Yonderian Golden Age: Difference between revisions

The '''Yonderian Golden Age''' ([[Burgoignesc language|Burgoignesc]]: ''L'âge d'or Yonderresc'', [[East Gothic language|Gothic]]: ''Yondersche Goldalter'') is a name given by historians and sociologists to a period of exceptional societal, scientific and cultural advances that took place in [[Yonderre]] during the nineteenth century. Historians and sociologists disagree on the exact start and end dates of the period, but a widely accepted consensus is that [[Michael Falks]]' book ''[[My Yonderre (book)|My Yonderre]]'' released in 1820 was the catalyst that started the period. End date is generally accepted as the start of the twentieth century, but are also variously given as 1890s and even up to the end of the 1900s with the beginning of the [[Great Depression]].  

The creation of a singular [[Yonderian culture]] across the previous boundaries of [[Culture in Burgundie|Burgoignesc]] and [[East Gothic culture|Gothic]] cultures is often lauded as the greatest achievement of the Yonderian Golden Age. The 1820s and 30s were a period of major societal reform in [[Yonderre]] with the introduction of reforms for the peasantry, the signing of the [[Constitution of Yonderre]] in 1833 which brought with it the [[Yonderian Parliament]], reforms to the [[Custodes Yonderre]] and a common code of law across all [[Counties of Yonderre]]. Neo-classical architecture became the dominant style of the period, leaving a distinct look to major cities like [[Collinebourg]] and [[Gabion]]. Scientific advances were made in several fields by Yonderians including physicist [[Rachet d'Everard (physicist)|Rachet d'Everard]], chemist [[Eberhard Sass]], philosopher [[Hieronymus von Kähler]] and paleontologists [[Killian Lange]] and [[Thibaut d'Avignon]]. The period also brought with it major advances in the arts such as the prime of [[Anders von Necksee]] whose idealized paintings of rural [[Yonderre]] received international acclaim and playwright [[Hieronymus d'Olbourg]] whose historical plays like ''Siegmar the Iron-Handed'' and ''Löwenschiold'' played an important part in the shaping of [[Yonderian national romanticism]].  

A critical factor for the start of the period was the increase in literacy in Yonderian society and improvements in printing technology, both of which allowed the exchange of ideas at a much faster rate than previously possible. Another crucial component was the [[Grand Duke of Yonderre]] [[Falco IV Sentinelleau]], whose election and ascension to the throne in May of 1820 brought with it a milieu in which major societal reform was not only possible but probable. Urbanization, caused in no small part by industrialization and the doubling of Yonderre's population between 1760-1860, was also a leading factor in the creation of a common [[Yonderian culture]].

On 15 May 1820, Yonderian postman [[Michael Falks]] published the book ''[[My Yonderre (book)|My Yonderre]]'' with the [[Collinebourg]] news outlet and printer [[Collinsches Zeitung]].<ref>Falks, Michael: ''My Yonderre'', [[Collinsches Zeitung]]. 1820.</ref> ''My Yonderre'' is an essay in which Falks philosophizes over the different layers of society he witnessed as a postman in [[Collinebourg County]]. Falks concludes that the difference between Gothic and Bergendii Yonderians was smaller than most people were willing to admit, and that the view of Yondero-Gothic and Yondero-Bergendii people and societies as separate or even incompatible with one another was antiquated and had run its course. Because of the Schooling Law of 1808 which required all children to be educated regularly from the age of seven until their confirmation around the age of fourteen, literacy had increased across [[Yonderre]] substantially, particularly in the urban centers. This allowed a much larger part of the population to partake in political and societal discourse than ever before, and Collinebourgers soon took to Falks' book.  

===Constitution of Yonderre and societal reforms===

The Yonderian Golden Age saw several major scientific advances made by Yonderian scientists. In 1865, physicist [[Rachet d'Everard (physicist)|Rachet d'Everard]] observed that electric currents induce magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism. Chemist [[Eberhard Sass]]' work with metallurgical alloys in the early 1820s produced the world's first near-pure aluminium in 1825. Existentialist philosopher and theologian [[Hieronymus von Kähler]]'s work deals with the issues of how one lives, focusing on the priority of concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment, ideas that continue to shape and influence modern philosophy. Paleontologist [[Killian Lange]] described the fossilized remains of the first theropod dinosaur ''[[Vollardisaurus]]'' in 1842, sparking a renewed academic interest in paleontology that sparked a [[Dinosaurs in Yonderre|Dinosaur craze in Yonderre]]. Lange's prodigy, [[Thibault d'Avignon]], would go on to describe over a hundred extinct species during the latter half of the nineteenth century, including infamous species like ''[[Joanusaurus]]'' and ''{{wpl|Stegosaurus}}'' from the [[Greater Levantine Formation]].

[[Anders von Necksee]] became famous throughout [[Levantia]] for his work during the Yonderian Golden Age. Centered primarily around romantic motifs of rural [[Yonderre]], von Necksee's work was in part political of nature, inspired by Falks' ''[[My Yonderre]]'', von Necksee sought to do his part in uniting the people of [[Yonderre]] around what would become [[Yonderian national romanticism]]. Playwright [[Hieronymus d'Olbourg]] wrote the plays ''Siegmar the Iron-Handed'' in 1833 and ''Löwenschiold'' in 1835 which renewed interest in Yonderre's [[Knights of the Realm]], another core component of the emerging [[Yonderian national romanticism]].