Sláine

Sláine is a series of Cartoon whose action initially proceeds in a Europe west and more particularly in a Ireland of there is 12.000 years, completely re-examined and corrected by the author. The author (Stalemate Millets) uses elements of the Celtic Mythologie mainly, and others incidentally (such as the Scandinavian Mythologie), as well as historical events, prehistoric and climatic proven to build the world in which the action occurs. Apart from that, it seems that its two independent sources of inspiration are Conan the barbarian and Freud the psychoanalyst. Between brackets, it adapts the myths Celtes to its way, and very often adapts them by transforming them with moyenâgeuses Christian interpretations, but only with an aim of doing what it wants, its universe is pagan and not moralizer.

Sláine is published in the comics British 2000 AD comics since 1983, some of its adventures are published in albums of cartoon since 1989, only these albums are published in French. The adventures of Sláine were drawn by various people such as Angela Kincaid (the first woman of Stalemate Millets), Mike McMahon, Massimo Belardinelli, Glenn Fabry, Simon Bisley, Clint Langley, Greg Staples, Dermot Power, or even Nick Percival. On the other hand, Pat Millets is the scenario writer of all the stories of Sláine . Sláine gave also rise to a Roleplay bearing its name and based on its history and its world, but Pat Millets is not the author.

Characters

Sláine : First of all, it should be said that Sláine is a name often returning in Irish mythology. The first mythical high-king of Ireland was called Sláine; this name can this translate by “the full good health”. For its homonyms, to see the English page.

The author very largely took as a starting point the Irish hero Cúchulainn to create Sláine. For example, all two are large warriors and all two are capable of a fatal fury, or “spasm of fury”. Slaine, Mac Roth of its name, is the hero, he belongs to the highest caste of warriors of her tribe, he has an axe fetish (bite-brain) which he uses throughout his adventures. At 16 years, it enters the hut where is retained captive promised of king (Niamh) and makes him love. Learning that, the king takes shade and condemns Sláine of it to the exile. Niamh considers whereas Sláine gave up it and is upset with him terribly. From their love was born a son, Kai. During this exile he traverses Western Europe and discovers the dangers which threaten the still free tribes. Its exile is punctuated of grinds adventures: it kills with prolifically, the Goddess sends it in the year 1014 to help the Irishmen to overcome the Viking S with the Bataille of Clontarf, it delivers a named young girl Medb which was going to be sacrificed to Crom Cruach, it meets a dwarf name of Ukko which will become its to put forward in all its adventures, it conceals with a lord drune the cauldron of abundance which nourishes whoever approaches some. After six years of exile, it turns over in its tribe where he becomes king, mainly thanks to the fact that he brings back the cauldron of abundance. I allow myself to say all that because this is held in the comics and was not diffused in France, in addition, there is a summary of all that at the beginning of the first album.

To return from there to the influences of the author, in the Finnish Mythology, Ukko are the god of the thunder.

the Goddess : Dana, or Danu, the goddess mother, the goddess Ground, the goddess of the war, it is declined in three misadventures: the old witch, the ripe woman and the young girl in flower. It is the incarnation of femininity and the fertility, but also of destroying nature. It has the capacity to make return the warriors in a fury such as their bodies becomes deformed and becomes grotesque but very fatal. Slaine has the capacity to call some with the Goddess to return in a “spasm of fury”, but she always does not listen to it. She is the keystone of the Cosmogonie of the world of Sláine.

the horned God : Cernunnos, the lord of the animals, is the incarnation of virility. That has to reign which has its characteristics: it is a man, a truth, he is strong and in good health, he is reasonable but can be fatal when it is needed. The horned god carries wood of stags and he is the lover of the Goddess, because it is necessary to like the Goddess to be able to reign on her, considering she is the Earth. The man become the horned god opposes to the heroes Sun which them are violent ones and limited, who also reign but displease with the Goddess. Moreover, one finds in many cultures the belief that when a king is bad, harvests are bad and the population is unhappy.

Cathbad : It is the Druide in the tribe of Sláine. He establishes and advises the kings, it is also him which puts ritually at dead the kings at the end of their seven years of reign.

the lords drunes and their chief: It is them the malicious ones, their chief is Slough Feg, the strange lord. Slough Feg was the last horned god goes back to it, but instead of committing suicide at the end of seven years and to leave the place to the young people, he preferred to remain, and for now 20.000 years he has broken up and acts against the Goddess. He and its lords are now the antiones, they venerate death, the destruction and the putrefaction. They reign on the major part of Western Europe, and want to conquer the four free tribes of the north, of which that of Slaine, in Eriu (Ireland).

