Way One: Chapters 5 through 9

Chapter 5: A Day and a Night

Heorot, where Golias tells Shandon to met up with him if they are separated in the Battle of Clontarf, is the site of the heroic epic Beowulf; the Norse king Hrothgar built a great hall, Heorot, which was then plagued by the monster Grendel, and delivered by the hero Beowulf.

Golias recognizes the locale because he came through on his way to the Second Battle of Moytura, which took place at the same time as the Fall of Troy, roughly 1869 B.C. The Tuatha Dé Danaan fought and defeated the Fomorians near Lough Arrow, County Sligo, in Ireland. Nuada of the Silver Hand was killed, and Lugh Lámhfada became king. Dates in Irish Myth and Legend

The Brian referred to is Brian Boru, the most famous high king of Ireland.

Aucando
Rosalette
seven cross roadsSeparated from Golias after the battle, and seeking his way to Heorot, Shandon wanders through the forest of Broceliande and comes across a young woman named Rosalette. Rosalette is in love with Aucando, who is the son of a king who has forbidden him to marry her and planned to kill her to prevent it. She has run away, but she is determined to seek out her Aucando. I have not been able to locate a specific story like this, but it sounds -- especially with later events -- very much like a plot from Shakespeare, who took his own plots from older literature and from folklore.

Fred Lerner points out that Aucando and Rosalette are portmanteau-names, combining "Aucassin" and "Nicolete" from the original Provencal chantefable (part sung, part spoken) Aucassin et Nicolete, c. 1200, by the ever-prolific Anonymous, with Orlando and Rosalind from Shakespeare's As You Like It. The song of Rosalette, "Seven roads could bring you here..." is in the rhyme and meter of Aucassin and Nicolette; Nocolette built her forest bower at a place where seven roads met.

Chapter 6: Random Faring

After watching feats of marksmanship from Pathfinder, Shandon gets to see a knight slay a dragon and rescue a fair (and so far unidentified) damsel. The knight's name is Calidore, and he cannot go with Shandon to help Rosalette because he must pursue the Blatant Beast. Calidore was the hero of the sixth bookof Spenser's Faërie Queene, and is supposed to have been modeled on Sir Philip Sidney.

As night is coming on, Shandon is waylaid by some men in green -- including a very BIG one. Now Broceliande incorporates Sherwood Forest. In looking for some online references on Robin Hood, his band of Merry Men, and Little John (the big one), I found a nice picture gallery. Check other Robin Hood references at Yahoo.

The Merry Men make a reference to the Cardiff Giant, one of the famous hoaxes of history - a 10 1/2 foot gypsum statue claimed to be the fossilized remains of an ancient man from the age of giants.

Chapter 7: Under the Leaves

Robin is also introduced to a young runaway who has just joined the band, Nicolind. Nicolind is not directly from literature or legend, but is a character made up by Myers to resemble types from Shakespeare; this character is related to Rosalette.

Chapter 8: Two Big Cats

Shandon also meets Puck, a central character from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Text With Pictures

Puck goes on at some length about the extent of the things he knows, including:

• what Geri and Freki feed on: Geri ("greedy") and Freki ("gluttonous") are the two wolf companions of the Norse god Odin. Fred Lerner also knows what they feed on: "the flesh of the boar Saehrimnir, boiled in a cauldron in Valhalla". With that clue, I found a plain version and a poetic version of the tale.
  
• what Jack Wilton did at the house of Pontius Pilate: ack Wilton was the lead character of a rollicking sixteenth century novel The Unfortunate Traveller (1594) by Thomas Nashe. Jack Wilton's Home Page   In Rome, Jack Wilton visited the house of Pontius Pilate and pissed behind it.  (Pontius Pilate has to be one of the most fascinating wimp-outs in history; for washing his hands of the fate of Jesus Christ, he has gotten literary and artistic attention for two thousand years.)
  
• what the Dagda said to call his harp: Celtic mythology. See The Legend of the Dagda's Harp.
  
• the stakes Setna played for: From Fred Lerner: Setna (Cuchullain) played a beheading game with the demon Uath and the churl, thus proving his right to be called champion of all Ireland.   Bricriu's Feast   (Tie-in with Sir Gawain & the Green Knight)
  
• who Kuwarbis got tight with: Kuwarbis was the father of the gods in Hittite mythology. He served Anu (the god who usurped the throne of heaven from Kuwarbis's father Alalu) as cupbearer for nine years. (From Fred Lerner; no online citations found yet.)
  
• why Ilmarinen didn't have much fun with his second wife: Ilmarinen is the legendary smith of the Finnish epic the Kalevala. After the death of his wife, he forged a wife out of gold and bronze, but "was not comforted." He then wooed another wife who nagged him so much he turned her into a seagull. He finally gave up and joined some other heroes on a mythic quest.
  
• what the suppliant maidens wanted: Back to Greek mythology here. The fifty daughters of Danaus prayed to Zeus that they not be compelled to marry the sons of Egyptus.
  

Chapter 9: A Guide and No Guides

Since Shandon is as hollow as Finnegan's legs, Puck mentions that he can pick up something to eat at a "day and night joint" he will pass on the way. The "day and night joint" is the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

• A summary of Alice in Wonderland
  
• Some more about the book
  
• The full text, with black-and-white illustrations
• Some full-color illustrations for Alice
  
• A biography of Lewis Carroll
  
• Review of a more controversial biography
  
• Some very weak links to pages tenuously, but delightfully, related to Alice in Wonderland
  

Another landmark is Wayland's Forge. Wayland the Smith was the greatest smith of Norse mythology. The Lay of Wayland in the original language

At last Silverlock comes to Heorot. In Chapter 10 he gets to hear Golias summarize his travels, as well as compose a skaldic saga for the heroes of the Alamo, and that will be an entire page to itself.

More to come ...