Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki - User contributions [en]

Fan-Art

2022-12-21T20:03:18Z

Tealin: Changed Tealin's link now to the gallery URL rather than the last image I copy/pasted (doh)

This wiki has been criticised elsewhere for the perceived indifferent quality of the illustrations and artwork we have put together over the years to accompany the articles. While we can't change that overnight, at least we can post links to those sites where Pratchett fans have gone that extra step beyond fan-fiction, and have presented their images for public viewing.

It's important to stress that while these may not be commercial images in the Kidby, Kirby or Grant sense, they are still the intellectual property of their owners and cannot be reproduced here without the express permission of their creators. (I hope to be able to persuade a few people to allow us to reproduce their art, subject to the usual conditions.)

In the meantime, why not browse:-

*[http://ankhmorporkers.deviantart.com/ Ankh-Morporkers on deviantArt]
*[http://the-discworld-guild.deviantart.com/ The Discworld Guild on deviantArt]
*[https://ko-fi.com/album/Discworld-Q5Q81F4TW Discworld & Pratchett Paraphernalia by Tealin]
*[http://puggdogg.blogspot.ca/ The Art of Lindsay Walker aka Puggdogg]

Please be aware that as with [[Fan fiction]], Sturgeon's Law applies:- in the absence of kindly editors, some of it will be from people who are to art and design what William McGonnagal was to poetry. But a goodly quantity of it is good, outstanding or even superlative. Browse and enjoy!

Also beware, unless your interests lie there (and who are we to judge), and especially if you're accessing the internet from work - there is a lot of Discworld fan-art out there, a LOT, which comes under the heading of Rule 34. If you think all the slash stuff about characters is pushing the written word a bit too far... well, some of it comes illustrated. Graphically so. You have been advised.

==See Also==
*[[Fandom]]
*[[Fan fiction]]
*[[Fan Films]]

{{stub}}
[[Category:Fandom|Fan-Art]]

Fandom

2022-12-21T20:02:11Z

Tealin: Changed the link to Tealin's home site as the image hosting on the original site is now defunct.

==External links==

*[http://www.lspace.org The L-Space Web] - ''Everything'' about Discworld (including this Wiki.)

==Newsgroups==

* [news://alt.fan.pratchett alt.fan.pratchett] - opens [[alt.fan.pratchett]] in your default mail client
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.fan.pratchett alt.fan.pratchett] on [[Wikipedia:Google_(search_engine)|Google Groups]]
* [news://alt.fan.pratchett.announce alt.fan.pratchett.announce]
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.fan.pratchett.announce alt.fan.pratchett.announce] on Google Groups
* [news://alt.book.pratchett alt.books.pratchett]
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.books.pratchett alt.books.pratchett] on Google Groups
* [news://de.alt.fan.pratchett de.alt.fan.pratchett] - German fan newsgroup
** [http://groups.google.co.uk/group/de.alt.fan.pratchett de.alt.fan.pratchett] on Google Groups

==Publishers' Websites==

* [http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/ Terry Pratchett] - Bibliography, forums and features from Verlagsgruppe Random House / Doubleday / etc.
* [http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/ Terry Pratchett Books] - A very active forum with members from around the world. Main page also includes current news and information about the books and Terry Pratchett. (HarperCollins)

==Blogs and Discussion==

* [http://www.affordable-prawns.co.uk/planet Planet afp] - A collection of afpers' weblogs.
* [http://www.electric-escape.net/pratchett Terry Pratchett Quotes] - A collection of quotations from Pratchett's novels and stories.
* [http://www.discworldmonthly.co.uk Discworld Monthly] - A free monthly newsletter about the Discworld.
* [http://goodomenslexicon.org/index.php The Good Omens Lexicon] - a fan site dedicated to this one book, and worth visiting
* [https://clacksheader.wordpress.com Clacks Header] - A collection of articles, eulogies, fanfiction and other bits and pieces gathered from various sources.

== Conventions ==
* [http://www.dwcon.org/ DWCon] - the International ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention, held in the UK (1996, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014. 2016, 2018, 2022)
* [http://www.discworld-convention.de Dicscworld-Convention.de] - the German ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019)
* [http://www.ausdwcon.org AusDWCon] - the Australian ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention, "Nullus Anxietas" (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
* [http://www.idwcon.org IDWCon] - the Irish ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
* [http://www.nadwcon.org/ NADWCON] - the North American ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention (2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019)
* [http://www.dutchdwcon.nl/ Dutch DWCon] - "Cabbagecon", the Dutch ''[[Discworld]]'' Convention (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022)
* [https://www.theineffablecon.org.uk The Ineffable Con] - ''[[TV and Film:Good Omens|Good Omens]]'' fan convention (2019, 2020, 2021); also run smaller events
* [https://llamedosholidaycamp.com Llamedos Holiday Camp] - a Welsh ''[[Discworld]]'' event (2020, 2021, 2022)

== National Sites ==
* [http://www.Ankh-Morpork.de Ankh-Morpork.de] - The German Terry Pratchett Fan Club
* [http://www.discworld.cz www.discworld.cz] - The biggest Czech web page about Discworld
* [http://dreamers.com/mundodisco/ La Concha de Gran'A'Tuin] - A Pratchett fan site in Spanish
* [http://pratchett.org pratchett.org] - a very good Russian-language site for CIS fans of Sir Terry
* [http://www.pratchett.pl/ Pratchett.pl] - a rather comprehensive Polish site that has been hiding from us for some time. Includes a "[http://www.pratchett.pl/pratchettopedia.html Pratchettopedia]"

==Peripherals==

*[http://www.paulkidby.com Paul Kidby's homepage] - Discworld art and news.
*[https://www.discworldemporium.com/ The Discworld Emporium] - creators and vendors of objets de Discworld art.
*[[Discworld MUD]] - A text {{wp|Massively multiplayer online game|MMO}} game started in 1991, based heavily on Pratchett's work. [http://discworld.atuin.net Link to website]
*[https://ko-fi.com/album/Discworld-Q5Q81F4TW Discworld & Pratchett Paraphernalia], a wealth of illustrations by Tealin.
*[[Micro Art Studios]][http://www.shop.microartstudio.com/ - A Polish miniature manufacturer] - A company making miniatures for RPGs and collecting with a discworld range.
*An archive of [http://web.archive.org/web/20081212000857/http://www.cheerycomic.co.uk/ ''Cheerycomic''] via the Wayback Machine - a good resource for Dwarves and the Watch.
*[[Ankh-Morpork MUSH]] - a text {{wp|Massively multiplayer online game|MMO}} game started in 2019, based on Pratchett's depiction of Ankh-Morpork at the end of the novel series. [http://discworld.mush.website Link to website]

==Forums==

* [http://z6.invisionfree.com/Dungeon_Dimensions Dungeon Dimensions] - A forum dedicated to Discworld. Not very active but a nice community feel.
* [http://z3.invisionfree.com/DWExtended Discworld Extended] - A new forum for Discworld chat, fan fiction, games and roleplay.
* [http://forum.discworldemporium.com/ Discworld Emporium Forum] - Set up by [[Bernard Pearson]], a discussion point for all things Pratchett.
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/ /r/Discworld] - A subreddit (sub-forum) of Reddit, "dedicated to the weird and wonderful Discworld". Reasonably active.

