Description:
The Dragonborn is the player-character of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and is the title of someone who has dragon's blood and is thus kin or related to dragons (LINK); this is expressed by the term in the dragon language for the Dragonborn, dovahkiin, meaning "dragon kin" or "kin to dragons." Although some other Nords (LINK) are able to use the power of the Voice (LINK) which was originally taught to mortals by the elder dragon Paarthurnax (LINK), only a Dragonborn is able to absorb a defeated dragon's soul, and thus to vanquish them permanently so that they can never return to life. The Dragonborn is thus a fateful figure who is tied to the destiny of the world, acting in counter to the devastating power of dragons, in particular Alduin (LINK), the World-Eater, an apocalyptic figure in the Elder Scrolls universe. The Dragonborn is a recurring or reincarnating figure who shares the bloodline of dragons because of a pact between the god Akatosh (LINK?) and Saint Alessia, founder of the Empire of Cyrodiil, and her spiritual descendants and successors to the empire. The Dragonborn is thus "the ultimate dragon slayer," according to the character Delphine, a member of the Blades, a sect of dragonslayers and imperial guards, in Skyrim's main storyline. The idea of needing to be more than human in order to defeat monsters and other supernatural entities, and even to have traits, aspects, or kinship with these monsters, is a widespread mythic and heroic trope in the Middle Ages. It is particularly prominent in Old Norse literature, and other shared Germanic literary-heroic traditions, which were all in contact with each other (see for example the entry on 'Völsunga saga').No links to Medieval Citations yet.