The history of the Great Ones does not begin at Byrgenwerth. Neither was the complete significance of the Eldritch Truth understood by the Byrgenwerth Scholors. It is only that at Byrgenwerth, or rather below it, an ancient and powerful substance was first encountered. Although the lore of Bloodborne began many generations before the founding of this remote university, our pursuit of knowledge best begins at the genesis of understanding.
When the Good Hunter first encounters Byrgenwerth, it is broken and abandoned. The Healing Church has long since decreed it forbidden. Only those who can recite the sacred scripture of the Church’s first vicar may enter the Forbidden Woods that lead to it. Tangled growth creeps across the tiled stones of the grounds and walls, but the only harvest the school still yields are Gardens of Eyes. Behind trees lurk humanoid aberrations that feast upon the mind, while the shadow of a giant arthropod writhes in the moonlight.
On the second floor of the college is a locked door leading to The Lunarium. Here the moon casts a subtle sheen across the stones of an open balcony overlooking a dark lake that absorbs the lunar reflection. In a creaking chair sags a lumpy figure, incapable of speech. He can only moan as he points his staff towards the lake, where it is said he has hidden away his secret.
It might be hard to believe that this inarticulate creature was once the head of the surrounding institution. That he led an academic renaissance attempting to cultivate humankind. That his research had ignited a religious revolution in nearby Yharnam. That his name was once – in fact, is still – spoken in tones of reverence and gratitude. This discarded peel is Provost Willam of Byrgenwerth.
In the “Drained of Blood” interview, Hidetaka Miyazaki discusses the importance of names in his games. “I choose all the names” he states. “ Names are an incredibly important part of any world you want to depict.” In an attempt to better understand the events of Bloodborne, this essay analyzes the meanings and origins of the names of the esoteric Provost and his school.
What’s in a name?
We are thinking on the basest of planes. What we need are more eyes. Great One’s Wisdom
One interpretation of “Byrgenwerth” is that it is a portmanteau of two ancient European words meaning “tomb” (byrgen in Old English) and “of value” (werth in Old Saxon). This is the most straightforward interpretation of the school’s name as the Chalice Dungeons below them are frequently referred to as tombs, and the holy medium contained within them is “of the highest grade.”
However, it is not uncommon for names to have multiple valid meanings within narrative works. And so perhaps there is more that can be eked out of this analysis. When discussing names, Miyazaki also stated that he “considers things like word origins” and “regional considerations.” Thus, we might assume that the names of locales around Yharnam may be derived from similar real world regions.
The only other name from the area of Byrgenwerth that we might be able to correlate with a real world region is that of the Provost himself. Willem is the Dutch form of the English name William, or the German Willahelm and appropriately means “resolute guardian”. In some contexts can also be interpreted as a “helm” or protection for the mind.
Willem wanted to usher in a new chapter in human evolution for himself and his pupils. The Eye Rune states that Willem was “disillusioned by the limits of human intellect.” This was not a judgment he reserved for those who he thought were beneath his academic prowess. Rather, it was a dissatisfaction with the capabilities of the human mind in general, even his own. Willem wanted to lead his students into the next phase of intellectual evolution, on a path to be as the Great Ones.
However, Willem’s secretive nature suggests that this was a gift he did not intend to share with the world at large. He set a gatekeeper at the entrance to the Forbidden Woods, and forbade anybody from entering who did not know the password. He tasked Dores to violently guard against trespassers in the Giant’s Graveyard. Most of all he concealed a Great One toddler within the lake near his college, hiding all manner of secrets. Willem clearly saw himself as the “resolute guardian” of the Eldritch Truth.
Acknowledging the meaningfulness of the Provost’s name, it is worth questioning why the Dutch form was used over the German or English versions. Recognizing that Miyazaki likes to take region into consideration, this may be a clue to further expand our knowledge on Byrgenwerth’s etymology.
Dutch is a Western Germanic Language spoken in the Netherlands and surrounding regions. Like German and other European languages, it evolved from the Proto-Indo-European (or PIE) language spoken in these European regions during the bronze age. The Old English word “byrgen” is derived from the PIE word bʰergʰ-, meaning “high, or heights.” In fact the modern word for “mountains” in Dutch is “bergen”, which is also derived from the same PIE word as its Old English cousin, “byrgen.”
Applying this same lens to the later part of the word, we see that in Old Dutch, the word “werth” also descended from the common PIE word “wrū-” and similarly more accurately retained the original definition, which is “to guard”. This means Byrgenwerth may also be interpreted as “heights to protect”. This would, or course, be in reference to the fact that Willem saw himself as the steward of mankind’s path to higher planes.
Regardless of the interpretation of Byrgenwerth one prefers, both are equally accurate, and this dual meaning is likely intentional. Byrgenwerth is the tomb of the Great Ones and a gateway to the Eldritch Truth, indeed a valuable treasure worth guarding. Perhaps it was Willem’s stalwart protection and promises of such enlightenment that prompted such loyalty to him. Dores and the Gatekeeper remained loyal to him beyond madness – and even death – despite their harrowing excursions into the catacombs. Gherman still cries out to Willem from The Dream believing his former master can still save him. Future factions continued to honor Willem even as they diverged from his tutelage. The Healing Church canonized his adage into scripture. The Choir wore helms that cover their eyes in honor of The Provost. Even in the Lecture Hall of the School of Mensis can be found a note that reads “Master Willem was right.”
Provost Willem’s story – like so many others in Bloodborne – ends in tragedy. His research would result in the corruption of the minds and bodies of countless individuals. Religions and schools would honor him as they tainted their communities and experimented on mothers and orphans. Most of his pupils’ lives ended in madness or as beasts, and their souls trapped within the nightmare realms of Great Ones. His own mind – presumably degraded through his own experiments to line it with eyes – was incapable of most human faculties, much less the grand thoughts of the Great Ones. In the end Willem’s greatest contribution to humanity was to let go of his secrets. He allowed the veil to be pulled back on the horrors he had wrought upon Yharnam, enabling the Good Hunter to see the true nature of the filth, and cleanse the foul streets.