==Mastodon server==

* [http://mendeddrum.org/ The Mended Drum] - A Pratchett fan Mastodon instance.

==Wikis==
* [https://wiki.lspace.org LSpace's Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki] - This wiki.
* [https://pterryfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Discworld_Fanon_Wiki The Discworld Fanon Wiki] - A repository for all things Pratchett fanon. Feel free to use this for inspiration.
* [https://thelongearth.fandom.com/wiki/The_long_Earth_Wiki The Long Earth Wiki] - A great source for information on the Long Earth Series.
* [https://discworld.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page Discworld Wiki] - The Discworld wiki at Fandom.com (previously Wikia).
* [http://www.thediscworld.de DiscWiki] - The German-language Discworld wiki.

==Podcasts==
Moved to their own page: [[Podcasts]].

==Teaching Guides==
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazing-Maurice-Educated-Rodents-Respond/dp/1407160567 ''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (Read & Respond)''], by Eileen Jones, Scholastic, 1st September 2016.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Summary-Long-Earth-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1388253062 ''Summary of The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett''], WhizBooks, 25th July 2018.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Omens-Terry-Pratchett-Gaiman-Analysis/dp/2808018886 ''Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman'']], Bright Summaries, 8th April 2019.

==Criticism, biography, commentary==

*[http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/literature.html ''Terry Pratchett Guilty of Literature'']. The Science Fiction Foundation, 2000, edited by Andrew M. Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/So-You-Think-Know-Discworld/dp/0340917326 ''So You Think You Know Discworld''] Hodder Children's Books, 2006, by Clive Gifford. Unofficial quiz book unlike the [[Book:The Unseen University Challenge|other]] [[Book:The Wyrdest Link|two]] by Dave Langford which were endorsed by Terry.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unofficial-Companion-Novels-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1846450012 ''An Unofficial Companion to the Novels of Terry Pratchett''] Greenwood World Publishing, 2007, Andrew M. Butler.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett-Writers-Uncovered-Parker/dp/0431906432| ''Terry Pratchett (Writers Uncovered)''] Heinemann Library, 2007, Vic Parker.
*[http://www.sfsite.com/08a/tm277.htm ''The Turtle Moves'']. Benbella Books, 2008, by American commentator on all things Pratchett, {{wp|Lawrence Watt-Evans|Lawrence Watt-Evans}}
*[http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-The-Wee-Free-Discworld/dp/B004JZWRNA| ''Secrets of The Wee Free Men and Discworld: The Myths and Legends of Terry Pratchett's Multiverse''] by Carrie Pyykkonen and Linda Washington, 2008, St. Martin's Griffin.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchett-Fantasy-Craig-Cabell/dp/1843585073 ''Terry Pratchett-The Spirit of Fantasy''] by Craig Cabell, John Blake Publishing, 2011. (£17.99 UK). An entertaining and well-written book about Terry, part unauthorised biography, part literary criticism. Rumour has it this book has landed in remaindered bins at less than a fiver, a fate something as good as this does not deserve. (But see Amazon "customer reviews" for some violent disagreement.)
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1137360151 ''Philosophy and Terry Pratchett''] edited by Jacob Held and James South, 2014, Palgrave Macmillan.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discworld-Disciplines-Approaches-Pratchett-Explorations/dp/0786474645 ''Discworld and the Disciplines: Critical Approaches to the Terry Pratchett Works''] by Anne Hiebert Alton and William C. Spruiell, 2014, McFarland & Co Inc.
*[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Tribute-Sir-Terry-Pratchett/dp/1517603609 ''In Memory: A Tribute To Sir Terry Pratchett''] by Sorin Suciu (editor), 2015, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Discworld-Philosophy-Popular-Culture/dp/081269919X ''Discworld and Philosophy''] by Nicolas Michaud (editor), 2016, Cricket Books.
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchetts-Narrative-Worlds-Approaches/dp/3319672975 ''Terry Pratchett's Narrative Worlds: From Giant Turtles to Small Gods''] by Marion Rana (editor), 11th January 2018, Palgrave Macmillan.
*[[Book:The Magic of Terry Pratchett|''The Magic of Terry Pratchett'']] by Marc Burrows, 30th July 2020, Pen & Sword History. [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Terry-Pratchett-Marc-Burrows/dp/1526765500 Link]
*[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Terry-Pratchetts-Ethical-Worlds-Narrative-ebook/dp/B08G3KZ239 ''Terry Pratchett's Ethical Worlds: Essays on Identity and Narrative in Discworld and Beyond''] by Kristin Noone and Emily Lavin Leveret (Editors), 5th August 2020, McFarland.
*[[Book:Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes|''Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes'']] by [[Rob Wilkins]], 29th September 2022, Transworld.

==See also==
*[[Fan fiction]]
*[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Discworld?from=Main.Discworld TV tropes] - a really neat and entertaining site discussing the recurring "tropes", ie literary shortcuts, stereotypes and literary conventions present in TV, literature and art. A lot of space is given over to Pratchett's work, detailing how the tropes, those conventions, hooks and short-cuts present in the universal consciousness of all creative writers, work in the Discworld.

Now introducing:
*[[Fan-Art]]
*[[Fan Films]]

[[Category:Fandom|Fandom]]

Fan-Art

2022-12-21T20:00:14Z

Tealin: Changed the home site for Tealin because the image hosting on the original site is now defunct

This wiki has been criticised elsewhere for the perceived indifferent quality of the illustrations and artwork we have put together over the years to accompany the articles. While we can't change that overnight, at least we can post links to those sites where Pratchett fans have gone that extra step beyond fan-fiction, and have presented their images for public viewing.

It's important to stress that while these may not be commercial images in the Kidby, Kirby or Grant sense, they are still the intellectual property of their owners and cannot be reproduced here without the express permission of their creators. (I hope to be able to persuade a few people to allow us to reproduce their art, subject to the usual conditions.)

In the meantime, why not browse:-

*[http://ankhmorporkers.deviantart.com/ Ankh-Morporkers on deviantArt]
*[http://the-discworld-guild.deviantart.com/ The Discworld Guild on deviantArt]
*[https://ko-fi.com/i/ID1D21F55P Discworld & Pratchett Paraphernalia by Tealin]
*[http://puggdogg.blogspot.ca/ The Art of Lindsay Walker aka Puggdogg]

Please be aware that as with [[Fan fiction]], Sturgeon's Law applies:- in the absence of kindly editors, some of it will be from people who are to art and design what William McGonnagal was to poetry. But a goodly quantity of it is good, outstanding or even superlative. Browse and enjoy!

Also beware, unless your interests lie there (and who are we to judge), and especially if you're accessing the internet from work - there is a lot of Discworld fan-art out there, a LOT, which comes under the heading of Rule 34. If you think all the slash stuff about characters is pushing the written word a bit too far... well, some of it comes illustrated. Graphically so. You have been advised.

==See Also==
*[[Fandom]]
*[[Fan fiction]]
*[[Fan Films]]

{{stub}}
[[Category:Fandom|Fan-Art]]

Roberta Meserole

2022-12-21T19:58:43Z

Tealin: Changed the image link because the image hosting on the original website is now defunct.

