Gratillonius was the last King of Ys;
Harald Hardrada was the Last Viking;
Emperor Maximilian was the Last of the Knights;
Prince Rupert was the Last Cavalier;
Dominic Flandry will be the Last Knight of Terra.
Founders and Firsts are rightly remembered; but also "Lasts," fighting rearguard actions, epitomizing passing periods.
"'For you and me, and all brave men, my brother,' said Wayne, in his strange chant, 'there is good wine poured in the inn at the end of the world.'"
-GK Chesterton, The Napoleon Of Notting Hill, 1904
-quoted in Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Worlds' End (New York, 1994), p. 1.
Good night or morning.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I could be picky and argue that Harald Hardrada was not quite the last Viking. His grandson Magnus III Barelegs persisted in going on Viking raids till he was kill in Ireland in 1103. Some Scandinavians had trouble accepting the Viking Age was past and it had become too costly and risky to persist in freelance looting and raiding.
Hmmm, Chesterton's THE NAPOLEON OF NOTTING HILL? Yet another book I should reread!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Of course about Hardrada but here I was merely quoting Anderson's title.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I realized that! (Smiles)
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment