Derian identity
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Derian identity, sometimes referred to as Derianism, is the proposition that the peoples of Dericania are related in such a way as to constitute them as a single nation, the Derian people.
Etymology
The term Derian likely originates from an ancient Gaelic term, thoir, meaning "east" or "eastern". The term is first attested to in the 8th century as an exonym used by proto-Urcean people, but it gradually entered common use with the establishment of the Levantine Empire referring to people living in the Eastern Kingdom of the Levantines. The name Derian, and its derivation "Deric", entered increasingly official use in the medieval period, with the Kingdom having been called the "Kingdom of Dericania" by the late 11th century. "Derian" as a term referring to a distinct ethnic group, rather than a general term referring to residents of the Kingdom of Dericania, began to be used some time in the 1760s, which is when the modern Derian vs. Deric convention entered common and official use.
Involved ethnicities
Many of the "ethnicities" included within the question of Derian identity are groupings of people based on their spoken language rather than any deeper set of genetic similarities, as most people in historic Dericania share genetic origin regardless of the identity group of which they are a part - nearly all Dericanians are descended in some degree from ancient Celtic peoples and the Latinic people who conquered them, forming Great Levantia. Accordingly, historical development of senses of identity and ethnicity are relatively fluid in this region. The two groups most commonly known as "Derian" today - the Lapodards and the Rhotians - are almost entirely linguistic nationalities with only recent history creating distinctions between these groups.
Rhotians
Rhotians are an ethnic group based on linguistic ties residing in western Dericania. Their language, Rhotian, is descended from the Latin language of late Great Levantia and exhibits significant Celtic influences along with some limited Gothic ones. Accordingly, they are viewed to be more closely related to Urcean people and their related sub-identities, with Lebhan and Rhotian having a degree of mutual intelligibility.
Lapodards
Lapodards are an ethnic group based on linguistic ties residing in eastern Dericania. Their language, Lapodard, exhibits stronger ties to other vulgar derivations of the ancient Latin language as well as some influences of Istroyan language, making it distantly related more to the Burgoignesc language than more Celtic-inspired languages like Lebhan.
Bergendii
The Bergendii, or the Bergendii peoples, are a Derian ethnocultural group tracing their ancestry back to modern-day Burgundie, but more specifically the Istroyo-Adonerii peoples of the northern parts of Burgundie (Ile Burgundie and Nostrestran) and not the Gassavelians of Faramount. Due to their centuries of maritime travel, the Bergendii live on every continent and with few exceptions are present in almost every country on earth, this is especially true of countries with coastlines.
Lutsines
The Lutsine people are a Derian ethnocultural group who originated from the intersection of Latinic residents of Levantia and the Orenstine peoples of eastern Levantia and live primarily in Lutsana. The Lutsine language and culture is related to the Lapodards, but features many staples of western Orenstine cultures and vocabulary. Lutsines began a national awakening in the 1850s and initially viewed themselves as Derians. Speaking a different language and exhibiting different traiditions lead to many Lutsines facing discrimination outside of their homeland, and by the late 19th century many leading Derian nationalists began to exhibit domineering attitudes towards the Lutsine people, calling for the "cleansing" of their culture of the outside influence of the Orenstines. Among Lutsines, this period lead to a new sense of themselves as a distinct peoples, a concept which was firmly entrenched by the 1920s. Despite this, Lutsines would continue to be included among Derians and Lutsana was included within the Deric States for reasons of history and economic dependency.
Vandarchines
Vandarchines are a relatively newer group of people, originating from Hollona and Diorisia. The 16th century Nordmontaine War and addition of the Ænglish Duchy of Hollona to the relatively equal sized Rhotian Duchy of Diorisia created a cultural interchange between these people, resulting in the creation of a distinct Vandarchine culture speaking Ænglish with many Rhotian cultural traditions. The rulers of the two Duchies were relatively open to the cultural changes the Ænglish brought, leading to a relatively early emergence of this national identity - newspapers and journals from the 1710s speak to residents of the two duchies viewing themselves as a separate and united people. As its national conciousness emerged earlier, Vandarchines never viewed themselves as part of the Derian identity, but nonetheless committed themselves to joining a united Dericanian polity at various times. The reasons for these are varied, ranging from pragmatic economic ties to the Rhotians, to fear of being incorporated into Urcea or Fiannria, but the predominant social attitude was Burgophobia, fearing envelopment of the country by Yonderre to the west while the Bergendii made war on the Lapodards. The Union State of Hollona and Diorisia emerged from the Second Great War, during which it had been occupied, as part of the Deric States. It was the first to secede from the organization in 2023, signaling the beginning of the Dissolution of the Deric States.