{{Character Data
|title= Madam
|photo= roberta_meserole-tealin.jpg|Roberta Meserole as drawn by [https://ko-fi.com/i/ID1D21F55P Tealin]
|name= Lady Roberta Meserole
|age=
|race= Human

|occupation=
|appearance=

|residence= The world; once bought and may stil own [[Madam's Gardens|a house]] in [[Easy Street]] [[Ankh-Morpork]]

|death=
|parents=
|relatives= Nephew: [[Havelock Vetinari]]
|children=
|marital status=

|books= {{NW}}.
|cameos= She is mentioned, obliquely, in {{G!G!}}, as Vetinari's only living relative.

}}
'''Lady Roberta Meserole''', also called '''Madam''', appears in the book {{NW}}. She is a very mysterious character who prefers to pull strings in the background. Not much is known about her. She claims to be from [[Genua]], and it is uncertain whether she has been married or not. She appears to have a liking for cats, albeit not long-haired white ones, but preferring elderly street toms with irregular bouts of flatulence.

Lady Roberta is, in fact, the aunt of [[Havelock Vetinari]], and has been indirectly referenced in several other books, though she only makes a direct appearance in Night Watch. She played an important political role in the intrigue to overthrow [[Lord Winder]], with the help of Vetinari, who was a student Assassin in those times.

She has sharp reflexes and the ability to throw a good punch: in ''Night Watch'', she had an encounter with the young [[Nobby Nobbs]], in which Nobby's advanced pickpocketing abilities proved no match for her discovery of his hand in her purse. She then showed great acumen: when Nobby regained consciousness, she realised his unique skills could be of use to her as a gofer, spy, and intelligence-gatherer. A lesser noble could have had all his fingers broken in several places, and him buried indefinitely in the [[Tanty]]: Lady Roberta saw a rough-and-ready street asset. Nobby agreed immediately, as she paid well and he had no desire to end up sharing a cell with [[Sconner Nobbs|his father]].

She feels comfortable in the high society and likes to flirt with politically important people, in order to achieve her goals. Friends may call her Bobbi. Whether she really considers anybody a close friend is not certain.

[[Samuel Vimes]] seems to have earned her respect, and she secretly watches his moves and actions during the [[Glorious Revolution]] of [[Treacle Mine Road]].

==Annotations==
* Her character could be based on the character of Mylady de Winter in Dumas' ''Three Musketeers'', or perhaps that character's real-life Roundworld counterpart, Lucy, Countess of Carlisle. During the British Civil Wars of the 1640s, the Countess used her privileged position as an aristocrat and lady-in-waiting to the Queen to secretly aid the rebellion against the Crown.
* Other Roundworld referents might include Lola Montez, who started out as music hall dancer and occasional seamstress, but who manoeuvred her way up the ladder to become Queen of Bavaria; or actress Eva Peron, who famously and tunefully became power behind the throne in Argentina. Lady Marcia Falkender deserves a mention too: at first merely personal secretary to an ambitious young member of parliament called Harold Wilson, she stayed with him all the way up to his becoming Prime Minister. During his last term of office in the 1970's, there are rumours that as Wilson was diagnosed with Alzheimers and his role in politics consequently became shakier, it was actually ''she'' who was dictating and steering British government policy.
* There is also the interesting example of the real-world Marquise de Monnier, an unconventional and convention-defying woman who was active in Paris as a fixer and arranger and intermediary, in the years immediately preceding the French Revolution. She was mistress to the Compte de Mirabeau, an aristo who not only dodged the guillotine, he became an influential figure (as opposed to a leader) in the French Revolutionary government. "de Monnier" wasn't her real name: she operated under a pseudonym and consequently had an aura of mystery and intrigue.

[[Category: Discworld characters|Meserole, Roberta]]
[[Category: Supporting characters|Meserole, Roberta]]
[[de:Roberta Meserole]]

Havelock Vetinari

2022-12-21T19:57:16Z

Tealin: Changed the image link because the old one referred to a website whose image hosting is now defunct

{{Character Data
|title= Vetinari
|photo= awakening.jpg|Havelock Vetinari as drawn by [https://ko-fi.com/i/IZ8Z21F56W Tealin]
|name= Havelock Vetinari
|age= about 50
|race= [[Humans|Human]] (as far as anyone can tell)
|occupation= [[Patrician]], ex-[[Assassins' Guild|Assassin]]
|appearance= Tall, fragile, in control. Has a goatee. His eyes are a penetrating ice-blue in colour. Walks with a cane after the events of {{MAA}}
|residence= [[Patrician's Palace]], [[Ankh-Morpork]]
|death=
|parents= Father dead, didn't take things seriously enough.
|relatives= Aunt [[Lady Roberta Meserole]]
|children=
|marital status= never married, linked to [[Margolotta|Lady Margolotta]].
|books= {{S}} {{G!G!}} {{MP}} {{MAA}} {{IT}} {{FOC}} {{T5E}} {{TT}} {{GP}} {{T!}} {{MM}} {{UA}} {{RS}}|
|cameos= {{TCOM}} {{SM}} {{TLH}} {{NW}} {{M}} (mentioned) {{WS}} (mentioned) ''[[Discworld Noir]]'' (his voice is heard)
}}
[[Image:Vet02.png|left|180px]]
Family Motto: ''SI NON CONFECTVS, NON REFICIAT.''

''If it ain't broke, don't fix it''

'''Havelock Vetinari''' is the current [[Patrician]] of [[Ankh-Morpork]]. He has been the supreme ruler for some years and is the successor of [[Mad Lord Snapcase]]. The Assassins' Guild have an AM$ 1,000,000 fee for his inhumation, though rumour says that they are not accepting contracts on him at present. As a former [[Assassins' Guild|Assassin]] himself, he is probably just too difficult to kill. However, his greatest defence against would-be plotters is that he carefully sees to it that a reality with him as Patrician is slightly better than one without him.

It was his discovery that people only really want stability and that tomorrow should pretty much resemble today, and this has been his greatest contribution to Ankh-Morpork. Impressively, he manages to keep this up even while he drags Ankh-Morpork, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the future. It is said that Vetinari can accomplish more with irony than most others can with steel. He can also accomplish more with one raised eyebrow than most people can with two of them and a lifetime of practice.

He seems to have no vices whatsoever, since some guild or other would otherwise undoubtedly have made use of them by now. Admittedly, Vetinari did ban street theatre and tends to hang mime artists upside down in a scorpion pit opposite a sign reading "Learn The Words," but this is generally taken by the population as simply an amusing character trait. Anyway, in Ankh-Morpork people think that strolling players are no better than criminals, and mimes are just plain freaky.

It has also recently emerged that Vetinari also has firmly-held Views about [[Daniellarina Pouter|modern art]] which are not far removed from those he holds concerning mime artists. While a fan of music in general, Lord Vetinari believes that actual live performance of [[Opera]] proves less enjoyable than simply reading the notes on the page.

Lord Vetinari enjoys a variety of games and puzzles (both metaphoric and literal); he faithfully completes the daily crossword in the ''[[Ankh-Morpork Times]]'' and is a master at [[Stealth Chess]]. He is also an expert [[Thud]] player, adept at either the Trolls or Dwarfs side of the board. For years, he has carried on a long-distance game with [[Lady Margolotta]] of Überwald, communicating moves via clacks. While initially opposed to the street game [[foot-the-ball]], the Patrician recently endorsed the version of the game played at Unseen University.

Several of his abilities (an absolutely photographic memory, the ability to solve puzzles almost instantly and an apparent inability to get drunk) suggest he may not be entirely human.

Though he apparently lacks any magical or technological understanding whatsoever, matters of that nature have never presented much of an obstacle to Vetinari, mostly because from his perspective such things ultimately manifest, both in initial cause and final effect, in the behaviour of people, which he understands exceedingly well.

Following the events of [[The Truth]], he employs [[Charlie (The Truth)|Charlie]] as his double, standing in for him on occasion. One such occasion was during [[Book:Raising Steam|Raising Steam]], while Vetinari adopted the guise of [[Stoker Blake]].

In the Sky One adaptation of The Colour of Magic he is played by Jeremy Irons. In the Sky One adaptation of Going Postal he is played by Charles Dance.

== Politics ==
Lord Vetinari has a vast spy network, and he himself is the head of intelligence, the only man who knows all of the information so far collected. We learn in {{G!G!}} that some of his spies are particularly intelligent [[Rats|rats]] who evolved under the magic-contaminated grounds of [[Unseen University]]. Also, in {{COM}}, it is suggested that he uses rats as messengers as well. It also appears that he has infiltrated the intelligence networks of the rival guilds and organisations in the city, taking choice morsels of intelligence. In {{S}} he was reading a report of what the chief thief said to his deputy in their secret meeting room. The patrician is adept at using the [[Clacks]] system to deliver misinformation. He has had [[Leonard of Quirm]] create highly difficult codes that can be broken by his most intelligent rivals, thus ensuring they know what he is thinking. Or rather they know what he wants them to believe he is thinking...

Vetinari is very good at listening, and has a way of making people uncomfortable so that they talk more and more in trying to dilute the atmosphere. Lord Vetinari is also very manipulative. His more obvious moves include the innovation of allowing crime syndicates to become legalized guilds much as guilds of people of other trades. This means that a certain amount of crime is legal, and it is the responsibility of the [[Thieves' Guild]] to punish unlicensed stealing, [[Assassins' Guild]] to punish uncontracted killing, etc., arguably doing a better job than the Guard, (when the Thieves' Guild went on strike, crime actually increased.) In politics Lord Vetinari strongly believes in the "''one man – one vote''," system, where he-alone is the man, and he alone has the vote. It seems to follow that the Patrician does not belong to any political party.

His less obvious moves include minimizing the Night Watch division of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]]; populating it with riffraff and ethnic minorities and demoralizing its leader [[Samuel Vimes]] (then Captain), with the intent of winding him up so that he might unwind all at once, overstep his diminutive jurisdiction, and sort things out ({{MAA}}). Lord Vetinari hires many [[clerks]], some trained Assassins, some young diplomats who are not from the noble families, and some spies assigned to diplomatic offices.

The [[Patrician's Palace]] is in charge of the registration of the [[Guilds of Ankh-Morpork|Guilds]], diplomacy with foreign countries, the wages of City employees such as the Watchmen, and so on. Lord Vetinari also likes to give important jobs to unwilling young men whom he considers capable; his victims so far include [[William de Worde]] of the [[Ankh-Morpork Times]], and [[Moist von Lipwig]] of the [[Post Office]] and the [[Ankh-Morpork_Mint|Royal Mint]].

Unlike previous Patricians, Vetinari truly works to make the city work, not for personal gain or vanity. He has carried out many devious schemes for the good of the city, and eliminates persons or situations that threaten the city. In a very complex manoeuvre, he set up the Ankh-Morpork [[Post Office]] against the [[clacks]] company [[Grand Trunk]] to get the company out of the hands of embezzlers destroying the company for profit. After the clacks system gets back on its feet, Lord Vetinari can again let foreign diplomats send a clacks home about ''what he wants them to think''; characteristically he specifies that his codes be 'fiendishly difficult' but not unbreakable as he wants people to read them so that he knows what they think he thinks they're thinking.

Lord Vetinari's head clerk, for several years now, is a slight, quiet young man named [[Drumknott]]. Both Drumknott and the other members of the Palace staff have been instructed to accept bribes proffered for access to the Patrician.

His success has led many to attempt to emulate him – or, in some [[Cosmo Lavish|extreme cases]], to become him. There is apparently an entire wing of Ankh-Morpork's mental hospital devoted to people convinced that they are Vetinari. They often engage in eyebrow-raising competitions.

After the Unseen University banquet in [[Unseen Academicals]] he confesses to Drumknott that he is 'drunk as a skunk'; however, the only apparent manifestation of this is that he becomes extremely talkative, stubs his toe on a step in the palace, and takes an extra fifty seconds to solve the Times crossword.

==Early Years==
Havelock was born into the extremely wealthy and influential Vetinari family, and it seems that he was raised during the early part of his life by his aunt, [[Lady Roberta Meserole]].

In his youth, he attended the [[Assassins' Guild]], where he studied languages (the guild being the most proper place for wealthy families to send their children for education regardless of their specific vocation). It seems that Vetinari was particularly interested in classical arts of camouflage, defying the guild's policy of all-black dress in favour of dark grey and dark green. He was failed in his stealth course on account of his teacher never seeing him in classes. This, replied Vetinari in his own defense, was to his mind the ''entire point'' of the subject.

Vetinari gained a number of qualifications at the guild, listed in the {{AGD}} as: Doctor of Medicine & Applied Pathology, Doctor of Music, Doctor of God Studies, Master Assassin, Master of Political Expediency, Master of Alchemical Science, Member of the Institute of Dance & Deportment, Bachelor of the Science of Inhumation & Diploma in Physical Education. He has also gone on to become the guilds Provost.

He studied at the guild at the same time as the current Master of Assassins, [[Lord Downey]], who gave him the less-than-affectionate nickname 'Dog-botherer'. Given the positions they respectively hold thirty years later, it is possible that Downey now regrets the little misunderstandings of their youth, especially the nickname. It is obvious that Downey's attitude to Vetinari is now one of obsequious but wary respect. He did however graduate with full honors in [[1968 UC|1968]].

At some point during his early life he journeyed to [[Überwald]], as part of the [[Grand Sneer]] (where young members of high-born and wealthy families journey to backwards countries to see how inferior they are.) During this period Vetinari seems to have had some sort of a relationship with an Überwaldean noblewoman, the [[vampires|vampire]] [[Lady Margolotta]]. Contrary to the way things might have been expected to go, given their respective ages, it is implied that he taught her at least a good deal of what she knows about manipulation.

It is also very possible that when the Patricianship changed hands, and Snapcase demanded files be created on ''"up and coming young men in the Guild of Assassins"'', that would have been a ''very'' good time for Vetinari to embark on the leisurely coming-of-age Grand Sneer; customary to young men of his social class. If the new Patrician was seeking to establish a shortlist of candidates to ascertain the identity of the Assassin who inhumed his predecessor, it is highly likely that Vetinari would have been offered the same sort of grateful advancement as was offered to John Keel - making this an ideal time to leave the city for a few years and exploit his aunt's Disc-wide social and business connections.

How Vetinari himself ascended to the Patricianship is a story yet untold. It is known that his advice was heeded by Snapcase's administration on at least one occasion: when a 20p bounty on rat tails was introduced to combat a serious rodent infestation, but threatened to drain the treasury dry without curtailing the rats' numbers. Vetinari's suggestion to "tax the rat farms" provided an early demonstration of his shrewd political insight.

