IMPORTANT:
Every occurrence of "left" and "right" used here to refer to the stars of the Ursa Major refers to the left and right of the reader.
In the second arc of the Ringstetten Saga, King Charles XII and his six closest generals are often compared to the seven stars of the Ursa Major or Big Dipper, known in Swedish as Stora Karlavagnen, the "Great Wagon of Charles."
En ringa hop, ty deras tal
var sju, som Karlavagnens stjärnor,
och strängt var deras fria val.
De prövade med svärd och lågor.
Det var en kristnad vikingstam,
ej olik den, som fordom sam
på drakar över mörkblå vågor.
De sovo aldrig uti säng,
men på sin kappa, bredd på jorden,
bland storm och drivor ifrån Norden
så lugnt som på en blomsteräng.
En hästsko kramade de samman,
och aldrig såg du dem kring flamman
som sprakar ifrån spiselns häll;
de eldade med kulor gärna
så röda som när dagens stjärna
går ned i blod en vinterkväll.
Det var en lag i stridens våda,
att en fick vika först för sju
med bröstet vänt mot dem ännu,
ty ryggen skulle ingen skåda.
Och slutligt var det ock ett bud
helt svårt, det svåraste kanhända,
till ingen mö de fingo vända
sin håg förrn Karl tog själv en brud.
Hur himmelsblått två ögon lyste,
hur rosenrött två läppar myste,
hur barmens svanar summo på
sin insjö, likaledes två,
de måste blunda - eller springa:
de voro vigde vid sin klinga.
In Charles' own band he was instated
Midst those in soul to him related:
Their number — small the company —
To sev'n, like Charleswain's stars amounted,
Or nine at most, like Muses counted
And hardy was their choice, tho' free.
With sword and flame their mission proving,
A christen'd race of Vikings bold,
They liken'd those that went of old
In prows o'er darkblue billows roving.
Of couch they never stood in need,
But on the earth their mantle spreading,
Nor Northern storms nor snowdrifts dreading,
Slept sweetly as on flow'ry mead.
Their grasp a horseshoe bent together,
And ne'er thou'dst see, in bitt'rest weather,
Them round the hearthflame sparkling bright;
They loved of cannonballs the heating,
As red as setting sun retreating
In blood, before a wintry night.
Their rule in battle was that never
To less than sev'n might one give way,
Still fronting them with breast at bay,
For none should see their back turn'd ever.
And lastly there was this command,
Severe, of all perchance severest:
No maiden must their heart hold dearest,
Till Charles himself bestowed his hand.
How bright two heav'n-blue eyes were glancing,
How smiled two rosy lips entrancing,
How high the swans on bosom fair
Swam o'er their lake — another pair, —
They must not gaze — else flee affrighted:
For to their swords their troth was plighted.
This theory relates Gustav Adolf von Ringstetten, Rehnskiöld's aide-de-camp, to Alioth, the fifth star from right to left, yet the brightest one in the Ursa Major.
The chapters of the Snow Queen retelling set in our days that is coming up for this year are titled after the stars in the UMa from right to left, which seems to be an echo of this distinction.
The chapters of the Snow Queen retelling set in our days that is coming up for this year are titled after the stars in the UMa from right to left, which seems to be an echo of this distinction.
But there is another related theory that claims that the Happy Few of the first arc (the leading squad, the Blue Brigade's Fourth Regiment's Seventh Company) were already an avatar of the Great Wagon of Charles. There are several versions of the correspondences, some of them being in order of rank from right to left, others being in plot relevance as from right to left.
GENERAL:
- Ursa Major points up north to the Polar Star - Guiding Star - towards Sweden: the survivors of the company make it to a new home, given estates by the Queen of Sweden, Christina.
- UMa is frequently used to figure out where north is in the open air --follow the dipper--. It's even mentioned time after time, given the setting and the cast.
- The members of the company, more specifically its officers and noncoms, counting their wives, make up a total of seven.
