THE SHIPS OF HY-BRASIL

Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 of “The Ships of Hy-Brasil” we learned that Howard’s poem “The Isle of Hy-Brasil” is more than a historical narration of this island and its myth. As stated previously, “Isle” essentially describes the many types of ships anchored along its shores. To envision the beauty of this ancient island shoreline when lined with these ships, pictures of each ship type as well as a description have been added below. The ships discussed in Part 1 include the galleon, the coracle, the trireme, the galley, an ancient barge-boat, and the pirate ships: the brigantine, the caravel, the carrack and finally the frigate. Part 2 begins with the bireme.

And there’s a sturdy bireme that sailed to the Holy Land.

The Bireme

The Bireme is a galley type ship with two bank of oars that was especially used by the Greeks and Phoenicians. The ship had a hull of wood and was used for both shipping and naval warfare possibly as early as 350 bc It was configured with a single square rigged sail, short mast. The two banks of oars provided man-powered propulsion in case of calm waters or for better control in battles. The bronze armored ram on the bow of the ship was designed to be driven deep into an enemy ship. In addition to the small number of crew required, there could hold as many as 45 sailors during combat as well as additional fighting men on the main deck who were ready to board enemy vessels that had been rammed. Top speed was approximately seven knots.

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The Word of the Week Blog has appeared on The Cimmerian Blog each Monday since August 3, 2009. In May 2010, the format was slightly changed to include a monthly theme.  In the May introduction, it was mentioned the theme in June would be ships. Unfortunately, WotW will only post once this month. However, to fulfill that promise here is a two-part article on “The Ships of Hy-Brasil” from my February 2010 REHupa mailing based on the Robert E. Howard poem, “The Isle of Hy-Brasil.”  These will be the last two postings for Word of the Week on TC. Enjoy!

THE SHIPS OF HY-BRASIL
Part 1 of 2

In his poem, the “Isle of Hy-Brasil,” Robert E. Howard brings to life the fabled isle that existed even when the pre-historical islands of Atlantis and Lemuria were still afloat in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The isle, also known as Brazil, Hy-Brazil, and several other variants, is steeped in Irish myth. According to legend, it is a phantom island cloaked in mist, except for one day each seven years when it becomes visible but still unattainable. Similar in myth to that of St. Brendan’s Island [spelled Brandon in the poem], it is shown as being circular, often with a central strait or river running east-west across its diameter. Despite failure in the attempts to find Hy-Brasil/St. Brendan’s Island, it appeared regularly on maps lying southwest of Galway Bay from 1325 until 1865.

Howard’s poem “The Isle of Hy-Brasil” is more than a historical narration of this island and its myth. It essentially describes the many types of ships anchored along its shores. To envision the beauty of this ancient island shoreline when lined with these ships, pictures of each ship type as well as a description have been added below.

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troll

noun

1. a dwarf or giant in Scandinavian folklore inhabiting caves or hills.

According to a 1908 encyclopedia: “Trolls are dwarfs of Northern mythology, living in hills or mounds; they are represented as stumpy, misshapen, and humpbacked, inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children or substituting one of their own offspring for that of a human child. They are called hill-people, and are especially averse to noise, from a recollection of the time when Thor used to fling his hammer at them.”

[origin: 1616; Norwegian troll and Dan trold, from Old Norse troll giant, demon; probably akin to Middle High German trolle lout]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

There’s a bell that hangs in a hidden cave
Under the heathered hills
That knew the tramp of the Roman feet
And the clash of the Pictish bills.

It has not rung for a thousand years,
To waken the sleeping trolls,
But God defend the sons of men
When the bell of the Morni tolls.

[from “Bell of Morni”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 193]

dragon

noun

1. A mythical being traditionally represented as a gigantic winged reptile with a huge claws and scaly skin, usually breathing fire and smoke and spitting poison.

[origin: 13th century; Middle English, from Old French, dragun, from Latin draco, dracon-, large serpent, from Greek drakon serpent; akin to Old English torht bright, Greek derkesthai to see, to look at]

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gryphon (variant of griffin)

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Robert E. Howard had a wide variety of interests. and nowhere is this more obvious than in his poetry. He wrote poems on many subjects and his extraordinary ability for description often made words and images jump off the page. These details breathed life into his poems. For example, in “The Isle of Hy-Brasil” he mentions fourteen different types of ships, including galleons, coracles, triremes, and the Viking Serpent. And, he didn’t stop there. He also describes their scarlet courses, bridges, prows and poops. To highlight this talent for detail, over the next few months Word of the Week will have a slightly different format. Each month will have a different theme and the Word of the Week will be selected based on that.. The upcoming theme for May will be MYTHICAL BEINGS, June will be SHIPS and July will be GEMS.

