Dwemer clans and national identity in Skyrim.

[cowleyj]

I noticed while exploring Mzulft that there are banners on the walls, all showing the same design:

Spoiler:

It makes sense that this is a coat-of-arms of some sort, for the clan that ruled Mzulft. This is strengthened by the fact that the doors in Mzulft all have that same pattern. So, I went to check out other ruins to see what designs they had. At the first one I went to, Alftand, the doors again had the same pattern as Mzulft. This scuppered my old theory, but gave rise to another couple of possibilities:

a) This was the symbol for the Dwemer as an entire race, in the same way that the US has a national flag.

b) This was the symbol for the Dwarves of Skyrim as a whole, rather like each US state has its own flag, there would be separate designs for the Dwarves of Morrowind etc. this implies that the Dwarves had a greater sense of national identity than one might think.

So, what do you worthy ladies and gentlemen think? Is this a fair assessment? Am I overlooking something obvious? (I probably am, let's be honest).

EDIT: Also, now that we know that the Dwemer did this sort of thing (ie. they had coats of arms of some sort), we might be able to find those of the individual clans. Worth looking in to, I think.

[DragonoftheNorth]

It is possible that you're on to something here..... or the designers could have just been lazy decorating Dwarven caves.
But I think the former is more fun.

[cowleyj]

Yes, but I think, given the detail put into the other parts of the game, it is not unreasonable to believe this is intentional.

[DragonoftheNorth]

Oh I certainly didn't mean that it was unreasonable, I think it's a very acute and creative observation. It's just that I have as of yet I find myself in want of any lore corresponding to such a thesis.

[Verifirs]

I believe that this banner is unique to Skyrim. I don't recall seeing any banners of the type in Solstheim or in Morrowind, and I don't believe they are in every Dwemer ruin on the mainland. This might just be a thing for Dwemer ruins in the west of Skyrim.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

^That's a stylistic evolution of Dwemer ruins. Not necessarily lore. The Dwemer ruins in ESO have similar artistic aspects to Skyrim's. It seems like the natural evolution that ES is taking with the design of these places and their centurions. I wouldn't be surprised if some subsequent content set in Hammerfell or Morrowind had similar markings.