enemy from low orbit. Without a drop keep or even just a parachute, mind you.
Not because your nickname is praetorian you are necessarily Roman. Fulgrim has been call the Phoenician and is not well Phoenician nor Carthaginian. GW writer take inspiration from many places.
Phoenician is kind of a double entendre. The word comes from Greek which does refer to Phoenicians, but also the mythological phoenix. But importantly , this Greek word basically means purple, from the dye producing snails commonly harvested by the Phoenicians. So you have the legion color and story in Fulgrims cognomen.
Between the Teutonic Knights style Templars, love of fortifications, concrete, and trenches, and running his legion like a hyper professional military I always figured he read as rather German. Then again Rogal Dorn roughly (very roughly) translates to Imperial Fist in Irish so who can say.
Some day we will actually learn more about Inwit. Some of the vague bits we know make it sound like it might have a culture inspired by Arctic indigenous peoples.
The Imperial Fists do not have a single defined cultural inspiration. If the Ultramarines are Roman, and the Space Wolves are Vikings, and the Blood Angels are Renaissance Italian, the Imperial Fists have no comparable "theme" or cultural stereotype to draw on.
Instead, they mix and match elements of many cultures, especially prior to the Heresy when culturally distinct successors like the Black Templars (late medieval Germanic), Crimson Fists (Hispanic) and the Executioners (pre-Roman Germanic) were all still components of the same Legion mixed in with Scandinavian (huscarls), Roman (praetorians), and Indigenous Alaskan ("Inwit") elements. There's even a little Celtic in there in the form of the Astral Knights successor chapter.
>There's even a little Celtic in there in the form of the Astral Knights successor chapter.
More than that just, 'Dorn' is Irish for 'fist'. 'Rioga' means 'royal' or 'regal'.
Yeah this is how I've always thought of them. Many different cultures because they recruited from all across Terra and later from many different worlds. The syncretic melting pot legion.
>the Imperial Fists have no comparable "theme" or cultural stereotype to draw on.
They actually do; they're the various kingdoms and people's contained within the Habsburg dynasties and/or the Holy Roman Empire.
I've never heard anyone considering him Greek, not sure where that's from? The whole 30k Imperium has a lot of Roman influences (I mean... Space marine LEGIONS...), but the fists themselves are a mix of many influences, which makes sense as they recruited from a number of different places. That's how you get Teutonic Knights next to Spanish-inspired names while the man himself roughly translates into 'imperial fist' if you're Irish 🤷♂️
I always thought that the Imperial Fists are loosely based on the [dominions that were ruled by the house of Habsburg](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Habsburg_dominions_1700.png#mw-jump-to-license) with an emphasis on the Holy Roman Empire.
On the one side you have guys like Camba-Diaz that sound Spanish and on the other side there is Sigismund that shares his name with a Holy Roman Emperor and the Black Templars which look like they are based on the Teutonic Order. Meanwhile Rogal Dorn himself and the main branch of the Imperial Fists, with their heavy emphasis on duty and their brutal efficiency, look like a personification of prussian values to me.
Side note: Huscarl comes from the Old Norse Hus (House/Home) and Carl (a man, able to fight). Huscarls were the bodyguards of the Scandinavian kings and nobles.
Rome is basically Athens 2.0 and the Spartan way of fighting (according to 300) was basically a predecessor to the Roman Phalanx, which was the absolute backbone on which the Roman empire was built.
Heavy organisation leaning on precisely coordinated tactics. Cesar's De Bello Gallico was basically the book we learned Roman military tactics from. Girlyman's laurels and Codex Astartes are basically the nod towards Cesar.
What I say is not 100% historically accurate, but what is in our heads when we think about the Roman empire.
You could make a case about Alexander the Great, but the state relied on his existence and fell into little squabbling empires after his dead. Cesar, as Gorillaman, was only a cog in a machine that had the perfect balance between cult of person and no need for that person to not be interchangeable to at least not nreak apart.
"Inwit" is actually an ~~Anglo Saxon~~ *Middle English* word meaning intrinsic wisdom ("wit" that is "in" something). Combined with 'huscarl' it might suggest that at one point someone at GW was going for a northern European Dark Ages feel.
It's Middle English, so Norman era rather than Anglo Saxon. But there was no such thing as an "Anglo Saxon" language - there are just various dialects of Old English and Middle English used by different branches of these tribes, eg West Saxon Old English.
