Blog Archive
- ► 2010 (345)
- ► 2009 (108)
Site Nav
Top Books by E.S. Wynn:
Top E-Shorts by E.S. Wynn
My Websites:
Now listed in Web Fiction Guide (online novels, reviews)
Help keep independent fiction alive! Donate to Thunderune Publishing today!
3 comments:
Great interviews. I will utilize this service when I finish my novel.
Dear ES Wynn,
Thought you'd like to know that I praise Smashed Cat in my latest blog review.
All my best,
Michael A. Chaney
Associate Professor
Dartmouth College
Vice Chair of the English Department
Director, Illustration, Comics, and Animation Conference
www.michaelalexanderchaney.com
Hello! I recently read your book, Sky Wolves, while doing research for a book of my own I am writing on old Germanic holidays and seasonal observances. I really enjoyed the read, and especially appreciated the even-handed approach towards varied sources and being open to contemporary interpretations of the stars, while cautioning against asserting what was historically true without evidence.
Recently, I was reading a passage from the Sigdrifumál in Thorstein Mayfield’s translation of the Poetic Edda. In his footnotes for stanzas 14-18, he suggests a hypothesis about the list being a series of stars or asterisms.
(14) On a mountain he stood with Brimir’s sword,
he had a helmet upon his head;
then Mimir’s head spoke wisely the first words
and spoke true staves.
(15) He said to rist them upon the shield
that stands before the shining god, *
upon Early-Waker’s ear and All-Swift’s hoof,
on the wheel that turns beneath the chariot of Hrungnir’s Bane,
on Sleipnir’s hoof and the sled straps.**
(16) On the bear’s paw and on Bragi’s tongue,
on the wolf’s claw, and the eagle’s beak,
on the bloody wings and on the bridge’s fishtail,
on the loosener’s palm and the healer’s footprint.***
(17) On glass and on gold and on men’s luck,
in wine and new beer and the mind’s seat,
on Gungnir’s point and Grani’s breast,
on the Norn’s nail and on owl’s beak.****
(18) All were shaved off that were risted on,
mixed with the holy mead and sent on wide ways;
some are among the Æsir, and some are among elves,
some among the wise Vanir, and human men have some.
*The shield is almost certainly the night sky (cf. Grímnismál, 39), which would seem to indicate that the list rolled out over the next several stanzas could be made up of constellations. This would explain how all are shaved off and sent on wide ways in st. 18, for when the sun rises, the stars disappear.
**”Arvakr” - “Early-Waker” and “Alsvinr” - “All-Swift” pull the chariot of the sun (Grímnismál, 38). Hrungnir’s Bane is Thor (Harbarðsljóð, 14-15; PE SSkap XVII, p. 115-118). The sled mentioned here may be the same one referred to in Grímnismál, 49.
***”Bruar sporði” - “bridge’s fishtail” is an idiom for bridgehead (cf. Grímnismál, 21 n. 36), and in this case, might refer to the Milky Way as a manifestation of the Bifrost Bridge. “Lausna lófa” - “loosener’s palm” may refer to the ritual for helping in childbirth in st. 9 or perhaps the loosening of fetters as described in Hávamál, 145 and Gróagaldr, 10. Bare feet and foot prints were widely used symbols of fertility and the power of Vanic gods (Dumezil, p.86).
****The Norn’s nail likely refers to the North Star.
These remarks also piqued my interest, and I was curious if you'd come across these claims before, or what validity there may be in Mayfield's theory.
Post a Comment
Thoughts?