Lore:Multiraciality

Jagar Tharn, who has been described as a "mongrel elf" and is known to have Imperial ancestry

Many different mortal and immortal races inhabit the realms of the Aurbis. The mortals of Tamriel can typically be categorized into one of these racial groups. However, multiracial people do exist and can exhibit the traits of two or more races. They are sometimes described as hybrids, or derogatorily as half-breeds and mongrels.

One view on multiracial reproduction is set out in Notes on Racial Phylogeny, a text published by the Imperial University's Council of Healers. Generally, the offspring of such a union will bear the racial traits of the mother, though some traces of the father's race may also be present. Some take an absolute stance on this view, stating that all children inherit their mother's race. Others have stated that if a pair of different human races have children, that offspring will bear features of both races, instead of only the maternal side. Children born to the same parents may be of different races. For more information on racial compatibility, see the article on sex.

Interracial Couples in Society

An interracial couple with their child (Castles)

Interracial relationships are somewhat common, but they may be looked upon poorly in some cultures. Some Dunmer consider it heresy to marry outside of their race. The Altmer consider interracial relationships to be the worst possible offense given their stance on racial purity, and have gone to the extreme to punish those involved in such relationships. For example, an Orc named Gurlak was in a relationship with his owner and slave master Nuralanya. When the relationship was found out, they were both imprisoned within Salas En, and the Orc would be imprisoned in a magical circle, which extended his lifespan considerably. He outlived his lover who was also imprisoned nearby and he would go on to live for thousands of years in this state of imprisonment, as no one was able to figure out the means of freeing him. In Cyrodiil, Human-Bosmer marriages are generally frowned upon. The Bosmer have been recorded in early history as "soiling Time's line" by taking Mannish wives.

Akaviri-Tamrielic

• Rim-Men are a group of Imperials that descend from Imperial retainers that worked and later intermingled with the Tsaesci that served the Second Empire of Cyrodiil.
• The Imperials of Hakoshae are known for their Akaviri ancestry, which dates back to the time of the fading Akaviri Potentate.
• The infamous Blades captain Lorant Bouchard, who wielded a powerful Tsaesci blade, was rumored to be part serpent. The Tsaesci are sometimes described as serpentine beastfolk.
• The mercenary lord Duadeen has been described as half-Akaviri or "half-viri".
• Ardent Flame: Draconic or Endemic? mentions a half-Akaviri arms-trainer, who was knowledgeable about the topic of the Dragonknight techniques.
• Abnur Tharn described Chevalier Renald as exhibiting traits typical of Imperials with a significant amount of Akaviri heritage, noting his eyes and hair as indicative features. However, Renald's identity is possibly more complex, as he made cryptic comments about shedding his skin when it's time for a new beginning.

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  Magnate Feina-Darak, a Rimman (ESO)

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  Duadeen, a half-Akaviri Man

Elf × Elf

Altmer-Bosmer

• Mankar Camoran was an Altmer with significant Bosmeri heritage. He is thought to be the son of Haymon Camoran and a Bosmer woman named Kaalys.

Altmer-Dunmer

• Queen Morgiah was a Dunmer who married King Reman Karoodil, an Altmer. The couple had two children by the end of the Third Era, Goranthir and Rinnala, who were both Dunmer in appearance despite being half-Altmer.

Altmer-Falmer

• Athellor, an Altmer, believed he had Snow Elven ancestry. He theorized that the Snow Elves gradually faded away by interbreeding with the other elven races.

Altmer-Maormer

• Relationships between Altmer and Maormer were largely frowned upon by both races at the time of the Interregnum. An Altmer woman in Greenshade believed that her father could have been a Maormer.

Ayleid-Bosmer

• Ayleid refugees fleeing from the Alessian Order were known to intermingle with the Bosmer. According to the "Theorem of Disheritage", the Valenwood Ayleids eventually became unable to breed among themselves and could only produce offspring by mating with the local Bosmer.

Bosmer-Dunmer

• The Oreyn family is an Elven bloodline that consists of both Bosmer and Dunmer.

Dwarf-Orc

• The Dwemer king Dumac was known by names such as "Dumac Dwarf-Orc" and "Dumalacath", but it is never specified if these were literal references to him being part-Orcish or merely figurative or derogatory titles.

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  Mankar Camoran, an Altmer-Bosmer (Oblivion)

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  A woman with a Maormer father

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  King Nantharion, a Bosmer with Ayleid ancestry

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  Farvyn Oreyn, a Dunmer of Bosmer descent (Morrowind)

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  Modryn Oreyn, a Dunmer of Bosmer descent (Legends)

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  Athellor, an Altmer with Snow Elven ancestry

Human × Human

Breton-Nord

• A Nord known as Sapphire had a Breton father.
• Evette San, a Nord, had a Breton father.
• Virkmund, a Nord, inherited his race from his father, despite his mother being a Breton.
• The Nord King Odar the Brave and the Breton Queen Ysabel of Camlorn had three children: two Nords, Jofarr and Melora, and one Breton, Tobin.

