The Dark Side of the Home

S01 — Session 14

1625, Earth Season

Season, Week, Day

Earth Season, Movement Week, Godday until
Storm Season, Movement Week, Godday

Dramatis Personae

Events

As before, the log will be recounted with extracts from Berra JarangsdottiHumaktisaga, from The Sonnets to Mellia, Sweetest of Healers, White Lady of Esrolia, The Lay of Serala, Lance of the Cold Sun , The Sonnets to Vestra, Grey Lady of Esrolia, The Death of Rajar, and NalaTiwrSaga. Also included are some extracts from ‘The Accounts of the travels of Irillo Goldentongue‘.


[Welcome back to the next lecture in this series, where we touch on the concept of literary time- when the poet wants to fast forward a touch, because nothing is happening. This is to be expected in an agrarian society in the late Bronze Age, when most of the time must have been taken up with agricultural activity, with little time for the stirring heroics which are documented in this myth cycle. This of course is where archaeology can help us, and I draw attention to the works of Garin in particular to help fill in the blanks. Nevertheless, getting back to the ‘heroics’, when last we saw our heroes, it was travelling back from Alda-Chur towards Boldhome. The Sonnets to Vestra pick up at this point.]

And as the heroes still forth were riding
Their journey end from them still was hiding
A young scribe came riding pell-mell after
Pursued by an Airy spirit’s laughter

He bore forth the scrolls by Sage1 There is no evidence Vestra was a Grey Sage at this stage. Like other similar references, it is a deliberate forshadowing by the author of the Sonnets. then written
By Weird wyrd, fell fate the words were bitten

They twisted words and secret cultic sign
To lack all meaning true, and mystic rhyme
They blew the words as if t’were fallen green
The heroes puzzled over what it mean.

[This literary diversion does not delay our heroes long, however, and they proceed on to Boldhome. The nature of their arrival there probably sits somewhere between the extremes portrayed in The Death of Rajar, and the Lay of Serala, as excerpted below.]

Rajar and his folk
Saw Boldhome and met the Prince
They then spoke a lot.2This is not the Spurious Rajar of academic fame, but is lampooned there:

When Storm Bull Talk Lots
Have Big Wurd To Say Am They
Sesquipedalic?

The streets were decked with purple and gold
The people rejoicing, in spite of the cold
Serala led her knights in a demonstration of skill
Which cavalcaded their way up the high Royal Hill.

Where Kallyr the prince, with her minions arrayed
Looked on with admiration, at what she surveyed
And the Lance of the God came and knelt to the throne
(though there were plenty who thought she had one of her own)

“See I bring”, the Knight said, to her great Chieftain High
“Words of wisdom which were found twixt the Air and the Sky!
That Great Elmal would lay in the gift of the Throne,
So I bid you accept this, with the wisdom I own

Do not stray from the path that the Gods have ordained!
Do not cause strife or sorrow, or make others pained.
Let the Prince be a leader, to all Sartar’s thanes
To her Carls, and her Cottars, to all Orlanth Reigns

To all that the Earth calls, or the Sun warms and feed
To grant to all that which they wish, and they need
But last of all glory to her who is head
For her gift it is last, till she lays down as dead.”

But the Prince did not listen, with pride in her heart
Though she spoke brisk and simple, full of faith in her art.
“Tennebris, let us linger, and set out to Quest.
As we did when we rescued the Star of the West!”

Tennebris was most woeful, for he felt omens keen
But he could not impress this to th’ imperious Queen.
So he wept silent tears, and he spoke vanished words3Naturally, we all know the outcome, which we shall not be mention here.
Which were lost as the winter destroys little birds

But Lord Yelm heard the words (as he hears all his flock)
And he felt naught but sorrow, at those words which did mock
For he knew what was ‘fore them, these men of the Bold
As the Quest which Orlanth and his kinsmen performed, as of old!

