jeffjerwin

The truth is the dry surface of the universe - at least according to the Esrolia and the Entekosiad books - was the domain of Earth, and that Earth Queens (and the occasional Titanic Earth Father) were the norm. The Storm and Vingkotling culture took over an Earth area, ruled by daughters of Ernalda and Velhara..., and it is possible that that Esrolia and Holay (and Seshnela and the Paps) are all outlying fragments of a universal Earth culture that has been mostly driven into the Loom Houses by swaggering men. Or it is possible that when you take away Orlanth Ernalda is potent enough to remain behind even in his absence. The Esrolians abolished kingship or kept it to the old year-king way, and the Bright Empire eradicated the Berenethtelli, while leaving Reydalda alone. So Reydalda's priestess queens might have survived because they seemed less threatening (perhaps as part of their 'other way') to patriarchal men (the Broken Council/Dara Happa), as opposed to the Esrolians realizing that the Vingkotlings threatened peace and stability. In both cases the removal of the king left a queen behind. The queen represented something older and more resilient as well.

Hmmm. I think know the real world version of this ritual. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashvamedha

In reference to the 'monsters' in Saird, we may note that one of the only facts we have concerning Fyllich Kwan is that its walls are decorated with reliefs of 'monsters'. These don't, presumably, date to the EWF period, because Nodnor to its north was obviously the EWF citadel in Saird.

Perfect. Of course... I was counting from the Dara Happan reckoning of "History" beginning. The DHs seem to see it in two different ways... there's the 'help' Gerruskoger gives to make Kargzant run a regular path, and 'Lerustum the Killer' (Orlanth?) who defeats Shargash and binds him within Alkoth and Hell. And then under Huradabba appears, who was ruled by Vettebbe, 'a star god that escaped the conquering of his lord, Kargzant, by Orlanatus'... Vettebbe is defeated by Orlanatus and Antirius working together. It is difficult to interpret this of course because of the way the Jenarong/Hyaloring emperors are represented by the Yelm cult. Of course Antirius and Orlanatus working together is Elmal and Orlanth, but the later Tharkantus would seem to be Kargzant, or is he Lightfore astride Kargzant? In any case it makes a lot more sense that Philekka could be the eponym of Fylich Kwan and Filichet now, since they are sites in the Berenethtelli heartland. But as a composite Orlanthi-Hyaloring people their participation in the Dawn Age Dara Happa would cause inconsistencies. I note Kagradus 'who borne away the Golden Eagle' in the HotHP; Kagradus is followed three reigns later by Venorl and Venharl, who ruled over Dara Happa after the battle of Argentium Thrile. One also notices that the dates don't match for Kordavu and that battle, though there some sort of nonsense about him sending away as friends the Council. But Kagradus' death seems to correspond to the fate of Kestinendos, 'Lord Bright Eagle' some twenty five years earlier in the DH timeline. Since Kestinendos is said to have died fighting the 'Monsters' that were promised Saird and Sylila, this shows the appearance of Saird within the First Council. These 'monsters' were allies of the same inchoate 'Nomads' that faced Gestornus.

One curious note. 'Philekka' (which sounds awfully like Filichet and Fyllich) is cited in the Glorious ReAscent as a priestess of Dendara who betrayed Gestornus during his Ten Tests by 'leaving a door open', so that he was killed by a 'nomad king'. Philekka and 'her kin' are condemned, and she is said to have become a 'demon' after she was slain by her lover. This was in the year 111,111 (i.e., 110 years before Time, in the Grey Age, after the rising of Antirius/Lightfore). Philekka's 'betrayal' is closely connected to the Rebel Gods in the Fortunate Succession, and the nomad king is named as 'Dardaggus the Cannibal'. This may be a coincidence. Gestornus may be a Hyaloring. If there is a connection between Philekka and Filichet, however, why would Verenmars name the city for her? Of course the name could be an epithet of the Earth goddess, and thus be transferred from Dendara/Nyalda/Ernalda to her worshipper.

