The War In Jotunheim

In The Broken Sword (London, 1977), Poul Anderson summarizes, we read quickly and soon forget. Before Mananaan Mac Lir and Skafloc Elven-Fosterling can escape from Jotunheim with the reforged sword, they:

struggle against the elements;

devise spells to counteract giant magic, to loose storms and to bring mountainsides down on Jotun garths;

kill individual giants;

narrowly evade pursuit;

forage inland;

burn down a great steading, stealing its horses and other treasures;

receive hospitality from lonely crofters who did not ask whence they have come;

 

meet well disposed, human-sized women; 

 

encounter a dragon with a golden hoard, a burning mountain, a bottomless chasm, a giantesses' quern, an everlasting battle and a witch in Iron Wood;

 

fish in a river from hell;

hear the aurora sing.

We are told that, although each of these tales "...would make a saga in itself...they must be left among the annals of Faerie." (p. 166) They are mentioned so briefly that most readers will soon forget them so I have tried to preserve their memory here.