Eodan is of the Cimbri, who were defeated by Marius and enslaved by the Romans, but later will become Odin, first king of the Asa, whose wise laws will raise the people of the North from forest dwellers to mighty nations able to throw off the Roman power while, in another part of Poul Anderson's fictional multiverse, Gratillonius, the Last King of Ys, will resist Roman withdrawal, then lead the building of the earliest form of feudalism. How will Eodan of the Cimbri become Odin of the Asa? Read on. (Another Anderson character, Manuel Argos, was a slave, then the first Emperor of Terra.)
Eodan remembers his homeland and "...a hawk wheeling in heaven..." (p. 9) This is becoming a recurrent image.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, the Founder of the Empire, Manuel Argos, was a slave before he began his rise to power. And "The Star Plunderer" has an alternate title which I like better and is more appropriate, "Collar of Iron." Manuel Argos joins Eodan as rising from slavery to becoming a legend.
Some fairly impressive rulers have risen from extremely humble origins. Such as the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who was the son or grandson of a manumitted slaved. Russell Kirk's story "The Last God's Dream" gives us a sympathetic look at Diocletian. And Poul Anderson agreed in a reply to a letter I wrote that he was an able and well meaning leader.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I forgot to add that flying raptors like hawks is a common motif in Anderson's works. And not just on either Earth or planets settled by humans. Merseia has a similar raptors called "fangryfs."
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Indeed. The fangryf is to be found by following the link from this post.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Which I did by clicking on the link for "hawk" in this blog piece of yours.
Ad astra! Sean
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