"Sure enough, before they had decided what to do, a great army of the Vanir came out of the clear sky and began tearing down the walls of Asgard.
"Odin advanced against them and hurled his spear at the leader."
-Roger Lancelyn Green, The Saga Of Asgard (Harmondsworth, 1960), Chapter 2, p. 38.
"[Odin] led the Aesir out to meet [the Vanir]. When they drew nigh, he cast his spear over their host...
"Helped by their black arts, the Vanir at first kept the field in most battles. They thrust up to the very walls of Asgard and broke them down."
-Poul Anderson, War Of The Gods (New York, 1999), I, p. 11.
We recognize incidents arranged in different narrative orders. In Lancelyn Green's account, hostilities begin and end with the Vanir attacking the walls and Odin hurling his spear. Niord catches the spear and returns it with a bow. Then they negotiate and make peace. By contrast, in Anderson's account there are many battles. The Aesir drive back the Vanir from the walls but then the war continues for many years. Odin must seek wisdom before he learns how to make peace. In Lancelyn Green's account, he had already sought wisdom before the Vanir appeared and had even been advised to make peace with them before he knew that they existed.
Authors creatively adapt their sources.
8 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Of course writers can imaginatively rework what they find in the sources they use for their novels. But I tend to be something of a literal minded purist inclined to hew closely to what find in original sources. And I think that is a POV which Anderson tended to agree with, most times, in his own stories.
Ad astra! Sean
Note that throwing a spear -over- an enemy host had a special meaning to the pagan Norse -- it was a religious dedication, meaning that the entire force would be killed, as a sacrifice to Odin.
This was actually done occasionally.
That explains why this detail is given such prominence. I found a painting of it on the Internet.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Iow, if a pagan Scandinavian chieftain or king threw his spear over a host meant no quarter was to be given, it was a battle to the last man, and if he won and any of his enemies survived, they were sacrificed to Odin.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: exactly.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Such grimly grisly customs makes me remember there were REASONS why the Scandinavians became Christians!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: in point of fact, the -kings- became Christians, and forced everyone else to follow suit. It was top-down.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
You are right, I forgot about that! I think Denmark was a partial exception, however, if we go by what Anderson wrote in MOTHER OF KINGS. By the time King Harald Bluetooth officially made Denmark a Christian nation, after about 960, it was already a partially Christian country.
Ad astra! Sean
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