A couple issues here that may need elucidation. Armies and Enemies, p.82, claims that the Provincial Government dated to 1545 and was based then in Mirin's Cross and derived from the need for a strategy to recover Tarsh. I suppose Phargentes, as he was Overseer as well as king, took the title with him to Furthest and it returned to Mirin's Cross on his death. On p.165 of the Sourcebook the Kynnelfing Alliance excludes Filichet (though it does include Enneal and Fylich Kwan. And on p.154 the map shows Kynnelfing as an area north of Mirin's Cross not including either city. This is why I thought the Kynnelfing group was not attached to either city or their rulers, but came from middle Saird instead. The names Fylich Kwan and Filichet seem to be etymologically linked, though I don't know what they could mean.

Well that clarifies things. In any case, undermining the rule of friendly Earth queens and Horse queens seems like a poor decision. Edit: I now realize that reading the Guide late at night may lead to misreadings... like skipping the word "bypassing" on p.171

I thought that Tatius reported to Appius Luxius. But maybe that was a formality?

Who is Mirin? Is the Cross a death rune? I meant to suggest that the Lunars rebuilt the city/refounded it. I get a real sense that the equation with Nivorah was done in part by rebuilding the site to be 'even more' Dara Happan (even though Verenmars founded it). The 'Overseer' position also seems to parallel the divine position held be Nemarthshar. While initially I thought that it might be Tarsh, I think Urengari might be the Esrolian Sun realm, as Yarnadara of Elempur may be Ernalda. Harono/the Bright Emperor may have been Urengerum. Since Holay and Aggar are the core sources of the Tarshite colonization of Dragon Pass, the name Elmal must have been in use for Lightfore as late as the 14th century around Holay. I am kind of suspicious of the present Holay-Saird culture as being anything but a Lunar synthesis, as Saird is clearly stated to have been heavily colonized by Lodrilli immigrants in later Wanes. There's a lot of dog-god stuff going on in Saird, and immediately south of it, we have Yinkstead and the Yinkin cult in Tarsh, which suggests that there are some Holayan/Sairdite cultural markers that might be 'one or the other'. There would also be linguistic differences. All of this is papered over by New Pelorian and Lunar cults but it strikes me that the old Solar-Storm cultural boundary is going to keep popping up in the local politics. The enthronement of a queen over a cross-cultural cult (Ernalda-Nyalda) seems like it's a deliberate attempt to find a common ground, but it's interesting that the Lunars do not pursue the divide and conquer strategy (I suppose it's theologically difficult for them). But having an Earth queen as sacred ruler over this strategic lowland is going to backfire badly for them in the future... What's interesting is that this solution was pursued apparently successfully by the Empire and then they manage to cock it up in a really disastrous way at Whitewall and later the Dragonkill - with Appius Luxius, who must have at least served as consort for the Holay Queen as the chart above suggests, being in the midst of this scheme. I'm referring to 'killing Ernalda', of course, and extending the Glowline before integrating Sartar into the Empire culturally, as well as ignoring the dragon thing, which the local Alakoring cult would have had a word in about. Damaging Ernalda in Holay itself - look at p.731 of the Guide! - so that the priestess queen of Filichet can't even conduct her business is going to alienate her and her subjects. I can't imagine how angry Inrana was after that... (the Redaylda of Six Ages is a priestess of Ernalda, so while the Horse goddess is just that, she's pretty deeply interconnected with the Earth cult)

Zazamanc is explicitly pagan/non-Christian in Parzival, the source for the place. Clarification: the paganism or non-Christianity of Fierefiz, Parzival's half-brother and son of the queen of Zazamanc, is an important plot point in that romance. Functionally, Fierefiz serves as a representation of the hope held by more peaceable Crusaders that Muslim leaders like Saphadin, Saladin's brother, would convert to Christianity as part of a settlement of the disputes between the Franks and the Islamic world (this was a possibility pursued by Richard the Lion-heart in c.1189, who wanted him to marry his sister Joan, the queen dowager of Sicily). Fierefiz converts to Christianity in the romance and weds Repanse de Schoye, the Grail bearer (and analogue of Elaine of Carbonek); their son is Prester John. The same notions probably have something to do with 'Li Giromelant's' marriage to Gawaine's sister in Chretien's Grail romance where the marriage averts a war, but Li Giromelant is not explicitly pagan. Gawaine is basically King Richard and Parzival an imagined hero of the House of Brienne-Ramerupt, which had secured the throne of Jerusalem by marriage after the Third Crusade. Thus Zazamanc's symbolic religion is very Orientalized and fictional. Fierefiz's first wife is the princess of Tribabilot (a distorted name derived from Patalibothra or Pataliputra in Classical India). Zazamanc floats geographically somewhere between Egypt, Baghdad, and India, as it is essentially a proxy for the East as a whole. Saphadin and Saladin ruled Syria and Egypt. It's not known where the place name came from but it was mentioned in passing in the Nibelungenlied, in association with Arabia and Azagouc (the latter may be derived from an Arabic name for the Straits of Gibraltar).

