The coats were known to be of immense antiquity, but they were not recognised for what they are straight away. We are indebted to Earl Keril for first pointing out that the designs bear strong affinity to letters of the old script. Since then both coats have been carefully studied and the foregoing translation made.
The story is largely self-explanatory, but certain obscurities in the text have been amended to avoid confusing the reader. The following remarks may be of use to students.
Hern Clostisson seems unquestionably to be the same as the legendary Kern Adon, until now thought to be first King of Dalemark. The nameless King is not known, nor is Kars Adon.
Duck/Mallard is dubiously identified with Tanamoril (the name means “youngest brother”), the piper and magician of many folktales. It is not known how far the tales confuse him with Tanamil.
Concerning Robin, we may point to the belief that a robin can answer the questions of those in trouble.
Gull seems to be the same as the Southern hero Gann, whom the witch Cennoreth went in search of.
The Weaver herself has been identified with the Lake Lady, the Fates, and with the southern cult figure of Libby Beer, but not satisfactorily. The witch Cennoreth is the most likely possibility. She is frequently called the Weaver of Spells. A drawback is that, like Gann, she figures only in stories told in the South. However, the name Cennoreth – which is a Southern form; the (unrecorded) Northern form would be Kanarthi – can be interpreted as River Daughter (Cenn-oreth), although another interpretation would make it Woman of the North (Cen-Noreth).
The places mentioned are harder to determine. Of several rivers which flow northwards, the most probable river is perhaps the Aden, which has a tidal wave, or bore, on occasions, known as the Credin. It flows from its rising in Long Tarn towards the Rath Estuary in Aberath, but it is hard to make the Aden fit the Weaver’s description unless we postulate some major upheaval in the landscape since the days of the story. It has been calculated that her account should give the river a source somewhere above Hannart, near where the coats were found, but no river flows north from there today.
Elthorar Ansdaughter,
KEEPER OF ANTIQUITIES
AT HANNART IN NORTH DALEMARK
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About the Author
Diana Wynne Jones’s first children’s book was published in 1973. Her magical, funny adventures have enthralled children and adults ever since, and she has inspired many of today’s children’s and fantasy authors. Among Diana’s best-loved books for older children are the Chrestomanci series and the Howl books. Her novel Howl’s Moving Castle was made into an award-winning film. She was described by Neil Gaiman as “the best children’s writer of the last forty years”.
Books by Diana Wynne Jones
Chrestomanci Series
Charmed Life
The Magicians of Caprona
Witch Week
The Lives of Christopher Chant
Mixed Magics
Conrad’s Fate
The Pinhoe Egg
Howl Series
Howl’s Moving Castle
Castle in the Air
House of Many Ways
The Dalemark Quartet
Cart and Cwidder
Drowned Ammet
The Spellcoats
The Crown of Dalemark
Archer’s Goon
Black Maria
Dogsbody
Eight Days of Luke
Enchanted Glass
The Homeward Bounders
The Merlin Conspiracy
Deep Secret
The Dark Lord of Derkholm
Year of the Griffin
The Ogre Downstairs
Power of Three
A Tale of Time City
Wilkin’s Tooth
The Game
The Islands of Chaldea (with Ursula Jones)
For older readers
Fire and Hemlock
Hexwood
The Time of the Ghost
For younger readers
Wild Robert
Earwig and the Witch
Vile Visitors
Freaky Families
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The Spellcoats (UK) Page 21
