The Wizard Knight Companion Read online

  Mani the big black tomcat who followed Able from the witch’s cottage (I, chap. 46, 289; first seen in I, chap. 45, 282). His original owner is Huld, then he belongs to Able, Idnn, and Gilling.

  Onomastics: Norse “Moon,” a saga name for the father of Ketil.

  Marc one of the bravest knights of Thortower (II, chap. 32, 391). He traded insults with an Osterling captain and thus started the River Battle a bit early (II, chap. 40, 469).

  Arthuriana: Marc (Mark, Marco), King of Cornwall, the husband in the triangle with Isolde of Ireland and his sister’s son Tristan.

  Marder the duke whose duchy becomes Celidon’s northernmost after Indign’s was dissolved (mentioned in I, chap. 4, 42; met in I, chap. 34, 211). Forcetti is his city, and Sheerwall is his castle.

  Onomastics: the word marder means marten or weasel; the similar name Marden means “from the valley with the pool.”

  margygr Morcaine’s device, a fanciful representation of her mother, who also bore Setr and Arnthor (II, glossary; II, chap. 32, 388). See also nykr.

  Myth: (Norse) a mermaid or ugly monster.

  Meynard, Yves a French-Canadian author (born 1964) to whom The Knight is dedicated. The Wizard begins with a quote from his novel The Book of Knights (1998).

  The Book of Knights is about a boy named Adelrune who reads a forbidden book, “The Book of Knights,” and runs away from home to become a knight. For his quest he aims to free a puppet from her cruel toy maker. He finds his way to a sort of wizard knight named Riander and pays him six years of his life for his training, growing to manhood overnight.

  The style and setting are more like Hoffman or Jack Vance than a traditional knightly tale. Obviously the Quixote angle comes into play, too, because of the role a knightly book plays in starting the adventure.

  Mice Angrborn name for people who are half Angrborn and half human (I, chap. 10, 76). Heimir and Hela are two examples in the text.

  Michael a man from Kleos (I, chap. 44, 275). He summons Valfather to show Able how such summoning is done (276). He comments on Eterne and Zio.

  Myth: (Hebrew) one of the few angels named in the Torah, thus thought to be an archangel.

  Onomastics: (Hebrew) “who is like God?”

  Mirmir a magic spring (II, chap. 5, 56). “Drinking from it brings back certain forgotten memories” (II, glossary). When Able drinks here he visits himself, watching as he drinks water at Bluestone Castle (I, chap. 2, 24).

  Myth: (Norse) Mimir (Mimr, Mimi) is a wise being associated with the World Tree and the Spring of Urth. After being put to death by the Vanir, his head was kept by Odin and consulted as an oracle in times of perplexity.

  Modgud a giantess who guards the Bridge of Swords (II, chap. 24, 294). Her face is naked bone, except for a maiden’s eyes (295). See also modguda.

  Myth: (Norse) Modgud (or Modudr) is the maiden who kept the bridge on the road to Hel. Hermod meets her there on his mission to the land of the dead.

  Modguda a serving woman in Sheerwall Castle (I, chap. 33, 204). She tends to Able during his recovery there from near death. Her name is very close to that of Modgud.

  Money

  farthing—copper coin (I, chap. 16, 109).

  scield—silver coin. Twenty-four to a sceptre (II, chap. 33, 400). One month’s wages for sailor or stableman (I, chap. 18, 118).

  sceptre—gold coin (I, chap. 15, 102).

  Mongan see spell of divination.

  Moonrider any knight the Lady sends to Mythgarthr (I, chap. 21, 133). Able sees one and Kerl says Nur can see them at times (133).

  Moonrise Svon’s mount (II, chap. 2, 24).

  Morcaine a woman first mentioned by Garsecg as being his sister (I, chap. 22, 140) but turns out later to be the princess whom Able first meets as a human sacrifice set out for Grengarm by some Aelf, Uri among them. Morcaine is second born, between Setr and Arnthor. She travels via shadows to meet Able at Redhall (II, chap. 28, 341). She says Able stabbed Gilling (342). She is Duchess of Ringwood (II, chap. 33, 395). She says Able is dead, that the Valkyrie’s kiss did it (II, chap. 34, 405). Because he is dead she claims power over him, since her magic is necromantic (406). Her device is a margygr. The magic helm shows she has a serpent body below the waist.

  Arthuriana: Morgaine or Morgan le Fay, a sister to Arthur.

  Mori a smith in Irringsmouth, he sells Able Sword Breaker, the sword-like mace (I, chap. 15, 103).

  Onomastics: (German) Möri, nickname of Morhart (hardy, brave, strong); a word meaning “my teacher” in the Yemenite Jewish tradition; and also a Latin word for “death/die,” as in memento mori (remember you must die).

