minstrel: Of course, sorta

[Mike Baker]

> This is not to be confused with metaphor.  The true concept of
> kenning is not totally lost on today's readers, as we do use something
> similar, (calling someone a name while reffering to them, i.e. "I saw the
> ol' bat yesterday," or the ever popular, "so I told the dipstick..."

"dissing" appears to sometimes be similar in nature, as I understand that 
modern affectation.

>    But to a Norse skald the kenning was almost held to be mystic.

The general concept I was familiar with, the specifics you fill in certainly 
aid my understanding.

>    Of course, No one in his or her right mind would expect a
> modern ear to understand that many kennings at a go.  But the use of
> them helps maintain the spirit and feel of the style.
>    Your  "winrow" line is just that.  However, the farming concept is
> somewhat weak for the style.  These were farmers, yes.  But a noble of
> the Norse did no digging or hoeing.  It was considered the work of
> thralls.  Likewise the winnowing of hay.  To compare their family to such
> is to call them thralls.    Does this make sense?

Yes, however: I really had not considered the status of the family.  I 
remember clearly *not* thinking about it at the time.  In retrospect, I 
think of the grandfather as a freeholder in a community of free men -- 
neither noble nor thrall, neither very rich or particularly poor.  (Nebulous 
enough? Would it be better to make him a Dane, or a Swede, or an Icelander?) 


Oh, well, sometimes it is the *small* details that trip a poet up.  And 
sometimes the very large.

>    Next Loki/fire.

I do not recall having heard the story of the seat-giving previously. Thank 
you for the condensation.

> the tragic hero, who is betrayed by the basic flaw inheirent in him.  (To
> belabour a point, Loki was just such a hero.  Only later  authors,
> influenced by the Lucifer figure put  Loki in the Devil role.
> He was worshiped alongside Odin and
> Thor, and respected as the god of fire, and therefore smiths.  Loki is
> betrayed by his own wit and skill, and by illegitamate birth to always
> fall behind Thor.)

This deserves repetition: too many modern opinions of Loki were formed based 
upon the Loki-Lucifer false comparison.

>    Lastly, to Weyland.  Weyland the smith , (or Volund in O.N.)  was
> the central hero in one of the oldest poems in the Icelandic Codex.

Upon seeing your excellent summary, I recognized the tale immediately (slap 
to forehead, "I *knew* that", ...)

>    I hope this hasn't been too long  But  I love getting to teach!

And I, in the proper bardic manner as I understand it, am always a student.

Kihe Blackeagle (the Dreamsinger Bard)  s.k.a. Amr ibn Majid al-Bakri 
al-Amra
     currently residing in Barony of the Steppes, Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mike C. Baker                      mbaker at rapp.com
Any opinions expressed are obviously my own unless explicitly stated 
otherwise! 
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