Subject
[SIGHTING] Pynchon-List and a fragment of Pale Fire Notes
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Date
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The text presented below seems to be an enlarged elaboration of a 2003 discussion at the Pynchon-List that was divulged by D.B.Johnson in the VN-L*. At least, part of the. wording in one and the other is the same.
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a.. important work - Pale Fire Notes
a.. importantwork.com/text/.../commentary1.htmlEm cache -
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extract: p. 116
"peacock-herl", "alder"
The owner of Kinbote's motor court is right -- it's artificial bait for fly fishing (cost you $1.27 at iflyshop.com) that can form the body for an alder fly (among others). It's often used to tie "nymphs" (a kind of lure).
Reference
Reference
p. 116
"also called alder"
The alder is part of the reference set for Göethe's "Der Erlkönig." Commonly thought a mistranslation* from Johann Gottfried von Herder's version of the Danish "Erlkönigs Tochter" ("ellerkonge", "elverkonge" "king of the elves"), the Erlkönig may refer to an Elf King, or (as it does literally) to the Alder King (German "Erle" "alder" and "König" "king"). In Germanic folklore the Erlkönig is an evil spirit malicious especially toward children.
"Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?"
See also Kron glacier (99), Mt. Kron (132), Kronberg (143) See also elfinwood (142), alfear (143)
Reference
Reference
The Alder
Betulaceae (Birch family)
Alnus spp. (A. Glutinosa - "European or Black Alder", A. Maritima - "Seaside Alder", A. Rugosa - "Tag Alder", A serrulata - "Common or Hazel Alder")
A member of the sacred tree club in Pale Fire (along with Cedar, Hazel, Yew, Ash, Beech, Birch) (and remember the first rule of tree club!), the alder is the Celtic Tree of Life (when cut it seems to bleed red), associated with resurrection, the emergence of the solar year, and protection against water (it's leaves resist rain better than other deciduous trees, and it's timber resists decay when used for conduits, bridges, or boats).
Graves says, "But principally the alder is the tree of fire, the power of fire to free the earth from water; and the alder-branch by which Bran was recognised at the /Câd Goddeu/ is a token of resurrection -- its buds are set in a spiral. This spiral symbol is ante-diluvian: the earliest Sumerian shrines are 'ghost-houses', like those used in Uganda, and are flanked by spiral posts." (Robert Graves, _The White Goddess_, p. 172)
And of course the spiral is an important construct for VN.
Also known as the faerie's tree, it is the tree of witches, who can use its wood to fashion whistles to summon and control the four winds. It's wood is used for the construction of pipes, flutes, staves, and (historically) shields that were believed to inherit the protection of the tree's spirit. Also used to produce charcoal. Sometimes called Gummy or Gluey in European folklore.
Three dyes derive from the alder: red from its bark, green from its flowers, and brown from its twigs, so it contains the elements of fire, water, and earth, and is also associated with the colors crimson, green-brown, and royal purple.
In Celtic myth Bran the Blessed is a giant who bridges the charmed river Linon using alder wood, fights the Ash King on behalf of the Alder King, and his sister Branwen's son is burned in an alder bonfire. Bran is the god of regeneration, whose name means "raven." Later legend has it that after receiving a mortal wound in the foot with a poisoned spear, Bran's head was brought to the White Mound, where the Tower of London now stands, in order to face any enemy invasion (thus the legend that if the ravens leave the Tower of London, Britain will be invaded). King Arthur later dug it up in order to become Britain's sole protector.
In the Irish Ossianic "Song of the Forest Trees" it is the "the very battle-witch of all woods, tree that is hottest in the fight," and in Irish legend the first human male was created from the alder. In the legends of the Rollright stones in Oxfordshire, the King Stone, which stands alone, was reputedly once associated with a grove of alder trees. In ancient Greek mythology, the god Cronos was represented by an alder tree. In Norse legend March was known a the "lengthening month of the waking alder" (JM Paterson, _A Tree in Your Pocket_).
Reference
Reference
* A recent essay by Burkhard Schröder disputes Göethe's supposed mistranslation, and shows Erlkönig to connect to the color white and some of the associations that surround it (he includes the Greek goddess Alphito, the Jewish Lilith, the German Alberich (the Erlking is sometimes thought to be the King of the dwarves; also the alder grows near water and is said to be under the protection of water fairies (Rhinemaidens for the Wagnerphiles out there)), to the Celtic Bran the Blessed, and even forward to Moby Dick).
................................................................................................................
