by Cham Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:38 pm
Heya, going to make this my first post here. Just found the forums and breathed a sigh of relief, since I can chat about this stuff for hours.
The name "Jeremiah" is really intriguing because Jeremiah is regarded as a prophet in not only Judaism, but Christianity and Islam as well. He's the author of the Book Of Jeremiah, 1st and 2nd Kings, and The Book Of Lamentations in the Christian Bible. According to Wikipedia, "About a year after King Josiah
of Judah had turned the nation toward repentance from the widespread
idolatrous practices of his father and grandfather. Jeremiah’s sole
purpose was to reveal the sins of the people and explain the reason for
the impending disaster (destruction by the Babylonian army and
captivity),“And when your people say, 'Why has the LORD
our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you
have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall
serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'" God’s personal message to Jeremiah, “Attack you they will, overcome you they can’t,” was fulfilled many times in the Biblical narrative, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers, beaten and put into the stocks by a priest and false prophet, imprisoned by the king, threatened with death, thrown into a cistern by Judah’s officials, and opposed by a false prophet. When Nebuchadnezzar II seized Jerusalem in 586 BC, he ordered that Jeremiah be freed from prison and treated well."
The name Jeremiah itself means "Yahweh (God) will raise" This is extremely interesting because, as a lot of people who have played Japanese RPGs will attest, game devs love to take names and stories from religious mythology and turn them into characters, items, enemies, and the like. Is it possible Jeremiah has been exiled falsely from his land? Or maybe his weapon, the Notched Whip, gives us a little insight into his exile? I believe that Jeremiah has been exiled by his people through a coup. He was possibly the cruel and violent leader of some oppressed nation, probably employing quite a bit of torture. The Notched Whip itself seems closely based on the Cat Of Nine Tales, which was used frequently as a disciplinary measure. I think he may be in some way more than just a normal hollowed undead, since he was locked within the Painted World. There's no telling what he did or was capable of doing, but because the vestments of Velka are also within the painted world, it wouldn't be unfeasible to think that he may have been a follower, although that is unlikely. His exile may also be related to undeath. Becoming undead may have been unheard of in the land he hails from, and possibly he was shunned as a monster for rising after death, covering his fetid face, all too much resembling Jack Links. I still need to think out WHY he was in the painting, though.
*Edit* I forgot to touch on his title, Xanthous. For something to be Xanthous is for it to be yellow. To be called "yellow" is common slang in English speaking languages for being cowardly. His Exile may have come about from showing some sort of humiliating fear. Maybe he once had the power to dethrone Gwyn, but was for some reason unable to muster the courage to carry out the act, instead being seized and made a laughing stock, damned as a pariah?