Donat/Felimanophilia

**Felimanophilia** ("love for the Felimans") (Donatese: лимољубље / *limolyublye*) was a cultural, intellectual and literary movement in 13th to 16th century Donat which promoted the admiration for the Ancient Feliman history, culture and language. It was mostly concentrated among the upper classes of Donat.

## Background

Although the Donatese began their rapid expansion across the peninsula of Donat in the 11th century, it would not be until the second half of the 12th century when they would come into contact with the Kruhastans. During this time period, Donat learned about the peoples of Ripiero through intel mostly gained by merchants from Kruhasta. This also allowed for post-Feliman inventions to appear in Donat through trade routes in Kruhasta.

## Initial obsession

Initially, the Donatese were very curious about the foreign cultures of the continent. However, it would not be until the 13th century when the demand for Ancient Feliman documents, written records and detailed descriptions would arise in Donat. The most plausible theory as to why the Donatians were so obsessed with the empire is because of its immense military capability and ability to subjugate other cultures. It is thought that one of the reasons some Donatians moved inland into the modern region of *Pridonatlye* is because they wished to be closer to the immediate zone of influence of the Ancient Felimans.

Due to the majority of the populace of Donat being unable to read the Reprodesic script, Feliman documents had to be transcribed into the Old Cyrillic. The Reprodesic phonetic system, which was very translatory to the Old Donatese phonetic system, was easily adapted to the indigenous script. However, this meant that some letters would not have the need to be used anymore, which is most likely the reason letters such as Ѩ and Щ stopped being used conventionally. Despite this, the pronunciation of some Reprodesic characters (such as C and X) was still changed by the Donatese. This was not the case in royal courts, though, where the original pronunciation was largely preserved. Nearing the 16th century, variants of the Old Cyrillic had adopted the letter J in place of И. During this time period, the Feliman title of *Caesar* was loaned into the Donatese language as the word *tsar*.

Administrative treaties, edicts and court documents started to also be written in Cyrillic Reprodesic editions, aside from the original editions in Old Donatese, which was still the primary written language.

It is important to note that the Old Rusin language was exempt from Reprodesic influence.

## Drawing parallels

The obsession and admiration towards Ancient Feliman culture led to Donatese nobles, monarchs and writers being fairly acquainted with the history and culture of the Ancient Felimans. Elements of Ancient Feliman religion were idolized and romanticized to fit the narratives of Vera, the indigenous religion of Donat. The pagan polytheism of Felimans (which was ultimately derived from Dhrallic mythos itself) was changed to be seen as an extension of the Donatese faith and beliefs. The legalization of Catulism within the empire in 131 CE was thought by the Donatians to be the effective end of the empire, as '*...the newer belief, which was nothing but crude blasphemy devoured the (Fe)Limans from the inside and allowed for the crude barbarians of the AsniacdomRutherland? and Baemia to eat away at the provinces of the empire, which were served to them on a silver platter by the Catulists. We must not let such a grizzly fate capture our land, too...*'

Stigma against Catulism and the Cosonic and Hegiite peoples most likely contributed to the general hostility towards foreigners in medieval Donat. This stigma would also be used as a means of justification for the closed country policy of 17th century Donat. Because of this, Rutherish and Alainois expeditionary forces and merchants in the 16th and 17th centuries were shunned or turned away. Despite this, the Rutherish had, for some reason, incorrectly assumed that the Donatese were '*a welcoming tribe of the same complexity as us*'.

The Rutherish Invasion of Donat was seen as a recreation of the fall of the Feliman Empire. Religious fervor and anti-*barbarian* frenzy contributed to the violent nature of the Rutherish conquests. This could have also shaped the Donatese mentality of resistance and the Donatese national spirit. After the fall of Donat, the ruler of one of the Donatese polities wrote that '*...as great LimFelima fell when it was entered by the Baemi, it is not surprising that we, too, have fallen under the serpentine tongues of the barbarians. But Donat is not yet lost, for we are an extension of the empire...*'

## Revival of Ancient Feliman culture

Donatians preserved Ancient Feliman written records by rewriting them in the Old Cyrillic, which also helped preserve the Reprodesic language itself. Most Donatese monarchs were fluent in Reprodesic, as it gradually became the court language of larger polities. Rulers and nobles would initially introduce themselves in Reprodesic to foreign visitors.

Though the polytheism of the Ancient Felimans was severely changed to fit the religious narratives of Donat, their culture was largely preserved. This can be attributed to the initial obsession of the Donatese at the grandiose yet simple elements of Ancient Feliman culture, which was incorporated into the Donatese culture pool. This had an effect on architecture and art, as both were largely primitive and derived from medieval tradition before the movement of Felimanophilia. Poetry and rational thought of the Ancient Felimans influenced Donatese literature, which developed the intellectual and artistic fields of thought in Donat.