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  Sapphire, a Breton-Nord (Skyrim)

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  Virkmund, a Breton-Nord child (Skyrim)

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  Jofarr, a Breton-Nord child (Castles)

Breton-Redguard

• Angelie Blakeley was a Redguard woman whose father Grantham was a Breton.
• Conversely, Julienne and Clinton Lylvieve were two Bretons whose mother Michel was a Breton and whose father Azzada was a Redguard.
• The Breton King Gothryd and the Redguard Queen Aubk-i had four known children together.

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  Angelie Blakeley, a Breton-Redguard (Oblivion)

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  Julienne Lylvieve, a Breton-Redguard (Skyrim)

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  Clinton Lylvieve, a Breton-Redguard child (Skyrim)

Cyro-Breton

In the early First Era, Breton warbands were hired by Alessia to assist in her slave revolt in exchange for rich land and trade. After their victory in 1E 243, these warriors were quick to assimilate with the Nibenese of eastern Cyrodiil.

• Lord Bacaro Volorus was half-Imperial and half-Breton, displaying traits from both.

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  Lord Bacaro Volorus, a Cyro-Breton (ESO)

Cyro-Nord

Cyro-Nords are a mix between an Imperial (or "Cyrodil") and a Nord. The Colovians are one of the two main Imperial culture groups in Cyrodiil. They are the descendants of Cyro-Nords that settled western Cyrodiill. The language of Middle Cyro-Norst was active around the time of Alessia, who called herself by the Cyro-Nordic word that came to mean "Empress" in Tamrielic.

• The Second Era captain Tobias was described as a Cyro-Nordic. Others referred to him as a Nord, his father's race.
• Lavinia was born to a Nord father and an Imperial mother.
• Minette Vinius, a Nord, had an Imperial father and brother. Her father's cousin was similarly a Nord.
• Uriel Septim VII, an Imperial, had a Nord great-great grandfather, Cephorus II.

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  Tobias, a Cyro-Nord (Redguard)

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  Minette Vinius, a Cyro-Nord child (Skyrim)

Imperial-Redguard

• Aeliah Renmus was half-Imperial and half-Redguard, displaying traits from both. She possessed lighter skin than most Redguards.

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  Aeliah Remnus, an Imperial-Redguard (ESO)

Half-Giant

Half-Giants are the descendants of normal sized humans and Giants or Sea Giants. For more information on Half-Giants, see the main article.

• Sinmur was a Half-Giant from the Merethic Era. He possessed the same towering height of ordinary Giants and was referred to as such by his adversaries.
• The legendary Companion Lyris Titanborn is one of the most well known Half-Giants, despite only having Giant ancestry unlike true Half-Giants. Her father, Gjalder, was also a Nord with Giant ancestry.

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  Lyris Titanborn, a Nord with giant ancestry (ESO)

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  Gjalder, a Nord with Giant ancestry (ESO)

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  Sinmur, a Half-Giant (ESO)

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  A Half-Giant of Sea Giant parentage (ESO)

Nord-Reachman

• Ulfsild, the wife of Arch-Mage Shalidor, was half-Nord and half-Reachman.

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  Ulfsild, a Nord-Reachman (ESO)

Nord-Redguard

• Kayd, a Redguard, had a Nord father and Redguard mother.
• Rustleif, a male Nord, and Seren, a female Redguard, were expecting their first child.

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  Kayd, a Nord-Redguard child (Skyrim)

Manmer

• The most famous example of multiraciality are the Bretons of High Rock. Historically known as Manmer, the Nedic population of High Rock was forced to interbreed with the Altmer of Clan Direnni. Over many generations, this resulted in a distinct race of magically-inclined human. For more information on the racial history of Bretons, see the main article.
• Although sometimes categorized as Bretons, the Reachmen are usually believed to be a distinct race of people. Primarily of human descent, the Reachmen are often described as a mongrel breed, even for Bretons. Their lineage is said to include nearly every race imaginable. For more information on the racial history of Reachmen, see the main article.
• According to the Altmeri account The Heart of the World, Bosmer were said to take mannish wives.
• Giraud Scraeg was half-Breton on his mother's side and half-Reachman on his father's side.
• Conversely, Gargrell Sorick was half-Breton on his father's side and half-Reachman on his mother's side.
• The Anchorite was a Reachman born to a Breton mother and Reachman father.
• The Dumonte Breton family was known for its considerable familial connection with the Altmeri Clan Direnni.
• House Mora has had human blood since its creation.
• Tiber Septim, a human, supposedly conceived a child with the Dunmer Barenziah.