*From the VN-L I copied a bit of the Pynchon-discussion: (2003)
p. 116
> "peacock-herl", "alder"
> The owner of Kinbote's motor court is right -- it's artificial bait for
fly fishing (cost you $1.27 at iflyshop.com) that can form the body for an
alder fly (among others). It's often used to tie "nymphs" (a kind of lure).
http://www.about-flyfishing.com/library/flyswap2/blbeadnymph.htm
http://www.alaskaflyfishingonline.com/afb/princenymph.html
Besides, I got new googlers related to Alder and Celtic mythology:
1, Gwern - The Cymric Mabinogi Hero, Gwern: Alder
Gwern is a Cymric (Welsh) hero known from the Mabinogi of Branwen ferch Llyr where he is the son of Branwen and Matholwch, king of Ireland. Gewern also shares his uncle, Brân's secret name 'Alder'.
Synonyms: Cym: Alder
Gwern is known from the Mabinogi of Branwen ferch Llyr where he was the son of Branwen and Matholwch king of Ireland. In response to the insults proffered to his sister, Branwen, at the Irish Court Efnissien casts him into the fire intended for the feast celebrating peace between the hosts of the Cymry and the hosts of the Gwyddyl. This act results in all-out war from which few on either side survive.
Gwern's name is derived from the Cymric for alder tree (it also means marshland, as the alder tree grows there and it can mean a ship's mast [once formed from alder wood]). Gwern may once have been a deity of alder trees and thus would be cognate with the Gaulish deities: Buxenus (box), Fagus (Beech) and Robur (oak).
Gwern is also Brân's nephew and as this is a special relationship in Celtic mythological terms it may go some way to explaining how Gwydion could guess that Brân's tree emblem was the alder tree in the mythological poem, the Cad Goddeu (battle of the trees).
2. About the Alder Trout Fly: The Alder this an old pattern dating back over 300 years,. Charles Kingsley wrote of his ' beloved alder fly' in his Chalk Stream Studies and it is still a favourite in flybox today. The Adler, tie as shown, floats high on the water and is good interpretation of the real insect. To be fished near overhanging trees, bushes and reeds, where alder flies often fall in the water. Can act as a caddis substitute as well.
Expert Tip:
"This fly comes from a water nympha. It is earlier on some waters than on others. It lays its eggs upon the leaves of trees which over hang the water, and delights to skim the brook, but it may also be found at some distance from it. It is in season from about the last week in May until the end of June". Alfred Ronald The Fly Fisher's Entomology 1836. This quotation and fly are just as fresh and apt today !
www.fish4flies.com > Trout > Dry Flies > Winged
3.
Alder
Body: Peacock Herl
Hackle: Brown or Black
Wing: Brown Mottled Turkey
Head: Black
I had also collected information related to the Erlkonig, partially overlapping some of the ones that were mentioned in the Pale Fire Notes & references:found in the internet. As the one below:
Selected German Verse by J.W. Goethe - Erlkönig/Erlking (1782) von Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In German and Scandinavian mythology, an "Erlkönig" is an evil spirit that lurks about to threaten humans, especially children. It has often been claimed that Goethe's term Erlkönig is a German mistranslation of the Danish "ellerkonge" or "elverkonge" or "king of the elves," but in fact this may not be the case. In an interesting German article on the topic, Burkhard Schröder claims that Goethe knew exactly what he was doing, and the term Erlkönig can be traced back to an ancient Greek goddess of death (Todesgöttin) known as Alphito, who became a female Erlkönigin as she moved north, and even the biblical Lilith. (For more, see German Myth 9 in our Misnomers, Myths, and Misconceptions section.)
Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Who rides so late through the night and wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; It's the father with his child;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, He has the boy safe in his arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm. He holds him secure, he holds him warm.
«Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?» -"My son, what makes you hide your face in fear?" -
Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? Father, don't you see the Erlking?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif? -The Erlking with crown and flowing robe? -
«Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.» -"My son, it's a wisp of fog." -
«Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! "You dear child, come along with me!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir; Such lovely games I'll play with you;
Manch bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand, Many colorful flowers are at the shore,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.» My mother has many a golden garment."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, My father, my father, and do you not hear
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht? -What the Erlking promises me so softly? -
«Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind; "Be quiet, stay quiet, my child;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.» -In the dry leaves the wind is rustling." -
«Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn? "Won't you come along with me, my fine boy?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; My daughters shall attend to you so nicely.
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn, My daughters do their nightly dance,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.» And they'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort My father, my father, and do you not see over there
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort? -Erlking's daughters in that dark place? -
«Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau: "My son, my son, I see it most definitely:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.» It's the willow trees looking so grey."
«Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; "I love you; I'm charmed by your beautiful form;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.» And if you're not willing, then I'll use force."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an! My father, my father, now he's grabbing hold of me!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan! -Erlking has done me harm! -
Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind, The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind, He holds in (his) arms the moaning child.