Then the Prince bade them feast, with all, high and low
While the Darktime bestrode them, with winter and snow.
So they drank of the wine, and the mead and the beer
And ate of the beef, and the pork, and the deer

Of the fine roasted hind, of the Llama so tart
Of the Bolo4The lizard would have been served with its hollowed body filled with a mix of ryb bread re-cooked in spices, vinegar and honey, and its own scales presented to scoop out the prepared mix as an accompaniment to the otherwise stringent and uninteresting flesh., and horse, and the ox and the hart
And the produce from ‘Srolia, brought in by boat
Whilst they heard many lays from both bard, seer and pote.

[As so often, Berra JarangsdottirHumaktisaga gives a different cast once more.]

Daggerdaughter dared
Deploy dearbought Doom
Thrilled the Thane-Mistress
Tale tensed Tennebris

Resting revolved the Ravenfeeder
Rallying restless, resolved
Exercise eternal elated
Unanimous exemplars exacted5It appears that Berra was in good enough standing to join the temple here by unanimous vote, the only way of entering. Eril, the High Sword, would have polled his followers for reasons why Berra should not have been allowed to join, and failing that, she would be admitted as a person of honour. She was, after all, Humakti. Garin has (Altn 20.4) it that this refers to a later decision about, literally, exercise (see line previous). The ancient grammar is not up to, if you will allow the jest in a Humakti vein, Separating these two ideas. We must wait on other kennings for context.

Berra bold began
Boldhome’s barriers beating
Rising runnings midst ravens6This almost certainly does refer to exercise, and at this point Berra must have been a member of the temple in good standing, to be allowed to make the fabled Raven Run, chasing the clouds in storm season. This was the ancient prerogative of the Humakti of Boldhome – running to meet the North Wind, to run from it, was considered a ritual form of severing from the Storm Tribe, and Humakti making the effort from the bottom of the Ramp were a sight well known in this era. Depending on the mood of the people and laws of the times, they might or might not have right of way. It is said (Amb. 316) that some would run from the lower town in an effort to be exhausted by the time they reached the ramp, to further dedicate themselves to the climb.
Reaches and ramparts revealing!

[NalaTiwrsaga should have the last word, along with the T voice.]

Hills encircling
Warmth and food are good but are
Walls entrapping me

{“THE SMELLS! FOR 2 SEASONS?!?!?”}

What Really Happened

Notable Moments and Quotes

Related Logs

  • 1
    There is no evidence Vestra was a Grey Sage at this stage. Like other similar references, it is a deliberate forshadowing by the author of the Sonnets.
  • 2
    This is not the Spurious Rajar of academic fame, but is lampooned there:

    When Storm Bull Talk Lots
    Have Big Wurd To Say Am They
    Sesquipedalic?
  • 3
    Naturally, we all know the outcome, which we shall not be mention here.
  • 4
    The lizard would have been served with its hollowed body filled with a mix of ryb bread re-cooked in spices, vinegar and honey, and its own scales presented to scoop out the prepared mix as an accompaniment to the otherwise stringent and uninteresting flesh.
  • 5
    It appears that Berra was in good enough standing to join the temple here by unanimous vote, the only way of entering. Eril, the High Sword, would have polled his followers for reasons why Berra should not have been allowed to join, and failing that, she would be admitted as a person of honour. She was, after all, Humakti. Garin has (Altn 20.4) it that this refers to a later decision about, literally, exercise (see line previous). The ancient grammar is not up to, if you will allow the jest in a Humakti vein, Separating these two ideas. We must wait on other kennings for context.
  • 6
    This almost certainly does refer to exercise, and at this point Berra must have been a member of the temple in good standing, to be allowed to make the fabled Raven Run, chasing the clouds in storm season. This was the ancient prerogative of the Humakti of Boldhome – running to meet the North Wind, to run from it, was considered a ritual form of severing from the Storm Tribe, and Humakti making the effort from the bottom of the Ramp were a sight well known in this era. Depending on the mood of the people and laws of the times, they might or might not have right of way. It is said (Amb. 316) that some would run from the lower town in an effort to be exhausted by the time they reached the ramp, to further dedicate themselves to the climb.