heatherslibrary | #0005: The Winter of the World, by Poul Anderson (Reply)

The Winter of the World
by Poul Anderson

p.8 "Folk lose, folk win; in the end, we give back to the land what it lent us."
--Donya

p.33 "midnight hair streaked with meteors"

p.34 "Anybody else is welcome to claim yesteryear as for his, if tomorrow be mine."

p.36 "Lightning seared, thundre bawled, rain blurred the glass and chill crept from it."

p.31 "Torture takes too long anyway, and the results are too runreliable."
--Sidir

p.49 Lily Sisters

p.53 "Eyach!" -- epithet, like "damn" or "shimatta"

p.53-54 "What I really am is a shully."
"A what?" Casiru inquired.
"Common word around the Mother Ocean," Jossereck said. "We have people, mostly men, who go rootless, wander around from island to island, living by whatever comes to hand and never staying put for long. Some are--worthless, or dangerous, beggars, swindlers, thieves, bandits, murderers, whenever they think it's safe."

p.54 "An honest migratory worker." He felt tension ease, and smiled into her eyes. "Not necessarily law-abiding. There are too many silly little laws, in the countless silly little nations around Oceania, for us to keep track of. But we have our code. Also, we take pride in being skillful workmen. Not that we're formally organized or anything. We have a king, ceremonies, yearly meetings, but nobody keeps a register of membership, or initiates new chums, none of that nonsense. Word gets around. Everybody soon knows who is and is not a proper shully."

p.62 "Hoy?" -- What? (with surprise)

p.80 "cuirass"?
"ogive"?

p.82 "The metal is hot, but not yet in the mold."

p.94 Campfires and sentinel lanterns spread widely. But they were sparks, lost amidst night and miles, as were fugitive sounds from the host, a man's call, a horse's whinny, a flute's loneliness. Breath smoked on the chill.

p.100 "Rachan" -- expletive; "bitch"

p.111 Rogaviki = Children of the Sky

p.115 The day was bright and windy. Clouds scudded white-sailed, a hawk surfed on the blast, when he came to open fields he saw how crows on the ground flattened their wings and wavelets wandered in batallions or rainpuddles. Hedgegrows rustled; trees, hazel, apple, sugar maple, beech, soughed around the buildings. Four young women were out weeding; places like this planted several acres in grain and garden truck, for use and trade.

p.126 "I appreciate rudeness, Guildsman. Lies and flattery are worse than useless."
--Inil

p.163 Folk assumed that if they wanted help or sociability, they would inform whoever was appropriate; until then, it would be ill-bred to push in on them.

p.164 For an instant silence spread outward, like waves when a rock is cast into a pool.

p.177 Coming from an individualistic, increasingly industrialized and capitalistic civilization, he was used to sparse ritual and religious freethinking. But somehow it disturbed him to find the same traits here. Those who sought enlightenment, female, male, Forthguide, solitary thinker, or otherwise ordinary person who spared occasional time for it, were not prophets, mages, or seers. The best name he could find for them was "philosophers," albeit a part of the philosphical quest took place in the muscles and viscera rather than brain. Most people were indifferent, agnostics content to inhabit the world of the senes. According to Rogaviki historians, myths and magical practices had existed in the past, but were discarded in favor of a more nearly scientific attitude with an ease that showed how rooted they had been.
Ceremonies, as distinguished from artistic performances, were short and spare: courtesies, not invocations. He was told that families had elaborate ones, evolved through many generations. But as far as he could discover, these amounted simply to communications between members, a means of dissolving an otherwise habitual aloofness. Ancestors might then be lovingly recalled, but there was no idea that they were actually present, nor any supernatural powers. This was as much Nikiitay was willing to tell him, in her most intimate moods. She gave him no logical reason for keeping the details secret. Divulgence just wasn't done.

p.179 Now creatures do not raise their numbers forever: just up to the carrying point of their territories. Thereafter, either natural limiting mechanisms come into play--for example, difficulty in finding a mate in a polygamous species--or else famine, plague, and internecine fighting trim the swarms. Man is among the beasts that lack birthrate regulator. Accordingly, from time to time he has suffered the fate of rabbit or lemming. but being intelligent, he can forestall it by various means: widespread celibacy, late marriage, secular usages that do not impregnate, contraception, abortion, infanticide, gerontocide, emigration. Generally it is the civilized peoples who die from runaway growth. Primitives control their breeding.

p.180-181 The problem is, Jossereck thought, long-range public benefit is apt to conflict with private or bureaucratic advantage, and go by the board. That's why common lands get overgrazed, forests recklessly logged off, rivers polluted, useful wildlife exterminated, trade clogged, progress stifled by regulations and taxes--under any system known, tribal, feudal, monarchic, timocratic, democratic, theocratic, capitalist, traditionalist, collectivist, any. and the Rogaviki are anarchs. They make no pretensions to altruism, they haven't even a word for it. A particular Fellowship could gain strength, extra hands, riches by increasing its size. It could scoff at outside disapproval, for it's self-sufficient already and there's no authroity to check it. Then soon every kith would have to do likewise, or risk becoming a victim. The process would be more complex than that, of course. Nevertheless--
What is the factor that keeps their way of living stable? It must have a stronger grip on each and every person of them than a wish for the well-being of their descendants possibly can...especially since they don't agree what well-being is; some would like more outland trade, some less, some want a lot of firearms to make hunting easier, some fear getting dependent on their suppliers...on and on...and everybody is free to do whatever he or she pleases, short of provoking fatally many kithmates into breaking off relations.
Which hardly ever happens. The sole serious violence I've encountered or heard of among the Northfolk, relates to Outrunners. And they are pathological causes, who for this reasonor that hate the rest. Otherwise--no wars, no feuds, thefts rare, fights confined to barehanded blows--
They're not saints, these people. They're naughty, they're greedy, they'll lie and cheat shamelessly in making a deal, outside their Fellowship they show scant compassion, they've no creed, nothing but a sort of ethic, and it bluntly pragmatic. Furthermore, they're wide open to foriegn ideas. Yet they remain true to themselves, century after century. How It shouldn't be humanly possible.

NAMES: Innisla, Tolomo, Orenstane, Iki, Gairloch, Mandanu, Mandano, Secor, Ori, Aranno, Mulwen, Roa, Andalin, Yven, Kharadad, Elzia, Narmu, Eoa, Thunra, brusa, Starrok, Yar, Weyrin, Thunwa, Lejunun, Leno, baghrol, skeyrad, Bullgore, Errody, Gerannian, Deraby, Krona, Starrock, Tamaveo, Zelvay, Nikkitay, Andalin, Wicklis, Balaoch, Ausha, Unknown Roong, Ulgani Develkai, Besak, OrovoValiki, Ronrach, Fero, Ercer, en-Havan, Targantor, Luki, Unvar, Golin, Uhav, Zangazeng, Natalyn, Bahin, Elfis, Andalin, Toucar, Unvar, Hoai=interjection similar to "Say,...", Sidir, Nais, nedayin, Ang, Haamander, Ercer, Yurussun, Soth-Skeyrad, Ayan, Ponsario, en-Ostral, Zabeth, Owant, Mimorai, Doligu, Almerick Owalhunt, Donaya Hervar, Arvanneth, Fuld, Rogaviki, Zhano, Kyrian, Casiru, Rahidian, gorozdy=fellowship, Yven, Rahid, Valdevanya, Lukeva, Agamen, Khadrahad, Jossereck, Derrain, Rigdel, Gairloch, Skonnamor, Eaching (ship), Eaching (place), Killimaraich, Bahid