Here's my timeline of events (unfinished and comments and corrections welcomed) from c.1330 or 2/29: 1330 Arim the Pauper crosses the Death Line from southern Holay [Filichet]. Note that Talfort is older than Tarsh. Elmal is the still the primary sun/Lightfore god in Holay/Filichet. Gwythar Longwise gathers many gods at Mirin’s Cross to oppose the Lunars. This becomes known as the Kynnelfing Alliance. The Kynnelfing tribe proper occupied the lands around the Sun Dome on the Jader River. Martin Laurie in ‘Mitchuinn Moonhater’ (Enclosure 2) states that Kynnelfing, meaning ‘Black Spur’ was the fortress at the juncture of the Oslir and the Black Eel Rivers in Mirin’s Cross. This seems to contradict the maps in the Sourcebook, so we may substitute ‘opposite Mirin’s Cross’, i.e., northwest of the city. 1346 Holay is defeated/cowed by the Conquering Daughter, who creates a crystal bridge to cross the Black Eel. (A year later the Kynnelfing/Cynnelfing Alliance surrendered). The Helmet of Perides [Periades of Vanch?] was surrendered by Filichet in tribute to Hwarin. The queen of Filichet is proclaimed Queen of Holay (an ancient name for the Forosilvuli lands). 1347 The Conquering Daughter enters Filichet, marking the final defeat of the Kynnelfing Alliance. ‘The Carving of Tarsh’ (Wyrms Footprints, p.22): ‘Others, however, claim that the 15,000 bastard sons and daughters who later founded the first of the Wild Sultanates had a part in convincing the natives to convert, and point out the four great Haunted Fields as their proofs. This invasion set another great migration in motion, which as far as Dragon Pass’. 1350 Mirin’s Cross’s Lunar city/colony is formally founded by Hwarin Dalthippa. It is equated with Nivorah by Lunar ritualists. It is the capital of Lunar Saird, which appears to be a colony of Sylila. 1358 Hwarin Dalthippa is murdered by No-Print. 1362 Battle of the Falling Hills: destruction of the Lunar army (and death of the Red Emperor) by the Earth Twins of Tarsh. Holay extends from the later site of Furthest, along the eastern side of the Oslir to ‘Holay Fort’ but excludes Fylich Kwan, Barnborn, and Mirin’s Cross (each part of Saird). [Note that Greg says that the Barteri actually formed after the Battle of Falling Hills, though this may be the evolution of a small tribe or clan into an overtribe.] The Barteri or Bartering tribe becomes independent of Holay, based in the small city of Dolsonin, at the border of Tarsh [and a client tribe of the King of Tarsh]. Tarsh raids along the Daughter’s Road as far as the Bridge of Phirmax [outside Jillaro]. 1374 In the north, Sheng Seleris invades Peloria. The Opili cross the Black Eel close to Fylich Kwan (which presumably they either sacked or besieged), then the Oslir at Dolminsk, passing through the Ornore lands and the former territory of the Uitaros. The Opili Horse Nomads are defeated at Quintus Vale by the Lunars, and ‘barbarian allies’ (Tarsh and Holay). Saird may have regained its independence around this time, as it is not included in the Empire in the Third Wane map. c.1395 Talfort is the northern-most town of Tarsh, near the border with Holay (at Dolsonin). [Tarsh in Flames, p.4] c.1440 Yarandros of Tarsh seized Holay, calling it ‘Old Tarsh’; it is likely he was aided by exiles from the Lunar conquest a hundred years earlier and kin who remained. The border was the Black Eel and Red Wyrm rivers, severing Mirin’s Cross and Fylich Kwan from Saird. Dwernapple was part of ‘Saird’ and Dolminsk part of Forantin (an Aggari kingdom). Dolsonin and its Barteri tribe is conquered by Yarandros. During this era the Carafandoli were dwelling near Tarshford and Ever-New Glory. [Tarsh in Flames, p.6] 1445 Hon-Eel is born to Takenegi and a woman of Doblian. 1448 Death of Yarandros after he enters Tork. 1449 Last reported death of the original Takenegi, in Tork. c.1450 The Sairdite ‘principalities’ are tributary to Tarsh. Filichet is part of Tarsh. 1458 A Sylillan army invades Saird and Holay and sacks Talfort in Tarsh. 1458-9 Saird and Holay are combined to form a Lunar client queendom called Holay (the head being the Queen of Filichet, priestess of Reydalda). The ruler is apparently intermarried with the Imperial bloodline [probably Hwarin-Ony]. This is a consolidation by the Sultan of Sylila, from parts of the Tarshite conquests a decade or two earlier. 