Elven Gardens

I think that the most haunting place name in Roma Mater (London, 1989) by Poul and Karen Anderson is "Elven Gardens." When Gratillonius first saw the city of Ys:

"He could scarcely believe that human beings dwelt there, not elves or Gods." (p. 104)

- so it is appropriate that the city contains an Elven Gardens.

The Gardens are shown on the map of the city. In the text, they are first mentioned on page 137 and again on page 248.

"...he could look over roofs to Elven Gardens; arbours, topiaries, early-blooming flowers. Adjoining, the Temple of Belisama..." (p. 137)

A wall with guarded entrances excludes the public. The area is small but hedges and narrow, curving, tree-roofed paths provide privacy. There are statues, a stream, staircases, arched bridges and a fountain with stone dolphins. One staircase leads to the temple from where there is a view of the city, its gleaming towers, headlands and the sea. The King meets with all nine Queens in the temple.

Having established the atmosphere and physical description of the Gardens early in Volume I, the Andersons are able to refer to it as to other parts of the city periodically throughout Volumes II and III of the tetralogy. Unfortunately, the city is destroyed at the end of Volume III.

Recapitulation

Poul and Karen Anderson, The King Of Ys: Gallicenae (Grafton Books, London, 1988), Chapter XVII, section 1, p. 369.

On the opening page of the concluding chapter of the second volume of their tetralogy, the Andersons describe the city of Ys. If we have been reading the series consecutively, then we already know all the place names and have probably consulted the map on p. 10 of this volume. Thus, this description recapitulates the authors' account of a city with which the readers are by now familiar:

"...he let his gaze wander. To one side the city wall curved away beneath this parapet, behind it the blossoming valley. Nestled close was that red-tiled, colonnaded gem called Star House. Not far off, Elven Gardens lifted green and flowery, a chalice for the still more beautiful Temple of Belisama. Other fanes, together with mansions, graced this half of the city. Busy and stately, Lir Way swept down towards the Forum. Towers gleamed into a nearly cloudless heaven. Beyond sea gate and headlands, water heaved blue and white, past holy Sena to the edge of vision. Sails were out there, and uncounted wings."

We already know a lot about:

the city wall;
the surrounding countryside;
Elven Gardens;
Belisama's Temple;
Ysan mansions;
Lir Way;
the Forum;
gleaming towers;
the sea gate;
the headlands;
the island of Sena;
Ysan ships;
sea gulls and other birds around the city.

What goes on in Star House?

The description is perfect. However, our viewpoint character is a young man and is in the presence of Princess Dahut so:

"His glance went helplessly back to Dahut." (ibid.)

Elven Towers

Arriving by cab on the roof of the Winged Cross, Emil Dalmady sees and experiences:

a fragrant garden;

"...a warm deep-blue summer's dusk..." (The Van Rijn Method, p. 519);

the sounds of Chicago Integrate like the murmur of a distant ocean;

"...an elven forest..." (ibid.) of towers and skyways;

flitting aircars;

"...a fantastic galaxy of many-colored lights...," (ibid.) stretching beyond sight;

the bulk of van Rijn's penthouse ahead of him.

See "A Godland."

Chicago Integrate is elven towers in a godland and Ys, where there are Elven Gardens, is a fitting dwelling for elves or Gods. We can trace the past and future history of cities through Poul Anderson's works and across the timelines, e.g.,:

Ys;
Quimper;
York;
New York;
the Integrates;
Archopolis;
a darkening city in a further future here.

Isaac Asimov has large enclosed Cities on a future Earth and the planetary city of Trantor near the galactic center. Cities become subterranean "Shelters" in James Blish's A Case Of Conscience and fly into space in his Cities In Flight. Damon Knight edited Cities Of Wonder. There is much to be learned about cities.

Elven Forms And Stairs

Poul Anderson, The Byworlder, XII.

"There, in that curving chamber, confronting that dome where elven forms and leaves and blooms crowded the air, they were coming to know one who fared between the stairs." (p. 143)

I have commented on that proofreading error, "stairs," here. I have also referred to the Five Sisters here. Anderson uses the evocative word, "elven," in Elven Gardens and elsewhere. (Scroll down.)

After a while, every word and phrase gains an extra significance.

An Elven Castle

"The sun was low when they came back to the island. A thin mist lay over the sea, diffusing light, making the high walls of Tyre golden, not altogether real, like an elven castle that might at any moment glimmer away into nothingness." (Time Patrol, p. 298)

This scene should be filmed to look like that, as if the story were fantasy, not historical sf. Everard might, at any subjective moment of his career, make a time jump that takes him into a timeline where Tyre has never existed and therefore seems to him to have glimmered away.

