Syldavia

Syldavia is a monarchy, ruled at the time of the King Ottokar's Sceptre story by Muskar XII. The capital is Klow, formerly Zileheroum, located at the confluence of the fictional Moltus and Wladir Rivers. Other cities named in the books are Niedzdrow, Istow, Dbrnouk, and Zlip. The population of Syldavia is 642,000 with 122,000 living in Klow. The national airline is Syldair.

Syldavia is also called "The Realm of the Black Pelican" and its flag is yellow with a black pelican in the center.

The people speak Syldavian, a Slavic-sounding West Germanic language written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Curiously, the Latin alphabet is used by the royal court, and the Cyrillic letters used are a straight transcription from the Latin letters (e.g., "sh" is written "сx" rather than "ш").

The kingdom's motto is "Eih bennek, eih blavek!" which Hergé translates as "Qui s'y frotte s'y pique" "Who rubs himself there gets stung" (in fact, the motto of Nancy, from the latin « non inultus premor », and referring to its emblem, the thistle; in the British edition, the translators rendered the motto "If you gather Thistles, expect Prickles"). The motto can also be interpreted as a Brussels dialect rendering of the Dutch phrase "Hier ben ik, hier blijf ik" ("Here I am, here I stay").

Syldavians seem to be fond of mineral water, which does not go down well with the whisky-drinking Captain Haddock, one of Tintin's travelling companions.

Syldavian culture has been influenced by Austria, but the mosques on the countryside is typical Yugoslavian, and seems also to be very influenced by Serbia. The Kropow castle has a visible Bohemian influence.

[edit] Cuisine

Syldavian Cuisine is generally related to Eastern European food, as we see Blini, herbs, and lots of sausage and garnish in the kitchen of a Syldavian restauraunt (in (King Ottokar's Sceptre). Another good part of their economy is mineral water, and the country is mostly non-alcoholic, much to Haddock's disgust. It is mentioned that a prime dish in the country is Slaczek, the hind leg of a young dog in heavy Syldavian sauce (though given the context, this is likely to be untrue). Slaczek is often eaten with mushrooms, and judging by the chef's kitchen, salad and parsley.

[edit] Location

The exact geographical location of Syldavia is not specified in the books, but some fans speculate that it probably occupies a region around Celje in northern Slovenia,^{[citation needed]} while others place it in the Vojvodina area of Serbia.^{[citation needed]} The latter theory is based on the countryside of Syldavia, which is depicted as arid and barren, resembling Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia or even Bulgaria. A panel in Destination Moon, p. 61, seems to show the Syldavian lunar rocket launching from north of the Danube, the location of Vojvodina. However, both these theories would mean that Syldavia is landlocked, whereas in King Ottokar's Sceptre the town of Dbrnouk is located on the "south coast of Syldavia" (p. 19), and a regular flying boat service operates from Douma (p. 61). King Ottokar's Sceptre, p.19 also describes Syldavia as being in an "inaccessible position", isolated and unknown to tourists until the advent of air travel (in that story Tintin flies to Klow via Prague). Villages show mosques rather than churches (although these could be former Turkish-built mosques converted into churches, like the Mezquita cathedral in Córdoba, Spain, since the royal court appears to be Christian). Mention of Turks and pelicans also seems to indicate a more southerly location.

[edit] History

The modern Syldavia was formed in 1127 when a tribal chief called Hveghi drove away Turkish conquerors and took the name Muskar. Borduria conquered the country in 1195 until Ottokar I drove them away in 1275. King Ottokar IV decreed that the ruler of Syldavia must have hold on the sceptre, otherwise he loses his authority. This custom had a power of law as late as 1939.

In 1939 Syldavia was nearly invaded by its neighbor Borduria, as part of a plot to oust king Muskar XII. The situation was very similar to that of Anschluss in Austria in 1938 (though the conclusion was not the same). Tintin had a hand in defusing the situation.

In the 1950s Syldavia had a secret but successful space program in the area of Sbrodj (named Sprodj in the English edition).

[edit] Atomic Research

The Sprodj Atomic Research Centre, seen in Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon is located in Syldavia. The sprawling complex is located in the Zympathian Mountains of Syldavia (a play on the Carpathian Mountains), located close to rich deposits of uranium. The Centre is secretive and has very tightly-guarded security, including a large number of security checkpoints, helicopter surveillance, anti-aircraft artillery, and a squadron of fighter aircraft based at the facility. Work at the centre, carried out by a large team of international physicists recruited by the Syldavian government, involves research into protection from the effects of nuclear weapons, and is the base for the Syldavian space program. The facility, which seems to be entirely self-sufficient, is administered by the Director, Mr. Baxter. The Sprodj Centre has its own atomic pile for processing uranium into plutonium, and has vast facilities for the research and construction of the rocket-ship which carries Tintin and his colleagues to the moon. The gargantuan complex is last seen at the end of Explorers on the Moon, and is never again seen in the Tintin series.

[edit] The Syldavian language

Main article: Syldavian

In their book Tintin Ketje de Bruxelles (Casterman, 2004 ISBN 2-203-01716-3), Daniel Justens and Alain Préaux have documented how the Syldavian language is based on Marols or Marollien, the dialect of the Marolles, a working class (though now trendy) quarter of Brussels. Marols, which Hergé learnt from his grandmother, is a Flemish dialect incorporating many words of French origin as well as a sprinking of Spanish dating back to the occupation of the Low Countries during the Spanish Inquisition (circa 1500).