1460 4/51 Magnificus defeats Sheng at the Battle of Kitor. 1490 Hon-Eel enters Tarsh. She weds Pyjeemsab, but he dies on their wedding night, leaving her pregnant with Phoronestes, who becomes king as soon as he is born. 1506 Magnificus and Hon-Eel are slain in the Night of Horrors. 1513 The Virishi clan is targeted by the Emperor’s tax demon for ‘cheating’; they seek to supplant the Hwarin-Ony in a vicious dart war. [see Sourcebook, p.182] (the phoneme Viri- is found also in King Sartar as the name of a Wind Child, suggesting that the Virishi shared the Hwarin-Ony’s Sylillan-Orlanthi origins). c.1514 or 1519 Kana-Telsor weds Phoronestes of Tarsh. Kana-Telsor is the [aunt?] of Arada-Telsor, the mother of Unitadas Errio and Kinikara Errio. 1522 Artifex disappears while on a mystical exploration. His successor is the debauched Voracius. The Endless Symposium begins in Glamour. 1526 Elkoi is occupied by Lunar and Holay forces. [Holay Fort is about sixty miles west of Elkoi]. 1527 The emperor is attacked by the Jenet-aror family and ‘switches bodies’, returning at Hargoth as Venerabilis. The Jenet-aror family of First Blessed is proscribed and wiped out for this treason. The Jenet-aror were descendants of Dara Happa on Horse, and in 1527 they had been stripped of their rule over First Blessed (originally bestowed on them by Sheng Seleris) in favor of the MolariSor. c.1530 eastern Aggar is annexed to Holay. 1535 Phoronestes, son of Hon-Eel, dies ‘suspiciously’. His successor is Philigos, ‘barely fifteen years old’. 1538 Palashee Long-axe overthrows the young Philigos and becomes king of Tarsh with the help of the Shaker Temple. 1539-1540 Dragonewt Dream. Probable activity at Nodnor in Holay. 1545 Phargentes, son of Kana-Telsor and Phoronestes, and younger brother of Philigos of Tarsh, is appointed Imperial Overseer of the Provinces. His capital is Mirin’s Cross in Holay. 1550-5 The Lunar army reinforced by the levy of Holay restores the Illaro dynasty, with Phargentes (son of Philigos) perhaps wed to a daughter of the Queen of Holay [like his successor Appius Luxius in 1586]. If so, this means that Inkarne (b.1605) is the second cousin once removed of Inrana, though she is also related through the Valar-Telsor clan. 1555 Phargantes is crowned King of Tarsh. 1558 Celestinus becomes the seventh Mask. 1561 6/44 The last member of the Hwarin-Ony clan is slain in a Dart Competition [see Sourcebook, p.183]. Unitadas Errio becomes Satrap of Sylila, after he is formally recognized by Celestinus. His consort of Karnetha the Balancer, a daughter of Artifex, and his father Perikostus of ErraCafol and mother Arada-Telsor are the children of Magnificus. Appius Luxius is born to the Mask known as Celestinus and Kinikara Errio, sister of Unitadas Errio, in ?Raibanth. [Harald’s chart] c.1564 King Lornstal of Aggar is slain by Phargentes of Tarsh and it becomes a subject province of the Empire. c.1570 Monrogh spreads the word of Yelmalio in Sartar. 1574 Celestinus dies and is succeeded by Militaris, a kinsman of Phargentes. 1582 7/11 Battle of Grizzly Peak. Unitadas Errio is succeeded by Pardidas Errio as satrap of Sylila. 1583 Great Shake destroys the fortress of Talfort. [Tarsh in Flames] 1586 7/15 Militaris dies and is succeeded by Reclusus. Appius Luxius, son of Celestinus and Kinikara Errio, is appointed Imperial Overseer, the chief administrator of the Empire in the Provinces, with his headquarters at Mirin’s Cross/Nivorah. [Harald’s chart] 1600 7/29 Death of Pardidas Errio. Odenandes Errio becomes satrap of Sylila. [Harald’s chart] 1602 7/31 Gormoral becomes King of Vanch. 1605-8 Tusk Raiders maraud throughout the region. 1612 Holay seizes southern Imther, including Hojasinestel and Soldier’s Ferry. It thus has hegemony over Saird, the lowland portion of the Laramites, the (former) Barteri and the Uitaros. 1613 7/42 Tusk Rider raid on Holay and Saird. Inrana becomes Queen of Holay. She is the daughter of Queen Argiskare of Holay and Appius Luxius. In c.1615 the Queen of Holay is Inrana. She is unmarried. The Ornore or Orenair tribe has assimilated to Saird by this date, though it is divided between Enneal and Holay. 1625 Dragonrise. Appius Luxius, the father of Inrana, is slain at the Dragonrise, aged 64. Holay starts withholding levies from the Empire. Tusk Rider raid.