The basic format for each word will remain the same.

werewolf

noun

1. a person who transformed into a wolf or is capable of assuming a wolf’s form.

Background: Historical legends describe a wide variety of methods for becoming a werewolf. One is the bite of another werewolf. Others include wearing a pelt made of wolf skin, rubbing the body with a magic salve, or drinking water from the footprint of a werewolf, or from certain enchanted streams.

The curse could be removed by an enchanter, or by reproaching the werewolf with being a werewolf, saluting it with the sign of the cross, addressing it thrice by its baptismal name, striking it with three blows on the forehead with a knife, or drawing at least three drops of its blood. Cures also included removing the animal pelt or skin, or kneeling in one spot for a hundred years.

[Origin: before 12th century; Middle English, from Old English werwulf (akin to Old High German werewolf werewolf), from wer man + wulf wolf ]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Up, John Kane! Why cringe there and cower?
The pact was sealed with the dark blood-flower;
Glut now your fill in the werewolf’s hour!

Fear not the night nor the shadows that play there;
Soundless and sure shall your bare feet stray there;
Strong shall your teeth be, to rend and to slay there.

Up, John Kane, the thick night’s falling;
Up from the valleys the white fog’s crawling;
Your four-footed brothers from the hills are calling:
Will ye come, will ye come, John Kane?

[from “Up John Kane!”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 192]

interjection

1. alas, woe; sorrow, regret

[Origin: ca. 1470; ScotGael ochan, Ir ochon; cf. och; Gaelic ochoin]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Oh the men of the isle are all loyal and bold
And the women are lovely and fair to the eye;
Ochone for the ones who left with a sigh.
(Betrayin’ their friends for the Englishmen’s gold.)

Oh never the love of that island shall slack
As long as her sons shall roam the world round,
For a country so beautiful n’er will be found.
(God pity the bastards that have to go back.)

[from the untitled poem “There’s an isle far away on the breast of the sea”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 624]

noun

1. knob on the hilt of a sword or saber

[Origin: 14th century; Middle English pomel, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin pomellum ball, knob, from diminutive of Latin pomum fruit]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

Harald leaned against the taffrail and gripped it with his hand;
The blood streamed from his arm and head, and he could scarcely stand.
When Eric saw his foeman’s plight, with laughter loud he roared,
Like a buffalo bull he charged to meet—the point of Harald’s sword!
For Harald’s strength for an instant returned and he put it all in a thrust;
To the hilt it sank in Eric’s breast and Eric bit the dust.

Over the hilt and pommel the red life blood did run,
And the star of Eric of Norway went down with the setting sun.
Hasting stood by a stanchion with Ragnar at his feet,
And deep in his heart he had believed that Eric could ne’er be beat.

[from “Eric of Norway”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 536 and A Rhyme of Salem Town, p. 76]

noun

1. narrow passages or gorges

[Origin: 1865; French défilé, from past participle défiler]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

From Sonora to Del Rio is a hundred barren miles
Where the sotol weave and shimmer in the sun—
Like a horde of rearing serpents swaying down the bare defiles
When the scarlet, silver webs of dawn are spun.

There are little ’dobe ranchos brooding far along the sky,
On the sullen dreary bosoms of the hills;
Not a wolf to break the quiet, not a desert bird to fly
Where the silence is so utter that it thrills.

[from “The Grim Land”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 302]

bale

noun

1. great evil; 2. woe, sorrow

[Origin: before 12th century; Middle English, from Old English bealu; akin to Old High German balo evil; Old Church Slavic boli sick person]

HOWARD’S USAGE:

His hair was black as the wings of night,
Coarse as a black bear’s fell;
His eyes were blue as the fire that roars
On the molten floors of hell.

My hair is black as a midnight sin,
My eyes are blue bale-fire;
My heart would sear a naked stone
With its hate and mad desire.

[from “Alien”; for the complete poem see The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard, p. 431]