what
everybody and their mother knew what about the Nerevarine prophecy in Morrowind, and they'd gladly give you one of like seven different paragraph-long descriptions about it should you ask them. in Daggerfall you had your whole biography thing, but beyond that you were pretty much just an agent for the Emperor (which was stated numerous times by numerous people). in Arena and Oblivion you were basically just some schmuck who was in the right place at the right time. in Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles your role was pretty clearly explained by several NPCs and a number of books.
also i'm pretty sure it's been stated numerous times that you'll learn everything about the ramifications of being Dragonborn from Esbern and the Greybeards and probably lots of other people.
also how often do people in the real world go around saying REMEMBER THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO WHEN GEORGE OF WASHINGTON CAME FROM THE STAR-STRUNG EAST AND SAVED US FROM THE VILE HORDES OF THE BRITISH KHANATE? MAN THAT WAS SOMETHING, WASN'T IT. outside of a history classroom most people aren't going to randomly bring up things that happened hundreds of years ago in conversation. OH DUDE YOU ATE THAT? DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED AT TRAFALGAR?
To clarify, I would say you're right AND wrong. You're right that in modern, western culture, people don't talk about history like that. However, you're also mistaken there from an anthropological standpoint. There are hundreds of cultures ranging from tribal (i.e. Native American, African, etc.), to traditional (i.e. Japanese), to of course almost all cultures in medieval and generally all historical times that speak about history on a daily basis in conversation. My point is, consider the time frame, lifestyle, and culture of TES and then compare that to our own history. The people of TES are more akin to our ancestors of varying cultures by far. This would undoubtedly extend into the fact that every day there's some sort of ancient prophecy festival, or people telling their children about an important person in history, or some other mention of historical significance for the day/time/etc..
It was just more common historically than it is now. Thus, I would suspect there will continue to be many NPC's telling, retelling, and expanding upon lore when speaking to the PC. This is perfectly normal given the game's frame of reference.
And yes, I know, before you decide to say something to the contrary, I will say it is somewhat strange to have every single person telling you about an ancient prophecy (i.e. Morrowind). That's just a little over the top. :tongue:
Edit: Then again, who can you go up to and talk to today that doesn't know about the Mayan 2012 prophecy....? Just an example...