When Gratillonius first sees Ys:

"He could scarcely believe that human beings dwelt yonder, not elves or Gods."
-Poul And Karen Anderson, Roma Mater (London, 1989), p. 104.

The Ys tetralogy is historical fiction with elements of fantasy. Thus, the Gods veil Ys. When the fabulous city with its colored towers and Elven Gardens has been inundated, even people who lived there wonder whether it really existed.

Thus, there are some parallels between Everard's perception of Tyre and Gratillonius' perception of Ys. Ys is a colony of Carthage which is a colony of Tyre.

Gratillonius' Responsibilities

In Roma Mater (London, 1989) by Poul and Karen Anderson, Gaius Valerius Gratillonius is:

an initiate in the Mystery of Mithras;
a Roman Centurion;
the Prefect of Rome in the city of Ys;
the King of Ys;
the Incarnation of the Ysan God, Taranis.

Thus, Gratillonius incarnates Taranis but worships Mithras and represents a state that recognizes Christ. As Prefect, he must consult Bishops and appoint a Christian minister to Ys.

If history had gone differently, then the theologizing mind could have systematized Gratillonius' three deities as a natural and supernatural trinity:

Taranis, sky father;
Mithras, whose ancient sacrifice of the primordial Bull fructified nature;
Christ, whose recent sacrifice of himself sanctifies souls.

That did not happen but there were ancient attempted syntheses. Marcion formulated "Gospel and Apostle," i.e., Luke and Paul, regarding it as antithetical to "Law and Prophets," whereas the Christian Bible incorporates Old and New Testaments with the latter seen as fulfilling the former. Later, Mani claimed to synthesize the teachings of Zoroaster, the Buddha and Jesus.

Gratillonius' complicated military, political and religious responsibilities must be fulfilled in a world that differs from ours to the extent that divine intervention is not only believed but also seen to occur. By the power of Belisama, the King's virility never fails with any of the Nine but always fails with any other woman. The Nine bear only girls who become vestals. When any of the Nine dies, a red crescent appears on one of the vestals. She is the next Queen. No law prevents a daughter of the current King from being marked but incest is as unacceptable to a Mithraist as to a Christian.

Thus, when the Three intend to end their Pact with the city, they make this impossible demand and Gratillonius' daughter, Dahut, alienated by what she sees as his rejection of her, becomes the agent of the city's destruction. But, before that, we read three long volumes set in Ys of the colored towers, Lir and Taranis Ways, Goose Fair and Elven Gardens.

Lir Way

(Today, we visited Birmingham Central Mosque.)

According to pp. 137, 144 of Roma Mater (London, 1989) by Poul and Karen Anderson, Lir Way, the main east-west avenue of Ys, stretches from an arch by Skipper's Market to High Gate which opens onto Aquilonian Way. However, the map of Ys on p. 11 shows Taranis Way in this position and Lir Way crossing it at right angles in the Forum at the city centre, thus stretching from north to south.

According to the text, Gratillonius and Quinipilis, one of his Nine Queens, leave Quinipilis's house, which opens directly onto a street, and walk along the street until it joins Lir Way. Near the end of the street, they can see Elven Gardens and the adjoining temple of Belisama. Lir Way (or maybe it is Taranis Way) brings them to High Gate, Warriors' House and Dragon House. There they climb the stairs to the top of the city wall and to the tower called the Gaul. Walking south, they pass the Roman tower. They see Point Vanis to the north, Cape Rach to the south, many rooftop catch basins, a storage tower for water from the canal and buildings of as many as fifteen stories.

Taranis Way is said to run from Aurochs Gate to Northbridge Gate whereas the map shows Lir Way doing this. Gratillonius and Quinipilis pass Goose Fair by Aurochs Gate. The description gives us two other senses:

"Savouriness drifted in smoke from foodstuffs, merchants cried their wares from booths." (p. 141)

From the Raven Tower, they see bastions and the sea portal. They descend and pass the shipyard. p. 149 says that they turn left towards the temple of Lir although the map suggests that they would turn right at this point. They climb back up by the Gull Tower and continue to walk around the city wall, passing Northbridge Gate, Star House and the Water Tower that is used as an observatory. They reenter the city at the Gaul.

"In Ys the idea was current that consciousness resided in the head." (p. 151)

Where else would consciousness reside except behind the eyes, nose and palate and between the ears. Animal life might be located in the stomach but surely not awareness and thought? - although I have read that the Biblical phrase "hardness of heart" means lack of understanding, not lack of compassion.

Appreciating Details

Rereading and blogging involves noticing, appreciating and remembering many details forgotten from two or three previous readings.