Another clue to the secret past of the Patrician is that once a year he, like several others, wears a sprig of lilac in remembrance of an important [[Glorious Revolution|event]] in recent history. This is because the Patrician fought in the event on the side of the Watchmen, though at a point of time when old Vimes was not present and the young one was unconscious. As well, Vetinari himself inhumed Lord Winder, by the method of sheer terror. In the latter case, he showed a remarkable degree of foresight and high ambition: Asked by the then-Patrician Winder: "Who are yer?", he answers: "Think of me as ... your future".

It has been said that the only living thing Lord Vetinari truly cared for was his dog, an extremely elderly wire-haired terrier named [[Wuffles]]. After Wuffles' death, he religiously visits the grave weekly to leave a favourite dog biscuit. The end of {{MM}} seems to indicate that he has adopted the chairman of the Royal Bank, [[Mr Fusspot]], to fill the void left by Wuffles.

In the difficult time of the ''[[Sourcerer]]'', which is very carefully not remembered by people who were visiting their ailing aunt in [[Quirm]] at the time, Vetinari was transformed into a yellow-green lizard. Both lizard and Wuffles were taken in for safekeeping by the [[Librarian]], until things could return to normal again. During this time, the lizard was kept in a glass jar. (This left him with an uncomfortable feeling near glass for some time.) Fortunately for the senior wizards, Vetinari suffered an uncharacteristic and extremely annoying memory loss on his return to human form, and was left with a distressing (but short-lived) urge to catch insects with his tongue...

==Character Annotations==
The name "'''Vetinari'''" is a pun on the infamous [[Wikipedia:Medici|De' Medici]] family of Florence who ruled the city and surroundings during the Renaissance.

His dislike of mime artists may be based on the Roman Emperor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domitian#Religious_policy Domitian] who forbade mimes from appearing on stage in public. (Apparently appearing on stage in private was permitted between consenting adults.)

There is a famous Middle English chivalric romance called "Havelock the Dane."

There are several streets on [[Roundworld]] named 'Havelock' including a Havelock Place in Melbourne. It should be noted that many of these appear to be named after the British General Henry Havelock, who fought in the Indian Mutiny, and after whom the piece of cloth that hangs from the back of a kepi to keep the sun off the neck was named. (In the very best traditions of [[Blouse|military officers having items of clothing named after them]], and despite the fact the Japanese, who at the time didn't count, had independently invented such a useful item six hundred or so years beforehand).

Another famous Havelock was Victorian sexologist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havelock_Ellis Havelock Ellis], whose career took a very decidedly non-Victorian route, when he compiled what for many years were held to be the first definitive scholarly works on deviant sexuality. As the Victorians seemed to believe virtually every form of sexual expression was deviant, Ellis had no shortage of raw material to include, and gleefully set about shocking his society with a catalogue of work that comprehensively covered just about everything imaginable and quite a few things that are not, perhaps, so easily encompassed by the normal mind. Oddly enough the writings are not at all sexually stimulating or prurient: this Havelock dissects his subject with the same sort of matter-of-fact forensic care and attention to detail that Havelock Vetinari might put to running a city. The underlying reasoning is one that Havelock Vetinari might recognise and nod approval to- there is a suspicion that Ellis is trying to wake people up and bring them to a new level of understanding about how things can be better organised and understood, even if this means having to think the hitherto unthinkable, and contemplate things previously thought beyond the civilised pale.

The name "Havelock" is often said to be of Old Norse/Norwegian origin meaning "sea war"/"sea-contest"/"sea sport" and the likes. According to [http://www.babynamespedia.com/meaning/Havelock this site], however, it's said to be of Germanic origin, primarily used in the Welsh language, meaning "elf warrior" or "olive tree".

Interestingly, this quote echoes Vetinari's philosophy and his stated reason why he has remained Patrician for so long:

''In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life...''

Controversy dogs its provenance. It is sometimes attributed to historian Edmund Gibbon, writing on the final collapse of the Greek city states, first to Persia, then to Macedonia and Rome. But research suggests this is more recent: Margaret Thatcher speaking on the evils of socialism in 1994. A version may have originated with Gibbon; Thatcher's paraphrase is in the context of a diatribe on the perceived evils of state intervention and socialist patriarchy. And Gibbon certainly never said that!

==Also See==
* [[wikipedia:Havelock Vetinari|Havelock Vetinari's Entry]] on [[wikipedia:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]

[[Category:Discworld characters|Vetinari, Havelock]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Vetinari, Havelock]]
[[Category:Supporting characters|Vetinari, Havelock]]
[[Category:Human characters|Vetinari, Havelock]]
[[de:Havelock Vetinari]]

Samuel Vimes

2022-12-21T19:55:34Z

Tealin: Edited the image link as the old one was dependent on a now-defunct image hosting site

Vimes Family Motto: ''PROTEGO ET SERVIO''

''I protect and serve''
{{Character Data
|title= Vimes
|photo= Vimes_Duck_Blanket.jpg | Sam Vimes by [https://ko-fi.com/i/IS6S0AFK7N Tealin]
|name= Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]
|age= 50+ In [[Thud!]]
|race= [[Humans|Human]]
|occupation= Commander of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]] (Badge No.177)
|appearance= Skinny, balding and unshaven
|residence= Ramkin Residence, [[Scoone Avenue]], [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]
|death=
|parents= [[Thomas Vimes]] (father) [[Mrs. Vimes]] (mother)
|relatives= [[Gwilliam Vimes]] (paternal grandfather) [[Grandma Clamp]] (maternal grandmother). [["Old Stoneface" Vimes]] (AKA "Suffer Not Injustice" Vimes)
|children= [[Young Sam Vimes]]
|marital status= Married to Lady [[Sybil Ramkin]]. A previous girlfriend, alluded to in passing in {{T!}}, is [[Mavis Trouncer]].
|books= {{G!G!}} {{MAA}} {{FOC}} {{J}} {{T5E}} {{NW}} {{MR}} {{T!}} ''[[Book:Where's My Cow?|Where's My Cow?]] [[Book:Snuff|Snuff]] {{RS}} [[Discworld Noir]]''
|cameos= {{TT}} {{GP}} {{MM}} {{UA}} {{ISWM}}
}}

'''Samuel "Sam" Vimes''' is the Commander of the [[Ankh-Morpork]] [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|City Watch]]. He is the central character of the [[Watch Series]], in which his rises from being a poor and often-drunk policeman to being the leader of a modern police force.

During his first appearance in {{G!G!}}, he is the Captain of the (useless) Night Watch. He is promoted to being the Commander of a reunified City Watch at the end of its sequel {{MAA}}, and presides over the Watch's transformation into a modern police force. Through his detective work and adventures he saves the city and many people's lives on multiple occasions. He is often referred to as the second-most powerful man in the city after [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]]. As a result of his reputation, the word ''[[Sammies]]'' has become a nickname for watchmen trained in Ankh-Morpork.

Despite his distaste for nobility, he becomes a Duke and an ambassador. His current full title is ''His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch''. He is married to [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], the wealthiest woman in the city, and they have a son [[Young Sam Vimes|Samuel "Young Sam" Vimes II]].

