Monday 27 June 2016

Erlkings And Grendel Monsters

Poul Anderson, The Broken Sword (London, 1977).

Imric's lord is the Erlking. The Wiki article informs us that this title is derived from "Elf-king." Alan Moore applies the title to the plant elementals in his Swamp Thing.

Anderson's Erlking's speech is "...like windsong..." (p. 34) All these beings sound as if they are nature regarded in a particular way.

Not only can Skafloc see the sunken city of Ys, he also fights and kills:

"Monsters of the blood of Grendel..." (p. 36)

Ys was flooded in Poul and Karen Anderson's The King Of Ys. Beowulf killed Grendel in Beowulf and in Hrolf Kraki's Saga. The latter was retold by Poul Anderson. Kraken and sea maidens are mentioned here as in other works by Anderson. Thus, we continue to have maximum continuity.See here.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

"Erlking" was derived from "Elf-king"? I had hitherto thought it meant "EARL-king." (Smiles)

Sean