IIRC, 'inwit' is an Old English word that means 'conscience', fitting for the dutiful Dorn.
Though, the otherwise complete lack of references to Inuit culture or myth amongst the Imperial Fists and their descendants could be a roundabout reference to the Old Prussians, the pagan indigenous people that lived in the region of Prussia before the Germans conquered it and Christianized the place, in the process wiping out most of the Old Prussian culture and language. Like the Old Prussians in relation to the Prussians, the only trace of the Inuit people amongst the Fists is the very name of one of their planet-fiefs
He’s not he’s Scandinavian that or Byzantine due to his penchant of building walls and his personal guard being huscarls as a reference to varangian guards
Gulliman is the classic roman
He's not either one. What you're noticing here is called a reference, it doesn't mean he is 100% any of those things. This is fantasy and sometimes it is partially inspired by reality but is ultimately made up, a few ingredients mixed around to make something new.
Greenland - a nation with Inuit and Scandinavian heritage.
Many of the characters, such as Sigismund and Rann, have northern European names. However they're clearly not "vikings".
When it comes to the Imperial Fists, they're a mix of influences -- as nearly all legions/chapters are, though far more subtle than most.
The Ultramarines are *Republican* era Romans, whereas the Imperial Fists would be ***Imperial*** era Romans -- with little to no Greek influence -- with maybe a little Byzantine thrown in for good measure.
All those Roman auxiliaries that came from the borders of the empire and beyond, many of them Germanic or Celtic, would help to form the first line of protection along borders such as Hadrian's Wall or the mostly unmentioned and easily forgotten 'great wall' that extended from the Atlantic cost down the Danube and possibly as far as into present day Romania \[admittedly mostly a chain of fortifications and occasional walls that bridged the gaps between natural barriers like rivers and mountains\]. They stood there on the periphery, guarding against the barbarian invader.
That is the strongest motif that the Imperial Fists have within their mix, imho. Just as the Byzantine emperors had their Varangian Guard, so too does Rogal Dorn have his Huscarls.
So yeah, take 'Northmen', Imperial Rome, a little Byzantine, and a healthy dab of Crusader-era Knights -- and you have the Imperial Fists.
I'd say Imperial fists are kind of more like the Empire from Warhammer Fantasy battle.
both based on aspects of the Holy Roman Empire with some of Spanish flair added.
I don't consider him Greco-Roman at all. The overall feel of crusade era Imperium has some heavy overtones of that I suppose... I mean, his surname is "fist" in Irish...
I always thought the Fists were alot like the Germanic Holy Roman Empire, like not the actual roman empire. In my head i always saw it as the Ultramarines were earlier republican Rome and the Fists were the Imperial reincarnation of Rome much later on.
The fists tie in much more with a Holy Roman Empire slash German legion this comes from the templar themselves being a holy order, their entire features are based on those of germanic descent, Sigismund is also named after a holy roman emperor. Most importantly if you think about it, the main strength Prussia had was their discipline and that is something showed evidently in his legion and in Dorn himself, so disciplined infact that he is able to bend the warp to not touch him.
Rogal Dorn himself is not considered Greek or Roman. Dorn himself has just about the amount of personality as the walls he loves so much, which is pretty close to nil. Dorn is the guy who does his duty and little else, maybe aside from building walls for fun.
Their whole legion is more in line with the Germans/Teutons/Holy Roman Empire.
Wiki calls them "Native Alaskans." What is the proper term anyway? I lived in Alaska for a bit, and never knew what the best term was for the groupas a whole, outside of their tribal names.
Alaska? They're people of the arctic and the majority population is east of Alaska.
The largest populations are Canada and Denmark and usa has the lowest population but it's considered primary by Americans because America.
Anyway, continue with your point.
Comments below are trying to... do something? But you are correct. He's from a system that's,. while "frozen", highly technological. They picked a really weird naming system for him. Just remember that GW works backwards and it's super evident in 30k/HH. It doesn't make a ton of sense of the farther you work backwards in time.
Weird, I usually see them being described as Prussian. If my opinion was what mattered, the Imperial Fists would have been a mix of Inuit, Prussian and one other thing I forgot about.
