Please help! A question regarding Mat- Spoilers up to KoD

[repairman1988]

I posed this question on the Reddit Wheel of Time, but received a weird answer that made more plotholes. I was really hoping someone here could help clear this up!  Sorry if it's a long read. I sincerely appreciate anyone taking the time to answer (without spoiling too much hopefully). 

 

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"I made it through Crossroads of Twilight (narrowly avoiding sitting in a bathtub full of water, with a plugged in toaster cradled in my arms). I'm about 1/4th of the way through Knife of Dreams and I'm freaking loving it. Finally things are getting explained and the story is moving again!

I was confused about one thing. However, If this is explained later, feel free to leave this unanswered. I'm at the scene where Tuon darts off into the forest on the razor horse and Mat chases her down. He starts having visions of the past and starts to remember dying, getting extremely light headed and weak. There seems to be a big emphasis on something fairly negative happening to his health when he truly remembers death. This leads to his assumption that the Eelfin kept a connection with people who visited, from the time they entered until the time of their death. He made a guess that they did something with the memories, and the things that were left after said something, were the bits and pieces now garbled together in his head.

Where I'm a little confused is, isn't Mat a reincarnation of a soul that's lived throughout the pattern?

He was having issues with his memories before the Eelfin, so how could his memories be the bits and pieces that the Eelfin left over (after doing whatever they do to the memories of those that visit them) and jammed into his head? I thought they just restored the memories he already had within him.

If they did just awaken/expand the memories already there, how is it that they had the exact memories of all the incarnations of Mat? Has every reincarnation of Mat been guided through the Ter'angreal into their world by the pattern?

I really don't see how Mat's sudden guess/explanation works. Can anyone shed some light on this without spoiling too much? thanks a bunch"

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Here's the Reply from Reddit-

"If I remember correctly Mats memories started when he found the dagger. However Jordan has said that they are strictly from the beings in the terangreal. I do believe this was an over sight. If someone has any other explanation please help me out here.

I really think Jordan just wanted to foreshadow in TEOTW. Hence perrin talking to wolves, rand sometimes channeling and Mat speaking the old tongue."

 

To which I replied-

"He definitely makes it appear as if Mat is a reincarnation of the same person, throughout the pattern.

Taking that explanation though, why would Mat ask them to sort the memories in his head out? If the memories were strictly from the terangreal, why would he even have those jumbled memories in the first place, or need to ask them to sort them out?

Even pushing those two questions aside, why did he only get memories pertaining to men who are versed in war? Did they intend to make a general out of him to fight the last battle? they seemed almost evil, so it would be weird if that was the case.

Thank you for answering though!

Edit- Just to be succinct and clear- If Mat didn't have all the other mens memories in his head (which were extensively written about pre terangreal visit), why would he even pose the question to them?"

 

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Edit- Another thing I thought of, iff the case is that all the memories are post terangreal. I'm certain he was recalling battles and speaking the old tongue pre trangreal visit. He had a huge Badass fight against galad and gawyn at the white tower, where he beat them 2v1 with a staff, specifically because of the old memories.

[jack of shadows]

mat memories are an amalgamation of two separate things,his bloodline,

there is a strong possibility that mat is aemon reborn or a direct blood

descendant of the king of manetheren and the memories he received from

his finnland visit.

according to robert jordan,those memories were not from his past lives,

but scraps,bits and pieces(spanning 1700 years) stolen from other men

(visitors) memories.

 

on a side note,the dagger's taint had nothing to do with mat memories.

[Occams whiskey bottle]

mat memories are an amalgamation of two separate things,his bloodline,

there is a strong possibility that mat is aemon reborn or a direct blood

descendant of the king of manetheren and the memories he received from

his finnland visit.

according to robert jordan,those memories were not from his past lives,

but scraps,bits and pieces(spanning 1700 years) stolen from other men

(visitors) memories.

 

on a side note,the dagger's taint had nothing to do with mat memories.

 

 

I thought the dagger is the reason why Mat had holes in his memories.

[jack of shadows]

yes,the taint probably damaged mat's short-term memories and created 

holes in his "memory bank" and those holes were filled by the finns.

[Finnssss22]

 

 

Edit- Another thing I thought of, iff the case is that all the memories are post terangreal. I'm certain he was recalling battles and speaking the old tongue pre trangreal visit. He had a huge Badass fight against galad and gawyn at the white tower, where he beat them 2v1 with a staff, specifically because of the old memories.

 

 

Absolutely correct.

Upon awakening in the WT after his healing he had what is commonly referred to as "The Aemon memory" leading Manetheren's last stand against the Trollocs.

Next we have the conversation between him, Rand and Mo after exiting the Doorway in Tear where Rand says how he needed a translator and could still barely understand. Mo explains that they spoke the Old Tongue.

Meanwhile, Mat needed no such translator and understood the Old Tongue so fluently that he didn't even realise he was speaking it.

[ashandarei_mat]

To take it from the start, yes Mat had the Old Tongue resurface and memories from Aemon before visiting Finnland. This has nothing to do from the memories given to him in Finnland but the old blood of Manetheren running strong in his blood, and the strong indication that Mat is a reincarnation from Aemon himself - therefore his Manetheren battlecries as well.

After visiting Finnland he was provided these memories of other men who had visited/been trapped in Finnland as that was what the Eelfinn had at their disposal after having to obey Mat's involuntary request.

 

To summarize, his battle knowledge of tactics in war was given from the memories given by the Eelfinn, whilst his ability to speak the Old Tongue was from his strong connection with his reincarnation (Aemon).

[Finnssss22]

And don't forget that the Finns called Mat by very specific names, "Trickster", "Gambler" and "Son of Battles".

I don't know how that reads in some peoples books but in my book that has me inferring about his soul past just this incarnation of it.