Skyrim:Elder Scrolls Historical References

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References to events in the history of The Elder Scrolls are documented separately to Easter Eggs.

If you think you have found an undocumented reference, please post your idea on this article's talk page before adding it to this article.

Arena[edit]

  • The line "When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world" in the Prophecy of the Dragonborn refers to the eight pieces of Staff of Chaos scattered around the provinces and Jagar Tharn's rule.
  • A quote from Gaiden Shinji"The best techniques are passed on by the survivors"—which first appeared in the beginning of Arena intro, appears as one of the loading screen quotes.
  • Guards will occasionally say "Let me guess... someone stole your sweetroll?" This is an ongoing joke in Bethesda games. They are featured during the character creation process of Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Fallout 3, and were also mentioned in dialogue in Oblivion.
  • One of the incidental bard songs is a piece titled "Square", and originally appeared as tavern music in both Arena and Daggerfall.
  • The Spell Knight Armor Creation features a faction called the Order of the Crypt, also known as the War Mages of Shornhelm. This alternate name is a reference to the name of the city's gladiatorial team from an early stage of Arena's development.

Daggerfall[edit]

Battlespire[edit]

  • One of the lines spoken by souls in the Soul Cairn is: "How dare they cast me from the Battlespire! I will make them pay dearly." This is a reference to the Soul Cairn level in Battlespire, where it's revealed that the Daedra were killing the captives from the Battlespire in the Soul Cairn in order to trap their souls there forever.

Redguard[edit]

  • Immediately after creating a Redguard character, Hadvar will say "You a sellsword? A sailor from Stros M'kai?" This refers to Cyrus, the protagonist of The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard.
  • Endon and Kerah have a conversation talking about how everyone in Markarth used to wear a necklace showing their home province, from "Elsweyr to High Rock to Hammerfell and Cyrodiil...", and that in the present-day only natives and the Nords stay there. This refers to a line in Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition, where The Reach is described as one of the most diverse Holds, full of Bretons, Redguards, Imperials, Elves, and even Khajiit, emphasizing how much things have changed in the centuries since.

Morrowind[edit]

  • During the Thieves Guild quest The Dainty Sload, you are tasked to acquire a rare and illegal drug named Balmora Blue. Named for its city of origin, Balmora, which is referenced by other characters as being destroyed during the eruption of Red Mountain.
  • During the main quest mission Elder Knowledge, you encounter a Dwemer lockbox said to contain the Heart of Lorkhan. The heart, however, is not within the lockbox.
  • On the eastern coast close to Winterhold, there is the wreck of a ship called The Pride of Tel Vos. Tel Vos is a Telvanni stronghold in Morrowind and home to one of the Telvanni mage lords.
Vvardenfell as seen from Skyrim
  • If flying high enough via the tcl console command, Morrowind and the Vvardenfell province will be visible beyond the eastern border of Skyrim. The province is also visible from the Arch-Mage's rooftop at the College of Winterhold, and from the path that leads to the Shrine of Azura.
  • Keening, a dagger required for the final quest of Morrowind's main storyline, makes a return.
  • There is a note under Wylandriah's desk in Riften called Per Your Requests, in which Wylandriah requests a sample of the Heart of Lorkhan. The same note mentions a device capable of "magical manipulation of the clouds". A Dwemer machine that could control the weather was used during the Tribunal questline.
  • When speaking to the farmer Rogatus Salvius of Salvius Farm near Markarth, he occasionally says "Next thing you know there will be some kind of damn blight and undead will walk the land." This is most likely about The Blight faced in Morrowind.

Bloodmoon[edit]

  • During the quest Ill Met By Moonlight, the Bloodmoon can be seen in the sky once entering the Grotto, which signifies that Hircine once again begins the hunt which varies from era to era on the island of Solstheim, but can be seen from other locations in Tamriel.

Shadowkey[edit]

Oblivion[edit]

