FLORIN, a small country situated between Sweden and Germany. Florin is ruled by a monarchy. The last known ruler was Prince Humperdinck, who took the post from his father King Lotharon. Humperdinck was fond of hunting, and to avoid leaving the castle grounds, constructed the Zoo of Death.

The Zoo was an underground dungeon located in the most remote corner of the castle grounds, consisting of five levels. Each level featured a particular type of creature to test certain abilities. The first level contained creatures of speed, such as wild dogs, cheetahs, and hummingbirds. The second level featured creatures of strength, like anacondas, rhinos, and crocodiles. The third level was poisonous animals, including spitting cobras, jumping spiders, and death bats. The fourth level contained the enemies of fear, such as the shrieking tarantula, the blood eagle, and the sucking squid. The fifth level was empty, in hopes of a creature as dangerous and powerful as the Prince himself.

The Castle is located in Florin City, the largest municipality in Florin. Florin City is also home to the Great Square and the Thieves Quarter. Outside the city, notable landmarks include the Cliffs of Insanity, which border the Florin Channel. Nearby the Fire Swamps straddle between Florin and GUILDER. Within the swamps can be found patches of snow sand, which is fine and powdery and kills via suffocation. The swamps are also home to Rodents of Unusual Size, carnivorous creatures as fast as wolfhounds, usually weighing about eighty pounds.

At the time of its five-hundreth anniversary, Florin was the home of the most beautiful woman in the world, Princess Buttercup of Hammersmith. Eventually Buttercup married Prince Humperdinck, who hoped to instigate a war with nearby Guilder by killing her and blaming the murder on foreign infiltrators. Buttercup escaped, with Humperdinck still in high pursuit.

(William Goldman, The Princess Bride, New York, 1973)

GUILDER, a country lying on the other side of the Channel of Guilder from FLORIN. Like Florin, Guilder is ruled by a monarchy and the two countries have a long history of aggression between them. Previous conflicts have included the Olive War, the Tuna Fish Discrepancy and the Roman Rift, which bankrupted both nations. The two countries banded together during the Discord of the Diamonds, where they both rose to solvency again by robbing nearby countries.

(William Goldman, The Princess Bride, New York, 1973)