  Moss Aelf Disiri’s clan (I, chap. 7, 58). The only Aelf clan ruled by a queen (II, chap. 32, 382).

  Mossmaidens girls of the Moss Aelf (I, chap. 7, 57).

  Mossmatrons older women of the Moss Aelf (I, glossary only).

  Mossmen men of the Moss Aelf (I, chap. 3, 35).

  Most High God the single inhabitant of the first level, Elysion. To look upon his face is lethal for humans (II, chap. 20, 234).

  Most Low God the single inhabitant of the seventh level, Niflheim (II, chap. 31, 373).

  Mother Able says of his mother, “she was still a young girl, not a great deal older than Sha, when she went away” (I, chap. 51, 319). Sha herself is probably the same age as her husband Scaur, who is “not a lot older” than Able himself (I, chap. 2, 25), at a time when he thought himself a teen.

  Mountain of Fire seemingly a volcano in Mythgarthr; a gateway to Muspel (I, chap. 28, 177). Garsecg mentions the Osterlings sacrificed to Setr when they held it (I, chap. 25, 162). Thunrolf has Pouk thrown in, then chains himself to Able to go after Pouk.

  Mountains of the Mice the name the giants use for Mountains of the North, because the half-giant “mice” live there.

  Mountains of the North the mountains between Celidon and Jotunland (I, chap. 13, 89).

  Mountains of the Sun the mountains between Celidon and Osterland (I, chap. 13, 89).

  Muspel the world of the sixth level, under Aelfrice, where the dragons come from (I, chap. 6, 52). See cosmology.

  Myth: (Norse) Muspell (two Ls) is the realm of fire, the heat from which helped in the creation of the world. The sons of Muspell, Fire Giants, ride out against the gods at Ragnarok.

  Mystery of King Gilling’s Murder Gilling arranges a battle between randomly selected giants and the best champions among the knights. The resulting battle sets Bittergarm and Skoel against Garvaon and Svon. Before the fight, Gilling kills the herald Crol, enraging Svon (II, chap. 12, 138). During the fight there is interference by spectator giants (139). An invisible or dark being starts putting out the lights (141). A tall woman (Huld, Uri, or Baki) arrives, impersonating a giantess (141). Then someone stabs Gilling in the back. This is the first attack. He is struck again later, when he rises from his sickbed (II, chap. 20, 245). The second attack is not necessarily by the same person who made the first attack.

  Suspects (in order of appearance)

  • Toug, because he goes into a weird frenzy and wants to kill Gilling at about the time it happens. The witch Huld and Mani suspect him (II, chap. 14, 157–58). Idnn and Beel suspect him (II, chap. 25, 309–10).

  • Org, because he might have put out the lights. Toug seems to have seen Org killing a giant (141), but it wasn’t Gilling. Pouk suspects Org (II, chap. 12, 142). Mani doubts. Org claims innocence (II, chap. 25, 308).

  • Baki, because Uri tells Able that Baki did it (II, chap. 13, 147). Able hints that Baki would do it to save Toug (149).

  • The Valfather is an unnamed suspect. The Overcyns are known for their fights against giants. The Valfather, as lord of hosts, might be especially angered by Gilling’s ill treatment of his guests, including the killing of their herald. Uri is about to tell Idnn who did it when suddenly the Valfather shows up.

  • Idnn is a suspect. She swears she didn’t do it (II, chap. 14, 161). She fears it was a blind man (164), presumably meaning Pouk or Vil.

  �
�� Uri proclaims her innocence (II, chap. 20, 234).

  • The two-headed giant Orgalmir/Borgalmir. Able uses him as an example, saying Orgalmir struck the first blow, and Borgalmir struck the second (II, chap. 21, 253). There may be more truth to this than originally intended, in that the killer may have been two of one, somehow.

  • Svon claims innocence (II, chap. 25, 312).

  • Garvaon seems to confess (II, chap. 26, 324).

  • Able is suspected by Morcaine (II, chap. 28, 342).

  • Schildstarr is suspected by Wistan (II, chap. 30, 362).

  Mythgarthr a world on the fourth level, the world that belongs to humans, where Celidon is located (I, chap. 2, 24; I, chap. 3, 31). For other nations see five realms. See also cosmology. Other worlds on the fourth level include Dream, Earth, and possibly Hel.

  Myth: (Norse) Midgard or Midgarthr, the world of men, midway between the gods and the giants.

  names on the wind Able hears a list of names on the wind, presumably Disiri’s former lovers (I, chap. 67, 412). In addition to both of his names, he hears:

  • Walewein—Middle Dutch Gawain, hero of Arthurian cycle. See gawain.

