Gutherius encounters an old woman whom he thinks:
"...must have been Nehalennia herself." (p. 637)
- another incarnation story. Through her intervention, as he believes, Gutherius is richly rewarded when he helps shipwrecked seafarers. Because Nehalennia is goddess of ships and trade, Gutherius invests in a ship that trades with Britain. The remainder of this chapter expresses devotion to Nehalennia just as Chapter IV expresses devotion to Mary:
fair weather and a following wind always favour Gutherius' ship;
his goods sell well;
he becomes rich;
he builds an altar to Nehalennia and offers generously after every voyage;
he always bows to the evening and morning stars.
"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (p. 628)
In the following chapter, Janne Floris tells Manse Everard how she had inspired Veleda to redirect the goddess towards peace. In this chapter, Poul Anderson writes as if he himself were a devotee of Nehalennia.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
But it was Gutherius I considered the devotee of Nehalennia.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Gutherius WAS the devotee. The concluding paragraph read AS IF its author were a devotee.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I do get that, I simply thought, the last time I read STAR OF THE SEA, that concluding paragraph best made sense as showing us what Gutherius believed.
Ad astra! Sean
It does.
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