Ormsby, Michael and Setr

James Wynn · 15 Jan 2005, 16:01 · from 2005-January.txt.gz

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From: thewynns at earthlink.net (James Wynn)
Date: Sat Jan 15 16:01:11 2005
Subject: (urth) Ormsby, Michael and Setr
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>I know that the restoration of the world after Ragnarok is part of the
>Eddas: I happen to believe, however, that it is a late Christian
>interpolation.

Hm. I'm not sure how this story makes Norse paganism more palatable to
Christianity or vice versa. Well, maybe that part about the true god
revealing himself, but nothing in the others. The world resets and continues
much as it did before. That's hardly the Christian worldview.

>Overcyns (what genuine word is that BTW?)

Good question. I think *maybe* I know, but don't know how to put it without
seeming to contradict myself.

I think it is a derivation of "eormcn-cyn" which means "superhuman" or "huge
one". This is not a contradiction of Wolfe's M.O. because he is not changing
one obscure word for another. He is only translating one of part of the word
because to convey the sense better and, anyway, how would English readers
pronounce "eormcn"? But he's not *just changing* the word.
http://penguin.pearson.swarthmore.edu/~scrist1/scanned_books/html/oi_cleasbyvigfusson/b0328.html

>According to Wolfe's own explanations the Giants are the cast-offs from
>Kleos, and their genesis in the realm of Skai was formed by the death of
>Ymir.

But IIRC the Norse worlds develop backwards from the way Wolfe's does. In
other words, Middle Earth is formed from the fires of Muspelheim (thus
Surturs indirect role, at least, in its creation).

~ Crush

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