Question about the Aiel and the Age of Legends (Spoilers through A Crown of Swords - Book 7)

Nadezhda al'Lanahrin

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In A Crown of Swords, Aviendha has trouble calling Rand, Elayne, Nynaeve, and so on by only their first names. I seem to remember that people from the Age of Legends had three names, Lews Therin Telamon, Elan Morin Tedronai (The Eye of the World, Prologue). What if the Aiel custom of calling people by their whole name is something that came back from the Age of Legends? In The Shadow Rising, we know that Aiel at least date back to the Breaking of the World, when they were entrusted with the ter'angreal, sa'angreal, and angreal of the ancient Aes Sedai.

Has this custom been confirmed at all? Or is it a coincidence?
 

Jaryd Kosari

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I admit that as a reader I assumed it's because they don't appear to give each other shortened nicknames, and neither do they have surnames, so Rand al'Thor is simply...his name. If they were a database, they'd lack the code to separate the two in their name field. :P

It's entirely possible it is rooted in the Age of Legends customs though! That's a fascinating thought.
 

Arella Mathara

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In the Age of Legends everyone was born with two names, you could earn a third. This third name was to signify that you had accomplished something great. If anything regarding this has stuck with the Aiel it might be the notion that cutting names would be disrespectful and belittling this achievement.

I always saw it as a respect/formality thing. Aviendha might be extra cautious as she's always afraid of losing the Aiel in her in a way (not a spoiler btw, just my interpretation of the character). I also agree with Jaryd Sedai, lol
 

Toral Delvar

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We just did the Aiel section of the Shadow Rising, and I think they called the other townsfolk at the sharing of the water by their given name, so it seems to have developed later.
 
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