I’ve literally only seen the fists as mark 3 power armour. Very blank slate in terms of “(blank) in space” I’ve always seen them as the most generic space marines, not really Greek/Roman themed at all (that’s more the Minotaurs and the Ultras thing, not the fists)
Rogal Dorn isn't considered Greek or Roman. The only thing that points to either is his title as Praetorian, and that is more about protecting the Emperor. The Imperial Fist Legion is a hodepodge of Germanic influences. [Sigismund](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/e/ee/SigismundEC.jpg) is named after a Holy Roman Emperor and leads the Templars (later Black Templars) that use the symbol of the Teutonic Knights, an Order that's base of strength was in what is now Germany and Eastern Europe. Fafnir Rann is the proto-typical Germanic barbarian stereotype. Having come from the Tribe of the Rann, he is boisterous and likes to fight. Just [look at the guy](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/4/43/FafnirRann.jpg) and tell me he doesn't look like every Germanic barbarian cliche. The Imperial Fists themselves tend to follow the [Junker Model of Behavior](https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperial_Fists#Disposition_and_Culture), a famous Prussian code. Dorn himself is a blank slate. He really doesn't have too much cultural influence other than "doing his duty."
They had a special rule in heresy 1.0 called "Blood and Honour," so yeah, lots of influences from different German eras... Rogal Dorn's name itself is a germanic or celtic styled word for "royal castle" iirc.
"Rogal" is a blending of "royal" and "regal", "dorn" is Irish for "fist".
Irish for Royal is Ríoga so you don't even have to stray far from the one language
Of course. OF COURSE! Of course he's called imperial fist! Never change GW. Fan fact: Rogal in Polish means a type of pastry. Fan fact 2: the crimson fists book world of Rynn (translated to 'świat rynn') was a source of many laughs among my friends as it sound like "world of gutters"
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Roboute Guilliman somehow translated to "Blue Dude"
No. It's actually meant to sound like French. Like you took Robert Williamsman and badly translated it into French. In French William becomes Guilaume. For the sole purpose of having the flavour of a Haitian revolutionary. Also in Eastern Canada there is agas station chain called Ultramar. Who's colours are blue and gold.
Ultramar is also basically the Latin translation of [Outremer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusader_states), the French term for the Crusader states established in the Levant. It means "over/beyond the sea." It is really interesting to think of the Ultramarines as French. It's a tiny little reference compared to their overwhelming Greek/Roman coding, but it's neat. France was an infamous military and economic juggernaut for large parts of its history, after all.
I always liked the faux French pronunciation of Guilliman's name anyways. Rowboat Gillyman always sounded stupid to me and I've always been a fan of the way Arbitor Ian pronounces the name.
Nah, reportedly the name was picked to sound like it's the name of a conquistador.
Roboute Guillimann is supposed to sound like a conquistador’s name? do you have a source because that’s really interesting
Looking deep never works with GW, the foundation of the lore is drunk people/history grads in a Nottingham pubs in the 80/90's.
Well, his Ultramarines are coloured ultramarine...
So we’ve got Royalregal Fist the Imperial Fist, Iron Hands the Iron Hand, Raven the Raven Guard, Bloodius the Blood Angel, There’s also Lionel Johnson of the Dark Angels, Robert Williamson (or Robbie Williams for short) of the Ultramarines, Jaghatai Khan (did you mean “Chagatai Khan?”) of the White Scars aka space mongols, and Vulkan the forge god of the Salamanders aka the forge boys. Anyone got a translation for Leman Russ? A quick Google suggests the Russ were a particularly bloody minded tribe of Scandinavians, which scans.
The Rus were the Viking founders of the Kievan Rus - a state which eventually expanded into what is today's Ukraine, Belarus, and the European parts of Russia. Though the state itself was multi-ethnic (of European ethnicities), and the Viking influences had largely vanished by the 1400s.
That’s cool! Are you polish?
>Fan fact 2: the crimson fists book world of Rynn (translated to 'świat rynn') was a source of many laughs among my friends as it sound like "world of gutters" Not just from their book, goes baxk to rogue trader days. Wpulsnt be surprised if it's called that because the player was called Ryan.
>Fan fact: Rogal in Polish means a type of pastry ...and he likes wrapping himself up nice and cozy (granted, it's called the "pain glove", but still)
Bread glove.
Bread for the bread god Scones for the scone throne
He puts the pain in pain au chocolat
Minor point. Dorn is hand in the celtic irish and Fist in the Welsh. But your point stands. Have my upvote
Wiktionary says that **modern** Irish *dorn* is "fist" and **Old** Irish *dorn* is "hand; fist".
