Holger enters a universe that accepts him as a knight and that draws him into that role even though he retains the memories and inquiring mind of a twentieth century engineer:
he dons armor that he finds because he has nothing else to wear;
he mounts and rides a strangely friendly horse because he has no other transport;
old Mother Gerd offers hospitality to a fine young knight instead of asking whether he is looking for a reenactment festival;
they converse in an archaic French with many Germanic words that was previously unknown to him...
At this stage, he must ask questions and his first theory is time travel which, since I am pressed for time here, will require a further post.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I clearly remember Holger's bewilderment! And I don't think I would have reacted as well as he does.
Ad astra! Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I should have remarked that the "reenactment festival" you mentioned reminded me of the Society for Creative Anachronism, of which Anderson was a founding member. Did you ever go to any SCA events? I've thought of doing myself a time or two.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I have never knowingly been anywhere near an SCA event.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Neither have I. But I have sometimes thought it might be interesting to visit one.
Ad astra! Sean
Modern French is derived from the language of the Paris Basin and middle Loire Valley; it's a northern dialect, but the southernmost northern dialect, if you take my meaning.
Thus it has about 700-900 Germanic loan-words derived from "Frankish", that is the west Low German dialect the Franks spoke, and which continued in use in northern France for several centuries after Clovis took over Gaul -- there was a long period of bilingualism before the Vulgar Latin vernacular prevailed among the descendants of the Frankish settlers. The NW Rhenish dialects and Flemish are the descendants of the same language.
So what Holger is talking is a medieval French dialect from a more northerly and easterly location than Paris and the Loire -- more Frankish influence.
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