Daggerfall:Books

A standard book

There are a number of books to be found in Daggerfall. Most are for reading, while a few others exist for different purposes.

This article covers books only. For readable letters, notes, and other documents seen during quests, see here.

Standard Books

The interface when reading

There are 91 readable books in Daggerfall containing a wide variety of texts: non-fiction about the past and present with varying levels and angles of bias, dubious myths, and entertaining fictional tales, as well as songs and jokes. As in real life, reading is optional, but it can enrich your experience by expanding your understanding of the lore and culture of the peoples of the Iliac Bay and the wider Empire of Tamriel. You are not ever required to read books to progress — even in quests that involve one as a quest item — nor do any provide an explicit bonus like the skill books of later games, however a few books do reveal morsels of useful information relevant to gameplay.

Books may be found as dungeon loot or enemy drops, and can be bought and sold at book stores, general stores, and pawn shops. There are also libraries which allow books to be read for free: public libraries which are accessible to anyone, and private libraries found in Mages Guild halls and temples, which can only be used by members of those factions.

In the inventory a book can be read with the 'use' function. The book's author, as well as value and weight, can be seen with the 'info' function. In a library you are only presented with a list of titles to select from, with no way to see the author. All standard books use the same inventory icon and all have a weight of 2.00kg. At the beginning of the text of each book is a title in a large font. This internal title does not always match the title used as the item name; for clarity, only the item name is used in the table below.

A list of these books divided by subject can be found here.