History of the concept
Origins and Deric Awakening
Like many other peoples in the Holy Levantine Empire, the people of Dericania can trace their origins to the Latin Heroic Age and Great Levantia, with residents of Dericania being an admixture of Latinic and Gaelic heritages, with Rhotians and Lapodards in particular having a greater continual Latinic ancestry than their neighbors. The relative similarity of these peoples lead to the rise of the exonym Menquoi and later renewed concepts of Levantine identity, which referred to both the residents of Dericania and Urcea; the "Menquoi" terminology would later be viewed as derogatory by both peoples.
The Two Derics
Following the establishment of a distinct concept as a Derian nation, inevitable controversies ensued over who would be included in such a people. The term "the Two Derics" refers to two identically named but separate (though related) debates occurring in the Kingdom of Dericania in the 19th century regarding the issue of Derian identity as it related to ethnic minorities within the Kingdom, particularly the residents of what would become Burgundie. The disputes largely fought between intellectuals and scholars of the Bergendii people and what might be referred to as "core Derians", the Rhotian and Lapodard peoples. The debate on the Two Derics would be the seminal event of Derian identity during the 19th century and would lay the groundwork for the Second Great War in Levantia as well as the future decline of Derianism.
The first debate occurred within the Deric Awakening during and following the Deric defeat in the and considered the question of whether or not the Bergendii were considered to be part of the Derian people and, accordingly, if they had a role in any "Derian state" to be formed in the future. During this debate, the "maximalist position" - that is, that they ought to be included - was prevalent among most prominent Derian nationalist but was not popular among the Bergendii themselves. The Maximalist position espoused the idea of "Great Dericania", which included not only Rhotians and Lapodards and the Bergendii but also the people of Hollona and Diorisia and Lutsana. The first debate came to a head with Le Crise della Dix, a political crisis following the Third Caroline War wherein Bergendii were expected to surrender land to fellow Derian princes in the name of national solidarity. The resulting First Fratricide established an independent Bergendii nation, Burgundie. Latent Burgophobia proved to be a strong unifying force which enabled the Derian national project to come to encompass Lutsana and Hollona and Diorisia.
The second debate occurred from the 1890s to the 1920s and concerned the construction of the Kingdom of Dericania, which was now largely dominated by Burgundie and an opposing bloc of Derian princes. The second debate specifically related to whether or not Burgundie should be a part of Dericania at all or if a united Derian realm could be created out of the Kingdom by separating Burgundie, either by elevating the latter to a Kingdom, making it a nominal part of the Imperial Kingdom of Urcea, by divesting the Emperor of the Levantines of the Dericanian crown in order to create a single realm, or some combination of the above options. This primarily legal and political debate was not resolved until the Second Great War and dominated the political discourse of the day in both the Derian realms and Burgundie, leading to the abdication of Emperor August I in 1920 among other incidents.
Deric Republic
Deric States
End of Derianism
The full integration of the members of the Deric States in the Levantine Union following the Second Great War lead to a decline of Derianism as a distinct philosophical and political concept, both in terms of its development as well as its popularity. The decline of the concept lead to a loss of identity with not only Derianism as a whole but also the Derian nations that were established in the wake of the Third Fratricide. The establishment of relatively stable modern nations, and the mobility and openness afforded by the Levantine Union contributed to Derians instead viewing themselves as part of their constituent language groups, the Rhotians and Lapodards, or as citizens of the Levantine Union. These tensions, as well as a general decrease of function in the Deric States organization in favor of the organs of the Levantine Union lead to the Dissolution of the Deric States in the 2020s and 2030s. The question of inclusion of Lutsana and Hollona and Diorisia were definitively decided by their withdrawal from the Deric States in the mid 2020s and embrace of a distinct ethnic and cultural identity. With the Deric area now significantly reduced, the trend towards recognition of shared linguistic groups became far more popular than that of a Derian identity.