Shamanism Or Tomfoolery

The Merman's Children, Book Four, I.

The Inuit shaman makes an epic journey and returns with important information. Despite this:

"'It was nothing,' he muttered. 'Just lies and tomfoolery. I am an old swindler, and no wisdom is in me.'" (p. 192)

We have recently discussed Tom Fool.

See:

the combox for During The Storm

blog search result for Tom Fool (scroll down)

Idiom Origins

"Tom Foolery" dates from the early nineteenth century. "Tom Fool" dates from the fourteenth century. The Tom Fool of Muncaster Castle died around 1600 which would mean that he was not, after all, the original Tom Fool as is claimed.

Tom Fool

When CS Lewis' Elwin Ransom has carved a memorial to the physicist Weston on the planet Venus, he reflects that that was a tomfool thing to do. Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry reflects that:

"Charging indoors without dark-adapted pupils would be sheer tomfoolishness. Also dickfoolishness, harryfoolishness..."

-A Circus Of Hells, CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

 

For the historical Tom Fool, see Today. Poul Anderson links Tom Fool to "Tom, Dick and Harry," meaning "everyone," the equivalent of the French "Pierre et Paul." In the midst of the action, we can pause on almost every detail of language.

Today

Today, visiting Muncaster Castle and the coastal town of Whitehaven, both in Cumbria, we were away from home for nearly twelve hours. Hence, no posts until now. At Muncaster, the display of birds of prey reminded me of Poul Anderson's Ythrians, especially when two vultures (one called "Moriarty") and three kites swooped low over the audience to musical accompaniment and a vulture landed among us. Afterwards, I mentally catalogued Anderson's Technic History, and the Ythrian History within it, yet again.

Since, to Poul Anderson fans, past history is as important as future history, I should mention that:

Muncaster Castle, built on a Roman site, has been owned by the Pennington family since 1208 and was the home of the original "Tom Fool;"

Whitehaven, my father's birthplace and childhood home, was attacked by John Paul Jones during the American War of Independence.

We live and breathe history.