Borogravia
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Borogravia is a fictional country in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of novels. It is small and extremely war-like, and closely resembles Yugoslavia in a number of respects, the most obvious being the prevalency of war, the similarities of the Serbo-Croatian and Borogravian languages, and the fact that Borogravia, like most of the Balkan countries, had a name ending in '-ia'. There are also many parallels with Afghanistan under the Taliban (the theocratic government, the ever-increasing list of religious "abominations", the misogyny of the ruling regime). Some relationships are rather more subtle.
Location
Borogravia is located Rimwards of Überwald, on the Discworld's unnamed main continent. The capital city is PrinceMarmadukePiotreAlbertHansJosephBernhardtWilhelmsberg, possibly a parody of St. PetersburgHistory
The recent history of Borogravia consists mainly of fighting wars with every other country in the area (most notably Zlobenia), in the name of Nuggan. Borogravia is a Duchy, and as such is ruled by a Duke or Duchess.
Miscellaneous
- The god of the country is, or was, Nuggan.
- At some point (see Thief of Time) Borogravia was noted for its chocolate. However, since Nuggan disliked chocolate, this may no longer be the case.
- In Night Watch, it is mentioned in passing that Borogravia has invaded Mouldavia. Presumably they have switched targets by the time Monstrous Regiment occurs.
- Despite the way it sounds, 'Borograv' and its component syllables do not actually mean anything in either Serbian or Croatian.
- The name comes from Borogoves, a sort of long-legged bird mentioned in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. Pratchett's dislike of Caroll's Alice books is well known.
- Alternatively, Borogravia can be read as 'borrow grave -ia', this is an example of Pratchett's punning in regards to names. It was possibly to make the country seem more bleak. However, given that the country originated as a throwaway reference to the 'High Borogravian' language in The Colour of Magic, this seems unlikely.
- The text to Borogravia's national hymn reads:
“Awake ye sons of the Motherland Taste no more the wine of the sour apples Woodsmen, grasp your choppers! Farmers, slaughter with the tool formerly used for lifting beets the foe! Frustrate the endless wiles of our enemies We into the darkness march singing Against the whole world in arms coming But see the golden light upon the mountain tops! The new day is a great big fish!”The metre and style seem reminiscent of many of the songs in works by Bertolt Brecht, a playwright whose plays are often seemingly bleak but dominated by courage of heart - a suitable parallel for the events in Monstrous Regiment. Its last line has reached some fame for its surreal sound. Apparently, "a great big fish" is a literal translation of a Borogravian idiom meaning "a great opportunity".
Mentioned in
- The Colour of Magic (only as a reference to the language "High Borogravian")
- Carpe Jugulum
- Thief of Time
- Night Watch
- The Last Hero
- Monstrous Regiment
- The Fifth Elephant
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| Locations: | Ankh-Morpork - Agatean Empire - Borogravia - Death's Domain - Dungeon Dimensions - Ephebe - Genua - Klatch - Lancre - Muntab - Quirm - Sto Lat - Überwald - Unseen University - XXXX - more... |
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