Lexicon:Modern/Koeler
| Koeler | |
|---|---|
| Stage | Modern CLT |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɔɪ.leɾ/ |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Etymology | from Middle Kolarith |
| Related words | Fwykol, Sigring |
Koeler — the collar-mark. The permanent tattoo at the nape denoting slave status.
Notes
A broken circle, tattooed at the nape where the collar sits and where no free person wears anything. Unlike the collar it cannot be removed, which is the point: a slave without her collar is still marked. On manumission the circle is completed rather than struck out, so a freed person carries a closed circle and the history remains legible. Under the Pact, a broken circle makes a person a slave in all six city-states and a completed one makes her free in all six.