Gunnerkrigg research sources

[wynne]

So I was walking through my friendly neighborhood library just now, and what do I spy on the shelf?



Reynard the Fox: Social Engagement and Cultural Metamorphoses in the Beast Epic from the Middle Ages to the Present, edited by Kenneth Varty. I just glanced through the chapters and skimmed a page or two of the introduction, but it had a lot of useful background on Reynardine, his origins and development in the world of folklore, and the variety of tales that surrounded him (including characters like Ysengrin, and a woman who reminded me of Surma to some extent). 3 minutes, and suddenly I have a lot more context for Reynard and where Tom's iteration might be coming from.

So that got me wondering if anyone else has similar background sources that might be relevant to Gunnerkrigg Court. What scholarly sources have you guys found, dug up, or read up on? How has that affected your interpretation of the comic?  And most importantly, what does this say about us? (sorry, my liberal arts are showing)  

But seriously, can we compile a reading list for people who might be interested in the cultural background and folklore that went into the comic? Tom has obviously put a lot of research into Gunnerkrigg, it seems a waste to let that hard work go unappreciated.

[Daedalus]

I have read a couple versions of the Reynard cycle, but I never noticed a woman reminding me of Surma. I'll look back, though: that would be really interesting!

[wynne]

I mean, it wasn't a direct correlation. But they mentioned the wife of a king or nobleman or something who seduced Reynard.

[eskhn]

Since a lot of it's going to be public domain, there'll be a fair amount on Project Gutenberg. Translations, maybe not quite so much. I looked, but I couldn't track down any public-domain English translations of Ysengrimus, for example.

[Covalent]

Wait, so... some characters were actually mentioned in mythology? Whaaaaaaaat.

[GK Sierra]

Oct 5, 2013 0:37:45 GMT Covalent said:

Wait, so... some characters were actually mentioned in mythology? Whaaaaaaaat.

I take it you are a STEM major.

[eskhn]

Oct 5, 2013 0:37:45 GMT Covalent said:

Wait, so... some characters were actually mentioned in mythology? Whaaaaaaaat.

If that wasn't sarcasm, yeah. The myths that supernatural creatures in Gunnerkrigg come from (ether and all that) are based on real ones. Renard and Ysengrin come from Ysengrimus, for example.

[Covalent]

Oct 5, 2013 3:27:03 GMT eskhn said:

Oct 5, 2013 0:37:45 GMT Covalent said:

Wait, so... some characters were actually mentioned in mythology? Whaaaaaaaat.

If that wasn't sarcasm, yeah. The myths that supernatural creatures in Gunnerkrigg come from (ether and all that) are based on real ones. Renard and Ysengrin come from Ysengrimus, for example.

It wasn't. I'm one of those people who's incapable of detecting and/or giving off sarcasm. I think the fact that there's a mythological basis is pretty awesome!

[eskhn]

Oct 5, 2013 3:29:07 GMT Covalent said:

Oct 5, 2013 3:27:03 GMT eskhn said:

If that wasn't sarcasm, yeah. The myths that supernatural creatures in Gunnerkrigg come from (ether and all that) are based on real ones. Renard and Ysengrin come from Ysengrimus, for example.

It wasn't. I'm one of those people who's incapable of detecting and/or giving off sarcasm. I think the fact that there's a mythological basis is pretty awesome!

The wiki has origins for some of them, if you want to dig deeper.

[Covalent]

Oct 5, 2013 3:31:25 GMT eskhn said:

Oct 5, 2013 3:29:07 GMT Covalent said:

It wasn't. I'm one of those people who's incapable of detecting and/or giving off sarcasm. I think the fact that there's a mythological basis is pretty awesome!

The wiki has origins for some of them, if you want to dig deeper.

Awesome. I'll check that out sometime.

[quinkgirl]

Urgh. I to find a solid book at a library instead of looking it up, or I'll never end up doing it. The problem is I'm only familiar to certain sections of the library and I hate asking for help to find things. It will take me a while.
The funny thing is that I thought Reynard and Ysen were original characters until I started browsing around this forum.