  • Wace—(circa a.d. 1115–circa 1183) Anglo-Norman poet of Arthuriana.

  • Vortigern—semi-legendary king of Britain, who set the stage for Arthur.

  • Kyot—mysterious French poet who supplied source of Parzival to Wolfram von Eschenbach. See svon.

  • Yvain—knight of the Round Table.

  • Gottfried—Gottfried von Strassburg (died circa a.d. 1210), German poet, Tristan and Isolde.

  • Eilhart—Eilhart von Oberge, German poet of late 12th century, known for earliest form of Tristan and Isolde.

  • Palamedes—Knight of the Round Table, a Saracen convert.

  • Duach—one of Arthur’s warriors.

  • Tristan—Knight of the Round Table.

  • Albrecht—Albrecht von Scharfenberg, 13th century author who expanded a fragment by Wolfram von Eschenbach into “Younger Titurel,” with over 6300 verses.

  • Caradoc—Knight of the Round Table, semi-legendary ancestor to the kings of Gwent.

  Nastrond Able was at the siege of Nastrond during his twenty years in Skai, but Escan has never heard of the place (I, chap. 35, 414).

  Myth: (Norse) Nastrand (“corpse-strand”), a bad place after Ragnarok, but not the worst, which is Hvergelmir.

  Needam an island south of Celidon (I, chap. 28, 177). Able has never been there. Kerl reports that the Western Trader was “stove off Needam, and laid up seven weeks for repair” (177).

  Onomastics: the name Needam is part of the ancient Anglo-Saxon legacy of Britain, with places in Derbyshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and became a surname for its residents.

  Nerthis an Overcyn who lives in Mythgarthr as the queen of wild animals (II, chap. 3, 35). She makes trees grow.

  Myth: (Norse) Nerthus, fertility goddess worshipped in Denmark in the first century a.d., as described by Tacitus. The mother of Freyja, the Lady, by some accounts.

  Niflheim the lowest world, where the Most Low God is (II, chap. 35, 419–22). See cosmology.

  Myth: (Norse) the abode of darkness, beneath the roots of the World Tree.

  Njors a sailor on the Western Trader (I, chap. 20, 127).

  Onomastics: probably from the Old Norse Njordr, god of sailing, whose name means “strong, vigorous.”

  Nolaa servant of Svon’s father, she and her husband raised Svon (II, chap. 19, 230).

  Onomastics: perhaps the Celtic name Nola, short form of Finnula, meaning “white shouldered.”

  Nopel a knight of Duke Marder whose device is pards (II, chap. 11, 126). The pard is a great cat, the cheetah or the panther: in medieval times, the leopard was thought to be a hybrid of lion and pard.

  Onomastics: the name appeared in the Plauen area of Germany in the 15th century but the meaning remains unknown.

  Commentary: the great cats are represented in Celidon’s heraldry with Ravd (lion), Leort (leopard), and Nopel (pard).

  Norn-hound Ulfa’s word for a wolf? (I, chap. 8, 63).

  Northholding the manor of Sir Loth when he was alive (II, chap. 32, 389).

  Nott a giantess (II, chap. 16, 183). “She is one of the nicer Giants of Winter and Old Night. Night in Mythgarthr belongs to her” (II, glossary). See also aud.

  Myth: (Norse) Nott is the personification of Night in the Poetic Edda.

  Nukara mother of Uns and Duns (I, chap. 38, 234). She is killed when Osterlings raid her farm (II, chap. 37, 438).

  Myth: (Egyptian) a foreign goddess based on the Babylonian Ningal (male deity of the underworld).

  Nur the second mate on the Western Trader (I, chap. 16, 108).

  Onomastics: (Arabic) name meaning “light.”

  Myth: (Babylonian) Nur-Dagan, one of three kings to have crossed the Sea of Death. The other two were Utnapishtim and Sargon.

  Nykir King of Arms the title of King Arnthor’s herald (II, chap. 30, 361).

  nykr creature (I, chap. 4, 43) depicted on the shield on the back of a coin: “a monster compounded of woman, horse, and fish” (38). It appears on the flag of Celidon. See also margygr.

  Myth: (Norse) “river horse,” which leads to the German nixie, a creature with a human torso and fish tail.

  Nytir the knight whom Able bests at the Dollop and Scallop (I, chap. 35, 225). Nytir of Fairhall, his arms are a ram (I, chap. 37, 229). He has a house in Forcetti (I, chap. 36, 226). Nytir’s squire tells Able that he was one of those who pummeled Able on the practice field (226). This implies that Nytir did, too, and was hunting Able to finish the job.

  Onomastics: Icelandic word for “(a number of) uses,” functions or purposes for which something may be employed. In this sense linked to both Able and Toug.