Title		Author	Description	Gameplay Notes
The Alik'r	580	Enric Milres	A description of time spent in the Alik'r Desert
Ark'ay The God	562	Mymophonus the Scribe	How Ark'ay was transformed from a shopkeeper into the God of Birth and Death
Ark`ay The God	488	Mymophonus the Scribe	How Ark'ay was transformed from a shopkeeper into the God of Birth and Death (German version)	Not present in the GOG version of Daggerfall. The game incorrectly displays the backtick (`) as an arrow.
The Arrowshot Woman	580	Anonymous	Urban legend of woman who thinks she's been shot
The Asylum Ball	580	Waughin Jarth	Story of a ball held by the mad Emperor of Tamriel, Pelagius III, at an asylum
Banker's Bet	467	Porbert Lyttumly	A humorous story of what people will do for money
Biography of Queen Barenziah, Vol. I	406	Stem Gamboge, scribe	Volume One of the life history of Queen Barenziah
Biography of Queen Barenziah, Vol. II	406	Stem Gamboge	Volume Two of the life history of Queen Barenziah
Biography of Queen Barenziah, Vol. III	406	Stem Gamboge, scribe	Volume Three of the life history of Queen Barenziah
Brief History of the Empire, Part I	352	Stronach	Part 1 of a description of events in the history of the Empire
Brief History of the Empire, Part II	352	Stronach	Part 2 of a description of events in the history of the Empire
Brief History of the Empire, Part III	352	Stronach	Part 3 of a description of events in the history of the Empire
Brief History of the Empire, Part IV	352	Stronach	Part 4 of a description of events in the history of the Empire
Broken Diamonds	340	Ryston Baylor	A tale of a sorrowful holiday
The Brothers of Darkness	580	Pellarne Assi	A brief history of the Dark Brotherhood	Hints at the existence of the two hidden joinable guilds, the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild.
Confessions of a Thief	695	Anonymous	Some comments from a thief about the Thieves Guild	Hints at the existence of one of the two hidden joinable guilds, the Thieves Guild.
Divad the Singer	684	Destri Melarg	The early years of Divad the Singer
A Dubious Tale of the Crystal Tower	770	Bibenus Geon	An amusing tale of a masquerade
The Ebon Arm	580	Witten Rol	Description of the appearance of Reymon Ebonarm, God of War, in a battle
The Epic of the Grey Falcon	580	Anido Jhone, editor	Tale of the sole survivor of a pirate attack
Etiquette With Rulers	738	Erystera Ligen	The etiquette of speaking with nobles	Contains hints about the dialogue system.
The Faerie	580	Szun Triop	Discussion of the various types of Faeries and how they relate
The Fall of the Usurper	580	Palaux Illthre	A speculative analysis as to the part played by Baron Othrok of Dwynnen in the downfall of the Camoran Usurper
The First Scroll of Baan Dar	580	Arkan	A book about the true Baan Dar, God and Man
Fools' Ebony, Part the Oneth	317	Frincheps	Part 1 of a playful story of an adventurer and fool's ebony
Fools' Ebony, Part the Twoth	317	Frincheps	Part 2 of a playful story of an adventurer and fool's ebony
Fools' Ebony, Part the Threeth	317	Frincheps	Part 3 of a playful story of an adventurer and fool's ebony
Fools' Ebony, Part the Fourth	317	Frincheps	Part 4 of a playful story of an adventurer and fool's ebony
Fools' Ebony, Part the Fiveth	317	Frincheps	Part 5 of a playful story of an adventurer and fool's ebony
Fools' Ebony, Part the Sixth	317	Frincheps	Part 6 of a playful story of an adventurer and fool's ebony
Fragment: On Artaeum	676	Taurce Anselma	A work explaining some of the history of the Psijic island of Artaeum
Galerion the Mystic	638	Asgrim Kolsgreg	A biography of Galerion, a Psijic who founded the Mages Guild
Ghraewaj	691	Tidasus	An overview of the Ghraewaj play, which portrays the creation of harpies
The Healer's Tale	580	Anonymous	An amusing anecdote from a healer of the Temple of Stendarr
A History of Daggerfall	358	Odiva Gallwood	A relatively unbiased analysis of Daggerfall and the Iliac Bay
Holidays of the Iliac Bay	379	Theth-i	An overview of Breton and Redguard holidays commonly celebrated in the Iliac Bay region	Gives the dates of many holidays.
Invocation of Azura	452	Sigillah Parate	A work written by a priestess of Azura arguing the superiority of Azura to other Daedra Princes	Gives the dates of the Daedra summoning days.
Ius, Animal God	385	Buljursoma	Two humorous legends concerning the God of Animals, Ius
Jokes	667	Butha Sunhous	A ribald look at the many races of Tamriel
King Edward, Part I	300	Anonymous	Part 1 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part 2	300	Anonymous	Part 2 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part III	300	Anonymous	Part 3 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part IV	300	Anonymous	Part 4 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part V	300	Anonymous	Part 5 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part VI	300	Anonymous	Part 6 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part VII	300	Anonymous	Part 7 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part VIII	300	Anonymous	Part 8 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part IX	300	Anonymous	Part 9 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part X	300	Anonymous	Part 10 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part XI	300	Anonymous	Part 11 of the story of the life of a long ago king
