Monday 26 May 2014

Dennitzan Heroes

Dennitzan Heroes
Yovan Matavuly, the Founder
Toman Obilich, who slew wild Vladimir on the crown of the Glacier
Gwyth, who dared the storms of the Black Ocean
Stefan Miyatovich, who cast back reavers during the Night Years (the Troubles)
Gospodar Bodin Miyatovich, who raided Chereion

Andrei Simich, the poet, celebrated the older, pre-Bodin, heroes, including the zmay (Merseian) Gwyth, but we must make do with Poul Anderson's prose to read of Bodin's raid!

(I apologize for illustrating this note with an image of a Chereionite but I have used the other A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows covers recently.)

2 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Hi, Paul!

Oh, I thought the Chereionite image quite appropriate!

And your mention of Stefan Miyatovich made me wonder whether it became the custom to elect the Gospodars from his family during his time. I've mentioned how this reminded of how it became to elect the Holy Roman Emperors from the Habsburg family from 1438 onwards (with one short exception).

Sean

Anonymous said...

I believe that there's a reference to someone named Andrei Simich in one of Jack Vance's Alastor Cluster books, and elsewhere in Vance, a city called Port Rua. (Anderson has a Port Rua in FIRE TIME.) Vance and Anderson seem to have been practicing a little literary humor, although I don't know who borrowed from whom.

Best Regards,
Nicholas Rosen