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  Illustration of a typical Breton

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  Reachman shaman (Legends)

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  Giraud Scraeg, a Breton-Reachman (ESO)

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  The Anchorite (ESO)

Ayleid-Nede

• During the early Alessian Doctrines, the Nede Nunex Faleria had three children with an unnamed female Ayleid. Their offspring were described as "Elven children". When their son fathered a child with an unnamed female Imperial, the result was a child with enough elven features for the Falerias to be executed by the Empire.

Bosmer-Nord

• Valindor is a Bosmer who had ancient Nordic ancestry.

Breton-Dunmer

• Emperor Cassynder Septim was the son of Empress Katariah (a Dunmer) and Emperor Pelagius III (a Breton). Although Cassynder was half-elven, he aged like a Breton, so by the time he ascended to the throne he was already middle-aged. His half-brother, Emperor Uriel Septim IV, was also half-Dunmer half-Breton, being the son of Katariah and Gallivere Lariat.

Chimer-Nord

• Mith was a half Chimer-half Nord Companion, being born to a Chimer mother and Nordic father, taking on mostly the elven appearance of his mother although he did have his father's red hair.

Dunmer-Nord

• Symmachus was rumored to have had Nordic blood.

Dunmer-Redguard

• Rahim al-Elinhir, a male Redguard, and Davilia Beleth, a female Dunmer, had two known children. Their son, Galiel Beleth, inherited his mother's race, while their daughter, Fadiya, inherited her father's.
• Maramal, a male Redguard, and Dinya Balu, a female Dunmer, were expecting their first child.

Half-Orc

• The Gray Prince was a half-Orc and half-Imperial. His skin was a paler green compared to other Orcs, and it was believed that his fighting prowess may have been an inherited trait from his vampiric father.
• Prince Adrien of Evermore was a Breton who was rumored to have sired a half-Orc bastard.

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  Agronak gro-Malog, a Half-Orc (Oblivion)

Unspecified Human - Mer Pairings

• Hasah, a human from Dragonstar, and Irrielle, a mer from Firsthold, had a daughter together. Their exact races are unknown, and the child is not described in detail.

Beastfolk × Other

Altmer-Argonian

• Count Csaran, Altmer ruler of Vitharn in the Shivering Isles, once fathered a son with an Argonian named Sheen-in-Glade. Nothing else is known of this individual, who disappeared from the Isles at age 20.

Imperial-Ogre

• Jirolin Doran was an Imperial who believed himself to have Ogre ancestry.

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  A sketch of an Imperial-Ogre family tree (Oblivion)

Orcoblin

• There have been mentions of extinct "orcoblins", which are presumably some cross between an Orc and a Goblin.

Hybrid Races

The following races have been described as "half-breed" or "hybrid" races, either literally or metaphorically:

• Harpies, being an all-female race, are said to reproduce by kidnapping human males. They are also said to be "deranged half-breed" creatures, but it is unclear how literal this is due to their cursed origins.
• Minotaurs are a bull-like betmer, and it is said the demigod Morihaus gave rise to the race through his dalliances with the Nedic Slave-Queen Alessia and the birth of her son, Belharza the Man-Bull. This origin would paint them as a cross between Nedes and a demigod in bull form.
• Proto-Bretons or "Half-Elves" were the first Bretons from the early First Era and were more elven in appearance than their modern counterparts.
• Maormer have been theorized to be the result of interbreeding between Aldmer and the indigenous bestial tribes of Pyandonea. The tall, bestial and hunchbacked Maormer Leviathans are described as "the spawn of some unholy and sorcerous coupling of Sea Elf and Sea Serpent".
• Xivkyn were "bred" by Molag Bal to be his personal guard, made as a hybrid race from both Xivilai and Dremora.

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  A Harpy (ESO)

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  Belharza, the first Minotaur, with Nede and demigod parentage

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  General Malivus, a Xivkyn (ESO)

Other

• Jagar Tharn of Nibenese House Tharn has an unclear mixed background, with one source stating that Jagar was born in southern Valenwood to a Bosmer mother and that his racial traits are a result of interracial relationships between elves, specifically Altmer and Dunmer.
• Umaril the Unfeathered was born to an Ayleid mother. As for his father, Umaril claimed divine parentage; his father was supposedly a god of the prior kalpa's World-River. With this half-mortal half-divine parentage, Umaril was known as an Ada and referred to as a half-Elf.
• There is a dubious tale that claims the Lamias of Craglorn are descended from Frederic Croyens (a man of unspecified race) and his Lamia wife.
• There have been several jokes about the idea of mortals reproducing with Dragons. However, Dragons are thought to be incapable of reproduction.

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  A Lamia from Craglorn (ESO)

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  Umaril the Unfeathered (Legends)

Notes

• The Elder Scrolls: Castles does not restrict the creation of babies based on race and gender.
  • Despite lore, no one is affected by racial differences for lifespan in Castles. i.e, children with an elvish parent do not live longer.

See Also

• For game-specific information, see the ESO category of multiracial NPCs.
• Demigod
• Demiprince
• Maormer Leviathans

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.