== Biography ==
Samuel Vimes was born in [[Cockbill Street]], [[the Shades]], [[Ankh-Morpork]] into a poor family. Through his father Thomas, he is a descendant of [["Stoneface" Vimes|Suffer-Not-Injustice "Stoneface" Vimes]], who overthrew the [[Monarchy|monarchy]] in Ankh-Morpork centuries earlier, killed [[Lorenzo the Kind|its last king]], and ruled the city briefly before being overthrown himself. The Vimes family, until then a noble family, were disgraced and lived in poverty for many generations after. In his later life Sam is often compared to his ancestor, in both his personality and his appearance.

He went to the local school, where he was taught by Dame [[Slightly]] for 9 months and became blackboard monitor. After that, he spent some time in street gangs, including the [[Cockbill Street Roaring Lads]]. At the age of 16, he enlisted in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch|Night Watch]], because his mate, Iffy Scurrick, had joined the year before and told him that there was "free food and a uniform and you could pick up the extra dollar here and there". Vimes joined the Night Watch shortly before the birth of the Glorious [[People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road]] during the [[Glorious Revolution|Glorious Revolution]]. In the original timeline, Vimes was mentored by Sergeant [[John Keel]]. Keel taught Vimes several important lessons, such stopping him from taking bribes at a time when such behaviour was widespread in the Watch. Keel took charge of the rebellion and was killed. In {{NW}}, the timeline was altered and his future self ended up impersonating John Keel for the duration of the Revolution, teaching him the same lessons instead.

Little is known about what happens between then and {{G!G!}}. Vimes became more street-smart, particularly after learning to fight with any means necessary by [[Gussie Two-Grins]]. However, the Watch declined in importance during this time, particularly after [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] legalised the [[Thieves Guild]]. The Guild proved to be a better regulator of crime than the Watch. The Night Watch were reduced to patrolling the streets, ringing their bells at night and half-heartedly chasing criminals. During this time, Vimes became an {{wp|alcoholism|alcoholic}} (although as he was poor, he considered himself to be "a drunk", not an alcoholic).

By the start of {{G!G!}}, Vimes has become a Captain of a Night Watch that had dwindled to just four people: himself, Sergeant [[Fred Colon|Colon]], Corporal [[Nobby Nobbs|Nobbs]] and the new recruit [[Carrot Ironfoundersson]]. Around this time, Colon claims that Vimes never advanced further because he was "Brung Low by a Woman" (if so, then her name is [[Morporkia|Ankh Morporkia]]), although Vimes himself attributes it to his irreverent habit of speaking his mind to authority figures. But the events of this novel mark the turning point for the Watch and Vimes's career. The Watch showed their worth by stopping a [[Noble dragon|dragon]] from taking over the city. Vimes also began a romantic relationship with [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], one of the wealthiest women in the city.

From then on, the Watch began to grow again. In {{MAA}}, Vimes and the Watch thwart another attempt to take over the city. As a reward, the Night Watch and Day Watch are merged into a unified City Watch and Vimes is promoted to the post of Commander, as well as being given the somewhat unwanted title of Knight. He also marries Sybil and kicks his drinking habit.

Vimes and the City Watch go on to save the city and multiple lives, including a plot by golems and a vampire in {{FOC}} and a threat of war with Klatch in {{J}}. For this, Vimes is awarded with yet another unwanted nobility title: Duke of Ankh. Later adventures include a journey to [[Überwald]] in {{T5E}}, a journey back to the days of the Glorious Revolution in {{NW}}, making peace between dwarfs and trolls in {{T!}} and busting a goblin slavery network in {{SN}}. His son [[Young Sam Vimes|Samuel "Young Sam" Vimes II]] was born at the end of {{NW}}.

===Ranks and titles===
Vimes's ranks and titles rise over the course of the series:
*Lance-Constable Samuel Vimes ({{NW}}, his younger self)
*Captain Samuel Vimes of the Night Watch ({{G!G!}} until the end of {{MAA}})
*Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] (the end of {{MAA}} until the end of {{J}})
*His Grace, The Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] (the end of {{J}} until {{T5E}})
*His Grace, His Excellency, The Duke of [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]]; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] ({{T5E}} to present)
This is not the full list; he almost certainly had others during his early Watch career, and he had none prior to joining the Watch.

==Characteristics==
Sam Vimes is by nature an extremely cynical person. He has few good opinions on people in general, and even fewer on the nobility, the guilds, [[Vetinari]], [[vampires]], the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], monarchy, democracy, [[Ankh-Morpork Times|newspapers]]...and the list goes on. In short, nearly everyone and everything is subject to his distrust. His first impression upon meeting someone is that they're guilty of some crime - 'the possibility that they were not guilty of anything he didn't think worthy of consideration' ([[Jingo]]) - though in a city such as Ankh-Morpork, this is more or less true.

Equally, he is known to be an angry person. His sheer, incandescent rage is barely suppressed by his desire to be lawful and administer justice properly (and also in a way, to not follow in Stoneface's steps). Due to his authority in {{MAA}}, when he finds himself in possession of the [[Gonne]], he struggles between his sense of justice and the Gonne's twisted desire to use him to kill in the name of justice. He can barely restrain himself from the Gonne's temptations. In {{T!}}, he nearly gives in entirely to those of the [[Summoning Dark]]. In the latter case, you have to consider that a [[Helmclever|dwarf]] stirs deliberately his anger, and the [[Dark Guards]] attempt later to assassinate not only Vimes, but also his wife and his fourteen-months-old son, using flamethrowers. On one side, there is Vimes, however rough and pessimistic he may seem, defender of law and order, and the other side is a Vimes who would kill for revenge and make his own law.

In {{T!}}, after years of nighttime patrols, Vimes's mindscape is described as the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], streets and all, in the dead of night, with the rains bucketing down over your head. When Vimes is angry, doors of some of the houses (the more angry he is, the more doors) will open. When the [[Summoning Dark]] trespasses into his mind, needing a host in order to track down the [[Deep-Downers]], it tries to enter through one of the doors that opens when Vimes becomes angry, only to be pulled away at every time. It is later revealed that the force preventing the [[Summoning Dark]] from making any progress in possessing Vimes is Vimes's own 'inner guardsman'.

His chronic alcoholism may be partially due to his natural state of extreme sobriety, known as being [[knurd]]. According to Vimes's long-time close friend and fellow officer [[Fred Colon]], it is because that every other normal person is naturally slightly drunk to some extent to conceal the true horrors of reality from them. However Vimes lacks the ability to produce his 'own alcohol', as it were. Vimes used to attempt to cure this by drinking heavily; unfortunately he often over-dosed himself, and became an alcoholic. After marrying Lady [[Sybil Ramkin]], he quit drinking and smoked cigars instead. In {{FOC}}, he still has the habit to reach in stress situations for the bottom desk drawer, where his bottle used to be. But he'd never bought a bottle since he got married, and Carrot and Fred Colon keep an eye on him, as well. As of ''[[Book:Snuff|Snuff]]'', even his smoking has been barred from the house (likely for Young Sam's sake), and he sates his cravings with non-alcoholic mixers whipped up by [[Willikins]].

Another reason for Vimes's past alcoholism may be his history; Vimes has been on the Watch since his late teens. He has lived through the successive regimes of Homicidal Lord [[Winder]] and [[Mad Lord Snapcase]], two patricians whose sobriquets more than adequately describe their tenures, as well as several wars, and the legalization of the Guilds under Vetinari, which more or less broke his spirit. His participation as a young copper in handing people to the [[Cable Street Particulars|Unmentionables]] has surely left him also with a deep feeling of guilt and shame, after witnessing the results in their headquarters.

