Tuesday 12 July 2016

Panorama

In the past:

Eodan and Tjorr were mythologized as Odin and Thor;

Carl Farness also contributed to the myth of Odin/Hermes/Mercury;

Marius defeated barbarian invaders, including Eodan, and was remembered by Gratillonius, the last King of Ys;

Gratillonius' contemporary, Patricius, was later invoked as St Patrick and remembered by displaced gods who helped Skafloc Elven Fosterling;

Skafloc saw the drowned tower of Ys.

In the future:

Marius is remembered in more than one future;

Nicholas van Rijn and others invoke saints;

van Rijn names a spaceship "Mercury";

van Rijn's protege, David Falkayn, is remembered as the Founder of the colony on Avalon;

Falkayn's crew member, Adzel, is remembered as the Wayfarer and has a Square named after him;

a star is named "Patricius";

Dominic Flandry and many others remember Manuel Argos as the Founder of the Terran Empire;

Flandry tells stories of van Rijn;

Flandry's fiancee, Kossara, is canonized;

the Kirkasanters do not remember Hugh McCormac but we know that, banished by Flandry, he led their ancestors into exile.

This is a magnificent panorama of prominent individuals in myth and history, past, future and parallel.

8 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree in thinking it's possible that Odin and Thor had their origins in human warriors and kings.

And the good thief, St. Dismas, was Nicholas vam Rijn's favorite saint.

If my recollection is right, Adzel Square was set in the University district of the city of Nova Roma (another evocative name) on the planet Aeneas in THE DAY OF THEIR RETURN.

Other Emperors besides Manuel Argos were remembered as well. Some with approbation, others disapprovingly: Manuel the Wise, Olaf the Clown, Isamu the Great, the well loved Pedro II, the well meaning Georgios, Josip III (VERY disapprovingly), etc.

While I agree we see mention on Unan Besar of legends about "Polesotechnarch" van Rijn, we don't actually see Dominic Flandry relating stories about him there.

Magnificent Panorama? I agree!

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
Where is Olaf the Clown mentioned? I was trying to list characters who appear or are mentioned in a story, then remembered in a later one. On Unan Besar, Flandry poses as a story teller and does tell a story about van Rijn.
Paul.

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Paul!

Not quite, IIRC. Flandry enjoyed success as a storyteller because he told stories new to his listeners, instead of old standards about, for example, Polesotechnarch van Rijn.

On the other hand, I don't recall any mention of Olaf the Clown, either.

Best Regards,
Nicholas D. Rosen

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul and Nicholas!

Paul: you asked where mention of Olaf the Clown is to be found. It's in Chapter V of A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS, from a discussion Bodin Miyatovich, Gospodar of Dennitza and Governor of the Taurian Sector had with his niece Kossara Vymezal: "Does Molitor imagine we'll never get another Olaf or Josip on the throne?"..."A clown or a cancer.." Plainly, Emperor Olaf was not one of the good Emperors! Olaf was mentioned first, so I assumed "clown", first of these two pejorative words, was meant for him. While Josip was the "cancer."

Nicholas: exactly! We see Flandry, while posing as a story teller, telling tales NEW to residents of Unan Besar. Stories about "Pierre the Fortunate," IIRC.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Hi folks,
"IIRC"? I don't remember "Pierre the Fortunate" but I will look it up.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I was trying to be careful, allowing for mistakes caused by faulty memories.

And you know now where mention of Olaf the Clown is to be found! I thought of him as analogous to the antics of Gaius Caligula, to use a Roman analog.

Sean

Jim Baerg said...

So I wonder if Olaf put a horse on the Policy Board in the hope that a member who always voted neigh would help give the Terran Empire stable government.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Jim!

An amusing thought, one I never thought of before! Yes, I can imagine Emperor Olaf indulging in foolish, even dangerous pranks of that sort. I think Caligula came to his violent end at least partly because his antics angered and offended too many powerful Romans. Something similar may have happened to Olaf.

Ad astra! Sean