As promised, here is a super nerdy table that summarize what we know about the world of Temerant and the Four Corners of Civilization as of the end of Name of the Wind. It’s important to note that this information can also be found on the most excellent Kingkiller Chronicles wiki. However!! The wiki will spoil those of you who have yet to read Wise Man’s Fear.
| Ademre | The Aturan Empire | Ceald | Commonwealth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative Location | North of Modeg | North | North | South |
| *Not part of the Four Corners* | Center | West | West | |
| Notable cities and towns | Unknown | Atur | Ralien | Hallowfell |
| Anilin (barely) | Tarbean | |||
| The University | ||||
| Tarbean | ||||
| Language | Unknown | Aturan | Siaru | Aturan |
| Tema (a dead language) | ||||
| Temic (predates Tema) | ||||
| Distinctive physical characteristics | Unknown | None noted | The Cealdish people are described as dark haired, dark eyed, with ruddy complexion. The men wear bushy beards. | None noted |
| Cultural characteristics | The Adem are associated with fighting. It is mentioned several times in NOTW that Kvothe learns fighting from the Adem. | Aturans are known for being extremely religious and uptight. Morality plays are a popular form of entertainment. | The Cealdish people are associated with wealth and money lending, however, the men in their culture never give money away if they can help it. Giving money away, even in trade for goods and services, is seen as a feminine act. Cealdish coin is acknowledged as superior and is good anywhere in the Four Corners. | The Commonwealth is where much of NOTW takes place. Its culture is the norm, other cultures are described in relation to it. The impression left by NOTW is that the Commonwealth is a bit of a melting pot of the surrounding cultures. |
| Historical highlights | Unknown | The Aturan Empire once covered a much larger area than it does today. Reminiscent of the Holy Roman Empire, it was strongly tied to the Tehlin church. In its zenith, the Aturan Empire was ruled in part by the Order Amyr, a group of traveling judges/vigilantes. The Empire collapsed due to a complicated series of military disasters and inept leadership. The dissolution of the Order Amyr was a large part of this collapse. Today, Aturan is still the language spoken throughout the Four Corners. | The Cealdim descended from a nomadic people in the Shalda mountains. A chieftain named Heldred united them and they eventually established themselves in an area that gave them access to the best source of metal in the region. They became known for their skill with metal and eventually established the first metal currency. | Unknown |
| Notable characters | Simmon | Willem | Kvothe and his troupe | |
| Master Kilvin | Abenthy | |||
| Roent and Reta | ||||
| Viari (a giller) | ||||
| Kaerva (a horse seller) | ||||
| Modeg | The Small Kingdoms | Vintas | Yll | |
| Relative Location | North | South | South | South |
| East | Center | East | ||
| Notable cities and towns | Cershaen | Junpui | Renere | |
| The Free City of Tinue | ||||
| Newarre* | ||||
| Abbot’s Ford* | ||||
| Rannish* | ||||
| Language | Modegan | Unknown | Aturan | Yllish |
| Eld Vintic (predates Aturan) | ||||
| Distinctive physical characteristics | Modegans are known to have high cheekbones | Unknown | Unknown | The Yllish commonly have red hair |
| Cultural characteristics | The climate in Modeg is mild, and the sexual mores are more relaxed than in the Commonwealth and the Aturan Empire. | In Junpui, the punishment for forging documents is to be thrown into a fire. | The Tehlin religion is widely practiced in Vintas, though not as widely as in the Aturan Empire. | The Yllish use a lunar calendar to tell time. They are known for not being punctual |
| They fear the Fae, while laughing off the fears of other nations | ||||
| Historical highlights | The nobility in Modeg is older than that of the Aturan empire, and powerful. | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Notable characters | Sovoy | None | Ambrose Jakis | None |
| Hetera (a courtesan) | The Lackless family | |||
| Maer Alveron |
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