Fomors (known as also Fomoriens or Fomoires): They is also the malicious ones, it is the people of the demons of the seas, they hold to ransom the tribe of Sláine, they are ugly and deformed, they live in the north of Eriu, in Lochlan, they have cold blood, symbol of frigidity, in opposition to the Celts who have them it hot blood.

obscure gods : still of other malicious, they live in the world of Cythraul, and nourish suffering of the human ones.

Crom Cruach : The worm of time, combined obscure gods, in the bad combat and sacrifices (because even the “nice ones” make sacrifices, like that of their king at the end of seven years, or that of the last arrived on the battle field). It absorbs the hearts of late and takes them along to Cythraul.

the Viking S : They are similar to the Celtes but their Gods is different, they live more in north and are enemy.

Places

Shooting Na nOg : Literally “the ground of the young people”, it is the world in which Sláine lives, it is Western Europe before the cast iron of the ices of the last glaciation, Ireland and Great Britain were thus attached to the continent by Toundra. This world is called ground of the young people because one did not see there old. Indeed, one very often catches a blow of sword there before a wrinkle. In the Celtic Mythology, it is one of the names of the “Sidh”.

El worlds : It is right beyond, one finds Cythraul, the Goddess there, the limbs by whom forward deaths. One can reach it while entering the cauldron of abundance.

Albums

Volumes 1 to 4

Volume 1: horned God
Volume 2: crowned Weapons
Volume 3: the King of the Celts
Volume 4: the white Goddess

Drawings: Simon Bisley

Sláine became the king of its tribe, but the lords drunes and Fomors want to invade its grounds and those of the three other still free tribes, this is why it decides to join together the four treasures of these tribes: the cauldron of abundance which nourishes whoever approaches some (that it has already), the lunar sword which crosses all metals, the lance of Lug assoiffée of blood, and destiny hones it which shouts when the true horned god is held on his top. Once joined together these treasures are supposed to symbolize the union of the four tribes under the same chief, the high king or laughed Ard, with the blessing of the Goddess. This chief becomes the horned God then. Sláine hopes that the tribes thus joined together under this chief will overcome the invaders, it also hopes to be this chief. It still has another goal by doing that: to restore the golden age which existed 200.000 years ago until Slough Feg becomes the horned god and corrupts the values of this god. This golden age was that of the Goddess, the world was governed by the horned god and the witches adoratrices of the Goddess and each one lived well. But only, the free tribes see of an evil eye the horned god because he is venerated by their enemies, they see it as a demon (it is what I said while speaking about moyenâgeuses Christian interpretations, because Cernunos was regarded as a devil by the church), whereas it is beneficial and that the drunes perverted its image. In these four volumes, Freud is everywhere, I do not say any too much on this subject not to waste the discovery with the future readers, but for example the lunar sword: its form points out that of a phallus excessively, thus exposing the weapons like a palliative to virility. These four volumes are used as reference for the majority of the readers of Slaine.

Volumes 5 and 6

Volume 5: Killer of demon
Volume 6: the Queen of the witches

Drawings: Glenn Fabry (volume 5), Dermot Power (volume 5 and 6)

Sláine is sent in the island of Brittany of the first century after J.C by the Goddess, to help the queen Boudicca to overcome the Roman invader, assisted by the Elfric demon. These two albums are not with the height of their predecessors, Sláine is there the antithesis of what it was front. He massacres blindly and unbounded, he violent and is limited, he becomes even a fanatic monk, unthinkable thing in the preceding episodes, even if it acts permanently for the Goddess. Apart from him, it is the same thing: whereas in the preceding albums, the hearts of dead were réincarnaient in no matter whom (except if they were made aspire by Crom Cruach), here they are réincarnent in a cheap form if they were bad and under a fine shape if they were good. Even the drawings are of a less invoice, makes the draftsman of it changes regularly but one finds oneself there, it is not too a problem. These two albums are especially interesting to make the comparison with the four precedents.

