Thorne Dynasty
The Thorne Dynasty was a family of Hyur who served as the ruling administration of Ul'dah from 1224 until 1355 of the Sixth Astral Era. Though short, House Thorne's rule marked one of the only spans of Ul'dahn history where the city-state was not ruled by a member of the House of Ul.
It followed a political coup that started when Baldurf Thorne learned the truth of the fall of Sil'dih at the hands of Ul'dah, and that then-sultan Sasagan Ul Sisigan III had lied about Ul'dah's responsibility in the creation of the "Trader's Spurn." For his accusations, Sasagan III demands Baldurf's head, but this order is not acted upon due to Thorne's reputation as a righteous man. Sasagan III is charged for his crimes, imprisoned in the Marasaja Pit, and removed from his role as Ul'dah's sultan.[1]
An initially-reluctant Baldurf is crowned sultan within the year, becoming the first ruler of the Thorne Dynasty under the condition that he would be a steward, ruling until the city-state was able. Under his orders, knowledge of the "Trader's Spurn" is withheld from the public, but a new order is founded under his supervision called "The Arbiters of Truth", with the stated mission of preserving the truth of Sil'dih's downfall for the future.[2]
The heirs of the Thorne Dynasty followed through on it's founder's pledge of stewardship by abdicating the throne in 1355, after which the House of Ul was restored as the ruling body of Ul'dah.
Members of House Thorne
- Baldurf Thorne, dynasty namesake crowned in 1224.
- Baldric Thorne, who history records as ruler of Ul'dah in year 1267. It's unclear when he ascended to the throne.[1]
- Edyva Thorne, daughter of Baldric.
- Aldiytha Thorne, of the modern-day House Thorne.
- Rodolph, servant of the modern-day House Thorne.
Known For
Outside of Ul'dahn politics, House Thorne is most often attributed to the origins of Little Ladies' Day.
As the story goes, Edvya Thorne was the daughter of Baldric Thorne, and because of this he sought to protect her from anything and everything; to that end, Baldric confined Edyva within the palace walls. This confinement caused her to yearn more and more for the outside world as she grew older, and drove her to devise a plan to swap clothes with a simple miller maid. Once she had traded her beautiful gown and tiara for the soiled rags of a commoner, she had no trouble slipping past her guards. Upon realizing the princess was gone and a commoner had taken her place, Baldric, in a fit of rage, ordered his entire army to scour the city for her, as well as the commoner girl's family captured, tortured, their house destroyed, and have them thrown into the oubliette.
Luckily Edyva was quickly found in a market not far from the palace. Upon her return, she explained the entire ordeal was her idea and pleaded with her father to free the miller's family. Realizing his rage was misplaced and unwarranted, he freed the miller's family, personally apologized to them, had their home rebuilt by the royal architects, and swore to spend a day as the little girl's personal seneschal. He stated that high or lowborn, each and every girl is a "lady" in their own right.
Rumors of this display of humility made their way through to the people, who received the story so well that public perception of the sultan changed dramatically, and the holiday Little Ladies' Day was created.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 There has been confusion around whether the founder's name is meant to be "Baldurf" or "Baldric". In the original printing of Encyclopedia Eorzea vol 1, there were apparently some errors. However, in it's 2022 printing, both page 50 and 129 now say it was Baldurf who accused Sasagan III in y1224. Separately, the y1267 entry about Little Ladies day does say Baldric Thorne; given the time gap between these two events, it's not unthinkable that these were two different rulers from within the same dynasty.
- ↑ Encyclopedia Eorzea vol 1, "Timeline", page 050.