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not; He reaches the farmhouse with effort and urgency.
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot. In his arms the child was dead. (Translation by Hyde Flippo)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a.. important work - Pale Fire Notes
a.. importantwork.com/text/.../commentary1.htmlEm cache -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
extract: p. 116
"peacock-herl", "alder"
The owner of Kinbote's motor court is right -- it's artificial bait for fly fishing (cost you $1.27 at iflyshop.com) that can form the body for an alder fly (among others). It's often used to tie "nymphs" (a kind of lure).
Reference
Reference
p. 116
"also called alder"
The alder is part of the reference set for Göethe's "Der Erlkönig." Commonly thought a mistranslation* from Johann Gottfried von Herder's version of the Danish "Erlkönigs Tochter" ("ellerkonge", "elverkonge" "king of the elves"), the Erlkönig may refer to an Elf King, or (as it does literally) to the Alder King (German "Erle" "alder" and "König" "king"). In Germanic folklore the Erlkönig is an evil spirit malicious especially toward children.
"Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?"
See also Kron glacier (99), Mt. Kron (132), Kronberg (143) See also elfinwood (142), alfear (143)
Reference
Reference
The Alder
Betulaceae (Birch family)
Alnus spp. (A. Glutinosa - "European or Black Alder", A. Maritima - "Seaside Alder", A. Rugosa - "Tag Alder", A serrulata - "Common or Hazel Alder")
A member of the sacred tree club in Pale Fire (along with Cedar, Hazel, Yew, Ash, Beech, Birch) (and remember the first rule of tree club!), the alder is the Celtic Tree of Life (when cut it seems to bleed red), associated with resurrection, the emergence of the solar year, and protection against water (it's leaves resist rain better than other deciduous trees, and it's timber resists decay when used for conduits, bridges, or boats).
Graves says, "But principally the alder is the tree of fire, the power of fire to free the earth from water; and the alder-branch by which Bran was recognised at the /Câd Goddeu/ is a token of resurrection -- its buds are set in a spiral. This spiral symbol is ante-diluvian: the earliest Sumerian shrines are 'ghost-houses', like those used in Uganda, and are flanked by spiral posts." (Robert Graves, _The White Goddess_, p. 172)
And of course the spiral is an important construct for VN.
Also known as the faerie's tree, it is the tree of witches, who can use its wood to fashion whistles to summon and control the four winds. It's wood is used for the construction of pipes, flutes, staves, and (historically) shields that were believed to inherit the protection of the tree's spirit. Also used to produce charcoal. Sometimes called Gummy or Gluey in European folklore.
Three dyes derive from the alder: red from its bark, green from its flowers, and brown from its twigs, so it contains the elements of fire, water, and earth, and is also associated with the colors crimson, green-brown, and royal purple.
In Celtic myth Bran the Blessed is a giant who bridges the charmed river Linon using alder wood, fights the Ash King on behalf of the Alder King, and his sister Branwen's son is burned in an alder bonfire. Bran is the god of regeneration, whose name means "raven." Later legend has it that after receiving a mortal wound in the foot with a poisoned spear, Bran's head was brought to the White Mound, where the Tower of London now stands, in order to face any enemy invasion (thus the legend that if the ravens leave the Tower of London, Britain will be invaded). King Arthur later dug it up in order to become Britain's sole protector.
In the Irish Ossianic "Song of the Forest Trees" it is the "the very battle-witch of all woods, tree that is hottest in the fight," and in Irish legend the first human male was created from the alder. In the legends of the Rollright stones in Oxfordshire, the King Stone, which stands alone, was reputedly once associated with a grove of alder trees. In ancient Greek mythology, the god Cronos was represented by an alder tree. In Norse legend March was known a the "lengthening month of the waking alder" (JM Paterson, _A Tree in Your Pocket_).
Reference
Reference
* A recent essay by Burkhard Schröder disputes Göethe's supposed mistranslation, and shows Erlkönig to connect to the color white and some of the associations that surround it (he includes the Greek goddess Alphito, the Jewish Lilith, the German Alberich (the Erlking is sometimes thought to be the King of the dwarves; also the alder grows near water and is said to be under the protection of water fairies (Rhinemaidens for the Wagnerphiles out there)), to the Celtic Bran the Blessed, and even forward to Moby Dick).
................................................................................................................
