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Fillow
Master of Realmslore
France
1608 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Oct 2008 : 18:28:46
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Here is the question !
I quite understand why the fang term was chosen but...
An aegis, the mythology reporting term, is a type of shield that Zeus gave to Athena.
I really wonder, for many months and maybe years, why Bruenor (and especially R. Salvatore !) called this hammer with the name of a shield !
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"Today is a good day to smile",
Fillow Big'n'Book Mahlemiut 'Lead-dog', Son of Garl, Wanderer of the Masked Leaf and Namer of Oghma.
- Fight in the arena and have fun ! : La brute.com
- Feel free to take part to these projects : Post-Spellplague bibliography ; 4E index project ; Taverns and inns of the Realms ; Dogs of the Realms ; Descriptions of places in the novels ; forums, RPG, FR Abbreviations and Acronyms
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I am a French FR fan, so please forgive my lapses in English language and do not hesitate to correct me. Thanks a lot. |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2008 : 19:11:55
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Yeah... don't hold your breath on that one...  |
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Aureus
Learned Scribe
Luxembourg
125 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2008 : 19:54:50
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Wikipedia states that it ancient Greek it means "violent windstorm" (first meaning), it also refers also to the afore mentioned shield and in last place a goat coat (which Athena apparently wore a armor).
If dear mister Salvatore thought about the meaning, it likely refers to the windstorm meaning, but it is also possible that he just liked the ring of the word (and it sounds rather powerful, at least to me). I like the name. |
That is not the weirdest thing that happened to me |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1864 Posts |
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Fillow
Master of Realmslore
France
1608 Posts |
Posted - 04 Oct 2008 : 20:11:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
If you must interpret the name in any way, it's possible to translate it as the 'fang of shields'. In other words, the breaker of shields, the bane of protection. The destroyer.
You might be right Icelander.
The main word of the name is indeed Fang and not Aegis. The latter is "just" the qualifier of the noun.
If we add the explanation of Aureus, we get a fang which is as terrible as a viloent windstorm.
I think we have the answer.
Aegis-Fang is a fang whith the power of a violent windstorm.
Thank you so very much to you fellow scribes. |
"Today is a good day to smile",
Fillow Big'n'Book Mahlemiut 'Lead-dog', Son of Garl, Wanderer of the Masked Leaf and Namer of Oghma.
- Fight in the arena and have fun ! : La brute.com
- Feel free to take part to these projects : Post-Spellplague bibliography ; 4E index project ; Taverns and inns of the Realms ; Dogs of the Realms ; Descriptions of places in the novels ; forums, RPG, FR Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Come and have a look at the already asked questions from the Forgotten Realms Trivia Challenge
I am a French FR fan, so please forgive my lapses in English language and do not hesitate to correct me. Thanks a lot. |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 02:24:37
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| page 117 of the crystal shard names the warhammer, during a discussion between Bruenor and drizzt, right before he gives it to Wulfgar. No reason or meaning given. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 06:07:56
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"Fang" does seem an odd name for any non-piercing weapon, though.
The word "Aegis" is most commonly associated with shields and defense. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3248 Posts |
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Neil Bishop
Learned Scribe
Singapore
100 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 14:35:26
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I think it's fair to say that about half of the names that RAS chooses are appalling and completely inconsistent with the world he is writing in. He seems to have a fondness for misuing ancient Greek: Artemis and aegis are two (bad, IMO) examples.
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Regards
NXB |
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scererar
Master of Realmslore
USA
1618 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 15:44:06
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quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Ahh, but there is the spike on the reverse side of the hammer (as seen on the original cover of The Crystal Shard by Larry Elmore). Hence why fang always seemed appropriate to me.
one of my favorite realms covers. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 16:01:44
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quote:
Originally posted by Neil Bishop
I think it's fair to say that about half of the names that RAS chooses are appalling and completely inconsistent with the world he is writing in. He seems to have a fondness for misuing ancient Greek: Artemis and aegis are two (bad, IMO) examples.
I've seen the name Artemis (usually spelled Artemus) used for one or two other male characters elsewhere, most notably Artemus Gordon from the late 60's TV show (and the bad 1999 movie) Wild, Wild West. I've just never understood why the name of a goddess would be tweaked and/or used as is to apply to a male. I don't know of any males named Aphrodite, Hera, Athena, Isis, or anything like that... |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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Fillow
Master of Realmslore
France
1608 Posts |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 05 Oct 2008 : 22:51:39
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Pfft...you guys are nuts. Salvatore doesn't use silly names in his work. His stuff's too mature for that...now...let me just settle in and turn on the TV and watch a little "Live with Regis and Cattie-Brie."
