Robert E. Bjork

Fascinating collection of Anglo-Saxon poetry stitched together by Dr. Bjork into a short novella. The story concerns a husband and wife from two different neighboring tribes and their teenage daughter. Freya, the wife, is called "Peaceweaver", since this marriage is to solidify a political alliance between the two tribes. The couple are deeply in love. Having been separated on two different islands, they try to rejoin each other in spite of hatred between the two tribes, due to murder of warriors of her tribe.

I was a bit confused in my first reading--which sections were set in the characters' present? Which were hallucinations? Dreams or nightmares? Memories? But on second reading, they made more sense. I liked best the section where the shaman/poet/scop explains runes to the daughter, Freawaru. Also I enjoyed the incident of Wulf's travelling to the giant then elves to obtain healing for his brother and the deception Wulf and the elves played on the giant. I liked the "wisdom" shared by Freya and Freawaru on their way home, also the discussion on Boethius and on wyrd. Freya tells her daughter: "[Fate]...changes the world constantly....We are left with our inner strength and our faith in the creator and our love together."

Now I am curious to read the author's bilingual anthology. I did wonder: the ruined Roman fortress mentioned as a meeting place for the characters--was there one historically in the area these characters would have lived? North Britain? Xanten in today's Germany? Or was the fortress just a literary conceit?

Recommended.… (altro)