King Edward, Part XII	300	Anonymous	Part 12 of the story of the life of a long ago king
Legal Basics	636	Anchivius, M.Z.F.	A summary of common crimes and their punishments	Gives hints about crime.
The Legend of Lovers Lament	580	Croll Baumoval	A romantic story about a man and woman who keep loving each other until even after their death
The Light and The Dark	580	Irek Unterge	A Breton man describes the Light and the Dark to his two grandchildren
The Madness of Pelagius	580	Tsathenes	Profiling the renowned Mad Emperor
Mara's Tear	484	Zhen	An origin myth for the two moons, Mara's Tear and Shandar's Sorrow
The MemoryStone	580	Makela Leki	Diary of Leki, a Redguard warrior and master of Ansei
Mysticism	661	Tetronius Lor	A description of the school of Mysticism
Notes For Redguard History	597	Destri Melarg	An unmailed letter from an author to his publisher
Oelander's Hammer	424	Krowle	The story of Oelander's magical hammer
Of Jephre	738	Anonymous	Musings on the nature of the god, Jephre
The Old Ways	580	Celarus	A guide to the Psijic Order and their beliefs
On Lycanthropy	419	Varnard Karessen	Studies of the nature and habits of Lycanthropes	Contains hints on the two kinds of lycanthropy and how they might be cured.
On Oblivion	559	Morian Zenas	A guide to Oblivion and the Daedra	Contains useful hints regarding Daedra summoning. Hints at the existence of the hidden Dark Brotherhood and witch covens.
Origin of the Mages Guild	687	Salarth	Where and how the Mages Guild started
An Overview of Gods and Worship	711	Brother Hetchfeld	Speculation concerning the worship of gods and their benefit from such
The Pig Children	580	Tyston Bane	Discusses the history of the Orcish threat in the Iliac Bay
The Real Barenziah	580	Anonymous	Part 1 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part II	580	Anonymous	Part 2 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part III	580	Anonymous	Part 3 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part IV	580	Anonymous	Part 4 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part V	580	Anonymous	Part 5 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part VI	580	Anonymous	Part 6 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part VII	580	Anonymous	Part 7 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The True Barenziah, Part VIII	580	Anonymous	Part 8 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part IX	580	Anonymous	Part 9 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
The Real Barenziah, Part X	580	Anonymous	Part 10 of an unauthorized biography of the famous Dark Elf Queen of Wayrest
Redguards, History and Heroes	728	Destri Melarg	A summary of Redguard history, focusing on Frandar Hunding
Rude Song	513	Anonymous	A ribald and irreverent song about spring in the Iliac Bay
The Sage	580	Aegrothius Goth	A Breton's journey to become the Sage
A Scholar's Guide to Nymphs	770	Vondham Barres	One man's experience with Nymphs
Special Flora of Tamriel	453	Hardin	A list of the rare plants of Tamriel
The Story of Lyrisius	580	Bresne Smythe	Epic tale of Lyrisius and the wyrm of Akavir
A Tale of Kieran	312	Vegepythicus, editor	Several tales of Kieran the Bard
Vampires of the Iliac Bay, Part I	429	Anonymous	Part 1 of a story of a man's journey into vampirism	Explains how vampirism is caught and the early symptoms.
Vampires of the Iliac Bay, Part II	429	Anonymous	Part 2 of a story of a man's journey into vampirism	Explains how unlife goes as a vampire, and hints at the cure.
Wabbajack	599	Anonymous	Story of one man's summoning of Sheogorath and descent into madness	Contains hints about Daedra summoning, specifically regarding Hermaeus Mora, Sheogorath, and their artifacts.
The War of Betony	580	Fav'te	A Sentinel citizen's take on the events and outcome of the war betwixt Sentinel and Daggerfall
The War of Betony	580	Vulper Newgate	A description of the events of the War of Betony from the Daggerfall perspective
Wayrest, Jewel of the Bay	348	Sathyr Longleat	A history of the city Wayrest, circa 3E 405
The Wild Elves	580	Kiergo Chorvak	Brief description of the Ayleids, or Wild Elves

†These books have drafts with notable differences in the Daggerfall Preview.

Quests

Books are key items in the following quests:

• The Daedric Book
• The First Printing
• Missing Book
• A Rare Book
• Valuable Pages

Note that in the quest Barenziah's Book, the eponymous "book" is in fact a parchment manuscript.

Other Books

There are three other book items which do not fit into the same category as the above readable books. They vary in use.

Spellbook

Value:	50
Weight:	0.75 kg

Your spellbook lists all of the spells you know and must be in your inventory to cast them. Every player character, regardless of spellcasting ability, begins the game with one. If lost, replacements can be purchased by members of the Mages Guild and School of Julianos. For more information on spellcasting, see here.

Oghma Infinium

Value:	50,000
Weight:	2.00 kg

The Oghma Infinium is a powerful single-use artifact. For more information on its effect, acquisition, and background, see here.

Holy tome

Value:	2,500
Weight:	2.00 kg

Holy tomes have no function and exist primarily to be sold. For more information, see here.