[Milton-L] Midgard Serpent and Leviathan

[FLANNAGAN, ROY]

Dear Dr. Lara (adopting Ross's southern style!),
 
Here is an image of Jonah's whale exactly contemporary with Milton's college age, though in Lincoln College, Oxford: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/386607469/in/set-72157594529682304/
The image is frightening, with Jonah's foot in the mouth of the whale.  The connection with Norway takes the fish in another direction, as Ross's research may well show.
 
Roy Flannagan

________________________________

From: milton-l-bounces at lists.richmond.edu on behalf of Ross Leasure
Sent: Sat 3/28/2009 10:22 AM
To: John Milton Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Milton-L] Midgard Serpent and Leviathan



Dear Dr. Lara,

Although you may find the footnote in the Riverside pertinent, I might
also suggest you take a look at the the Old English Physiologus poem
on the whale (from the Exeter Book), as well as the entry in the 12th
century Latin Bestiary on the ocean monster called an "Aspido."  There
is a similar account given of the whale's activity in the Voyage of
St. Brendan though I don't have the citation for the passage at hand
just now.

I'm particularly interested in your query since I have been working on
and will likely continue to work on the late 18th/early 19th Icelandic
translation/paraphrase of Paradise Lost in my research.  Initially I
examined the invocations for a paper I delivered last July for the
International Milton Symposium.  My idea now is to examine the Son on
the Chariot of Paternal Deity as an analogue to Thor in his "wagon"
(such as one finds not only in excerpts from the Prose Edda, but also
in a couple verses in the Poetic Edda).

I hope I've been of some small help.

On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 4:06 PM, Lara Dodds <LDodds at english.msstate.edu> wrote:
> Hello all:
>
>
> A student asked if the sea-beast "haply slumbering on the Norway foam" (PL 1. 203) suggests an allusion or reference to the Midgard Serpent (or World Serpent).  In Norse mythology, this creature is so big that it encircles the earth and grasps its own tail. Also the Midgard Serpent is the enemy of Thor and will eventually be defeated by Thor (though Thor will also perish in the encounter).  I don't know much about these tales, but I believe the story of the Midgard Serpent can be found in the Prose Edda and other Old Norse or Icelandic texts.
>
> I didn't know the answer to my student's question, but knew someone on the list would.  Is allusion to the Midgard Serpent a plausible reason for Milton to locate the vignette of sea creature and pilot in Norway?
>
> Thanks for any thoughts on this matter or for references to sources which discuss this possibility.
>
> All the best,
> Lara
>
> Dr. Lara A Dodds
> English Department
> Mississippi State University
> 662-325-2344
>
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--
T. Ross Leasure
Dept. of English
Salisbury University
Salisbury MD 21801

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