-Poul Anderson, Hrolf Kraki's Saga (New York, 1973), p. xviii.
"'Afterward came renewed conflicts, battles migrations - the Volkerwanderung was under way.'"
-Poul Anderson, "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 333-465 AT 43, p. 462.
The first quotation is from the Foreword to a heroic fantasy which is a retelling of a saga whereas the second is from an sf story in the sub-genre of historical time travel fiction. Thus, in two very different literary modes, Anderson addresses the Volkerwanderung. His phrase, "...as wild a time as the world has ever seen...," makes the period sound interesting to read about but not to live in. There is an interstellar Volkerwanderung in Anderson's future history series, the Technic History.
9 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, the Volkerwanderung would be interesting to READ about, either in real historical narratives* or in fictions, but to live in! That foreword Anderson wrote for HROLF KRAKI'S SAGA characterized that period as showing us slaughter, rape, slavery, obscene/bloody heathen rites as everyday occurrences.
And the Long Night after the fall of the Terran Empire in Anderson's Technic series would be no better for many, many planets, as we see being discussed at the beginning of "A Tragedy of Errors."
AD astra! Sean
*One example being St. Gregory of ToUrs' HISTORY OF THE FRANKS, with me having Lewis Thorpe's Penguin Books translation. Giving us a good depiction of how the Volkerwanderung affected the former Roman provinces in Gaul.
Another would be St. Bede the Venerable's HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH CHURCH AND PEOPLE (which I also have in a Penguin Books translation). Altho Bede wrote during a time when things had temporarily settled down somewhat in what was once Roman Britannia.
Sean,
In the Technic History, I also thought of the barbarian movements described in "Tiger by the Tail."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I remembered those reflections of Flandry as well! But was too lazy to quote them.
I want to look for Stirling's new BLACK CHAMBER book this weekend. I think it was officially pub. yesterday.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
This time I did not receive an Advance Reading Copy although I was involved at the proofreading stage.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That was very nice of Stirling, that he asked you to help proof his latest book. Did you find any errors or possible errors?
I still remember over how I obsessed over "head/heads" in my "How Many Heads Do Ymirites Have>?" article!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Of course I pointed out a few changes that could be made.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I'm sure Stirling took your suggestions seriously! But I was thinking more of wondering if you found typos similar to the "scrowled" I found in some editions of WE CLAIM THESE STARS.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
None like that.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
But I'm sure there were some obvious typos!
Ad astra! Sean
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