Thus far, rereading selected passages of Poul Anderson's The Day Of Their Return, I have not referred to the hero of the novel, Ivar Frederiksen, because there are so many other (more interesting?) characters.
Ivar first appears on the second page of the text:
"Ivar Frederiksen shivered." (2, p. 76)
Although he is a new, and one-off, character, we have already met another member of his family. When Kathryn McCormac informed Dominic Flandry about the planet Dido, she said:
"'The base, Port Frederiksen'-a brief white smile-'one of my ancestors founded it-'s on the western end of Barca, as we've named the biggest continent.'"
-Poul Anderson, The Rebel Worlds IN Anderson, Young Flandry (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 367-520 AT CHAPTER SEVEN, p. 436.
Thus, Frederiksen was Kathryn's maiden name and Ivar is her nephew. Kathryn's husband, Hugh McCormac, was Firstman of Ilion. Kathryn's brother, Edward Frederiksen, has succeeded to the Firstmanship. Hugh McCormac rebelled against Terra. Now Ivar does also.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I have been puzzled, however, on just how the Frederiksens could have succeeded to the Firstmanship of Ilion. Even granting that Hugh McCormac and his sons fled the Empire, I would have thought the closest cadet branch in the agnate male line of the McCormac family would have inherited the Firstmanship. Here I was thinking of how that is the general rule of succession for British peerages. Unless a rule similar to the Spanish custom was followed, in which the succession passed to the closest heir by blood, whether or not in the male or female lines. In that case I think it's very likely both Kathryn and her brother Edward had McCormac ancestors.
Btw, that continent of Barca on Dido was named after the family of Hannibal BARCA. Plainly, the Virgilian system was settled by Classicists who took many place names from Roman history and the AENEID of Viril.
Ad astra and Merry Christmas! Sean
Sean,
Desai reflects that Edward Frederiksen's "...own wife is a cousin of McCormac. (Curse the way those high families intermarry!...)" (3, p. 98).
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I remember that amusing bit as well! And it strengthens my belief that something like the Spanish rule for determining the succession to aristocratic titles on Aeneas was followed.
Ad astra and Merry Christmas! Sean
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