Syldavia
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Syldavia is a fictional Balkan country featured in the adventures of Tintin by Hergé. The language spoken is Syldavian. It probably occupies a region around Celje in northern Slovenia.
- Syldavia is a monarchy, ruled at the time of the King Ottokar's Sceptre story by Muskar XII.
- The capital is Klow, formerly Zileheroum, at the confluence of the Moltus and Wladir Rivers.
- Other cities are Niedzdrow, Istow, Dbrnouk, and Zlip.
- The population of Syldavia is 642,000 with 122,000 living in Klow. The country's flag is similar to that of Albania.
The way the countryside of Syldavia is depicted in the comic indicates that the country should be somewhere more to the south of the Balkan peninsula. Its landscape is depicted as arid and barren, resembling Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia or even Bulgaria. Mention of Turks and pelicans also seems to indicate a more southerly location of this imaginary country.
The country's national airline is Syldair.
Syldavia is also called The Realm of the Black Pelican. (It has also been described as "Belgium disguised as a Slavic country".) 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.
- The origin of the people of Syldavia is obscure.
- The modern Syldavia was formed in 1127 when a tribal chief Hveghi drove away Turkish conquerors and took the name Muskar.
- Borduria conquered the country 1195 until Ottokar I drove them away in 1275.
- King Ottokar IV decreed that the ruler of Syldavia must have hold on the sceptre of power or he loses his authority.
- This custom had a power of law as late as 1939.
1939 Syldavia had a border incursion with its neighbor Borduria when a plot tried to oust king Muskar XII. The situation was very similar 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 also had a secret but successful space program in the area of Sbrojd.
In their book Tintin Ketje de Bruxelles (Casterman, 2004 ISBN 2-203-01716-3), Daniel Justens and Alain Préaux have shown that Syldavian language is largely based on Marols or Marollien, the slang of the popular quarter of Brussels, which Hergé learnt from his grandmother. Marols is essentially a Flemish dialect corrupted with words of French origin.
Tintin stories with Syldavia:
- Le Sceptre d'Ottokar (King Ottokar's Sceptre, 1939)
- Objectif Lune (Destination Moon, 1953)
- On a marché sur la Lune (Explorers on the Moon, 1954, for earth scenes only)
- L'Affaire Tournesol (The Calculus Affair, 1956)
See also
External link
- On the Syldavian language (http://www.zompist.com/syldavian.html) by Mark Rosenfelder
There is a song by Spanish group La Unión titled Syldavia, about the fictional country.eo:Sildavio fr:Syldavie id:Syldavia nl:Syldavië sv:Syldavien