Famous People
Once again, there are a few familiar personalities in Might & Magic 9 that you may recognize, if you've been around. Here is an overview.
 
Name Place Who is it, then?
Ludwig Van Sturmford City, Beet Hoven quest Luwdig van Beethoven, the composer
Atli the Quick Drangheim City, Assessin promotion Atli, King of the Huns (Norse myth)
Sigmund Jarl of Drangheim King of Hunland (Norse myth)
Hagar the Horrible Drangheim City, Expert/Master Blade Comic hero
Nicolai Ironfist Drangheim City Son of Roland Ironfist in MM6
Nutty Nartigan Guberland City, in cage Mad Martigan, caged warrior in 'Willow'
Anton Saleri Lindisfarne Monastery organist Antonio Saleri, the composer
Bones Thronheim spellshop Regular poster, co-owner of TELP
Rustavius Thronheim armorer Regular poster on the boards
Magnus ver Magnussen Thronheim trainer Iceland's Strongman champion
Tamur Leng Frosgard, Leader of the Horde Timur Lenk, Mongol conqueror
Yanmir Frosgard, Fortress in the Sky Ymir, Frost Giant, origin of all life (Norse myth)
Mary Sheepherder Yorwick Town 'Mary has a little lamb'
Fre Hall of the Gods Freya, Norse goddess of love and beauty
Krohn Hall of the Gods Crom, Celtic god of storms, death and eternity
 

And further ....

Arslegard is not quite the same as the Norse Asgard, the abode of the Gods. Writs are an essential part of the Norse mythology.

Sturmford and Drangheim stand for the radical literature movement "Sturm und Drang".

Timbecile: "The raid on the Lindisfarne Monastery marked the beginning of the Viking era. The monks who survived fled to Durham, where they built a great cathedral. The building the Lindisfarne Monastery is based on in MM9 is the Durham Cathedral. At the time I was building the cathedral that would become Lindisfarne, I had no idea that the monks from Lindisfarne built the Durham cathedral. I found that tidbit out after the game actually shipped."

The dragonhead over the Sturmford Tavern door is the head of the MM6 intro dragon that threatened the adventurers.

Yvan the Smart's "To the death?" is a quote from the movie 'The Princess Bride'.

There is a Bembridge School on the Isle of Wight. Bembridge Scholars are mentioned in 'The Mummy'.

The Mercenary for hire outside the tavern in Thjorgard says "Are you talkin' to me?" in Danny DeVito's voice.

Artair Ordway's Cup (trophy room, Ta'Sar Academy, was supposed to give a bonus) is the Holy Grail from 'Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade'. This is what one of the books in the southeast library says: "...As Artair Ordway was the founder of the Ta'Sar Academy, it is only fitting that his statue is displayed prominently in the Trophy Room. According to the documents, drinking from his cup will provide the warrior with his strength, but alas there are many cups in the Trophy Room. It is also been said that woe be the soldier who tries, for drinking from the wrong cup will bring death a-knocking."