Ah, I knew it was something along those lines. Thanks!
Are you telling me that Rogal Dorns name is just fuckin Imperial Fist.
Dorn also meaning in old English: Castle
I always thought it was a futuristic version of "Roger".
“Dorn” is also Polish for “thorn,” which would make more sense linguistically
co? Skąd ty jesteś? Gdzie tak mówią? Nie mogę tego nawet znaleźć w słowniku :D
German, not Polish...
No it’s not.
It isn't... but it is in **German** and **Middle Dutch** (the modern Dutch form is *doorn*).
>a germanic or celtic styled word It's one or the other, surely? Because these two linguistic groups are separate.
Dorn is definitely fist in Irish just straight up, no change is spelling Irish doesn't have a nice word for Imperial so usually we go with "royal" instead, which is Ríoga
Our word for imperial is surely british right /s
The literal translation is "oh fuck oh no not again"
I do think its both, just seperate for first & last name. Something about rogal = Regal = english (germanic) and dorn being similar to the gaelic word for fist or something
Yes, I just don't remember which.
IIRC Celtic and Germanic linguistic had a lot of similarities in the northern parts of todays germany as many seafarers would influence cultural and lingustic structures over the years. Correct me if im wrong though
Wow. That's just as on tge nose as ferrus manus and his merry band
Fafnir was a dwarf who together with his brother, held Loki for ransom. Loki being Loki, paid the ransom in cursed gold that turned Fafnir mad enough to kill his brother and hoard away the gold in the woods until he became a dragon. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Anyways, Fafnir's other brother Regin wanted revenge, and the gold, so he forged a legendary sword and gave it to the adventurer Sjurdur (or Sigurd) to kill the dragon. Long story short, Sigurd succeeded in killing Fafnir but not before the dragon told him about the cursed gold. Sjurdur said yolo and took the gold. Regin being corrupted by the gold planned to kill Sjurdur and take the gold, but Sjurdur ate the heart of Fafnir and heard about the plot from animals. So when Regin came for the gold, Sjurdur killed him, fed the rest of Fafnir's heart to his wife and rode off into the sunset. Once a year we sing all sorts of viking songs, telling these stories, on the Faroe Islands. [Here is a clip singing Regin Smiður](https://youtu.be/lL3e8doV9kI) which is this tale, but more detailed ofc with its 270 million verses.....
I would question Sigismund being named after Sigismund of Luxembourg. Siggy L wasn't known for prowess in battle or courage. I think he was just given a badass sounding Germanic name. Great explanation otherwise, though.
Sigismund means victory through defence or something like that. A fitting name for an Imperial Fist
I assumed it was meant to evoke Sigurd.
I would go as far as Dorn is basically a personification of Prussian virtues.
Fafnir Rann is Ryan Reynolds?
I still sincerely believe Fafnir is just a Space Wolf that Rogal stole while Leman wasn't looking and no one can change my mind.
Here in the 7th legion, we're better than you and we know it!
Iron Cage
Plus Rogal Dorn means “royal fist” is Gaelic. So not necessarily Germanic (though that seems to be the bulk of the influence) but more generally Northern European.
I've never heard him being called Greek or Roman?
I’ve seen him and the fists as a whole compared to the Holy Roman Empire which, if you didn’t already know the difference between the HRE and the, uh, *regular* Roman Empire, might cause a bit of confusion.
Same. The theme I always thought was Spaniard/Conquistador for the fists (With names like "Camba Diaz"). ....which of course contrasts with Inwit and its Eskimo style naming and climate.
Which just reinforces the Imperial Fists as the HRE, due to the links with Imperial Spain. The Imperial Fists are basically a hodge podge of the HRE: Black and yellow colour scheme, a very "Prussian" set of values, Huscarls for the bodyguard, ubiquitous fortifications, and the two most divergent offshots are Spanish conquistadors and crusading Templars clad in black and white.
That's a trait inherited by the Crimson Fists specifically. Something to do with where they were recruited from.
Yeah I think when it came to the Heresy, they had to give the Fists a character with a Spanish sounding name as a nod to the Crimson Fists having mostly Spanish-sounding names in 40k. The only weird thing is that Alexis Polux is the one who goes on to found the Crimson Fists, not Camba Diaz lol.
