"Rain chuckled at the eaves of the shieling."
-Poul and Karen Anderson, The Dog And The Wolf, Chapter XXII, section 5, p. 447.
Armoricans kindle needfire between a garlanded menhir and a dolmen and plight their faith:
under the moon;
with mistltoe;
with drawn swords;
with their own blood;
by Lug, Christ and the Triple Mother.
Civilized men must accept this ceremony. Gratillonius is chosen as duke or war leader and appoints Salomon as his deputy and successor, handing him the newly forged sword of Armorica. Men shout:
"'Salaun! Salaun! Salaun!'" (section 6, p. 450)
This is the break with Rome. Salaun was king from 421 to 435. (p. 528) The myth of Ys connects with the history of Europe.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I've tried to find out more about "King Salaun" or Salomon, but with no luck. There was a short lived "Kingdom of Brittany" during the Carolingian era, in the chaos following the death of Louis the Pious and the steadily worsening raids and invasions from Scandinavia. And there was a King Salomon at that time. But the 800's and 900's was a long time after THE KING OF YS!
I have to conclude King Salaun was either thought a fiction by historians or that his rule was so brief and inconsequential that it left almost no mark in history.
Sean
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