@ the Temple: I see the many-headed has come out to play! Always nice to see the playing field re-hillocked.

thats what happens when you turn the most diverse provence in the lore into gondor

Nice history lesson. I meant when I said the culture of Daggerfall is Frankish. Think post Charlemagne, stuffy orders of knights imbued with that Arthurian zeal for justice and the good. There might be some profit to be gained from following the Celtic/Frankish dichotomy you bring up as Breton/Cyrodiilic, but I'm not entirely sure how far this will take us. The elephant in the room here is the Direnni. Broadly speaking (and this is a gross simplification), the Direnni provide the thematic role in the history of the Bretons that the Romans do for Europe. The fall of the Direnni Empire mirrors the fall of the Western Roman one, by happening in stages, a slow passing away of power from one group to another - with several bloody battles dotted along the line.

What is interesting is where this new culture arose from. Is the high culture of High Rock essentially Imperial (there are sources that support this), with the Celtic anologues being more or less identifiable with the older, Direnni-derived cultures? This doesn't seem to sit well. There seems as much reason for the cosmopolitan style found in most of Tamriel's courts to have arisen in High Rock as in the Niben Bay. It could well be that these did arise in unison with one another, with the wilder peoples of High Rock better understood as a series of infusions of escaped slaves and alike into the wilds; each time reacquainted with old gods. Or at some point, did these people grow into that powerful class that dissolved the Direnni Empire from within?

As far as I can see, those are the big questions. Now to fluff out some responses? I'll get my monkey wrench...

Imperial and Breton culture have long seemed to be closely tied. Perhaps because they emerge from similar histories? The prevalent theory right now is that both the Imperials and Bretons are actually, primarily, descended from "Nedic" peoples who were indigenous to Tamriel, rather than just the earliest Nordic settlers (although the tremendous influence of the Nords is un-debatable). They were also both heavily influenced by continental Elven culture, that is, the more material/secular elven cultures of the Ayleid and Dirennis. And ever since the first human empires, they've had a great deal of interaction with each other, so that any differences they might have had may have been diluted somewhat.

There also seemed to be a lot of Bretons in Cyrodiil during Oblivion, and lore-wise there seems to be a lot of Bretons occupying positions in the Imperial government (Although in Skyrim they are again the 2nd most populous group).

Just some thoughts, I suppose. No real conclusion. :\

Charlemagne as in Emperor of "The Holy Roman Empire". Interestingly Charlemagne did not govern the real Breton lands of western France. They at most remained independent of Frankish rule.

Seeming that the nobility of High Rock is made up of racially of "Imperials" and there is mention that the native Bretons are known as sorcerers, would it not make more sense for any such lore would be racially the Imperial nobles of High Rock (& any Nords settlements there). Considering that Imperials are known for wearing and using heavy armor and melee combat over the use of magic. That and considering that Bretons have no racial bonus in any form of melee combat suggesting it is not any major part of their personal culture.

And also there is the Colovian people of Cyrodiil. Are they not more aligned to the central Europe as decribed? The architecture of Colovia to me looks more Bavarian than Roman. Maybe there is bridging point between the Imperial Nobles of High Rock and the Imperials of Colovia

The history of Cyrodiil was weighed down by the humid jungle air and tied down by vines, freed by Talos when he removed them. The history of High Rock is drowned in the blood of gods and men.

Just play Oblivion again, the whole place screams High Rock.

I think this is supposed to be more Colovian Cyrodiil than High Rock. A lot of British and French architecture was brought in from central Europe. Celtic architecture was not like this.

I must confess that Oblivion did seem a bit of a disappointing in way of architecture and creative ideas. Considering it is the capital province, It would have been nice to see much more. I agree with some posters on this site who made the statement that Cyrodiil was covered too early on and that Beth' should have waited until games have developed further.

Considering that the legion wear armor that looks very Roman, I would have like to see more Greco-Roman Mediterranean style towns in the Nibenay Basin area and maybe for parts of Anvil as well. The Imperial city was very Greco-Roman influenced with the white stone pillars etc. I like the more central European Holy Roman Empire feel of the Colovian lands to the north. Maybe High Rock has developed similar to Colovian architecture due to the nobility of High Rock being mostly Imperial giving it strong links. The natives and peasantry of High Rock are I'm guessing much more diverse and no where near as rich. I'm guessing more like the Celts of Britain (now only really seen in Scotland, Wales & Ireland)

High Rock was a horrible vacation spot. I give it 2 stars out of 10.

There is always a chance of a dlc for Skyrim that takes us back into parts of High Rock (only with an up-to-date approach - Daggerfall was early days and had limitations). High Rock is the neighbouring province to Skyrim and the Forsworn of the Reach would be the ideal candidate to lead into such a quest.

Much like Bloodmoon brought Morrowind into a bit of Skyrim (though interestingly it would be the reverse if they did it for Skyrim as Solstheim is now overrun by Dunmer)