mc.eatersofthedead-第33章

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what　it　was。　if　this　were　so；　then　no　invention　on　my　part　would　be　necessary。　I　could　merely　reproduce　the　eyewitness　narrative；　and　annotate　it　for　the　reader。
　The　concept　of　a　preexisting　manuscript　bypassed　the　logical　problems　which　had　earlier　impeded　me；　because　a　found　manuscript　would　not　be　my　creation…even　though　I　would　create　it。　Of　course　such　thinking　is　absurd；　but　it　happens　all　the　time。　Often　actors　cannot　act　without　a　prop；　or　a　false　moustache；　or　some　other　artifice　to　separate　themselves　from　the　character　they　are　portraying。　I　was　engaged　in　a　similar　process。
　What　sort　of　narrative　would　be　most　desirable？　I　concluded　the　most　useful　account　would　be　written　by　an　outsider…someone　not　part　of　the　culture；　who　could　report　objectively　on　the　events　as　they　occurred。　But　who　would　this　outside　observer　have　been？　Where　would　he　have　e　from？
　On　reflection；　I　realized　I　already　knew　of　such　a　person。　In　the　tenth　century；　an　Arab　named　Ibn　Fadlan　had　traveled　north　from　Baghdad　into　what　is　now　Russia；　where　he　came　in　contact　with　the　Vikings。　His　manuscript；　well…known　to　scholars；　provides　one　of　the　earliest　eyewitness　accounts　of　Viking　life　and　culture。49　As　a　college　undergraduate；　I　had　read　portions　of　the　manuscript。　Ibn　Fadlan　had　a　distinct　voice　and　style。　He　was　imitable。　He　was　believable。　He　was　unexpected。　And　after　a　thousand　years；　I　felt　that　Ibn　Fadlan　would　not　mind　being　revived　in　a　new　role；　as　a　witness　to　the　events　that　led　to　the　epic　poem　of　Beowulf。
　Although　the　full　manuscript　of　Ibn　Fadlan　has　been　translated　into　Russian；　German；　French　and　many　other　languages；　only　portions　had　been　translated　into　English。　I　obtained　the　existing　manuscript　fragments　and　bined　them；　with　only　slight　modifications；　into　the　first　three　chapters　of　Eaters　of　the　Dead。50　I　then　wrote　the　rest　of　the　novel　in　the　style　of　the　manuscript　to　carry　Ibn　Fadlan　on　the　rest　of　his　now…fictional　journey。　I　also　added　mentary　and　some　extremely　pedantic　footnotes。
　I　was　aware　that　Ibn　Fadlan's　actual　journey　in　A。D。　921　had　probably　occurred　too　late　in　history　to　serve　as　the　basis　for　Beowulf；　which　many　authorities　believe　was　posed　a　hundred　and　fifty　years　earlier。　But　the　dating　of　the　poem　is　uncertain；　and　at　some　point　a　novelist　will　insist　on　his　right　to　take　liberties　with　the　facts。　And　Eaters　contains　many　overt　anachronisms；　particularly　when　Ibn　Fadlan　meets　up　with　a　group　of　remnant　Neanderthals。　（One　of　the　oddities　of　this　book　is　that　the　intervening　decades　has　seen　a　scholarly　reevaluation　of　Neanderthal　man；　and　the　notion　that　there　might　have　been　a　few　still　around　a　thousand　years　ago　in　a　remote　location　does　not　seem　quite　so　preposterous　now　as　it　did　then。）
　But　certainly；　the　game　that　the　book　plays　with　its　factual　bases　bees　increasingly　plex　as　it　goes　along；　until　the　text　finally　seems　quite　difficult　to　evaluate。　I　have　a　long…standing　interest　in　verisimilitude；　and　in　the　cues　which　make　us　take　something　as　real　or　understand　it　as　fiction。　But　I　finally　concluded　that　in　Eaters　of　the　Dead；　I　had　played　the　game　too　hard。　While　I　was　writing；　I　felt　that　I　was　drawing　the　line　between　fact　and　fiction　clearly；　for　example；　one　cited　translator；　Per　Fraus…Dolus；　means　in　literal　Latin　〃by　trickery…deceit。〃　But　within　a　few　years；　I　could　no　longer　be　certain　which　passages　were　real；　and　which　were　made　up；　at　one　point　I　found　myself　in　a　research　library　trying　to　locate　certain　references　in　my　bibliography；　and　finally　concluding；　after　hours　of　frustrating　effort；　that　however　convincing　they　appeared；　they　must　be　fictitious。　I　was　furious　to　have　wasted　my　time；　but　I　had　only　myself　to　blame。
