UESP Forums

When you interrogate Wuunferth about necromancy during Blood on the Ice, he will sound very offended saying that he is a member of the College of Winterhold, in good standing, and that the College has not allowed necromancy for hundreds of years: http://uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Wuunferth_the_Unliving However, if you talk to Phinis Gestor, he says that the College never enforced the Imperial Mages Guild's official ban on necromancy. Was Wuunferth just BSing, in order to placate the muggles?

One argument may be that he was trying to say that necromancy was prohibited in the Palace— that the court mages of Windhelm were expressly forbidden to conduct necromantic studies in the hold. Something about a fear they'll bring Ysgramor back to life and the old chap will take the Jarl's throne back for himself, perhaps.

I don't remember Phinis Gestor's exact words, but it's possible that the ban on necromancy may have been something "on the books" in Winterhold but never enforced by any of the College authorities. So Wuunferth may have been following official rules that no one would have ever punished him for breaking. I think that is more likely than a Palace ban. Court mages seem to be able to get away with a lot - look at Falion, you know that guy is sketchy, or Sybille Stentor.

Yeah I bet most of them just do stuff in their secret lairs or in the college midden.

Bear in mind that what a court mage is permitted or prohibited to pursue depends on the temperment and vigilance of their patron Jarl. What works for Morthal may run afoul of the unwritten rules in Windhelm.

I get the impression that Ulfric is quite fond of the old man and is in the habit of looking the other way on some of his shenanigans. I can imagine him being a mentor of sorts for young Ulfric growing up, before and after his stint with the Greybeards, as the castle wizard in this type of setting is often one of the tutors for a future nobleman. This would explain why, despite the general disdain for magic in Skyrim in the 4th era, the Jarls all keep a wizard nearby. If you dig deeper into the lore, it seems this practice may have started in Colovia, with Ayleids mentoring the sons and daughters of Counts. This kind of thing could have made it into other Provinces eventually, as well. Most of the wizards aren't Elves any more, but the form and function of the tradition remains.

Stiil: the house rule in Windhelm may be 'No Necromancy'. For, if not anything else, the threat of bringing Ysgramor around to pass muster on the worthiness of the current Jarl. What if the ol' coot says 'No' ?

As an example on another level: It's been known that trying to foretell the life of a monarch is counted as a crime because divining someone's eventual death drew too close to the idea of actually summoning their doom. There are certain things a court mage is not allowed to do, either by decree or sense of propriety.

Pilaf The Defiler wrote:I get the impression that Ulfric is quite fond of the old man and is in the habit of looking the other way on some of his shenanigans. I can imagine him being a mentor of sorts for young Ulfric growing up, before and after his stint with the Greybeards, as the castle wizard in this type of setting is often one of the tutors for a future nobleman. This would explain why, despite the general disdain for magic in Skyrim in the 4th era, the Jarls all keep a wizard nearby. If you dig deeper into the lore, it seems this practice may have started in Colovia, with Ayleids mentoring the sons and daughters of Counts. This kind of thing could have made it into other Provinces eventually, as well. Most of the wizards aren't Elves any more, but the form and function of the tradition remains.

I agree with this assessment. Wuunferth seems a lot older than Ulfric and almost certainly was an influence on him at some point in his life. Wuunferth also may have been someone "too important to get rid of", so to speak, hence the need to bring the steward to actually arrest him, and then only on charges of murder. Wuunferth, given his epithet ("the Unliving"), was probably quite formidable and feared across the hold. Keeping him around likely raised the prestige of Windhelm, and getting rid of him for anything less than murder may have been outright dangerous.

Dark Spark wrote:Stiil: the house rule in Windhelm may be 'No Necromancy'. For, if not anything else, the threat of bringing Ysgramor around to pass muster on the worthiness of the current Jarl. What if the ol' coot says 'No' ?

As an example on another level: It's been known that trying to foretell the life of a monarch is counted as a crime because divining someone's eventual death drew too close to the idea of actually summoning their doom. There are certain things a court mage is not allowed to do, either by decree or sense of propriety.

I'm guessing "no necromancy" was the house rule everywhere, but house rules are likely broken and I think a jarl might have a hard time enforcing them, in certain instances (see above). Court mages like Wuunferth or Falion seem to have been largely left alone to go about their business, so long as they didn't do anything too egregious (like murder). In many instances, like the foretelling of doom you describe, the jarl and his courtiers may have preferred *not* to know what the court mage was doing, and so long as he didn't publicize, the jarl might not have inquired.

It makes sense that Ulfric would not support any necromancy in his hold. After all he's a politician after the hearts of the Nordic people, and being associated with necromancy would undoubtedly damage his reputation as a "true Nord."

It puzzles me that Ulfric even allows him to be his court mage. It could very well be that he has some attachment to Wuunferth.