#eulalia!

This was absolutely fantastic - a great addition to the series. I loved the story, the characters, everything. Sometimes the badgers really get the most tragic of story lines, and although there is plenty of sadness in this one, this was, I think, overall, the happiest stories for the badgers.

Read : Feb 21st - 27th, 2023

“The term is supposedly derived from an ancient Norse, Viking, or Celtic word meaning ‘victory.’”1 “It comes from "Weialala leia", the lament of the Valkyries in Richard Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung, as quoted by T. S. Eliot in The Waste Land.”2

In The Waste Land, “modern (1920s) Europe has become an uncivilised place: not only in the fact that it has been the scene of a massively destructive war; but also in the sense that it has lost its way morally and spiritually.”3 In the poem, Eliot makes allusions to many older classic works of art. One of these, of course, is Götterdämmerung. The opera is German, but is written about the Valkyries of Norse stories, which is where “Norse, Viking, or Celtic” comes in. The Valkyries were mythical women who guided soldiers after their death. Apparently, they cried “Weialala leia” to mean victory, as far as Wagner transcribed it.

Or, at least, that’s as far as I can figure it. He must’ve been such a well-read man

Sources and Disclaimers

1: Redwall wiki, where we get “victory”

2: Wikipedia, where we get everything about Wagner and Eliot, but keep in mind that this is un-cited

3: An explanation of The Waste Land

It’s not a bad book, I do enjoy rereading it, and Maudie and Orkwill are fun characters. It’s just. There’s something bland about it? Vizka Longtooth isn’t a very exciting villain?

Honestly that’s probably my biggest issue is Vizka just feels . . .mediocre I guess?