  • During the Dark Brotherhood questline, Nazir offers you a contract in which you kill a pirate named Safia aboard her ship called the Red Wave. Redwave is a cutlass given to you for completing the quest The Ghost Ship of Anvil. Also, the first contract in Oblivion (A Watery Grave) was to kill a pirate on his own ship.
  • During the quest The Mind of Madness, you will run into Sheogorath, who recounts all of the major adventures from Oblivion with Pelagius the Mad. It is implied that this variation of Sheogorath is the Champion of Cyrodiil, the Hero from Oblivion.
  • In the quest Revealing the Unseen, a massive project led by the Synod involves the creation of a map pointing out all magical areas in Tamriel. When explained to the player, Paratus Decimius mentions the Orrery in Cyrodiil and how the project was based off of it.
  • There is a book titled The Oblivion Crisis that provides an overview of the events in Oblivion.
  • Shadowmere returns as a steed after completing some of the Dark Brotherhood quests. If you have the ghost of Lucien Lachance with you near the horse, his comments will confirm that it is the same horse as the one in Oblivion.
  • Wylandriah, the court mage of Riften, can be spoken to regarding her magical work. When suggesting "How about using calipers?", Wylandriah responds with "Calipers? That's utterly ridiculous. Maybe long ago you could find calipers in every household across Tamriel, but not anymore." This is a reference to calipers being commonplace in random loot in Oblivion, but not appearing in Skyrim. M'aiq the Liar also makes a similar reference.
  • There is a note under Wylandriah's desk in Riften called Per Your Requests in which Wylandriah requests an ingredient called greenmote from the College of Winterhold. This was a substance used in the Shivering Isles quest Ritual of Mania. In the note, Mirabelle Ervine assumes that she made a mistake and meant to request a substance called "greenspore".
White-Gold Tower as seen from Skyrim
  • On a clear day at high elevation along Skyrim's southern border, it is possible to see the distant White-Gold Tower in Cyrodiil. It is difficult and time-consuming to see this without using console commands to remove collision and 'flying' up to an elevation high enough to see the tower.
  • One line of dialogue from the Souls in the Soul CairnDG is ""Just step into the painting" he said. Yeah, sure... like it's that simple." This is a reference to the quest A Brush with Death, where you were required to "enter" a painting.
  • In one of Cicero's journals, he says that he killed the Grand Champion of the Arena of his time by posing as a starstruck fan. This is a reference to the Adoring Fan, who would follow the player around after becoming the Grand Champion.
  • During the quest Elder Knowledge, when you ask Urag gro-Shub about the Scrolls, he asks "Do you even know what you're asking for?" Should you tell him you do and ask if he has one in the library, he will say that even if he had one there, it would be under heavy security and not even the world's greatest thief could lay a finger on it. This is an obvious reference to The Ultimate Heist.
  • During the Dark Brotherhood questline, Astrid says that "no one has attempted to murder an emperor since the death of Uriel Septim VII 200 years ago".
  • At the beginning of The Mind of Madness Daedric quest, you are given an odd item: Pelagius' Hip Bone. This item is also present in the Shivering Isles, found in The Howling Halls.
  • Vekel the Man, the bartender in the Ragged Flagon, will mention Shadowbanish Wine on two occasions. In a scene with Delvin Mallory, he mentions Delvin having sold him a bad batch. After completing Scoundrel's Folly for the Thieves Guild, asking for the word around the Guild will cause him to mention that Gulum-Ei similarly offloaded low-quality product. In Oblivion, the quest A Venerable Vintage sent you out to gather this rare beverage.
  • In Riften you may find a man named Romlyn Dreth, who is a descendant of Valen Dreth, the very first character you see in Oblivion. Romlyn will often claim that Valen killed "a dozen Imperial guards" before being captured.
  • Jiub in the Soul Cairn, when describing how and where he died says it was by a dremora that was attacking Kvatch where he lived at the time, referring to Kvatch's destruction at the start of The Oblivion Crisis.

The Infernal City and Lord of Souls[edit]

  • There are Dunmer refugees in Windhelm who traveled from Morrowind after Red Mountain erupted. If you speak to some of the refugees and ask them why they are in Windhelm despite the discrimination they face, they will tell you that when Red Mountain erupted, they began traveling west and the first city they came to was Windhelm. It is mentioned that they would have kept on walking if they knew how they would be treated in the city.
  • Just before Red Mountain erupted, those following Azura had a premonition from her of what was about to happen, giving them time to flee. It was these refugees who built the Shrine of Azura on a mountain north of Windhelm.
  • In the Sleeping Tree Camp, you can find a strange tree. After a quest for her in Whiterun, Ysolda will tell you some theories about the origin of the tree. One theory refers to the eruption of the Red Mountain, while the other theory refers to a floating island. The latter is clearly a reference to Umbriel.
  • You can find a little monument at the tower Refugees' Rest, east of Windhelm. There is also a book called Decree of Monument that explains the origin of the monument. It was erected in commemoration to the Dunmer refugees fleeing from Morrowind after the eruption of Red Mountain.
  • In Riften's Grand Plaza, Nivenor might ask the marketplace vendor Brand-Shei if he can procure theilul. This Argonian sugarcane wine was first mentioned by Mere-Glim.
  • In a scene taking place in Riften's The Bee and Barb, Talen-Jei will use the Argonian expletive "Xhuth" upon hearing Hemming Black-Briar's racist remark. This expletive was also first used by Mere-Glim.

See Also[edit]

  • M'aiq the Liar, the recurring character whose comments are references to events and features of the game (both new and removed), jokes, and Easter Eggs.