Are there sources of lore on the altmeri rituals of worship of Y'ffre?

Devanear

Greetings fellow players,

I've recently created a altmer warden, and started researching this topic, but I can't seem to find anything related to the subject. All the references I find are about the bosmer, which I don't think are valid. Their faiths seem to have different origin stories and the rituals that are attributed to bosmer seem completely absent from altmer society. My knowledge of lore is limited though and other than a few websites (like UESP and the imperial library) I'm not sure where else to look.

Is there an official source of information? Or is it fair to assume altmer and bosmer worship is similar?

Thank you in advance for your help

Aigym_Hlervu

Hello, @Devanear! Well, you remember Boldekh? That Redguard warden shown in a cinematic trailer of ESO: Morrowind? According to the "Naryu's Journal" Lord Vivec called him just "a warrior on Nature's behalf" without any references to Y'ffre or the Green. Then why can't an Altmer be such a warrior the same way?

Devanear wrote: »

.. is it fair to assume altmer and bosmer worship is similar?

They're much different. We have books that tell us about the ways the Bosmer worship Y'ffre, about their customs and rites. We also have some books that state the worship ways of the two folks are completely different and it seems we don't have any certain description of the ways the Altmer worship Y'ffre by now.

Devanear

Cygemai_Hlervu wrote: »

Hello, @Devanear! Well, you remember Boldekh? That Redguard warden shown in a cinematic trailer of ESO: Morrowind? According to the "Naryu's Journal" Lord Vivec called him just "a warrior on Nature's behalf" without any references to Y'ffre or the Green. Then why can't an Altmer be such a warrior the same way?

Well, Y'ffre is part of the pantheon of the altmer, so I assumed there was more to it. According to UESP's page on Altmer: the Altmer pantheon slowly formed around the most popular and well-known of the Aedra. Given this, I assume the worship of Y'frre to be well established, with it's own temples and rituals.

The followers of Y'ffre also seem to be more than just worshippers of nature. They seem to be loremasters and singers. One of the images I found is of an altemeri altar to him which is an harp:



My goal was to role play my warden as a Y'ffre priestess (if they exist in altmer society) or just a devotee. I imagine her life being shaped by her faith and the powers that come with it. So I was curious how her faith would impact her life, what would be expected of her on that role, and what she should aspire to be.

Cygemai_Hlervu wrote: »

They're much different. We have books that tell us about the ways the Bosmer worship Y'ffre, about their customs and rites. We also have some books that state the worship ways of the two folks are completely different and it seems we don't have any certain description of the ways the Altmer worship Y'ffre by now.

I guess that gives me more freedom to write my own story, so not all is bad

Ajaxandriel

Devanear wrote: »

The followers of Y'ffre also seem to be more than just worshippers of nature. They seem to be loremasters and singers. One of the images I found is of an altemeri altar to him which is an harp:

This is right, more like singers and story tellers (loremasters rely on Xarxes). Also maybe gardeners and landscapers, as Altmer bend the nature to their esthetics.

And this altar is witnessed into the monastery of Serene Harmony, in Shimmerene. And a homestead furniture with the model is named Y'ffre shrine
https://eso.mmo-fashion.com/alinor-shrine-yffre/

He is also one of the 4 altmeri aedra depicted on the collector map artwork:



First guy on the right, with the branch. (Mere deduction but quite obvious.)

Devanear

Ajaxandriel wrote: »

He is also one of the 4 altmeri aedra depicted on the collector map artwork:



First guy on the right, with the branch. (Mere deduction but quite obvious.)

I love that image, it's a representation of how altmer actually see him. Thank you

Ajaxandriel wrote: »

This is right, more like singers and story tellers (loremasters rely on Xarxes). Also maybe gardeners and landscapers, as Altmer bend the nature to their esthetics.

Given that Y'ffre's pact with the bosmer allows them to use the forest to provide for themselves, I imagine he could also be the god of agriculture. Certainly that would be the most important nature related aspect for any society, and so is very likely associated to a divinity.

The harp altar made me think altmer associated him more with music and art (and storytelling) than nature, but the image you provided shows that nature connection is still there and could be quite important too.

(PS. I love your art, I'm a Warcraft/ESO fan too , still learning the ropes here though)