Why are so many Grand Vicars named Erek?

I recently noticed that about 20% of the Grand Vicars (17 out of 83) have been named "Erek". Given that Langhorne's first name was Eric, it seems reasonable that the Grand Vicars are named after him. (I'm assuming that Grand Vicars take regnal names, since we know there were a bunch named "Chihiro").

But nowhere else is there any indication that the "Archangels" continued using their first names after the "Day of Creation" - they're always referred to by their surname. So if there's no memory of Langhorne being named Eric, why did so many Grand Vicars take the name? The only explanation I could think of is that some people knew the association between Langhorne and the name "Eric", but the knowledge died out after enough Grand Vicars took the name for it to become traditional.

This doesn't really satisfy me, though; any bits of personal information about the "Archangels" seems like the sort of thing that people would try to remember, most likely through including it in the Insights or the Commentaries (which a Grand Vicar presumably could do if he wished).

Does anyone know of any information that could illuminate this issue?

Where did you get a list of Grand Vicars?

In answer to your question RFC is probably following the traditions of the Papacy(And some monarchies(England)) in having the reigning prince(pope king, duke, ect) choose a name that had already been used, such as Benedict XVI and John XXIII.

Highjohn wrote:Where did you get a list of Grand Vicars?

Archbishop Maikel's letter to the Grand Vicar calls Erek "of his name the seventeenth, of his Office the eighty-third" (BSRA chapter 3). 17/83 is about .2, which is where I got that one in five Grand Vicars were named Erek.

Highjohn wrote:In answer to your question RFC is probably following the traditions of the Papacy(And some monarchies(England)) in having the reigning prince(pope king, duke, ect) choose a name that had already been used, such as Benedict XVI and John XXIII.

I get this; my question was did so many grand vicars take the name Erek because they knew it was Langhorne's first name? I realize this question is one that could very well not be answered (unless RFC chooses to do so, of course).

InvisibleBison wrote:I get this; my question was did so many grand vicars take the name Erek because they knew it was Langhorne's first name? I realize this question is one that could very well not be answered (unless RFC chooses to do so, of course).

I... never made that connection before. Good on you!

That is a really high use of the name of Eric, I mean Erek. I can't think of any other grand Vicars off hand, do they also share first names with Archangels? Is there a predetermined pool of names, kinda like with the Pope, except on Safehold they are all based of Archangels? I have more questions then answers now... It's definitely an interesting train of thought.

Hm.
The closest RL matches Safehold in this case are popes Johns, Benedicts and Piuses (23, 16 and 12, respectively). Given how RFC loves historical references, reasons might match as well.

John is the name of Jesus' favorite apostle, so Erek the First might take his name from (or be) somebody "archangels" held in high regard, for one reason or another (maybe he was a good minion?).

Benedict, on the other hand, might come from tradition (so in case of Ereks it might be as Highjohn suggested). Wikipedia states that in most cases it came from St. Benedict of Nursia, founder of Benedictine order. Maybe there was some St. Eric who - for example - set up Langhornite order (that would make a lovely coincidence).

Finally, Pius comes from Latin and means "pious", which is a characteristic religious leader might like to show. So... (wild theory mode on)
We know that many words in Safeholdian don't come from English. I keep coming back in my mind to the fact that the Safehold's sun is named Kau-zhi, so maybe "sun" is kauzhi or something like this in Safeholdian. Then could Langhorne manipulate things so that word eric would mean "pious"? I wouldn't say it's beneath him... Then it would stand to reason that Grand Vicars through the ages would chose name Erek upon taking the GV seat.
(wild theory mode off)

tl;dr, I think. Guess I have too much free time.

edit in light of the post that happened while I was writing:
I might be nitpicking here (If so, sorry!), but, Direwolf, in Christianity there is no "pool of names" for the Pope (the latest Pope, for example, is Francis, first of that name). They generally name themselves after their role models, other popes or just for some reason.
Besides, I think if there was ever such a list, most of Safeholdians would be named Eric, Adoree and others (holy names!!!)

Kakai wrote:Finally, Pius comes from Latin and means "pious", which is a characteristic religious leader might like to show. So... (wild theory mode on)
We know that many words in Safeholdian don't come from English. I keep coming back in my mind to the fact that the Safehold's sun is named Kau-zhi, so maybe "sun" is kauzhi or something like this in Safeholdian. Then could Langhorne manipulate things so that word eric would mean "pious"? I wouldn't say it's beneath him... Then it would stand to reason that Grand Vicars through the ages would chose name Erek upon taking the GV seat.
(wild theory mode off)

This is a really neat idea. Doesn't seem very likely, given that Nimue/Merlin never commented on any such shenanigans (particularly in the scene right after she woke up, when she was first familiarizing herself with Safehold), but I quite like it nonetheless.

Hey guys, another crackpot theory.

We know at least one or two of the command crew dallied with the locals (cough) *Scheuler* (cough) and from the description of Langhorne he seems the type to have indulged in a few fantasies of godhood - possibly with some pretty young things. I can imagine 'call me Eric' slipped out at some point and he covered by saying it was an honorific or even a nickname among the archangels.

(Less scandalously, someone called him that within hearing of the new church leadership without his realization)

So it could easily happen that the word 'Eric' becomes associated with Langhorne, but only for a short time. Long enough, say, to have the first Grand Vicar choose it for a reign name. If Langhorne is still alive at that time, it appeals to his megalomania and he doesn't quash it. If not, his surviving crew think it a fitting memorial. Either way, the original reason for it goes away - or is ascribed to some other 'Saint Erik' among the Adams and is lost to posterity. The rest of the Eriks - all sixteen - try to use the name to recall the strong times of the COGA. It's why John XXIII chose his name, to reaffirm the Church's place with it's people. John-Paul chose his to make a statement that he stood with tradition while seeking to evangelize to the world (St. Paul's mission).

Anyhow, there's a third possibility that I find intriguing and generally appealing to Langhorne's assumed mindset. Erik I was hand-selected, trained, and effectively Langhorne's mouthpiece to the world - and Langhorne chose his reign name with malice aforethought so that 'Eric' would become synonymous with 'holy, powerful, and god's messenger'.

Funny how another Erik would become a mouthpiece for a bunch of megalomaniacs down the road in that case, eh?

Just my two bits,
Dave

Lazalarlives wrote:Anyhow, there's a third possibility that I find intriguing and generally appealing to Langhorne's assumed mindset. Erik I was hand-selected, trained, and effectively Langhorne's mouthpiece to the world - and Langhorne chose his reign name with malice aforethought so that 'Eric' would become synonymous with 'holy, powerful, and god's messenger'.
Just my two bits,
Dave

This seems quite plausible, though I think Langhorne died a while before the office of Grand Vicar was created. Regardless, if an archangel chose Erik to be the first Grand Vicar's reign name, that would explain why it was so common.