Gutherius And Nehalennia

"Star of the Sea," III.

When the light fails, the white stag that Gutherius has chased vanishes and:

"Wind piped among the trees." (pp. 625-626)

The following day, as he blunders through a lifeless part of the forest:

"...there was only the wind soughing in the crowns and tearing dead leaves loose." (p. 626)

The following night, during a great storm, trees groan and toss as the wind tears branches loose and hurtles them. 

The old woman who was Nehalennia had predicted woe, then reward.

The following morning, Gutherius' reward begins. The weather is:

"...calm and sunny." (ibid.)

The hound of Nehalennia leads him to a beach where he helps a shipwrecked crew so that later he is rewarded with a fair share of the cargo. Thus, he invests in a ship that trades with Britain:

"Ever did she enjoy fair weather and a following wind..." (p. 628)

Gutherius raises an altar, makes generous offerings and always bows to the evening and morning stars.

We have quoted the closing paragraph before but it bears repetition:

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (ibid.)

Amen. 

Well-Being And Peace

"Star of the Sea."

Veleda negotiates peace. That sounds directly relevant to us now but, I think, only superficially. We have the language of peace.

Meditation and sunlight inspire me to think that we can share this Earth and contemplate its beauty, even that that is what we are here to do - except that I do not believe that anyone has put us here for any purpose. The one being has developed in such a way that it has become conscious of itself through us. What happens next is our responsibility, not anyone else's.

We can contemplate natural beauty either directly or through the shared world-views of those who in the past have personified aspects of nature:

"...whenever he saw the evening star or the morning star shine forth, he bowed low, for they too are Nehalennia's.

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (III, p. 628)

We imagine Nehalennia and it is we that are responsible for well-being and peace.

Morning And Evening Stars

More from "Star of the Sea":

"Upon [Naerdha's] brow a star burned white as the fire's heart." (II, p. 557)

"In the end [Naerdha] found [Wotan's] spear floating beneath the evening star." (II, pp. 560-561)

Poul Anderson imaginatively recreates earlier stages of Northern European mythology and the goddess's name changes appropriately.

The following passage brings together the morning and evening stars and is quoted at greater length because of its beauty:

"Mindful of thanks he owed, [Gutherius] raised an altar to Nehalennia, where after each voyage he made generous offering; and whenever he saw the evening star or the morning star shine forth, he bowed low, for they too are Nehalennia's.

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (III, p. 628)

And this passage shows why some of us appreciate an imaginative polytheism.

Gutherius And Nehalennia

"Star of the Sea," III.

Gutherius encounters an old woman whom he thinks:

"...must have been Nehalennia herself." (p. 637)

- another incarnation story. Through her intervention, as he believes, Gutherius is richly rewarded when he helps shipwrecked seafarers. Because Nehalennia is goddess of ships and trade, Gutherius invests in a ship that trades with Britain. The remainder of this chapter expresses devotion to Nehalennia just as Chapter IV expresses devotion to Mary:

fair weather and a following wind always favour Gutherius' ship;

his goods sell well;

he becomes rich;

he builds an altar to Nehalennia and offers generously after every voyage;

he always bows to the evening and morning stars.

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (p. 628)

In the following chapter, Janne Floris tells Manse Everard how she had inspired Veleda to redirect the goddess towards peace. In this chapter, Poul Anderson writes as if he himself were a devotee of Nehalennia.

The Goddess

Writing of the Indus Valley civilization, Ninian Smart refers to:

"...the Goddess from whom the earth and the prosperities of the farming life emanated. From her too, no doubt, came domestic animals, and she gave protection against the tigers and snakes who lurked on the earth and on the fringes of the villages."

-Ninian Smart, The World's Religions (Cambridge University Press, 1995), p 52.

 

This reminded me of Poul Anderson's description of a goddess:

 

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them."

-Poul Anderson, "Star of the Sea" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 467-640 AT III, p. 628.

 

Some passages in "Star of the Sea" are neither sf nor historical fiction but mythological writing. Both authors convey a sense of devotion to the goddess even to readers who do not believe in such a being.

Darkness Within

Poul Anderson, Vault Of The Ages, Chapter 20, "Twilight of the Gods."

When the High Doctor acknowledges that he had been mistaken to taboo scientific knowledge:

"It was as if a great brooding presence were suddenly gone, as if the wandering night breeze sobbed in a new loneliness." (p. 187)

Pathetic Fallacy: the darkness of ignorance is about to be dispelled; the night breeze sympathizes. Yet again, the wind comments on human actions.

"The gods were doomed - the cruel, old pagan gods of human fear and human ignorance felt their twilight upon them." (ibid.)

Not all pagan gods are cruel. See "Hers are the trees..."

Carl thinks of the doomed gods metaphorically whereas, for Gratillonius, real beings had died. See Gods Dead Or Withdrawn?

"And the darkness which dwells in every mortal heart cried out to the dying gods." (ibid.)