Volumes 7 and 8

Volume 7: the Name of the sword
Volume 8: the Lord of chaos

Drawings: Clint Langley (volume 8), Greg Staples (volume 7)

Sláine is sent in the England according to the reign of William the Conqueror by the Goddess, to help the last pagan of England to defend oneself against lords and ecclésiastes secretly dedicating a worship with an obscure god and having sworn to make atrociously suffer all the people from England, pagan and Christian included/understood. These albums are of a very correct level even if one does not find any more analysis freudienne, it are simply of good albums of héroic-fantasy.

Volumes 9 and 10

Volume 9: the Treasury of the English, volume 1
Tome 10: the Treasury of the English, volume 2

Drawings: Dermot Power

Sláine is sent by the Goddess in the island of Brittany at the time of the invasions saxonnes. It must gather before the Saxons the treasures of Brittany in order to give again life with the King Arthur (which rests with Avallon), so that this once returned king can restore peace in the kingdom of Brittany, and not to drive out the invader, that changes. The gods of Cythraul seek as for them to prevent the return of Arthur. This saga utilizes dfférents the elements of the Cycle arthurien, in particular most known: Merlin the enchanter and the Fairy Morgane. The environment of these volumes is rather different from the precedents, it makes very Medieval-fantastic, a little like the “Seigneur of the rings” but in more violent one and more baroque. Freud also returns, for example here, Arthur is traumatisé because it was born from the rape of his mother by her father, it is weakened and blocked because of his wife who is ice-cold, etc

Volume 11

Volume 11: the King of hearts

Drawings: Nick Percival

Sláine is sent by the Goddess in Scotland to the thirteenth century to help William Wallace to push back the English. As in all the preceding volumes, except the four first, the obscure gods have something to see inside.

The Books off Invasions

The Books off Invasions , to also see Lebor Gabála Érenn
Drawings: Clint Langley

Other albums left more recently, but they leave a little the screen those above exposed. They are published only in English by “Rebellion”, starting from stories published in 2000 AD the preceding comics, just like albums. The history proceeds in the Ireland antique from where is resulting Sláine, not a long time after the end of volume 4, Sláine returned at that time after its temporal peregrinations, by the will of the Goddess surely. There Fomors controlled the Atlantes and with their assistance, they try to conquer Ireland. They also killed Niam. Sláine must thus avenge Niam and overcome Fomors. It would seem that Egyptians play a part in this saga, in the person of their queen Scota and her continuation. The Scota queen is indeed an Egyptian queen of the Irish Mythologie, however, they are surely the monks copyists who have to make of the original character an Egyptian woman, that was made much in Ireland by the monks transpose of the heroes and the facts of mythology in more exotic contexts. In this saga, the draftsman mixes drawings, photographs and synthesized images, Slaine is strictly speaking unrecognizable there.

Translation

The original version of Sláine is in English. That it is as a cartoon or with the cinema, the translation poses sometimes problem. Here are some examples:

the third volume names in French the King of the Kings and in English . The English title renvoit with the widespread concept of king of the kings , whom one finds in particular at the Hebrew , the Perse S, the Indiens, etc the king of the kings is distinguished from the other kings from the facts that it is more powerful, that it has a larger territory, and on it reigns on them. Except the King of the Celts renvoit any more with nothing, the more so as in the album, Sláine is not the king of the Celts, but of four Celtic tribes.

penultimate the saga names the Treasury of the English , which is a very serious mistranslation, the original title is Treasures off Britain , would thus have had to be translated the Treasury of Breton the or Britons. English being in fact invaders. Historically about the sixth century, the Germanic tribes saxonnes, angles and Jutes invaded the island of Brittany, and it is on this fact that the legend of king (Breton) was built Arthur.

the axe fetish of Sláine follows it in all its adventures. He says, in English, when he uses it: “ KIS my axis ”, which means “embraces my axe”, pun with “ KIS my ass ” (“my bottom embraces”), translated into French by “sucks my axe”, which makes disappear the pun, but which reinforces the phallic aspect of the weapons.

External bonds

Sláine on the site of '' 2000 AD ''
Bédéthèque to get the albums
a site on Slaine (in English)
another site on Slaine (provided well and in English)
the Guide of the galactic rolist to discover the roleplay of Sláine
Bande announces of hypotetic a film of Sláine made by fans

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