onsdag 29 Jul 2009, 0:52

This was originally posted in the Njord thread in the Leaves' Eyes Last.fm group. Figured I might as well make it a journal as well. Enjoy! :D If you have any additional insights to share, please do so. :)

Oh, and there's now about a month to go until the European releases of Njord. :-P

Finland, Spain: August 26
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Benelux, France, Italy: August 28
Rest Of Europe: August 31
Canada: September 1
USA: September 29
(Source: BlabberMouth.net)

All right, I'm in a hotel with nothing better to do, it's research time! :-P

The Battle of Maldon: England, AD 991, Saxons vs. Viking raiders. Also the title of a Saxon poem about it. (The Vinland Sagas were also ancient historical poems.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maldon
http://www.battleofmaldon.org.uk/

Nine Wave Maidens: "WAVE-MAIDENS: The white-robed billowy daughters of AEGIR the Undersea Brewer and RAN. Their names include BYLGIA, DAFN and JARNSAXA. They can often be seen waving from the waves and one day they waved at ODIN causing him to have salacious thoughts. He wondered what it would be like to have his wicked way with all nine of them simultaneously — and the naughty thought alone was potent enough to make them the joint mother of HEIMDALL. All nine of them had to share a single family allowance."
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/norse-mythology.php?deity=WAVE-MAIDENS

EDIT: Moowny has found this page, which lists the names of the wave maidens or "billow maidens." It seems that Atla, Imd, Angeyja, and Ulfrun are named in the song.

Njord: the Norse god Njörðr, as previously mentioned.

Emerald Island: This title usually refers to Ireland, but may also refer to the Isle of Man. There's also Greenland, but that one was titled as such as a marketing gimmick to get people to move there. :-P

Scarborough Fair: A traditional ballad, obviously, but also a historical event: "During the late Middle Ages the seaside town of Scarborough (now a resort) was an important venue for tradesmen from all over England. It was host to a huge 45-day trading event, starting August 15, which was exceptionally long for a fair in those times. Merchants came to it from all areas of England, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic states and the Byzantine Empire."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarborough_Fair

Ragnarok: Where Dagorhir fighters go to lose their virginity, or so I've heard. :-P And, as probably every metal fan knows: "In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Freyr, Heimdall, and the jötunn Loki), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water. Afterward, the world resurfaces anew and fertile, the surviving gods meet, and the world is repopulated by two human survivors. Ragnarök is an important event in the Norse canon, and has been the subject of scholarly discourse and theory."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k

Morgenland: "Morning Land," the East, the opposite of the West or the Occident (which, in Latin, means where the sun dies). Curiously, this also appears to be the current German term for the Middle-East: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenland

The Holy Bond: I searched Google for pages containing norse mythology "holy bond," and this thread was the fourth result. :-P Other results referred to friendships, marriage, and (apparently) the bond between a people and their king.

Frøya's Theme (also mistagged as Froyas Theme and Froya's Theme): Froya is of course the goddess Freyja, known to some of us in human form as Liv Kristine. :-P "…she is a goddess of riches whose tears are gold. She is also goddess of love, sex and attraction, and so was one of the most popular goddesses. She was the most desirable of all goddesses. … She is the sister of Freyr (AKA Carmen Elise Espenæs :-P) and the daughter of Njord. Freya was associated with elves. Her chambermaids were Fulla, Hlin and Gna. Her palace was in Folkvang and her hall was Sessrumnir. … She was once married to Odr, but he disappeared. She cried golden tears afterwards. … She was stabbed and burnt three times, but arose from the flame each time and transformed herself into Heith ("the Glorious"), mistress of magic, in a shamanic initiation. This also started the war between the Aesir and the Vanir."
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Froya/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja

Landscape of the Dead: Most likely refers to the Land of the Dead, the underworld. "On the lowest level is Niflheim, the land of the Dead. It is a gloomy place of ice and snow and eternal darkness. It is ruled by Hel the gruesome Queen of the Dead. To reach Niflheim you have to travel for nine days norwards and downwards from Midgard. At the gate is the ghastly dog Garm with his bloodstained breast. The fires of Muspell burn on this level. Muspell is guarded by Surt and his flaming sword." (Midgard, if you didn't know, is our world - like Middle-Earth, it exists between Asgard and the underworld. Some of the "Nine Wave Maidens" are described in the song as being "asleep on Midgard sands.")
http://www.geocities.com/vikinghomeland/norsemyth.html

Les Champs de Lavande: Turns out this means "The Fields of Lavender." OMG WHAT A LOVELY NAME FOR A SONG MUST BE BEST ALBUM OF ALL TIME. :)

[insert reference to Leaves' Eyes here because I can't be bothered to find out how to ghost-link]