#geralt has the same relationship to dandelion's birth name and viscount status as dandelion has to kaer morhen 💀

[hanzajesthanza]

geralt "i will NEVER deadname my best friend" of rivia

"he will ALWAYS be dandelion to ME"

[gayregis]

dandelion’s family

dandelion’s relationship to his family is such an interesting one that was never expanded upon. all we know is that he’s a viscount, as he’s referred to as viscount in tower of the swallow/lady of the lake, and he comes from a place of high birth,

he describes his family as distinguished to geralt in lady of the lake, 

“(...) it’ll probably surprise you, but I’m not from the hoi-polli. My people, the de Lettenhoves, come from—”

(i did have to look the term hoi-polli up, and it just means “common people.” so the de lettenhoves are nobility, basically).

dandelion refers to himself as noble in this quote from a little sacrifice, which just simply rings of his personality,

“I offer my congratulations and extend my wishes of happiness to the betrothed couple. How may I be of help? Does it concern jus primae noctis? I never decline that.”

i also had to look up what jus primae noctis means, and it’s “a legal right in medieval Europe allowing feudal lords to have sexual relations with women on their wedding nights.” apologies for the unfortunate quote choice of dandelion being himself, but why would he be referring to himself casually as having the rights or status of a feudal lord?

in addition, dandelion tries to bargain for his and geralt’s lives with the elves in edge of the world, before geralt scolds him for trying to do so.  but his mention to his ‘friends’ in such high places that they could pay for two men’s lives in ransoms is intriguing

“I’ve got friends. People who’ll pay ransom for us. In the form of provisions, if you like, or any form. Think about it.”

he has a background of knowledge fitting for someone of a high position on the continent, as we learn in the voice of reason as soon as he is introduced,

Dandelion knew all the kings, princes, lords, and feudal lords from the Jaruga to the Dragon Mountains. 

and later on in baptism of fire when the company is travelling and is about to meet the rivian corps,

“A lozenge,” Dandelion, who was well-versed in heraldry, said in astonishment.

plus, he attended oxenfurt academy, which is high education in the context of the continent, and as he boasts in baptism of fire, studied all seven liberal arts and graduated summa cum laude.

in addition, he has the social background of a noble, and attended court when he was young, as geralt repeats dandelion’s own words,

“But as well as I know, for you’ve often told me about it, you only began seriously rhyming and composing melodies when you were nineteen, inspired by your love for Countess de Stael.”

dandelion was close enough to other nobility in his youth to have budding relationships with a countess. and later on in his life, he spends months with anna henrietta, the duchess of toussaint, before being chased out by the duke.

how curious, is it then, that he’s constantly starving. 

i can understand why dandelion travels, out of a curiosity and artistic passion for the world and like many musicians, his great purpose in life is to run around the world with only his instrument on his back and optimism in his heart. but he really does not need to be so poor as to not be able to afford food, or have to sleep in barns at night. why doesn’t he just ask his family for money and continue to travel and perform, but upon three full meals a day and with lodging in inns? he’s constantly looking for benefactors, such as the halfling bibervelt in eternal flame, and in the same story he’s mentioned to never pay his tab at taverns. if he is of such high birth, then why is he so poor?

one might argue that sapkowski just hadn’t developed dandelion’s character entirely in his mind to be part of a noble family by the time he wrote all of the short stories in which dandelion is a starving artist, but the mention of dandelion knowing all of the royals of the north from the voice of reason and his attempted bribe to the elves in the edge of the world makes me think otherwise.

plus, in season of storms, we actually meet a member of his family, his cousin, ferrant de lettenhove. in contrast to dandelion, he seems a very serious and might i add, boring, man, but he does hold a high position, he’s the royal instigator of the minor northern kingdom of kerack. and yet...

Dandelion put Geralt up at the inn. The room the bard was occupying was cosy. In the literal sense - they had to cosy up to pass each other. Fortunately, the bed was big enough for two (...) although it creaked dreadfully and the paissse had been impacted by travelling merchants, well-known enthusiasts of extramartial sex.

if dandelion literally has connections to the members of the court here in kerack, why did he not have a nicer setup? with his family’s connections, he should be rooming in the royal castle or one of their properties. he should have even been possibly able to get geralt his own rooming.

the thing is that ferrant doesn’t seem overly fond of dandelion... or as he knows him as julian. cousins in general are usually not too close (in relativity to siblings) but if they were from the same court, they probably knew each other as children. but he doesn’t really engage him in conversation, he leaves him...

it’s so easy to see dandelion as just the outsider in his family... the rest of his kin being stuffy nobility content with staying in their manors and in royal courts, attending administrative legislative jobs. but julian, he wants nothing but to sing and see the world and wear bright colors and befriend every kind of riff-raff in the north. don’t give him money, because he’ll just squander it on bathhouse and brothel entry fees, and he’ll buy rounds of beer and ale for all the patrons in a tavern. no, the irresponsible, flighty, and at times, downright disgraceful member of the family doesn’t deserve recognition as one of us... give him enough for oxenfurt, because it will get him out of our court, but by the gods, don’t let him use his real name when he performs shamelessly, allow him to choose some pseudonym and convince him that it’s a necessity since his real name is ‘too famous.’

this also makes sense because if the witcher follows real life examples of medieval and ancient europe as it often does, the performing arts were socially looked down upon for much of history and seen as similar to prostitution by some, since one is being paid to show their physicality to an audience (sorry can’t find a source for this, but learned it in class at uni, and it may only apply to women, though women in professional performing arts in this time were rare because only men were allowed in acting, iirc)

on the other hand, dandelion seems much closer to other musicians such as essi daven, who he says is like a younger sister to him in a little sacrifice. he randomly befriends passing musicians on the road in time of contempt and befriends zoltan and his company in a similar manner in baptism of fire. plus, he invites all sorts to the wedding in something ends, something begins, which serves to represent the usual kinds of people that dandelion hangs around,

No one expected nor invited the colorful rabble, which was marked as "Dandelion's friends and acquaintances." It was mostly poets, musicians and troubadours, plus an acrobat, a professional dice player, a crocodile-breaker and four overly made-up dolls out of which three looked like prostitutes and the fourth one, who didn't look like a prostitute, was undoubtedly one, too. The group was complemented by two prophets, out of which one was fraudulent, one sculptor, one blonde and ever drunken female medium. 

and we know that he spends a considerable amount of time around geralt, too.

above it all, he seems content not being so close to his family of birth, but won’t hesitate to invoke or benefit from noble privileges if the time comes for it (like with anna henrietta). he can’t count on them to support him financially, which proves his life difficult sometimes. but his bonds with those he’s found in his travels seem much more fulfilling and i think support him more than his birth family ever did. a huge theme in this series is found family, and i’m glad dandelion echoes that even if it’s not at all a focus of the series or a point that’s ever elaborated upon.