Gothos' Folly

thumb|Gothos Folly by [https://www.instagram.com/p/CUkww5-qcai/ SimiofDoom] 
Gothos' Folly (also known as Gothos's Folly) was a series of ancient scrolls written by the ancient Jaghut, Gothos.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.211 According to the Errant, Gothos' Folly was a "multiple-volumed suicide note", although he was not sure if Gothos actually committed suicide or was still alive. The work was quoted throughout the series.
==In Gardens of the Moon==
thumb|Gothos Folly by [https://www.instagram.com/p/CUkH8kQKLpi/ Shadaan] 
New scrolls had been discovered in a mountain fastness beyond Blackdog Forest, prior to the fall of Pale and were researched by Bellurdan. The writings discussed things such as the Tiste Andii and other races of the elder ages.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.71
The alchemist Baruk had several copies of the surviving tomes of Gothos' Folly in his library. The Tiste Andii were mentioned in an aura of fear by the author and Gothos had written that fortunately they were few in numbers. Baruk thought Gothos' description of Anomander Rake jet-black skin had been accurate.
After conquering Pale, the Malazans discovered further copied fragments of Gothos' Folly in the archives of the dead wizards of the city which were then studied by their High Mage Bellurdan.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 10, UK MMPB p.331
==In The Bonehunters==
Several scrolls bearing fragments of Gothos' Folly containing references to the Matron of Decay were once possessed by the Grand Temple of D'rek in Kartool City. The scrolls disappeared the same night that Tayschrenn fled the island and Banaschar assumed they were in the High Mage's hands.The Bonehunters, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.758
==In Reaper's Gale==
The Errant thought of Gothos and wondered whatever became of the author of the Folly. Presumably the multi-volume suicide note had concluded at some point, though he suspected it contained a hidden message too obscure for anyone but a Jaghut to decipher.Reaper's Gale, Chapter 5, US HC p.126
==In The Crippled God==
Brother Diligence, the Forkrul Assail, discovered scrolls of Gothos' Folly in the Palace of Kolanse.The Crippled God, Chapter 21
== First known excerpt ==
 
== Second known excerpt ==
== Third known excerpt ==
== Fourth known excerpt ==
==Fifth known excerpt==
== Unsourced Quotes ==
Several quotes attributed to Gothos' Folly by others.
 
==On the subject of the Tiste==
The historian Heboric mentioned Gothos' Folly's discourse of the Tiste, it being the oldest and only work to mention them. According to Gothos, there were three Tiste peoples who came to the Malazan world from another realm. The work only mentioned two by name, the Tiste Andii and the Tiste Edur. The Edur were a grey-skinned people resulting from the unwelcome union of Mother Dark with the Light. The union was looked down upon by the Andii as "a degradation of pure Dark, and the source of all their subsequent ills."Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 8, US HC p.217-218
==On the subject of the K'Chain Che'Malle==
Gothos' Folly's attributed the construction of a vast plaza on Stratem to the K'Chain Che'Malle, an Elder Race he claimed was extinct before the rise of the Jaghut, the T'lan Imass, and the Forkrul Assail.Memories of Ice, Chapter 9, Epigraph, US SFBC p.321 The scrolls also whispered of the short-tailed K'Chain Nah'ruk who waged war on their long-tailed kin with sorcery enfused mechanisms such as Skykeeps. One such skykeep was Moon's Spawn, which the scrolls theorised had drifted north to be entrapped by Jaghut ice until rediscovered by Anomander Rake.Memories of Ice, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.783-784
==Author's comment==
In a 2020 interview, author Steven Erikson opened the possibility that not all of the fragments attributed to Gothos' Folly were legitimate. It was his intent that the provenance of the statements attributed to Gothos, or any historical source, "stayed slippery and elusive." Over millenia other authors may have edited or inserted their own belief systems into the fragments. "The past has to stay slippery, it has to stay foggy because the past is basically the tool...which people of the present make use of in order to justify whatever it is they do." An example of a suspicious document attributed to Gothos' Folly was the excerpt referred to by Baruk in Gardens of the Moon where the Jaghut was said to fear the Tiste Andii.Gardens of the Moon - Chatting with Steven Erikson, part 2 - See 1:22:45
==Notes and references==
de:Gothos' Narretei
Category:Literature