Looking at the above charts, why was there no attempt (that I know of) to preserve the Imther royal line? That Dwarf concessions seems like it was important.

Ars Magica is not (and I have studied medieval magic) at all realistic or based on magic as practiced in the Middle Ages. Maybe if one took away the wizards and left only the Hedge Mages and alternate magical traditions. The Order of Hermes is pure fantasy. For the magic book, expect something that reflects the magic depicted in the stories and romances rather than something like in AM or in 4th edition.

Noting that the Valare-Telsor line is also related to the Tarshite royal line... Well, I will attempt to move the needle on my part, even it's non-canon.

One of my favorite parts of developing material for KAP is looking at as many as possible of the various versions of a story or event and finding the fullest reading of it, one that makes for the best story. The story that emerges at the table is a mixture of all of them. In the end, what makes the best and most coherent story is what should be gone with. Greg's perspective with the game was not that it would be 'finished' but that it would continue to evolve. Does it matter that in 1E Cadbury was Camelot? Not really. In some ways it is kind of exciting that the Pendragon setting evolved and changed, and that a campaign run ten years ago is quite different from one run a few years from now: it doesn't get stale, just like when a new conteur decided to make a new romance or retell the old epic of Arthur's death. It will be quite a long time before the game universe runs out of medieval literature, for example. There are many great Arthurian sources that are still outside it. The only considerations ought to be: does it improve the narrative? and does it throw everything off course if we do this? In the case of Cerdic, modifying his kingdom has minimal effects beyond the Anarchy and would intensify his importance as a continuation of the Vortigern story. It's not a change on the scale of, say, replacing Lancelot with Mordred as the secondary hero.

It looks like Jeff Richard in his latest maps has moved Filichet slightly so it indeed abuts the lake.

I think Barnborn is on the site of Berenstead (and may be the Barntar Sheaf of the story in Enclosure 2, given the next factum), from looking at the Guide, and that Filichet is very close to or is the site of the stead of Caranistrata the Red, overwife of Erigulf (Hardrinor is born there). 'Red' suggests that she was in fact herself a priestess of Reydalda. Uraklestead is probably Dolsonin, the later capital of the Barteri.