(i) A lineage of the Gods: Tiamat, the pre-cosmic Chaos from Babylonian mythology, was the mother of the inhuman, squid- or kraken-like sea God, Lir, Who was the father of the anthropomorphic sea God, Mananaan mac Lir, Who in turn remains active several centuries later in two of Poul Anderson's Viking novels.

(ii) Elven Gardens: This exotically named location in Ys is mentioned several times but the reader has probably forgotten the early description of enclosed paths, topiaries, statues and a stairway to a Temple.

(iii) Ys: The characters refer to the city of Ys as beautiful and a wonder of the world but again we might not remember the occasional descriptions of its wall, friezes and gleaming, colored towers.

(iv) Ysan inns: Five are mentioned and three are described, providing comfortable contexts for character interactions and conversations. They differ, depending on the economic circumstances or life styles of various Ysans and visitors.

(v) Gratillonius' challengers: Long periods can pass without a challenge but one can come at any time. The identities and motivations of the six challengers are an important part of the story.

Daybreak

Poul and Karen Anderson, Dahut (London, 1989), I, 1.

This volume opens:

"Day came to birth above eastern hills and streamed down the valley. It flamed off the towers of Ys, making them stand like candles against what deepness lingered in western blue." (p. 25)

What a great beginning. 

It is the feast of Lug. Red-robed men with a hammer-bearing leader climb the wall of Ys at High Gate and sing to "...Taranis of the Thunders..." (p. 25) At the Temple of Belisama by Elven Gardens, women sing to the Goddess. The captain of a ship leaving the harbour kills a black cock and chants that Lir's will be done. All Ysan sea captains are ordained priests of Lir. By the Challenge Oak in the Sacred Precinct, Gratillonius, Father in the Mysteries, calls:

"'Hail, Mithras Unconquered, Saviour, Warrior, Lord, born unto us anew and forever...'" (p. 27)

At the Forum, in the former temple of Mars, Christians sing triumphantly.

If I were there, I would invoke whatever gods may be and meditate on the wall or, if permitted, in one of the temples. I hail the worshipers across the centuries.

Places Of Worship In Ys

At the Forum: the Temples of Taranis and Mars.

At Elven Gardens: the Temple of Belisama.

In Old Town, near the harbor: Menhir Place and the Shrines of Lir, Melqart and Ishtar.

Taranis, Belisama and Lir are the Three of Ys.

Melqart and Ishtar were the earlier names of Taranis and Belisama, respectively.

The former Temple of Mars is now a church.

The Menhir is a megalith that was raised to an unknown God before the city was built.

Thus, seven places but only six deities and only four of them currently active: the Three and Christ.

Adminius, a Christian:

"'...know[s] when somewhere is 'aunted...'" (Roma Mater, p. 180)

The Three are real and have not yet withdrawn but:

"'...we live in such an age of breakup -'" (p. 200)

"'...in this age when the very Gods are troubled and faltering...'" (p. 201)

"...the Gods of Ys...would not demean Themselves to plead for worshippers against a new God Who was to come..." (p. 215)

The Empire declines, trade shrinks, raiders harry, barbarians invade, evangelists proselytize and:

"Among the Gallicenae arose a feeling that they had come to the end of still another age. What would the new one bring? None could foreknow. Like a creature of the sea, Ys drew into its shell and waited." (p. 216)

There is an old saying that England's disadvantage is Ireland's advantage. When Niall's spy tells him that the Romans are again at civil war, he plans to re-attack their territory. The Dublin Easter Rising took place in 1916.

The Gods Move

Gallicenae, X.

The Gods and the Queens and the other officials of Ys have a common problem. Although some action must be taken against Gratillonius because of his defiance of the Gods, he cannot yet be destroyed or deposed because he alone can protect Ys from the barbarians and the Romans. Even Rufinus, whom Gratillonius, by the Pact of Brennilis, should have sacrificed to Taranis has become a bulwark of civilization in Armorica. Queen Innilis begs the wind for no harm to Gratillonius. (IX, 3, p. 213)

Nevertheless, the Gods make a move. Quinipilis dies. The sign comes upon Semuramat, daughter of Queen Bodilis. Mithras forbids Gratillonius to continue having sex with Bodilis after consummating the marriage with her daughter. The Gods have not yet wedded Gratillonius to his own daughter - she is too young - but They are moving in that direction.

While discussing this problem, Gratillonius and Bodilis take a picturesque walk through Ys:

Elven Gardens

lanes

Lir Way

the Forum

Taranis Way

Goose Fair plaza

the pomoerium

a staircase

the city wall

the Raven Tower

marine guards

battlements

war engines

the sea gate

towertops vulnerable to the sea which however murmurs Hush

clear air

a light on the island of Sena

There is so much that deserves to be preserved.