Vimes is a firm believer in the institution of law. He has a soft spot for the poor and those otherwise unable to fend for themselves, as although he views them as equally able to commit crimes as any other demographic; he sees law as a great equalizer, regardless of race (however despite his acceptance of just about any species into the Watch, until he was forced to in [[Thud!]] he refused to have a [[vampire]].)

As Vimes's long-time close friend [[Fred Colon|Sgt. Colon]] puts it, Vimes could get drunk in better style, Vimes could be baffled about a case with better vocabulary, and Vimes could deal with the paperwork. To himself, Samuel Vimes is a not very intelligent man with a sordid personal history that he'd rather forget. To many others he is, somehow, the person to look up to. [[Carrot Ironfoundersson|Captain Carrot]] quotes Vimes's ideas about social justice, and tries to make them a reality. [[Lady Sybil Ramkin]], Vimes's wife, thinks that he can sort out anything. The new policemen trained in the [[Ankh-Morpork City Watch]] and then hired elsewhere, though they haven't seen Vimes in person much, are called ''[[Sammies]]'' (perhaps a nod to the "bobbies," so-called because of Sir Robert Peel).

Vimes is far from being perfect, and he knows the fact better than anyone. In addition to former alcoholism, Vimes has many prejudices. He hates many kinds of people and many things, and he has quite good reasons to. He hates the upper class because they look down on the rest of the society while exploiting it (e.g. charging high rent from the poor people living in slum properties).

He hates [[dwarfs]] and [[trolls]], but he has stated that he doesn't care that much for humans either so he can't be blamed. He hates [[zombies]], [[werewolves]] and [[vampires]]; for unashamedly discriminative reasons, among them being that they cannot be killed if police duty necessitates that Vimes should fight them, and he believes that vampires naturally or reflexively prey upon people, as well as often being rich and snobby.

He hates dishonest policemen. He accepts that a publican may offer a free pint or a meal to an officer just because having an officer on the premises at rush hour makes things go more smoothly is just a way of doing business, but draws the line at an officer taking money to look the other way. He also sacks, and may even prosecute, officers who abuse prisoners or participate in crimes. In his view, the law must apply to everyone, or it applies to noone. That was why, in Jingo, he reluctantly agreed to arrest Lord Vetinari.

He hates [[Assassins' Guild|Assassins]] and [[Thieves' Guild|Thieves]] because their crimes are legalized and he cannot arrest them, and their leaders are even city dignitaries now. He hates [[Alchemists' Guild|Alchemists]] because they blow things up.

Just about the only kind of people that he doesn't hate are gargoyles, who never commit crimes that anybody finds out about, and the [[wizard's magic|wizards]]; they may mess up the space-time continuum and destroy the universe, but such offenses seldom fall within Vimes's jurisdiction. Vimes has a complicated love-hate relationshop with the city of [[Ankh-Morpork]], equating it to a woman who treats you badly, but you can't help but go back to her. It has been said that he protects the city just as he protects the dwarfs and trolls, so that he can go on hating them. In truth, Vimes has seen too many bad things in his line of work, and now finds it difficult to have a good opinion of anything in general; he is far too cynical (and yet depressingly sometimes not cynical enough). He doesn't have too much animosity for the Seamstresses Guild, since the Agony Aunts handle any excesses by customers, and the Houses themselves make sure that a customer will not end up beaten, naked, and penniless in the streets, "unless his tastes run that way."

In {{J}}, Vimes finds himself in a difficult and tense situation where he is holding the [[Klatch|Klatchian]] Prince [[Cadram]] at bowpoint, and is prepared to kill him because (tenuous) evidence links him to a conspiracy to kill Prince [[Khufurah]], but there is no court which would try the case. He is saved by the arrival of [[Vetinari]], who defuses the situation.

According to [[Detritus]], when Vimes found a child-killer who has kept a "''memento''" of his deed, it was all the troll could do to prevent him from killing the perpetrator. This all comes to light during the events of {{T!}} where Vimes' internal Watchman - which describes itself as existing to keep the darkness in rather than keeping it out- battles with the [[Mine sign|Summoning Dark]] for supremacy of his soul and is ultimately victorious in dispelling the evil entity from its attempts to use Vimes to kill for it. This can be illustrated by the fact that when asked 'quis custodies ipsos custodes' ('Who watches the watchmen?') Vimes's immediate reaction is 'Me'. When asked who guards him, he replies, 'I do that too.'

He is capable of accepting specific individuals. He has married Lady Sybil and certainly loves her. He accepts members of ethnic minorities in his Watch, has personally trained some of them, and is quite proud of them. He promotes Watch officers according to merit and ability, regardless of gender, species, or seniority. He also has a soft spot for the poor, the working class, or the young. When he finds younger Assassins failing their attempts on him, for example, he lets them go with only minor wounds; older Assassins, on the other hand, have been known to be [[Richard Liddleley|painted and tied up left in public]], or even [[Eustace Bassingly-Gore|chained up and sent on a sea voyage]] all the way to the other end of [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]]. To put it very simply, he tries to look after those who have nobody else looking after them.

In attempting to carry out justice, Vimes has arrested sons of Ankh-Morpork nobles as well as city dignitaries, all the way up to [[Lord Vetinari]]. This has put Vimes high on the hit list of the Assassins at a price of $AM20,000 in {{FOC}} rising to $AM600,000 after 9 failed attempts at the time of {{T5E}}; recently, however, he has been taken off the register, and the Guild of Assassins no longer accepts contracts on his life. This may be because he is somehow vital to the running of the city, as [[Havelock Vetinari|Lord Vetinari]] is, or it may be because no sensible Assassin will volunteer for the task anyway. Vimes has personally designed and installed many traps and deadfalls all around the Ramkin family home and the Watch headquarters at [[Pseudopolis Yard]]. So far, Vimes hasn't been even injured by any Assassin. The Assassins Guild now has some of its trainees conduct "''dry run''" assassination attempts on Vimes as a matter of testing the trainee's skills - particularly if they feel the need to [[Jocasta Wiggs|bring the trainee's ego back down to the Disc]] (see {{NW}}).

He is also fiercely anti-authority, possibly a facet of his character which he inherited from Old Stoneface. That he manages this whilst actually being authority is, as [[Lord Vetinari]] put it, "''practically zen''." He regards being the Duke of Ankh as a job title and always prefers "Commander" or "sir" to any of his other titles, which include "''His Grace''," "''His Excellency''" and "''his blackboard-monitorship''" ({{T5E}} and {{T!}}). Continuing to call him by any of these titles after he's explained his preferences is an excellent way to get in His Grace His Excellency's bad graces.

Sam Vimes's full title of record is "''His Grace, His Excellency, the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes''." His "Blackboard Monitor" epithet is used like a title in ''[[Book:Snuff|Snuff]]'', implying it may actually have been accorded some official weight by the Low King of the dwarfs. Ironically, the one title Vimes holds with genuine pride (as of ''[[Book:Snuff|Snuff]]''), aside from Commander, is "King" .. as in, "King of the River", an honorarium awarded in recognition of his role in saving the riverboat ''Wonderful Fanny'' from piracy and flood.