Pretty much. However, other details of the GPC _can_ be elucidated by reference to history (and variant Arthurian texts, and folklore, etc. - I'd say they all weigh about the same in solving these things. In Geoffrey of Monmouth, of course, the Saxons (including Cheldric/Cerdic) are found primarily in Cumbria and the North, and only attack or occupy Logres _after_ they are defeated at Lincoln and/or the Caledon Forest. So the introduction of Cerdic as a chieftain or king of Wessex (rather than of 'Germany') is a historical interpolation into the legend anyway. In this case the AS Chronicle is chosen as the key text. However, Greg also accepted that Cerdic was a son or grandson of Vortigern and Rhonwen/Rowena, which was a suggestion (not founded on anything historical) made by Geoffrey Ashe, because Cerdic is obviously the Brythonic name Caradoc or Ceredig. Welsh legend does conflate Cerdic with Caradoc Freichfras, who in Welsh tradition, was 'earl of Gloucester' and king of 'Ewyas' (Ewyas being substituted for Geoffrey of Monmouth's Gewisse), though Caradoc is usually a hero for the Welsh ('Karados the Great' from the Vulgate may be a variant, villainous version). Cerdic is almost certainly a leader of the Gewisse, who have been identified as the Thames Valley Saxons, and in certain ways, it makes more sense for Vortigern's part-Saxon heir to rule there than a strip of coastline. The Gewisse are also an obvious foe for Badon if it's placed in the area that KAP does. But... while I would certainly make these changes in KAP when running things for myself - making Cerdic effectively the Earl of Silchester and ruler of the Barruc Saxons (and thus making his claim to being a possible High King even stronger, and him by default more sympathetic) - I wouldn't go in and change the GPC; it seems like unnecessary meddling. The last time I ran the Anarchy I was running a Cornwall game so Cerdic's location really wasn't that important.

I was just throwing together some ideas for a Seventh Wane campaign set in Saird/Holay (as it combines a lot of my favorite things, like Lunars, Orlanthi, contiguity to Balazar, etc.) and I was thinking about the Bell Temple. So there are a few references to the 'bells of the Sun' being connected to the death of a Pure Horse king, and there was an unnamed bell goddess at Nivorah (according to Six Ages)... Is it not likely that the bells of the sun and the horse-goddess (as a member of the solar pantheon) are connected? Also, in the Sourcebook Inkarne is identified with Reaches All, which contradicts the usual expectation that she was the Queen of Holay. However, we don't know the name of Phargentes' wife, and as he was apparently in exile in Holay until 1550, wouldn't it make sense if she was a daughter of the then queen? This would make Inkarne a descendant of the queen in the mid-16th century and probably a second cousin once removed of Inrana, the queen mentioned in the Guide. It's also interesting that Orane - the name of the ancestress of the Forosilvuli -- appears in the same area as that ancient tribe as a cultural group close to Filichet in the Redline History maps, suggesting that by the Third Age the Forosilvuli descendants, like the Esrolians, had switched to a matriarchal structure. Maybe because of a similar catastrophe as the Helm and Shield - possibly the Dragonkill? PS. I believe Harald Smith suggested that Holay derived from a post-EWF ruler (Holaya), but 'Holay' is mentioned as the name of the land where the Forosilvuli lived in the BoHM (and in TotRM 7) I think, and while that could be anachronistic, it might not be.

Just to throw a wrench in there, most historians now suspect that Cerdic was never ruler of the Saxons around Hampshire and (if he wasn't simply a British leader) ruled the Gewisse in the Thames Valley around Silchester instead.

Ars Magica has managed pretty well: their game is set in the era of Islam and has Islamic characters and magicians. I don't think rpgs are really on the radar for fundamentalists. Movies, sure. I would use the polytheism from the Chansons de Geste (Termagant, Apollyon, Cahuz, etc., and omit 'Mahoun') or the traditional pre-Islamic polytheism of the Berbers and Arabs instead of Islam, or even Orthodox Christianity. Islam is not really mentioned in the romances. Zoroasterianism is inappropriate for most of the actual Saracen characters. Palomides and his family are from Egypt and would likely be pagan holdouts with Greco-Egyptian gods. 'Zazamanc' is ambiguously located in Parzival (and Willehalm) but might be the Garamantes region of the Sahara, which was still pagan in the 6th century, but also seems to be near India (though medieval geography had trouble distinguishing between India and Ethiopia). Others are Christians, like Acanor the Black (Li Lait Hardi). Besides the Saracen 'gods' the Greco-Roman gods show up as the gods of the Saxons and other foes, primarily because the authors knew nothing about them, and the religious literature 'translated' gods like Woden into Mercury, etc. There's a small but interesting number of characters from India as well in Arthurian romance hobnobbing with the court, usually as associates of the Ladies of the Lake or the Grail kings. Keep in mind there's no Americas in medieval geography, so even with a round world, sailing to Avalon and India (Avalon is placed in the Indian Ocean in some stories) is indeed possible by heading directly west.