:D |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader
USA
3248 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2008 : 04:25:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
*snip*
I don't know of any males named Aphrodite, Hera, Athena, Isis, or anything like that...
Heracles ring a bell?
 Poking fun at the space hamster is fun sometimes. |
I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.
Ashe's Character Sheet
Alphabetized Index of Realms NPCs |
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Vangelor
Learned Scribe
USA
183 Posts |
Posted - 06 Oct 2008 : 06:34:57
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Or, for that matter, "Ilmater"?
In the Kalevala, she's female.
Also, Hellene males named for Athena were generally called after an epithet: "Pallas". One famous example was one of the freedmen secretaries of state under Emperor Claudius. |
Edited by - Vangelor on 06 Oct 2008 06:37:40 |
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Jamallo Kreen
Master of Realmslore
USA
1537 Posts |
Posted - 07 Oct 2008 : 17:28:05
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"Aegis" is also the name of a missile defense system. I suspect that he called the hammer "Aegis-Fang" because he thought that it sounded cool.
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I have a mouth, but I am in a library and must not scream.
Feed the poor and stroke your ego, too: http://www.freerice.com/index.php.
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Chosen of Moradin
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1120 Posts |
Posted - 07 Oct 2008 : 21:54:38
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I never have thinked about the name... what Icelander and Aureus said makes sense to me.
Thanks for the good info. |
Dwarf, DM, husband, and proud of this! :P
twitter: @yuripeixoto
Facebook: yuri.peixoto |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36877 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2008 : 14:27:31
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quote:
Originally posted by capnvan
Actually, if you look at the Wikipedia discussion page on Aegis, you'll see that there are a number of people who dissent from the idea that the word derives from "violent windstorm." My Greek dictionary is in storage, but it wasn't familiar to me, either. Certainly, if you use some Google-fu, you're not going to see a lot of mention of that concept under the results.
I would not put any weight on that definition at all.
Nor would I. It was the name of a shield, and nearly all uses of the word are obviously derived from that. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 08 Oct 2008 : 19:03:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Aureus
Wikipedia states that it ancient Greek it means "violent windstorm" (first meaning), it also refers also to the afore mentioned shield and in last place a goat coat (which Athena apparently wore a armor).
According to the Online Etymological Encyclopedia, <the etymology of the word "aegis"> is:
- ProtoIndoEuropean aig - goat
- Greek aix - goat (common variant aigos)
- Greek aigis - the goatskin-covered divine shield
- Latin aegis - shield, barrier, or means of protection, in general
<A Greek Dictionary entry for a related word> in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible confirms this.
However, the dictionary gives <a separate listing for another word> that mentions the verb AISsô (to rush). While it might be tempting to infer that rushing could have originally had something to do with goats, the noun aigos and the verb aissô are probably unrelated. The noun almost certainly derives from the similar PIE and Sanskrit noun, as mentioned in the Encyclopedia.
Interestingly enough, <the etymology of the word "fang"> is:
- PIE pank - to fix or make firm
- ProtoGermanic fango
- Old English gefangen - to capture, catch, grasp, seize, or take; noun fang
Thus, literally "Aegis-fang" would seem to mean "that which firmly catches or seizes upon a shield or means of protection".
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Ahh, but there is the spike on the reverse side of the hammer (as seen on the original cover of The Crystal Shard by Larry Elmore). Hence why fang always seemed appropriate to me.
While some of the artwork has given Aegis-fang the appearance of having a spike opposite the rounded striking surface, the text of The Crystal Shard simply says that the hammer is "two-headed":
quote:
The image of a two-headed hammer hidden within the block of mithril had come to Bruenor in a dream earlier that week. (TCSh, P2:C11)
There is no mention of a spike for a peen, which is the term for the class of structures often found opposite a hammer's primary striking face or surface.
Also consider this passage:
quote:
For a long moment, it remained a squared block. Then its sides appeared to round as the image of the marvelous warhammer came clear to the dwarf. (TCSh, P2:C11)
The mention of the sides appearing as round could connote two round striking faces on the hammer, without any peen whatsoever. (Think <sledgehammer>.)
However, this passage might also simply be referring to the fact that a cubic lump of metal would initially need to have its squared-off edges rounded-off in order to begin the crafting process, rather than giving us any indication as to the final shape. |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
Edited by - BEAST on 09 Oct 2008 09:01:00 |
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Why did he called it "Aegis-Fang" ?