- Great Wagon of Charles/Little Wagon of Charles (Stora/Lilla Karlavagnen Swedish names of the Dippers or Ursae). Charles/Karl --"free man"-- Duke/King Charles IX of House Vasa, born Duke of Värmland, founder of the regional capital Karlstadt -- "Charlestown" -- father of Gustavus Adolphus and grandfather of Christina.
- Ursae/Dippers in classical lore: Zeus's mistress Callisto, huntress nymph, and their son Arcadius (or Arthurus), turned by Hera into bears, then by Zeus into constellations (to save them from Callisto's former huntress companions), then Hera put a dragon in between them to separate them.
- The numbering of the stars in the UMa is not due to brightness, but to their appearance in the night sky, from right to left in an ascending order.
MOST WIDESPREAD CORRESPONDENCES
Dubhe: Gerhard Wilhelm von Ringstetten - the leading lieutenant
He is in charge. At first a raised courtier, not that experienced at all in the art of war, we see him mature until he dies of a stroke in his new Swedish home, right as he finished writing his memoirs, left-handed as usual. Dubhe is the alpha star of the Ursa and one of the pointers that lead to the North Star a long distance across the Dragon's tail tip. (But, however, Dubhe is NOT the brightest star --- that honour belongs to Alioth; see below. Dubhe is the SECOND brightest star... compare the Gerhard/Alois relationship discussion below). The Dragon here may signify the long, fire-breathing, ruthless war that the cast survivors go through to make it up north. Only after the end of the war can they settle in Swedish. Cultured and nice, yet pretty gauche in the arts of war (as well as healing plants, using the stars for orientation, and even needlework!), at first an ensign, he soon rises to the rank of lieutenant and the leadership of the company. At the end of the day, we find him writing his own memoirs and leading a contemplative life in his fifties. Based upon Jaime Lannister and Quatre Winner, yet at heart upon Cassio in Othello, the more sensible Ringstetten older brother walks through fire and ice, learning the ways of both needlework and warfare, turning from honour and glory to drink and crime, then back into his old values... shaping his own destiny together with his wife, then dying having left his legacy to her and to their descendants.
Merak: Liselotte von Ringstetten, née von Tarlenheim - the lieutenant's wife/the royal lovechild
This camp-born and camp-bred ladette proves the de facto leader, many a time. The fish with a bike behind Lieutenant von Ringstetten. Like Dubhe, Merak, the beta star, is one of the pointers that lead to the North Star a long distance across the Dragon. It is she who brings the royal and godly blood of Van Frey into the Ringstetten dynasty, her birth father being Gustavus Adolphus himself (her illegitimacy also connects to the Ursae classical legend). Liselotte and Gerhard rarely leave one another's side and risk it all to save one another's lives. A spirited, unusual tomboyish maiden, full of freckles and of élan, she is completely unlike the court lady kind of maidens the young officer had hitherto known. She can defend herself from stalkers and other ill-intentioned men (at one point, she is compared to Yael, who killed Sisera!), she knows how to sell things, how to steal fruit or valuables, a master escapist, she is ironic, talkative, brash, savvy, a wiz when it comes to healing plants and to tending to injuries, can orient herself by using the stars, as left-handed as her spouse, the only girl to become a surgeon's assistant in all military camps of the 30YW. BADASS. During their time as bandits, she is the Bonnie to Gerhard's Clyde (Hedi merely third-wheeling). The brains to his brawn, or rather the right brain to his left. And, in the end, she keeps the legacy of her late spouse and becomes the iron matriarch of House Ringstetten, staying alive for yet another arc, not only the widow of a lord, but also a ruler and a leader herself.