The Laundes tournament comes from the Prose Tristan, and replaces an episode in the earlier verse versions where Tristram kills a dragon to win the hand of Isolde (he doesn't tell her or her father she will be given to his uncle - he doesn't fall in love with her until after he drinks to potion en route to Cornwall). Tristram is badly injured and the Irish king's steward beheads the dead dragon and tries to claim Isolde's hand. The Lady of the Laundes (Fr. 'demoiselle des Landes') is 'nigh cousin to the king' (Anguish). She's a stand in for Isolde herself, because you'll note that Palomides is participating to impress Isolde. Before Christianization there seems to have been female rulers in Ireland (compare Medb). To me it sounds like the 'fairs' at Lughnasa time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailteann_Games_(ancient)

If anything, Gaheris/Guerrehet has even less to do with his brother. The reason for their development into different characters is that they are both attempts to render the Breton name Guerec or Waroc'h into French, and the lack of a standard orthography. Neither character was originally a son of Lot, but 'Waroc'h' was a Breton hero whose father was Macliau or Meliau and it appears that the prefix map- or mac- (son of) was read into that name, giving us 'Guerrehet' or 'Gaheriet' the son of 'Lou' (W. Llew = Lot). Thus stories about a single figure got interwoven into Arthurian legend. Another character developed out of Waroc'h was Erec, and if you compare the Tale of Gareth to Chretien's Erec you can see the similarities. The Bel Inconnu is derived from the same oral source, but there the character is Guiglain, the son of Gawaine; so too is 'Garel' (whose name is even closer). So the core story is the Tale (or really, its antecedents). Another story that I suspect was originally told about this character became the Tale of Caradues (aka Caradoc short-arm), which is set in Waroc'h's kingdom of Vannes, given the mention of Gaheris having a 'short-arm' in the prose Charette. It has enough versions that we can assume that it was part of the standard repertoire of a Breton conteur. Gaheris only has a slightly higher profile in Malory because he made Gaheris the killer of his mother, rather than the 'good' brother. The Post-Vulgate has a certain enthusiasm for casting even the heroes in a darker light and this was no doubt a deliberate choice: for the author of the PV, tragedy was the consequence of sin (even or especially accidental sin) and matricide was the justification for Gareth/Gaheriet's death at the hand of Lancelot (also a manslaughter in the fit of passion). In Malory, Gareth is entirely innocent. There are no innocents in the PV: everyone, the kingdom as a whole, is stained with sin. The chief problem with not giving Dolorous Garde to Lancelot in the GPC is that the well written section of the Morte (French Morte, that is) where Arthur besieges him and Lancelot chooses exile and tells Guinevere to go back to him is taken out of its thematic context. Lancelot surrenders the castle that is the symbol of his greatest conquest and the place where he discovered his own name and destiny, essentially choosing, at that moment, the path that ends with him becoming a monk. Only Gawaine's insistent desire for revenge for Gareth's death causes Arthur to pursue Lancelot, which allows Mordred to seize power in his absence. To recreate this scene without Dolorous/Joyous Garde means the confrontation takes place somewhere else with no connection to the hero.

Gareth's death is sensitive in the texts because he's friends with both Gawaine (his brother) and Lancelot... he's immune to the politicking. One thing to keep in mind is that Gareth and Gaheris were originally one character. Gaheris arguably has a bit more story going on in the GPC. In fact, 'Gaheriet' is the usual name for Gareth, as opposed to Gaheris (Guerrehet). It was Gaheriet/Gareth who killed his own mother (in the Prose Tristan: Malory changes this); he is then attacked by his other brothers, except by Gaheris/Guerrehet, who protects him and dissuades them from avenging her. He also witnesses Li Morholt/Marhaus's duel with Tristram and reports the death of Marhaus to the rest of the Round Table, as well as the astonishing prowess of the Cornish youth. Aside from declining the crown of Orkney (offered to him by Arthur) until the Grail is achieved, Gareth is simply not given much of a story. We are simply told that he was the best of the brothers, and the best-loved by the court for his kindness and handsome physique. It's up to the game master to present him as worthy of admiration. The easiest way is for him to intervene on the part of PKs and PLs that are being treated badly by Mordred or Agravaine, and for him to speak up in defense of Lancelot when people express their envy or resentment against him.

It's also not really important in the romances. Arthur is sometimes friends with the 'King of Ireland' but often his enemy.