Mantis on some NEW SUN names

Lane Haygood · 28 Nov 2007, 19:50 · from 2007-November.txt.gz

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From: lhaygood at gmail.com (Lane Haygood)
Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:50:09 -0600
Subject: (urth) Mantis on some NEW SUN names
In-Reply-To: <000c01c831f2$13438d60$18c85a42 at rclackey.stic.net>
References: <000c01c831f2$13438d60$18c85a42 at rclackey.stic.net>
Message-ID: <BCD1E0FE-CAFA-49D8-B95F-F54D64A2D11B at gmail.com>

Here's some initial thoughts:

Laurentia is the feminine version of Laurentium, so if Laurentium =  
Lawrence (Larry) then Laurentia should = Laura or something similar.

Cadroe probably refers to St. Cadroe, a Scottish saint educated in  
Ireland. Stone might refer to a rock or an archaic measure of weight.

Sabas is also a saintly name; I can't tie to to "Sprague de Camp,"  
though. I know the L stands for Lyon or something like that, though.

Lane

On Nov 28, 2007, at 1:08 PM, Roy C. Lackey wrote:

> Rex,
>
> Mantis said he couldn't comment on your speculations regarding his  
> surname
> and PIRATE FREEDOM (he hasn't read the book), other than to say that
> Christopher is not any of his names. But he decided to seek the  
> list's input
> on the related topic of deciphering three names from NEW SUN. (I  
> tried this
> months ago and got nowhere.)
>
> -Roy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at siriusfiction.com>
> To: Roy C. Lackey <rclackey at stic.net>
> Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 9:35 AM
> Subject: Re: Fw: (urth) Chris' last name *Pirate freedom*
>
>
>> Hello there Roy,
>>
>> On the topic of decoding names, this seems like a perfect opportunity
>> for challenging readers to crack "the bloody three," the names called
>> out at the Sanguinary Field:
>>
>> Laurentia of the House of the Harp
>> Cadroe of the Seventeen Stones
>> Sabas of the Parted Meadow
>>
>> The first names are not an issue here, the "last names" are.
>>
>> In PLAN[E]T ENGINEERING, Wolfe shows a bit of his onomastic bent by
>> translating several names:
>>
>> Larry Niven = the Man from the Snows of Laurentum
>> Kate Wilhelm = the Pure Woman With the Desirable Helmet
>> Gene Wolfe = a Wolf Is Born
>> David Hartwell = the Beloved Man From the Spring Where the Deer  
>> Come to
> Drink
>> Vincent Di Fate = the Liege of the Conqueror From Faerie
>>
>> I think the bloody three are just like the right column names, that
>> is, I sense that the names are coded versions of real names that we
>> would recognize.
>>
>> I believe that the first letter of each first name is true to the
>> initial of the real name, giving us:
>>
>> L. "House of the Harp"
>> C. "Seventeen Stones"
>> S. "Parted Meadow"
>>
>> "House of the Harp" couldn't be simply "Harper," since that would
>> lack the house part.  "House of the Harp" has a Tolkien ring to it
>> <g>, but let's not be distracted by that.
>>
>> "Seventeen Stones" has a powerful link to the Group of Seventeen, to
>> be sure.  Historically there are also stone rings in the British
>> Isles and an old cemetery of slaves in the US.  I find it very
>> difficult to reverse engineer a surname from "seventeen," but maybe
>> I'm looking at it the wrong way.
>>
>> "Parted Meadow" seems more accommodating than the other two, giving
>> us names like Spalding.  At times it seems like this full name
>> decoded might be "Sprague de Camp."
>>
>> So there it is, a contest of sorts.  Get cracking!
>>
>> =Michael=
>>
>
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