"'...his Venerability, Albin Archcardinal Fil-John, Grand Duke of the Northern Provinces, graciously consents to see you,' the friar intoned."
-Poul Anderson, The Shield Of Time (New York, 1991), PART SIX, 1980alpha A. D., p. 291.
Denison had already wondered what kind of rank "archcardinal" was. In our timeline, the cardinals are the electoral college for the Papacy but there are no "archcardinals." Again we notice a church-state fusion. This (arch)cardinal is also a Duke and kings, if they still exist, are subordinate.
Denison's approach to Albin is sufficiently impressive. From his cell:
in a closed carriage to a palace on a hill;
sumptuous corridors;
a grand staircase;
a gilt bronze door showing Biblical scenes;
a high white room;
sunlight streaming through stained glass;
an Oriental carpet;
a man on a throne, robed in scarlet and gold;
a chair twenty feet from the throne;
a bellpull by Albin's right hand.
However, what led me back to this scene was something else. There are two disparaging references to the Prophet of Islam. First:
"'...black Mahound...'" (p. 289)
Secondly, Albin tells Denison that some "Avenging Jews," skilled craftsmen and engineers, quite possibly commanding black arts, escaped when Europe was cleansed on their kind and:
"'settled among the worshippers of Mahound...'" (p. 292)
This recalls Chesterton's Lepanto:
Mahound is in his paradise above the evening star,
-copied from here.
(Here is our evening star yet again although this time in neither a pagan nor a Christian context.)
Demons gather:
They gather and they wonder and give worship to Mahound.
-copied from (see above).
OK, Chesterton. The Prophet is not called "Mahound" and is not worshiped. However, I appreciate the fantasy narrative in which he summons to his Paradise:
Black Azrael and Ariel and Ammon on the wing.
Giants and the Genii,
Multiplex of wing and eye,
Whose strong obedience broke the sky
When Solomon was king.-copied from (see above).
5 comments:
The poem is referencing folk-concepts of Islam common in late-medieval and early-modern Europe. If you think that's odd, try the "Chanson de Roland", whose author apparently thought Muslims worshipped idols, like Caananites in the Old Testament. Most common Muslim concepts of Christianity were/are made up of a similar series of well-worn tropes.
So Chesterton was a bit more subtle than I thought.
Kaor, Paul!
I could have sworn I saw that bit about demons being "Multiplex of wing and eye, Whose strong obedience broke the sky When Solomon was king" in OPERATION CHAOS. It had me wondering if Anderson had been alluding to LEPANTO. Alas, I did not find when I searched thru Chapter VI of OPERATION CHAOS, where we see the afreet.
Sean
Kaor, Sean!
I’m behind in the blog; I think you’ll find a quote from Chesterton’s “Lepanto” in the short story “Pact,” rather than in OPERATION CHAOS.
Best Regards,
Nicholas
Kaor, Nicholas!
Many thanks! I'll soon reread "Pact." I'm almost sure I saw something like that bit quoted by Paul somewhere in one of Anderson's stories.
Regard! Sean
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