　I　mention　this　because　the　tendency　to　blur　the　boundaries　of　fact　and　fiction　has　bee　widespread　in　modern　society。　Fiction　is　now　seamlessly　inserted　in　everything　from　scholarly　histories　to　television　news。　Of　course；　television　is　understood　to　be　venal；　its　transgressions　shrugged　off　by　most　of　us。　But　the　attitude　of　〃post…modern〃　scholars　represents　a　more　fundamental　challenge。　Some　in　academic　life　now　argue　seriously　there　is　no　difference　between　fact　and　fiction；　that　all　ways　of　reading　text　are　arbitrary　and　personal；　and　that　therefore　pure　invention　is　as　valid　as　hard　research。　At　best；　this　attitude　evades　traditional　scholarly　discipline；　at　worst；　it　is　nasty　and　dangerous。51　But　such　academic　views　were　not　prevalent　twenty　years　ago；　when　I　sat　down　to　write　this　novel　in　the　guise　of　a　scholarly　monograph；　and　academic　fashions　may　change　again…particularly　if　scholars　find　themselves　chasing　down　imaginary　footnotes；　as　I　have　done。
　Under　the　circumstances；　I　should　perhaps　say　explicitly　that　the　references　in　this　afterword　are　genuine。　The　rest　of　the　novel；　including　its　introduction；　text；　footnotes；　and　bibliography；　should　properly　be　viewed　as　fiction。
　When　Eaters　of　the　Dead　was　first　published；　this　playful　version　of　Beowulf　received　a　rather　irritable　reception　from　reviewers；　as　if　I　had　desecrated　a　monument。　But　Beowulf　scholars　all　seem　to　enjoy　it；　and　many　have　written　to　say　so。
　M。C。
　DECEMBER　1992
　
NOTE：　The　unprintable　Arabic　script　found　in　the　footnotes　of　the　original　paper　version　has　been　rendered　as　〃（。。。）〃　in　this　e…text　version。　…Russell

1　Throughout　the　manuscript；　Ibn　Fadlan　is　inexact　about　the　size　and　position　of　his　party。　Whether　this　apparent　carelessness　reflects　his　assumption　that　the　reader　knows　the　position　of　the　caravan；　or　whether　it　is　a　consequence　of　lost　passages　of　the　text；　one　cannot　be　sure。　Social　conventions　may　also　be　a　factor；　for　Ibn　Fadlan　never　states　that　his　party　is　greater　than　a　few　individuals；　when　in　fact　it　probably　numbered　a　hundred　people　or　more；　and　twice　as　many　horses　and　camels。　But　Ibn　Fadlan　does　not　count…literally…slaves；　servants；　and　lesser　members　of　the　caravan。
2　Farzan；　an　unabashed　admirer　of　Ibn　Fadlan；　believes　that　this　paragraph　reveals　〃the　sensibility　of　a　modern　anthropologist；　recording　not　only　the　customs　of　a　people；　but　the　mechanisms　which　act　to　enforce　those　customs。　The　economic　meaning　of　killing　a　nomad　leader's　horses　is　the　approximate　equivalent　of　modern　death…taxes；　that　is；　it　tends　to　retard　the　accumulation　of　inherited　wealth　in　a　family。　Although　demanded　by　religion；　this　could　not　have　been　a　popular　practice；　any　more　than　it　is　during　the　present　day。　Ibn　Fadlan　most　astutely　demonstrates　the　way　it　is　imposed　upon　the　reluctant。〃
3　Actually；　Ibn　Fadlan's　word　for　them　here　was　〃Rus；〃　the　name　of　this　particular　tribe　of　Northmen。　In　the　text；　he　sometimes　calls　the　Scandinavians　by　their　particular　tribal　name；　and　sometimes　he　calls　them　〃Varangians〃　as　a　generic　term。　Historians　now　reserve　the　term　Varangian　for　the　Scandinavian　mercenaries　employed　by　the　Byzantine　Empire。　To　avoid　confusion；　in　this　translation　the　terms　〃Northmen〃　and　〃Norsemen〃　are　everywhere　employed。
4　Arabs　have　always　been　uneasy　about　translating　the　Koran。　The　earliest　sheiks　held　that　the　holy　book　could　not　be　translated；　an　injunction　apparently　based　on　religious　considerations。　But　everyone　who　has　attempted　a　translation　agrees　for　the　most　secular　reasons：　Arabic　is　by　nature　a　succinct　language；　and　the　Koran　is　posed　as　poetry　and　therefore　even　more　concentrated。　The　difficulties　of　conveying　literal　meaning…to　say　nothing　of　the　grace　and　elegance　of　the　original　Arabic…have　led　translators　to　preface　their　work　with　prolonged　and　abject　apologies。
　　　At　the　same　time；　Islam　is　an　active；　expansive　way　of　thought；　and　the　tenth　century　was　one　of　its　peak　periods　of　dissemination。　This　expansion　inevitably　necessitated　translations　for　the　use　of　new　converts；　and　translations　were　made；　but　never　happily　from　the　standpoint　of　the　Arabs。
5　This　alone　was　startling　to　an　Arab　observer　from　a　warm　climate。　Muslim　practice　called　for　quick　burial；　often　the　same　day　as　the　death；　after　a　short　ceremony　of　ritual　washing　and　prayer。
6　Or；　possibly；　〃crazed。〃　The　Latin　manuscripts　read　cerritus；　but　the　Arabic　of　Yakut　says　（。。。）；　〃dazed〃　or　〃dazzled。〃
7　Interestingly；　in　both　Arabic　and　L