Phecda: Erich von Hohenklang, né Erik Klang - the humble, steadfast ensign
Phecda's Asian name is the "heavenly pearl", while its Weastern designation translates to "thigh," fitting for the tallest and sturdiest member of the company. An orphan and veteran of the Polish Wars, camp-born and camp-bred Klang is the only pure Swede in the company, making his position rather remarkable. In his late twenties-early thirties, he is also the eldest ranking member of the company. Once promoted to ensign during the Pomeranian campaign, his first officer's commision did not last rather long; getting quickly demoted after drinking in excess on guard duty. The second chance he has attained as Colonel von Tarlenheim's orderly -with the ensuing unrequited love for Liselotte, leading in that he wants her to be happy with someone worthy of her- means he looks up to this officer as a caregiver; after the Colonel drowns at the Lech, Erik is still a ranker, though now orderly to Lieutenant von Ringstetten: outranked by both Kurtius and Alois, yet hopeful that he will rise up the ranks again. That wish comes true: attaining the ensigncy and barony left vacant by von Waldmeister at the Old Keep, he will keep the post until his demise at Lützen. A troublemaker, drinker, gambler, skirt-chaser... he is based partly on Kurtz in FMP, partly on Baldroy. And somewhat on Robert Baratheon before losing Lyanna. At length a foil to his predecessor and bromantic partner Kurtius, the Leipzig Uni student, this uncultured and hardy Swedish farmboy also makes himself worthy of a von and an officer's commission. Introduced pestering Liselotte at camp, he dies protecting his lieutenant, whom he finally trusts, upon the battlefield of Lützen. Reaching his calabash canteen 3/4 full of brandy out to his wounded, thirsty commanding officer. For Crown and Country, like his parents died before. With a smile.
Megrez: Kurt "Kurtius" (von) Waldmeister - the intellectual ensign
The Asian designation of Megrez is that of "learned/scholarly star," which cannot fit Kurtius any better. He is the only person in the company with whom the Ringstetten siblings can carry out an intellectual conversation. A left-handed, carrot-topped poet and university student with a "nerdy" streak, pretty gauche in the arts of war, yet exceedingly cultured, Kurtius gradually unfolds as a worthy officer, until his violent, untimely death at the Old Keep sent shockwaves through the whole fanbase. The eccentric Kurtius was meant to be based upon a witty, ironic Mercutio, and also slightly upon the discipulus (pupil/student) in the Apollonius cycle: "a stripling in appearance, yet an aged man in wisdom," or, as a more modern translation states, "of youthful appearance, but mature judgement." Megrez, the star where the handle joins the dipper, or where the funeral train joins the coffin, is a nexus, yet also the one that shines the faintest of the seven, parallelling how Kurtius, in every continuity, is the very first of the Happy Few to die. At first pressed into the Saxon military under the influence (plied with drink in a Leipzig tavern, he awakens in a scarlet uniform)... he quickly develops from a learned yet gauche/awkward "fish out of social water" to a daring trickster who probes the Lech on April Fools' Day. Sauntering stark naked into a freezing Phlegethon. This act was what made Kurtius win his ensigncy, the title of Freiherr (free lord or baron), and fifty golden Swedish crowns. Then, he is suddenly shot at the Old Keep, gallantly wrapping himself in the flag of Sweden, a flag that was not his own from the start... We hardly got to know him...
Alioth: Alois von Tarlenheim, né Ivanovic - the brash, savvy sergeant
Alioth is, together with the twin stars and Alkaid, a bad omen. The phonetic similarity between "Alioth" and "Alois," as well as his eldest daughter marrying into House Ringstetten to become the mother of Gustav Adolf, provide further clues. "Alioth" has been interpreted as "black horse:" considering his backstory, his dark features, and his amnesiac coat-turn to Wallenstein, it is more than convenient. Also as a darkhorse character who began as a random Breitenfeld POW and gradually attained more and more relevance. The Asian name of Alioth is "jade spyglass" or "jade armillary sphere," which also conveniently fits in due to his role as a POV character and the relevance of his POV. The fact that this is the brightest star in the UMa gives another clue of the character's importance. He saves Lady Wallenstein and her daughter. He gets to know the Wallensteins from up close and tell the convoluted reality from the sinister myths. He saves the life of Gerhard time after time, their initial tension developing into trust, before they meet again on opposing sides. These two are foils to one another: the savvy veteran and the naive young officer... At first the lieutenant's orderly, he becomes von Ringstetten's right hand, and is forgiven by his commanding officer once it has all been cleared that Alois switched sides due to amnesia. The relationship between Alois and Hedi also develops from star-crossed (due to the religious prejudice of others) to steady and healthy happy ever after. Furthermore, the trusted second-in-command crying at his commanding officer's grave at the end... is one of the most emotive scenes from funerals in the whole Saga.
