Lore:Martinne Guimard

Duchess Martinne Guimard
Duchess Martinne Guimard
Race	Breton	Gender	Female
Born		1st Era

High Isle

"The houses are greatly pleased—both ally and rival. Indeed, it is as if I traded a handful of grain for the whole of Tamriel!" — Martinne Guimard

Duchess Martinne Guimard of House Guimard was a Breton noble who is best remembered as the leader of a consortium of coin-barons that purchased the Systres archipelago from the Colovian kings in 1E 2327. Described as the canniest ruler of her time, she amassed her vast wealth through the markets, including shrewd lending, smuggling, land acquisitions, and draconian tax policy.

When Martinne acquired the Systres for an undisclosed amount of money, her star rose higher at court than even she had hoped. Guimard, along with several of her contemporaries visited the Systres in 1E 2328 for an official induction ceremony and dubbed the largest island "High Isle," in honor of the Bretons' ancestral homeland, High Rock. Although House Guimard sought to exploit the islands' natural resources, they quickly learned that the true value of the archipelago was cultural. Given its inhabitants were thoroughly Bretonic in language, culture, and custom, combined with the discovery of druidic ruins on several islands, fixed the Systres in High Rock's collective imagination as an untouched cradle of Breton history, occupied by Bretons and now owned by Bretons.

House Guimard ruled the region for a century and a half, and even a statue of Duchess Martinne was built on High Isle at some point before the mid-Second Era, however they eventually fell from power after a failed marriage proposal and ambitious House Mantel took ownership of the islands.

Notes

• The diamond-studded pennanular brooch bearing the seal of House Guimard could have once belonged to Martinne Guimard.

See Also

Books

• Systres History by Trilam Heladren, Associate Dean of Eltheric History, University of Gwylim — A history of the Systres archipelago