[warrl]

There are, so far, very few non-human, non-robot named characters in the comic that are not based on real-world mythology. Although sometimes the connection is somewhat weak. The only ones I can think of offhand are Ketrak and Mort, and there's a recurring quotation (I'm sure there are actually more shots of it...) with a loosely-implied connection to the latter.

For that matter, a fair number of the UNnamed non-human characters are based on real-world mythology. Everyone except Annie on this flashback page is taken directly from real-world mythology. (Including the "him" - Muut - referenced in the text at top left.) Note Annie speaking in hieroglyphics in the middle of the page (as I understand it, we have no clue what ancient Egyptian sounds like). And Annie talking to the guy in the lower left corner is referenced here in that he's the one who taught her a few words of Polish.

[philman]

As others have said, many characters have SOME mythological reference to them, although many times they have alot of characteristics that Tom has given them himself, with only a fleeting reference to the mythology. Personally I like how Tom mixes up the mythologies of many different cultures (with a majority of british and european, since after all, that's where this is set). Even in that scene in the woods with Smitty and the flying octopus, most of those characters even have some sort of reference to them! 9even if a few of them are a little jokey/silly)

With regards to someone mentioning Mort, and that quotation we see near the room where he lives, I do wonder whether he will come to play a larger part later on. The quote is from an ancient Roman saying meaning "It is sweet and right to die for your country". But I don't think Mort is supposed to be a specific mythological or historic person.

[warrl]

Oct 7, 2013 16:57:42 GMT philman said:

Personally I like how Tom mixes up the mythologies of many different cultures (with a majority of british and european, since after all, that's where this is set).

Not just that, but Tom is British himself. And he gets things right besides the mythology. For example, Paz speaking Galician - not Spanish. Spanish is the first language of only 89% of native Spaniards, and probably a good share of them would tell you their native tongue is Castilian. The other 3.5 officially recognized languages of Spain are: Catalan and its dialect Valencian; Galician; and Basque. Several additional languages are acknowledged by certain provincial governments as native languages of those provinces. (Basque is the only one that is not a Romance language.)

With regards to someone mentioning Mort, and that quotation we see near the room where he lives,

That was me, and I strongly suspect it will remain a noodle incident. Along with the cursed teapot, and probably the footsteps into the paintings.

[eskhn]

Oct 7, 2013 22:13:49 GMT warrl said:

Spanish is the first language of only 89% of native Spaniards, and probably a good share of them would tell you their native tongue is Castilian.

Last I checked, it was even lower- 74% for Castilian. More people in Spain are Catholic than primary Spanish speakers (by a lot).

[Covalent]

I feel so ignorant now... I just assumed she spoke Spanish.

[King Mir]

Oct 8, 2013 4:51:58 GMT Covalent said:

I feel so ignorant now... I just assumed she spoke Spanish.

Not unreasonable, given that Mort and Annie scared her in spanish.. However, Tom said she spoke Galician outside the commic, possibly in the cometary or on formspring (I don't have a link).

[Mezzaphor]

I recall Tom saying that she's "a Galician hick", and that's why her (Castillian) Spanish sometimes doesn't follow proper grammar.

Tom has family from Galicia, by the way.

[GK Sierra]

Oct 8, 2013 9:23:57 GMT Mezzaphor said:

Tom has family from Galicia, by the way.

Really? How'd you find that out?

[Mezzaphor]

This post.

[quinkgirl]

Oct 8, 2013 4:51:58 GMT Covalent said:

I feel so ignorant now... I just assumed she spoke Spanish.

You're not the only one
LAUGHING ON LINE

[imaginaryfriend]

I intended to drop these links here since the thread started but I kept forgetting...

Here is a page with a bunch of native American myths online. The Coyote is in some of them.

Ether (aka Aether, the 5th element) keeps popping up in the comic but is not mythic per se, it's an obsolete concept in physics/alchemy/philosophy. Primary sources on ether are not very enjoyable reading for people who are not philosophy majors or slumming physicists so this is one instance that I'd recommend the wiki or a Yahoo answers.