I have found another Thor-derived name. There is an Aaslaug Thorkelsson. This means that there is or has been a Thorkel. So he belongs on the list. Aaslaug comes into the story because King Haakon finally gets his act together to ask for the hand of Aaslaug's daughter. And indeed what is a king without an heir?
Haakon takes good advice from Sigurd Jarl and makes laws that are generally accepted because they are wise:
each district along the river to maintain levy ships of specified size and numbers;
each hill top to have a stack of firewood for a beacon so that war-beckonings can cross Norway in a week or less;
chiefs to announce and commence these works at the next Things.
Under a king who marries, makes good laws and respects the gods, Norway is peaceful. Meanwhile, the seasons continue to turn. Book Four, Chapter XXI, signals a seasonal change with a single sentence although we know that sometimes it can take a paragraph:
"The days had shortened and bleakened, tumbling down toward winter." (Mother Of Kings, p. 359)
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I think it would be more accurate to say King Haakon respected those of his subjects who were pagans, not that he respected their GODS. Since both Haakon and I are Catholics, we believe no other gods exist or can exist. Therefore, we cannot respect non existent beings like Odin, Baal, Jupiter, Amaterasu, etc.
Sean
Sean,
Of course. My "...respects the gods..."expresses how Haakon's subjects perceived him. To them, if a god was worshiped, then that god existed.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
True. Perhaps I was being too subtle and analytical. After all, we are talking about people of more than 1000 years ago who were only just BEGINNING to be aware of such things as theological and philosophical reasoning. People of those days would have to go to the more ancient centers of Christianity, such as "Romaborg," for that.
I forgot to mention that your remarks about "Thorkel" and other names incorporating "Thor" shows us that pagan god was more popular in Norway than Odin. I can't recall ever seeing any names with "Odin" in them. Seeing how grim and "eery" Odin was in the legends, that is no surprise.
Another point, I agree it was high time King Haakon married. Alas, he left no son to succeed him when he died. I'm sure that if he had, the Norwegians would have accepted only his son as king, rather than any of the sons of Eirik Blood-ax.
Sean
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