*From the VN-L I copied a bit of the Pynchon-discussion: (2003)
p. 116
> "peacock-herl", "alder"
> The owner of Kinbote's motor court is right -- it's artificial bait for
fly fishing (cost you $1.27 at iflyshop.com) that can form the body for an
alder fly (among others). It's often used to tie "nymphs" (a kind of lure).
http://www.about-flyfishing.com/library/flyswap2/blbeadnymph.htm
http://www.alaskaflyfishingonline.com/afb/princenymph.html
Besides, I got new googlers related to Alder and Celtic mythology:
1, Gwern - The Cymric Mabinogi Hero, Gwern: Alder
Gwern is a Cymric (Welsh) hero known from the Mabinogi of Branwen ferch Llyr where he is the son of Branwen and Matholwch, king of Ireland. Gewern also shares his uncle, Brân's secret name 'Alder'.
Synonyms: Cym: Alder
Gwern is known from the Mabinogi of Branwen ferch Llyr where he was the son of Branwen and Matholwch king of Ireland. In response to the insults proffered to his sister, Branwen, at the Irish Court Efnissien casts him into the fire intended for the feast celebrating peace between the hosts of the Cymry and the hosts of the Gwyddyl. This act results in all-out war from which few on either side survive.
Gwern's name is derived from the Cymric for alder tree (it also means marshland, as the alder tree grows there and it can mean a ship's mast [once formed from alder wood]). Gwern may once have been a deity of alder trees and thus would be cognate with the Gaulish deities: Buxenus (box), Fagus (Beech) and Robur (oak).
Gwern is also Brân's nephew and as this is a special relationship in Celtic mythological terms it may go some way to explaining how Gwydion could guess that Brân's tree emblem was the alder tree in the mythological poem, the Cad Goddeu (battle of the trees).
2. About the Alder Trout Fly: The Alder this an old pattern dating back over 300 years,. Charles Kingsley wrote of his ' beloved alder fly' in his Chalk Stream Studies and it is still a favourite in flybox today. The Adler, tie as shown, floats high on the water and is good interpretation of the real insect. To be fished near overhanging trees, bushes and reeds, where alder flies often fall in the water. Can act as a caddis substitute as well.
Expert Tip:
"This fly comes from a water nympha. It is earlier on some waters than on others. It lays its eggs upon the leaves of trees which over hang the water, and delights to skim the brook, but it may also be found at some distance from it. It is in season from about the last week in May until the end of June". Alfred Ronald The Fly Fisher's Entomology 1836. This quotation and fly are just as fresh and apt today !
www.fish4flies.com > Trout > Dry Flies > Winged
3.
Alder
Body: Peacock Herl
Hackle: Brown or Black
Wing: Brown Mottled Turkey
Head: Black
I had also collected information related to the Erlkonig, partially overlapping some of the ones that were mentioned in the Pale Fire Notes & references:found in the internet. As the one below:
Selected German Verse by J.W. Goethe - Erlkönig/Erlking (1782) von Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In German and Scandinavian mythology, an "Erlkönig" is an evil spirit that lurks about to threaten humans, especially children. It has often been claimed that Goethe's term Erlkönig is a German mistranslation of the Danish "ellerkonge" or "elverkonge" or "king of the elves," but in fact this may not be the case. In an interesting German article on the topic, Burkhard Schröder claims that Goethe knew exactly what he was doing, and the term Erlkönig can be traced back to an ancient Greek goddess of death (Todesgöttin) known as Alphito, who became a female Erlkönigin as she moved north, and even the biblical Lilith. (For more, see German Myth 9 in our Misnomers, Myths, and Misconceptions section.)
Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Who rides so late through the night and wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; It's the father with his child;
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, He has the boy safe in his arm,
Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm. He holds him secure, he holds him warm.
«Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?» -"My son, what makes you hide your face in fear?" -
Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? Father, don't you see the Erlking?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif? -The Erlking with crown and flowing robe? -
«Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.» -"My son, it's a wisp of fog." -
«Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir! "You dear child, come along with me!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir; Such lovely games I'll play with you;
Manch bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand, Many colorful flowers are at the shore,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.» My mother has many a golden garment."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, My father, my father, and do you not hear
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht? -What the Erlking promises me so softly? -
«Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind; "Be quiet, stay quiet, my child;
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.» -In the dry leaves the wind is rustling." -
«Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn? "Won't you come along with me, my fine boy?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; My daughters shall attend to you so nicely.
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn, My daughters do their nightly dance,
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.» And they'll rock you and dance you and sing you to sleep."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort My father, my father, and do you not see over there
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort? -Erlking's daughters in that dark place? -
«Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau: "My son, my son, I see it most definitely:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.» It's the willow trees looking so grey."
«Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; "I love you; I'm charmed by your beautiful form;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.» And if you're not willing, then I'll use force."
Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an! My father, my father, now he's grabbing hold of me!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan! -Erlking has done me harm! -
Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind, The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind, He holds in (his) arms the moaning child.
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not; He reaches the farmhouse with effort and urgency.
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot. In his arms the child was dead. (Translation by Hyde Flippo)
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/