>The only weird thing is that Alexis Polux is the one who goes on to found the Crimson Fists, not Camba Diaz lol. The real tragedy is that Camba Diaz was *way* more of a badass
Hey don't put Polux down, didn't he outfight Peturarbo at the big space battle? Also he had a mega bromance with Barabas Dantioch which was extremely wholesome considering the IW/IF rivalry
Oh, Polux is still great. It's just very, very hard to outdo Camba Diaz.
It is actually because of a friend of Rick Priestly. His marines were the crimson fists and he was spanish, thus the influence and why they were the poster boys for a while. Just mates being mates.
themoreyouknow.gif
speaking of spanish, I used to think the lion was spanish because he had "el" in his name.
Lion El’Juanson. El chico de Juan
I always thought the Conquistador names was more of a crimson fists thing? I thought Imperial Fists and Black Templars lean towards germanic sounding names?
Oh, well he's call "the Praetorian" quite often.
Praetorians were the elite bodyguards of the roman emperor irl if I remember correctly so, with all the pseudo roman aesthetic of the imperium it makes sense to call the guy who specializes in defence a praetorian.
That's not part of his personal styling but is a title that the Emperor put on him when he was placed in command of the defense of Terra
Because he, in lore, literally *is* the Praetorian.
As the poster above stated, they are styled after the HRE, the Holy ROMAN Empire, where the elites spoke Latin, so a few Latin titles make sense. After all, Kaiser is just a different spelling of Caesar, too. The pronunciation is the same in German and Latin (unlike in English, where most Latin and Greek pronunciations are hilariously butchered).
While I know what you mean, I'm chuckling at the idea that we should all be ordering Kaiser salads in restaurants.
Lol, yeah, we are just used to calling it a see-saw salad, would be strange to switch now. Btw I just realised Germans usually pronounce Latin 'c' as 's' too, today. Tseh-zar... just as wrong, actually. Just when the word Kaiser was coined they did it right. Would be interesting to know how medieval English pronounced it.
Well the salad isn’t named after the Roman, but the chef who invented it, who was from Spain or Mexico I can’t remember. The Spanish pronunciation and English pronunciation are pretty similar
Might have something to do with Gothic being mostly influenced by classic Latin without proper grammar, so they would‘ve called anyone in charge of Terra‘s defence ‚the praetorian‘.
I have heard it. That being said, gulleman is a clear roman and perti is clearly the greek
I have always seen him compared more to the holy Roman empire, which is more like Germanic I think. The tectonic knights and crusades kinda tie in pretty well with the templars and crusading his sons get up to as well Guilliman is definitely Roman inspired Sanguinius has some clear Greek themes too
I always saw Sanguinius and the Blood Angels as being Italian/Catholic themed, hence Dante or Mephiston, given the angel aesthetic.
Blood angels are definitely catholic inspired, their rituals, shame and their daddy is literally Jesus
Wouldn't that mean that it would have made more sense to have Sanguinius be the perpetual?
Well... jesus ain't around anymore either.
I wish I could just respond with a gif of the guy telling you to shush don't say that out loud or they will hear you. (Real people will hear you I mean. Not the human doves.)
Also there's Peedo Mollestor who founded the Feelers of Young Ones legion, based on the planet Beebeysee.
Indeed. They are actually like that Italian vampire family from Twilight. Italian and Vampire combined
Almost fitting then that the Lamenters are the goodest boys around
Perturabo is definitely more greek though, considering his home planet is named "OLYMPIA"
And propobly someone on Olimpia put some iron within him
You’re right, the gods put a (metal) stick up his butt so he’d be a grumpy boy.
I always saw it more Byzantine. Dorn and his housecarls (huskarls) we verengian (praetorians).
Fafnir Rann is a suspiciously viking-like name, so that makes sense. When I first read his name I assumed he was a Space Wolf.
it's more than viking like, fafnir is the dragon that gnaws the world tree. also is the dragon in the nibelungenleid I think
You're thinking of Nidhogg. Fafnir was a dwarf who was cursed by the Ring of Andvari and was transformed into a dragon to protect his hoard.