Does something within us regret the passing of those cruel old gods? That darkness within sounds like the old and protean enemy yet again. It also sounds like James Blish's "night shapes." Rediscovered dinosaurs are killed but:

"'The beasts in the valley may die'...' I think they will. The night-shapes are another story entirely. They can never die. The night-shapes aren't animals, or men, or demons, even to begin with. They're the ideas of evil for which those real things only stand. The real things are temporary. They can be hunted. But the shapes are inside us. They've always lived there. They always will.'"
-James Blish, The Night Shapes (London, 1965), V, p. 125.

Finally, real but temporary things standing for ideas are Platonic.

Hers Are The Trees

I have quoted a passage beginning, "Hers are the trees...," three times. See here.

The preceding paragraph reads:

"Mindful of thanks he owed, he raised an altar to Nehalennia, where after each voyage he made generous offering; and whenever he saw the evening star or the morning star shine forth, he bowed low, for they too are Nehalennia's."
-Poul Anderson, "Star of the Sea" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 467-640 AT III, p. 628.

As I said in one of the posts linked above, I value this goddess without believing in her literal existence. Thus, my position is intermediate between that of pagans who believe that the gods literally exist and that of secularists who think that the gods are not only nonexistent but also valueless or even harmful. Maybe the Ysans can help. See Lir II.

On Identifying "Top Gods"

Of a goddess:

"'She did what gods are supposed to do, gave courage and solace, made men a little more decent than they might otherwise have been, and sometimes opened their eyes to beauty.'"
-Poul Anderson, "Star of The Sea" IN Anderson, Time Patrol (Riverdale, NY, 2006), pp. 467-640 AT p. 634.

Courage, solace, decency, beauty. Not all gods do these things.

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (p. 628)

Yes, a good story in more ways than one. I value this goddess without believing in her literal existence.

Gods that need not apply for the top jobs include:

those that will destroy their worshipers if they do not receive blood sacrifices;
the gods of intolerant sects;
the god of the Mosaic Law.

Does the Golden Rule encapsulate "the law and the prophets"? In general terms, yes - but only if we leave out details like stoning adulterers. The Buddha is not a god but is, according to the mythology, a "teacher of gods and men" - and he taught that the best sacrifice is an offering not of blood to the gods but of fruit to the poor.

Gods And Men

How do gods interact with men?

In mythology, gods exist and either threaten or bless mankind. They reflect the duality of natural forces, either sustaining or endangering life.

In history, the ideas of gods reflect experience and affect behavior.

In many works of fantasy, including several novels by Poul Anderson, gods are imagined to exist as in the myths.

In the historical sf of Anderson's "Star of the Sea," the ideas of gods are shown to evolve from violence towards peace in accordance with social changes.

From:

"The sound of their battle horns woke a killing rage in men." (Time Patrol, "Star of the Sea," II, p. 557)

- to:

"Hers are the trees, the vine, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (III, p. 628)

- and:

"'She did what gods are supposed to do, gave courage and solace, made men a little more decent than they might otherwise have been, and sometimes opened their eyes to beauty.'" (20, p. 634)

In this last quotation, the speaker is a modern secularist but she uses the same words as either a believer in the gods or a pagan for whom the question, "Do the gods literally exist?" has not yet arisen.

In the graphic fantasy of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, gods begin as dreams, then become real but fade away when they are no longer believed in or worshiped. Thus, there are strong parallels between "Star of the Sea" and The Sandman although they are historical sf and contemporary fantasy, respectively.

Devotion

Several passages in Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series are invested with a palpable sense of piety or religious devotion. In "Star of the Sea," the passages headed by the Roman numeral I-IV show the mythology developing alongside the history.

In III, which is a complete short story, a hag tells the hunter Gutherius that he will have woe followed by a reward. A white stag leads him into "...an eldritch part of the forest..." (Time Patrol, p. 626) with wind, dead leaves and moss on logs and stones but no birds, beasts, nuts, berries or mushrooms and clouds hiding the sun.

Lost but seeing the evening star in the clearing sky, he prays and offers to Nehalennia. After a great storm but in a sunny morning, a dog, "'...the hound of Nehalennia...'" (p. 627), leads him to a shore where he helps the crew of a grounded ship. Rewarded, he invests in the Britain run, always enjoying fair weather and wind. Becoming wealthy, he raises an altar and always makes generous offerings to Nehalennia.

"Hers are the trees, the vines, and the fruits thereof. Hers are the sea and the ships that plow it. Hers are the well-being of mortals and peace among them." (p. 628)

IV is a heart-felt prayer for the protection and blessing of Mary:

"Pure as yourself, your evenstar shines above the sunset. Guide us by your light. Lay your gentleness on the seas, breathe us forward in our faring and home again to our loves, carry us at last by your prayers into Heaven.
"Ave Stella Maris!" (p. 640)