Mizar and Alcor: Volker Axel Schönherr and Horst Schulte - the milites gloriosi/Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern
Mizar is the major star of these two, Alcor is the one harder to be seen (and the star Swedish ensigns have to be able to see to become lieutenants, as part of their test). Likewise, Schönherr takes the lead and Schulte, his trusted valet, is his right hand. They try, time after time, to rise above their station and become officers, however, not displaying much strength or courage at the end of the day. It is only at Lützen, at their finest hour, when they display their true worth and then die violently. Like Alcor is considered "the neglected one," Horst does not receive a lot of screentime or development, acting mostly as a straight man foil satellite character to the eccentric, Blackadder-like Schönherr... a courtier's son who rubs gentry boy Kurtius in the face at Leipzig University in their first appearance. Right before they are plied with drink and recruited by the Saxon Army and the Catholic League, respectively. Losing everything at Breitenfeld, turning into his servant's equal, and having his face scarred by a slash wound proves a heavy blow to Schönherr, who, feeling wounded and entitled to prestige, tries in vain, time after time, to win the favour of Gustavus. The death of Kurtius at the Old Keep (right when both Schönherr and Horst were ready to desert to Wallenstein's side) is the first event that shakes him, having already resented that he, unlike his rival, got cold feet and hesitated to offer himself to probe the Lech. A courtier and a ladies' man, he was pressed into service and then everything changed. Luckily, he did not live to see the light of his life, the maid of honour he worshipped like Roderigo to Desdemona, get away with the "bloody unhuman" Croat, giving him her heart and hand. Dying at Lützen, with his true servant by his side, like the heroes within them, was the best they could do.
Alkaid Benetnasch: Hedwig Luise von Tarlenheim, née von Ringstetten - the broken maiden/the one who sacrificed it all
The last of the UMa stars, the tip of the dipper's handle, is generally considered the most sinister. Its Asian designation is "star of military defeat," while its full Western name translates to "leader of the mourning maidens (Mizar/Alcor and Alioth being the other 'maidens' in the funeral train, and the other four UMa stars forming the 'coffin')." Really uplifting, eh? Another Asian name for the same star, however, is "glittering brilliance," exactly describing Hedi's ambition to become a court lady. As maid-of-honour to the star-crossed Queen Eleanor, at first she cannot be happier. Yet she forsakes her position and the prestige it carries, sacrificing them for what is really the most relevant. The fate of Eleanor becomes entwined with hers until she decides to stay in Saxony to help her ailing brother and his fiancée, rather than accompany her liege back to the Swedish royal court. As an outlaw, she even goes the extra mile when it comes to sacrifice. And it all pays off, culminating in her meeting Alois again and becoming his lady wife. Hedi begins the story as a hyperactive, naive ditz, similar to Lizzie Midford, Sansa Stark, and Nancy Lammeter, who dreams of leaving her provincial life to become a court lady, and whose wishes come true... yet she slowly comes to question it all: from falling in love with a Croat to the heartbreak of her widowed queen; from joining her brother and sister-in-law into an inglorious life of crime and finding her beloved, now amnesiac, beyond the enemy lines; to the crowning of it all that is the finale, drying up her husband's and her daughter's tears by her brother's grave, trying to hold back the tears herself...
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