Elvenveil And Emperor

Poul Anderson, Orbit Unlimited, part four, 5.

I want to share an appreciation of Poul Anderson's descriptive passages but also to avoid lengthy quotations. Blog readers are encouraged to read Anderson's texts. However, sometimes, a longer quotation is unavoidable. The following passage is notable both for its exotic colors and for its evocative place names. Svoboda and Coffin climb down the side of the colonized plateau called High America:

"At the bottom of vision were the clouds.
"He had ignored them when he first gazed over the Cleft. They were nothing but a whiteness far below his feet. But now they lay ahead. The first semicircle of e Eridani was visible, blinding in the east above a billowing snow-like plain. Blue shadows crawled toward him, kilometers in length. Mist began to pour up the canyon, filling it from side to side, a gray wall whose top faded to gold smoke. Svoboda caught his breath. He hadn't watched sunrise over the Cleft for years. It brought back to him how much else was beautiful here, the summer forests, Elvenveil Falls, Lake Royal turquoise in the morning and amethyst in the evening, a double moonglade shivering on the Emperor River...in spite of everything, he was glad he had come to Rustum." (p. 121)

This gives us two lists:

snow-like clouds
blue shadows
gray wall
gold smoke
morning turquoise
evening amethyst
shivering moonlight

Elvenveil Falls
Lake Royal
Emperor River

Although the colonists belong neither to a kingdom nor to an empire, they use the words, "Royal" and "Emperor." "Elvenveil" recalls Elven Gardens in Ys. 

Avernnath And Ys

Poul Anderson, The Winter Of The World, V.

The ancient city of Arvarnneth has:

the Lairs, bounded by Fountain Street
the Avenue of Dragons
the Old Bastion
the militia-guarded Council House
the Hollow Houses, an abandoned area of ruinous streets with a small farm in a former stadium
the Royal Canal
abbeys
temples
tombs
Palace Row
topiaries and flowers in the Garden of Elzia
rented canoes on Lake Narmu
the Patrician Bridge
pushcarts selling steamed catfish and baked yams
Pelican Lane
the Grand Arena, not used for the last hundred years
Fountain Circus

Some of it sounds like Ys. See Elven Gardens and Recapitulation.

Fictional Cities

There are two kinds of fictional cities.

Entirely Invented

Poul and Karen Anderson created Ys ex nihilo. The name is legendary but the Anderson's created:

Taranis Way

Lir Way

Elven Gardens

Star House

Dragon House

Goose Fair

the Fishtail slum

the Sacred Wood

"the hundred towers" (less than 100)

the sea wall and gate

Scot's Landing

- which we know as if we had been there.

Susan Howatch created Starbridge with its Eternity Street although this city is based on Salisbury.

Real But With Additions

In Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, New York is as we know it but there are additions like Manse Everard's apartment and a Patrol warehouse.

Susan Howatch's London has St Paul's, the Abbey and (fictional) St. Benet's and the clergy refer to a large southern diocese (Starbridge) without naming it.

Stieg Larsson's Stockholm includes Kvarnen (real), Samir's Cauldron (fictional but based on a real place) and we are told the real addresses of fictional people and organizations. Larsson's characters travel through real places to the fictional Hedestad on the Norrland coast.

The Ysan Queens' Homes

Grallon is the legendary last King of Ys. Gaius Valerius Gratillonius is a fictional character created by Poul and Karen Anderson. This fictional character will fulfil the legendary role of Grallon and, as part of this process, his name will change because the Ysans find it difficult to pronounce his polysyllabic surname. The changing of the name begins on p. 158 of Roma Mater (London, 1989) when Queen Lanarvilis says:

"'This Gra - Gra-lo - Gratillonius has met the leaders of Ys...'"

The legend bears two versions of the name, Grallon and Gradlon. The Andersons are careful to account for both versions in the course of Ysan mispronunciations.

Lanarvilis discusses the new King with the Speaker for Taranis in the privacy of her own home and thus we learn more about the Queens' homes. They were built nearly four hundred years previously, plain outside but Roman inside. Thus, there is an "atrium." (p. 157) All are in the neighbourhood of Elven Gardens and the temple of Belisama. They descend from Queen to Queen and each occupant leaves her mark. The knocker on Lanarvalis' door, smoothed by generations of use, is in the shape of a serpent biting its tail. This symbolizes eternal recurrence. The symbolism will soon be rendered false.

Beyond an inner door, the Speaker finds dark windows but soft lamps, blue carpet, crimson drapes, fine furniture, walrus ivory, crystal flagons, cheeses, spiced mussels and Lanarvilis rising from a settee. We vicariously enjoy the wealth of Ys and the secrecy of their conversation as the steward, a well-paid servant, not a slave, leaves them alone.