Members of the Watch earn the privilege, and it is a privilege, of calling him "''Mister Vimes''" only after very long association (i.e. [[Nobby Nobbs]] or [[Fred Colon]]), or after watching his back in a street fight to the extent that they have demonstrably saved his life ([[A.E. Pessimal]]). He does not tolerate the "''Mister''" from outsiders. [[Fred Colon]] sometimes calls him by his first name when he's worried. He has inherited his ancestor's nickname "''Old Stoneface''," but this is never said to his face.

==Activities and Duties==
As other noblemen might ride horses, wear laces, ruffles, and plumes, Sam Vimes walks the city on endless patrols and wears his old battered Watch armor and leather shirt and jerkin, with the standard sword and truncheon.

Since becoming the Commander of the Watch and as such a popular target with the clients of the [[Assassins' Guild]], Vimes also started the exercise of personally engineering pitfalls and death traps around his house and outside of his office at the police headquarters.

As Commander and top officer of the Watch, Vimes' job is to oversee its operations and has to deal with a lot of paperwork, a job which he hates but accomplishes adequately. He still tries to go on patrol whenever he has a chance; to him, walking the quiet streets in the dark is a calming, almost relaxing activity. When there is an important occasion on which crime is anticipated, for example, that a foreign dignitary may be attacked during a public appearance (in {{J}}), Vimes likes to personally check suspicious places such as an abandoned building that an assassin might use.

Deduction is not Vimes' favorite activity; he distrusts clues and loathes mysteries (''"mysteries get you killed"''), and he now has the [[Cable Street Particulars]] to deal with peculiar crimes, but sometimes Vimes still personally investigates a case. When he witnesses a crime occurring, he abandons everything and chases the miscreant. It is possible that he uses police work to escape the social life of "Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh".

As both urged by Lady Sybil and ordered by Lord Vetinari, Vimes now often has to appear at dinners and parties. Most of the nobles and government officials that he sees at such social occasions, he considers stupid or obnoxious. Should he be accosted by one of these people, he does not hesitate to make clear how and why he loathes them. Vetinari likes to use Vimes as a diplomat, and while more often than not Vimes is the cause of diplomatic incidents, these seem often the intention of Vetinari.

The former Lord Ramkin, Lady Sybil's late father, had always had servants to shave him, to lay out his bath, to scrub his back, to lay out his clothes, to clean his shiny boots, and so on. Vimes now allows the butler to lay out his clothes, but that is about all. He insists on shaving himself as he dislikes other people putting a [[razor blade]], (or indeed any sort of sharp edge) to his throat, and attempts to wear cheap boots with cardboard soles. He has been walking the city in such boots for decades, and he likes being able to feel the different types of cobblestones so that he can tell which street he is on. Besides watch armour, Vimes has some gentleman's suits, a dress uniform of the Watch Commander, and a dress uniform of the Duke. He is often required to wear the ducal dress uniform, which has ruby tights (''"you wouldn't wear tights to battle if you thought you would be taken prisoner"''), a spiky coronet, a gilt armour (''"toy armour"''), and no place to hang his sword (''"you got made a duke for fighting and then they gave you no sword to fight with"''). Vimes compromises by wearing the Watch Commander dress uniform.

Nowadays, Vimes has to eat fancy food as cooked in the Ramkins' house. Personally, he prefers simple, greasy food with burnt crunchy bits, and so he is happier when he eats things that Lady Sybil has personally cooked by a dragon's fire.

Upon becoming a father, Vimes swore to faithfully get home by 6 p.m. every evening to read a certain picture book called ''[[Book:Where's My Cow?|Where's My Cow?]]'' to his son, Young Sam. This has become such a point of pride that he now has nightmares about not being home by 6 p.m. There is absolutely nothing that takes precedence over this; Vimes believes that if he misses it even once for a good reason, the next time he might miss it for a bad one, and eventually this attitude might spill over into the rest of his life. By the time of ''Snuff'', Young Sam has become the reader and Vimes Senior, the listener, but their 6 p.m. reading sessions continue like clockwork.

His son's welfare is one of the few things Vimes is willing to cross even his wife about, such that he insisted that they hire a nursemaid, Purity, to attend to Young Sam over Sybil's objections. Presumably this is also why the protective flame-baffles between the Vimes residence and Sybil's dragon stables are much, much sturdier in ''Thud!'' than in previous books.

==Annotation==
Philip Jackson from the British ''Robin of Sherwood'' TV series provides the voice for Vimes in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of {{NW}}.

==Also See==
* [[wikipedia:Sam Vimes|Samuel Vimes's Entry]] on [[wikipedia:Wikipedia|Wikipedia]]
* [http://discworldreadingorder.azurewebsites.net/TheWatch The Watch reading order] - A guide to Sam Vimes's story arc.

:
[[Category:Discworld characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Leading characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Serial characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Human characters|Vimes, Samuel]]
[[Category:Watchmen|Vimes, Samuel]]

[[de:Samuel Mumm]]

Conina

2022-12-21T19:53:46Z

Tealin: Updated link to Tealin's art as the old one is defunct

{{Character Data
|title=Conina
|photo=conina.jpg| Conina by [https://ko-fi.com/album/Discworld-Q5Q81F4TW Tealin]
|name=Conina Harebut
|age=
|race=Human

|occupation=Hairdresser?
|appearance=

|residence=

|death=
|parents=[[Cohen the Barbarian]] is her father and a concubine her mother
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status=Married to [[Nijel the Destroyer]]

|books={{s}}
|cameos=
}}

Daughter of [[Cohen the Barbarian]], '''Conina''' wants to be a hairdresser and live a normal life but was blessed with incredible looks, hair and skin from her mother (one of innumerable concubines, freed slaves or temple women Cohen has ravished during his life, although he stayed with this one long enough to teach Conina some tricks of the trade) and muscles like iron, tendons like hawsers and reflexes like a cat on a hot tin roof from her father. She found it almost impossible to be a hairdresser as every time she held scissors she felt overwhelming urges to cut throats rather than hair, she blames her father for this as his barbarianism was hereditary (herrydeterry, as she put it). She is an incredible thief, a stupendous swordswoman and a one-woman adventure whirlwind. All of which tends to get in the way of living a normal life. Her one major appearance is in {{S}} when she is duped into stealing the [[Archchancellor's Hat]] and ending up in [[Klatch]] with [[Rincewind]], [[Nijel the Destroyer]] (an inept barbarian wannabe whom she keeps having to save) and [[Creosote]] the [[Seriph]].

After adventures including magic carpets, the [[Ice Giants]] and stealing the horses from the [[Four Horsemen]] of the [[Apocralypse]] whilst they were drinking in a pub, the [[Mage Wars]] end with an uncharacteristically brave act from Rincewind, and Conina and Nijel are brainwashed by the last [[Sourcerer]], [[Coin]], and depart. Presumably they are now Mr and Mrs Harebut, but with her attributes, who knows which is which...

==Annotation==
Conina is described as having platinum-blonde hair and an "exotically dark skin". She is also lethal with many weapons, extremely quick in her responses, and short-tempered. Terry in his younger days was a D&D game master. He would know all about the Drow - a sub-species of D&D Elves who are "Chaotically Evil", combine very pale hair and very dark skins, and who are weapon-users with extremely fast reflexes. Hmmm.

[[Category:Discworld characters]]
[[Category:Human characters]]
[[de:Conina]]