A Cobbled Quadrangle

The Winter Of The World, I.

There is no doubt that Poul Anderson enjoyed writing about certain kinds of societies and also communicated his enthusiasm about them. Donya's wintergarth at Owlhaunt sounds familiar:

sod-roofed timber buildings sheltered by birches, around a cobbled quadrangle;

shed;

smokehouse;

workshop;

stable (horses);

kennel (hounds);

mews (hawks);

clerestory above the underground dwelling;

hounds roaring forth;

descent by ladder to a vestry;

wood floors;

hides;

fabrics;

carved, painted, movable interior partitions;

weapons and murals on walls;

hundreds of shelved books;

a tiled stove;

oil lamps;

fruits and flower sachets hanging from rafters;

a girl singing with a stringed instrument;

kith seated on shelves or cushions.

Not everything is the same, of course, but we remember the Vymezal estate on Dennitza (see In The Kazan) and the Hedin Freehold on Aeneas.