Flight of the Heron read-along: Part III chapter 5

[regshoe]

:D

That Night in the Hut.

Next week we'll read the first two chapters of Part IV.

Comments

[regshoe]

Impressive feats of physical endurance by characters who suffer injury under terrible conditions are definitely one of Broster's Things. Ewen's ordeal here reminds me of La Vireville's in Sir Isumbras at the Ford and Raoul's in "Mr Rowl", and I wonder if that's something else that was inspired by Broster's war experiences.

Hooray for more Jacobite politics—thanks very much for that write-up!

Huh, I knew about George I's wife's affair from its description in the Jacobite song 'Cam Ye O'er Frae France' (Doon there cam a blade linkin' like my lordie/He wad drive a trade at the loom o' Geordie), which also makes fun of George's own cheating—but I didn't know about the background to it! Wow.

I learned that a Sir William Wyndham was a Tory minister of Queen Anne who, after the Hanoverian succession, did some Jacobite plotting around the '15. A relative of Keith's, or not??

Oh, nice find. From a bit of looking around it does seem like he's a member of the same W[y/i]ndham family who pop up elsewhere in eighteenth-century politics—and the fetterlock and lion's head symbol that we see in relation to Keith later on is the emblem of that family, so yes, I suppose they must be related. Between this guy and the Keith family, our Keith has surprisingly many Jacobite antecedents!...

[luzula]

Yes, that's true, it's in 'Cam Ye O'er Frae France'...but it doesn't mention her imprisonment.

Nice digging, finding the family crest! So it's definitely the same family, then. Some sort of cousin of Philip Windham, perhaps? Must be embarrassing for Keith...

[hyarrowen]

In heraldic terms, the lion means bravery, and the fetterlock stands for someone who redeems (ransoms or rescues) a prisoner. She didn't miss a trick.

[tgarnsl]

Honestly, Broster’s attention to detail astounds me, and the symbolism of the ring is not surprising even as it amazes me. Even the names would seem to be significant, with Ewen’s name meaning ‘from the mountains’ and Keith’s having something to do with woods or a battlefield, depending on what source.

[hyarrowen]

Hm, I got "yew-tree" for Ewen and "lord of the woods" for Keith - I hadn't picked up the other two meanings. I was happy enough with an arboreal connection for the two of them (possibly significant in a later chapter..?) but those meanings you've found are also quite fascinating and satisfying!

But. She was working at Oxford at the same time as Tolkien. I daresay some of that linguistic stuff osmosed across!

[tgarnsl]

Apologies for the late reply — that's also a fascinating meaning for Ewen, and would fit well with the cultural connotations of yews as associated with death, rebirth, and spiritual immortality.

[hyarrowen]

Ooh, I hadn't thought of the spiritual meanings! I didn't see the wood for the trees, as it were.

/tree fan