"'I proceeded cautiously, for the most part indirectly. Different identities on different occasions. The few times he glimpsed me, he recognized nothing.'"
-Poul Anderson, "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 333-465 AT 43, p. 461.
It is as if Alawin's god is still with him. Later, Alawin is baptized:
"'That by itself was reason for letting the Wanderer fade away, you understand. How could a Christian stay close to a heathen god?'" (ibid.)
After that, Carl relates the history of the Goths. He has become emotionally distanced from individuals. Alawin dies at a ripe old age in a Visigothic kingdom in southern Gaul and some of his descendants lead the founding of the Spanish nation.
"'So you can see how I can let that family go from me, and get on with my work.'" (ibid.)
History passes. The work of the Time Patrol continues.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I would have liked to have known who were some of those descendants of Carl Farness who became prominent in Spanish history. Of course, any knowledge of Carl would have long, long, long since fade away by the time of the union of Castile and Aragon in the 1470's.
Sean
Actually, several European dynasties -- including the Windsors -- technically claim descent from Odin/Wotan.
Mr Stirling,
And also from Priam and Aeneas, I think.
Paul.
Poul once noted that a claim to divine ancestry 'way back could also be construed as: "And who -his- father was, God only knows."
Dear Mr. Stirling and Paul,
Mr. Stirling: yes, ultimately, the British royal family descended from Egbert of Wessex (died AD 839). But his claim to be descended from the earlier Wessex kings seems to me unclear and cloudy, merely an attempt to legitimize his rule.
Paul: or there's the Bagratids of Georgia, in the Caucasus, the former ruling house of that country till the Russian annexation of 1801/1810. They descended in turn from the Bagratids of Armenia. The Bagratids claim to be descended from converted Jews who were descended from King David who settled in Armenia around AD 530. For all I know, the Bagratids might indeed be Davidic descendants!
Sean
Post a Comment