  Obr Svon’s father, a baron (I, chap. 48, 300).

  Onomastics: Czech name meaning “giant, titan.”

  Olafr one of Svon’s brother’s men-at-arms (II, chap. 1, 27).

  Onomastics: (Old Norse) heir. See leifr, lord.

  old Toug father of Ulfa and Toug (I, chap. 6, 51). He is the first to see Able after the boy has been transformed into a man, and he laughs in shock and surprise at Able’s naked condition (I, chap. 8, 59). Able demands clothing, so he takes him home and has Ulfa sew a shirt and trousers. Old Toug, Vali, and Toug try to ambush Able but he beats the men and chases the boy (64). He and Toug take a trip to Aelfrice where Disiri borrows the boy.

  Weeks later Able sets out to hunt the outlaws. He meets old Toug again to question him (I, chap. 12, 84). Old Toug volunteers to lead Able to the place. Together they kill many, and old Toug is moved by how well Able treats him. They divide the loot from the outlaw cave.

  Olof the baron who took over the Mountain of Fire while Thunrolf and Able were in Muspel (I, chap. 31, 192). He gives Able a present of an Osterling knife having silver hilt and scabbard, both set with coral (195). Able gives this to Kerl.

  Onomastics: Norse word meaning “relic/ancient.”

  Org the ogre that Able got from Uns (I, chap. 40, 247). “He was a man-shaped snake but hot instead of cold, but he was really more like a gorilla” (I, glossary). Toug believes Org was extinguishing the torches just before Gilling was struck (II, chap. 14, 158–59).

  Orgalmir the left head of Schildstarr’s two-headed friend (II, chap. 21, 253). He is in the group trying to ambush the human party after they have left Utgard (II, chap. 23, 282). In the ensuing fight, Able tries to sweep both heads off, but he only gets one. See borgalmir.

  Oriel one of the five brave knights who stay in the area to the end of Able’s fight against Loth (II, chap. 32, 391).

  Arthuriana: a Saxon king who invaded northern Britain at the beginning of Arthur’s reign, his name is an Old German compound of “fire” and “war/battle/strife.”

  Ormsby, Arthur the boy from America who narrates the story (II, chap. 40, 477). He had a Macintosh computer in America (I, chap. 9, 73). The god Michael says Arthur’s mother never knew Ar
thur (I, chap. 44, 274). She left soon after he was born, still a young woman. Arthur’s brother is Ben. Arthur’s father had a hardware store. He died when Arthur was very young, and Ben raised his little brother in the house, most likely with their grandmother there.

  Legend says that in a.d. 840, Orm the Viking, a youngest son, went to England and conquered a spot of Lancashire called Ormskirk, “dragon church.” About a thousand years later, John Ormsby (1829–1895) was a British translator most famous for his 1885 version of Don Quixote.

  Onomastics: Ormsby is either “elm-place” (orm) or “snake-place” (orme). The latter is interesting because of Arnthor’s presumed half-snake body (if he is like his sister). It might also be a code: orms/by = by Orm, meaning “near-Worm,” i.e., “pen-Dragon.”

  Ossar Disira’s baby (I, chap. 9, 72). First alluded to as “Seaxneat’s wife’s new baby” (I, chap. 4, 38). Able gives him to a Bodachan couple (I, chap. 11, 80).

  Myth: (Irish) “the hound of Mac Da Tho that was coveted by Ailill and Medb and also by Conchobhar Mac Nessa. In another version, the hound is called Ailbe. At the end of the story of Mac Da Tho’s Boar, the dog chases Ailill’s chariot and is killed by his charioteer” (Ellis).

  Osterland the country east of the Mountains of the Sun (I, chap. 5, 49), Öster being Germanic for “east.” The Osterling pirates follow the coast from Osterland “south, west, and north, murdering and stealing. Duke Indign had tried to stop them, but they had killed him, and pulled down his castle” (I, chap. 16, 111). This implies an Osterling Sea.

  Osterlings the inhabitants of Osterland, a people who eat other people to become more human (I, chap. 19, 123). They worship the dragons of Muspel, sacrificing humans to them directly when they hold the Mountain of Fire. Their culture seems to be a blend of Middle-Eastern elements (Khazneh, spahis) and Mongolian elements (caan).

  Overcyns the people of Skai: the Valfather’s people. “Nobody calls the Overcyns gods” (I, chap. 44, 274). “We obeyed the Overcyns, mostly, only when we were afraid we could not get away with not obeying” (I, chap. 45, 280). The first generation of Overcyns were people from Kleos who descended to Skai to kill the primordial giant Ymir, with the understanding that they would not be allowed back in Kleos. Thus their brothers in Kleos have become their gods in Skai (II, chap. 4, 46–47).