So fists are historical Vikings/northern Germanic cultures while wolves are romanticised, popular culture Vikings
The Dragon that Sigurd slew to become known as Sigurd Fafnirsbane
>tectonic knights Thats an awesome name for a Marine Chapter that causes Earthquakes and stuff!. Now, to be a pedantic cunt, you meant the [Teutonic Knights](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teutonic_Order) I apologise for being a dick but I do want a Chapter called something like The Tectonic Knights lol have a good one haha
Do not be silly. Tectonic knights just are dishonored regular knights that are dropped onto the enemy from low orbit. Without a drop keep or even just a parachute, mind you.
I thought the same damn it ^^ also not to be pedantic. Now I need to create a new BT homebrew with "earthshaker" weaponry, heavy tanks and what not
Black Templar offshoot which has gone back to old school Imp Fist siege work?
Yes, but with earth shattering faith in the Emprah
Yeah, I already commented elsewhere that autocorrect got me. I had typed it correctly but AC is not good on history I guess
Gotta worry when those knights shift. Bring whole buildings down.
Autocorrect got me again , that bitch. Leaving it for funnies.
This is the way. Whenever I miss an autocorrect, I just double down on it.
lol i thought that too
The other Roman is Angron. Gman is Caesar and Roman high society, Angron is Spartacus and the Roman slaves.
guiliman is more inspired by octavian rather than ceasar imo
Octavian *was* Caesar though.
Octavian was *a* Caesar, but not *the* Caesar.
I didn't say "the" Caesar! I just meant like, a Roman leader among his high society kin.
The problem is that just saying "Caesar" without context generally leads people to believe you're talking about Julius.
i thought he was talking about julius
Angron's not really "Roman" beyond being an obvious homage to Spartacus. If anything, the World Eaters are an amalgamation of East Slavs.
I always figured the World Eaters diversity and such was meant to emulate the Roman slave population, through a gladiatorial kinda lean.
Can't forget alpharius with the hydra themes
Teutonic*
Yeah, autocorrect sucks
I'm naming my next chapter the Tectonic Knights.
Please do
Not because your nickname is praetorian you are necessarily Roman. Fulgrim has been call the Phoenician and is not well Phoenician nor Carthaginian. GW writer take inspiration from many places.
He is definitely Carthaginian in the sense that many Imperials believe he should have been burned down.
But shouldn't by that logic the title of phoenician go to Perturabo? He's obviously the more salty one.
Oof. Morty also gets a claim for the title then IMO
Fulgrim delenda est
Precisely haha
Phoenician is kind of a double entendre. The word comes from Greek which does refer to Phoenicians, but also the mythological phoenix. But importantly , this Greek word basically means purple, from the dye producing snails commonly harvested by the Phoenicians. So you have the legion color and story in Fulgrims cognomen.
Between the Teutonic Knights style Templars, love of fortifications, concrete, and trenches, and running his legion like a hyper professional military I always figured he read as rather German. Then again Rogal Dorn roughly (very roughly) translates to Imperial Fist in Irish so who can say.
Some day we will actually learn more about Inwit. Some of the vague bits we know make it sound like it might have a culture inspired by Arctic indigenous peoples.
The Imperial Fists do not have a single defined cultural inspiration. If the Ultramarines are Roman, and the Space Wolves are Vikings, and the Blood Angels are Renaissance Italian, the Imperial Fists have no comparable "theme" or cultural stereotype to draw on. Instead, they mix and match elements of many cultures, especially prior to the Heresy when culturally distinct successors like the Black Templars (late medieval Germanic), Crimson Fists (Hispanic) and the Executioners (pre-Roman Germanic) were all still components of the same Legion mixed in with Scandinavian (huscarls), Roman (praetorians), and Indigenous Alaskan ("Inwit") elements. There's even a little Celtic in there in the form of the Astral Knights successor chapter.
>There's even a little Celtic in there in the form of the Astral Knights successor chapter. More than that just, 'Dorn' is Irish for 'fist'. 'Rioga' means 'royal' or 'regal'.
Starding to get panhumanic there, and I like it. The Imperial Fists are the Last Wall.
Yeah this is how I've always thought of them. Many different cultures because they recruited from all across Terra and later from many different worlds. The syncretic melting pot legion.
>the Imperial Fists have no comparable "theme" or cultural stereotype to draw on. They actually do; they're the various kingdoms and people's contained within the Habsburg dynasties and/or the Holy Roman Empire.
