Holger gives his word and the Middle World threatens the world. The wold, after some contradictions, becomes a destination and a place of refuge.
"'...there's another way onto the wold, where they uns will ne'er follow.'"
-CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE, p. 138.
"Southward, close at hand, the wold was bounded by the cliff brink, beyond which he saw nothing save darkness, as if he stood at the edge of creation."
-CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE, p. 147.
"Wolves howled, miles away on the wold." (p. 148)
"He rode out on the wold, and it was as if dawn rode with him."
-CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR, p. 154.
This post might gather a few more quotes about the wold but I am about to sign off for this evening.
The other way to the wold was through the troll's nest. The troll seems unkillable but Holger notices that a burn does not heal so:
"The knowledge burst open in Holger. 'Fire!' he roared. 'Light a fire! Burn the beast!'"
-CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO, p. 145.
This is Holger's second moment of realization.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
At first I wondered if "wold" was too English a word, with a too restricted meaning to be satisfactorily used in THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS. However, the later meaning it gained, "open high ground," make it plausibly applicable to THATL.
And until Holger had that moment of realization the troll was more than holding its own against him and his friends. The brute might even have eaten them all!
Ad astra! Sean
It's a common Germanic word, with cognates in German, Dutch, Frision, Swedish, etc,: the meaning is always "wild country", usually with "upland woods" or "high pasture" associations.
Poul liked using archaic and Old English/Germanic terms, and it certainly fits THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS, with its archaic tinge and Northern European sort-of setting. St. Grimmonds-on-the-Wold has a northern English feeling to it -- if I hadn't read it in this book, I'd assume it was in Yorkshire, or somewhere in the Border country.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Your comments does remove any further hesitations I might have had about the use of "wold" in THATL. That, or an analogous Germanic word, would reasonably be expected to be found in an Old French with a strong Germanic overlay.
Ad astra! Sean
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