I've never heard anyone considering him Greek, not sure where that's from? The whole 30k Imperium has a lot of Roman influences (I mean... Space marine LEGIONS...), but the fists themselves are a mix of many influences, which makes sense as they recruited from a number of different places. That's how you get Teutonic Knights next to Spanish-inspired names while the man himself roughly translates into 'imperial fist' if you're Irish 🤷♂️
I always thought that the Imperial Fists are loosely based on the [dominions that were ruled by the house of Habsburg](https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Habsburg_dominions_1700.png#mw-jump-to-license) with an emphasis on the Holy Roman Empire. On the one side you have guys like Camba-Diaz that sound Spanish and on the other side there is Sigismund that shares his name with a Holy Roman Emperor and the Black Templars which look like they are based on the Teutonic Order. Meanwhile Rogal Dorn himself and the main branch of the Imperial Fists, with their heavy emphasis on duty and their brutal efficiency, look like a personification of prussian values to me.
Side note: Huscarl comes from the Old Norse Hus (House/Home) and Carl (a man, able to fight). Huscarls were the bodyguards of the Scandinavian kings and nobles.
> Alaska Native Indigenous \*screams in Nunavut\*
How should it be said? I lived in Alaska for a while, and they went by "Native Alaskan." But, I'm not sure that would make sense to a European.
Inuit is the more generally accepted term, but it's not all-encompassing.
What is all-encompassing? And, a term that might be understandable to someone who hasn't heard of the Inuit?
Real question is why we don't have a space cowboy faction
Slap a five gallon hat on some White Scars and call it a day.
Because cowboys weren't really a military force of any particular renown, particularly in the context of European/Old World history.
I thought Guilliman was the roman and Perturabo the greek guy.
People think he’s Greek?
Yeah, we didn’t know either.
I honestly just thought imperial fists were meant to be piss as a theme, kind of weird but who am I to judge
*looks at pamphlet summarizing IF as Germanic* I mean….in a governmental way yes.
That’s kind of you’re whole thing Perty. Damn Imperial Fists trying to take the Iron Warriors honor once again!!!
The Roman is definitely Roboute. Dorn is more like a super structured German.
Which is weird cos Macragge has a very Greek/Spartan feel.
Rome is basically Athens 2.0 and the Spartan way of fighting (according to 300) was basically a predecessor to the Roman Phalanx, which was the absolute backbone on which the Roman empire was built. Heavy organisation leaning on precisely coordinated tactics. Cesar's De Bello Gallico was basically the book we learned Roman military tactics from. Girlyman's laurels and Codex Astartes are basically the nod towards Cesar. What I say is not 100% historically accurate, but what is in our heads when we think about the Roman empire. You could make a case about Alexander the Great, but the state relied on his existence and fell into little squabbling empires after his dead. Cesar, as Gorillaman, was only a cog in a machine that had the perfect balance between cult of person and no need for that person to not be interchangeable to at least not nreak apart.
So what you're saying is that I'm right? Cool.
"Inwit" is actually an ~~Anglo Saxon~~ *Middle English* word meaning intrinsic wisdom ("wit" that is "in" something). Combined with 'huscarl' it might suggest that at one point someone at GW was going for a northern European Dark Ages feel.
It's Middle English, so Norman era rather than Anglo Saxon. But there was no such thing as an "Anglo Saxon" language - there are just various dialects of Old English and Middle English used by different branches of these tribes, eg West Saxon Old English.
True!
IIRC, 'inwit' is an Old English word that means 'conscience', fitting for the dutiful Dorn. Though, the otherwise complete lack of references to Inuit culture or myth amongst the Imperial Fists and their descendants could be a roundabout reference to the Old Prussians, the pagan indigenous people that lived in the region of Prussia before the Germans conquered it and Christianized the place, in the process wiping out most of the Old Prussian culture and language. Like the Old Prussians in relation to the Prussians, the only trace of the Inuit people amongst the Fists is the very name of one of their planet-fiefs
I always thought he was generally German type, the Prussian Howitzer meme and Tuetonic Knights meme personified.
He’s not he’s Scandinavian that or Byzantine due to his penchant of building walls and his personal guard being huscarls as a reference to varangian guards Gulliman is the classic roman
He's not either one. What you're noticing here is called a reference, it doesn't mean he is 100% any of those things. This is fantasy and sometimes it is partially inspired by reality but is ultimately made up, a few ingredients mixed around to make something new.
Greenland - a nation with Inuit and Scandinavian heritage. Many of the characters, such as Sigismund and Rann, have northern European names. However they're clearly not "vikings".
I always saw Dorn and the VII legion as primarily Germanic in influence, van Doorn is a Dutch/Afrikaner surname.
When it comes to the Imperial Fists, they're a mix of influences -- as nearly all legions/chapters are, though far more subtle than most. The Ultramarines are *Republican* era Romans, whereas the Imperial Fists would be ***Imperial*** era Romans -- with little to no Greek influence -- with maybe a little Byzantine thrown in for good measure. All those Roman auxiliaries that came from the borders of the empire and beyond, many of them Germanic or Celtic, would help to form the first line of protection along borders such as Hadrian's Wall or the mostly unmentioned and easily forgotten 'great wall' that extended from the Atlantic cost down the Danube and possibly as far as into present day Romania \[admittedly mostly a chain of fortifications and occasional walls that bridged the gaps between natural barriers like rivers and mountains\]. They stood there on the periphery, guarding against the barbarian invader. That is the strongest motif that the Imperial Fists have within their mix, imho. Just as the Byzantine emperors had their Varangian Guard, so too does Rogal Dorn have his Huscarls. So yeah, take 'Northmen', Imperial Rome, a little Byzantine, and a healthy dab of Crusader-era Knights -- and you have the Imperial Fists.
I'd say Imperial fists are kind of more like the Empire from Warhammer Fantasy battle. both based on aspects of the Holy Roman Empire with some of Spanish flair added.
I don't consider him Greco-Roman at all. The overall feel of crusade era Imperium has some heavy overtones of that I suppose... I mean, his surname is "fist" in Irish...
Alaska? No majority of the Inuit are from Nunavut Canada and the Canadian Territories
I always thought the Fists were alot like the Germanic Holy Roman Empire, like not the actual roman empire. In my head i always saw it as the Ultramarines were earlier republican Rome and the Fists were the Imperial reincarnation of Rome much later on.
The fists tie in much more with a Holy Roman Empire slash German legion this comes from the templar themselves being a holy order, their entire features are based on those of germanic descent, Sigismund is also named after a holy roman emperor. Most importantly if you think about it, the main strength Prussia had was their discipline and that is something showed evidently in his legion and in Dorn himself, so disciplined infact that he is able to bend the warp to not touch him.
Rogal Dorn himself is not considered Greek or Roman. Dorn himself has just about the amount of personality as the walls he loves so much, which is pretty close to nil. Dorn is the guy who does his duty and little else, maybe aside from building walls for fun. Their whole legion is more in line with the Germans/Teutons/Holy Roman Empire.
Huscarl is also taking inspiration from “huskar” which is where you’ll find your answer I suspect
I find him funny, he looks a bit like mugatu from zoolander lol.
Just an FYI, Inuits are much farther spread than just Alaska
Wiki calls them "Native Alaskans." What is the proper term anyway? I lived in Alaska for a bit, and never knew what the best term was for the groupas a whole, outside of their tribal names.
Alaska? They're people of the arctic and the majority population is east of Alaska. The largest populations are Canada and Denmark and usa has the lowest population but it's considered primary by Americans because America. Anyway, continue with your point.
Comments below are trying to... do something? But you are correct. He's from a system that's,. while "frozen", highly technological. They picked a really weird naming system for him. Just remember that GW works backwards and it's super evident in 30k/HH. It doesn't make a ton of sense of the farther you work backwards in time.
Beecause no author ever got around for defining the culture of Inwit in a novel, so it kinda defaulted to Greek/Roman.
Lmao no it isn't. Inwit is distinctly described as an ice planet.
The German influence is very obvious.
The Imperium in general is very Greek/Roman, aesthetically-speaking. Me, I always saw Rogal as German.
Huscarl is Anglo Saxon.
Weird, I usually see them being described as Prussian. If my opinion was what mattered, the Imperial Fists would have been a mix of Inuit, Prussian and one other thing I forgot about.
I’ve literally only seen the fists as mark 3 power armour. Very blank slate in terms of “(blank) in space” I’ve always seen them as the most generic space marines, not really Greek/Roman themed at all (that’s more the Minotaurs and the Ultras thing, not the fists)
I always saw him as an Laskan native lol 😂.
I’ve literally never heard a single person suggest that Rogal Dorn is Greek or Roman. Not once ever.
Because a bunch of people in igloos aren't the best representation for a guy who builds giant fortresses.
Who considers him what?