The Roots of the Mountains · Chapter
LI: The Dead Borne to Bale: The Mote-House Re-Hallowed explained
The Host burns their slain men and the remains of four chieftains of the Great Undoing in a fair meadow west of Silverstead, which contains the Doom-ring and Thingstead of the Wolf folk.
What happens
The Host burns their slain men and the remains of four chieftains of the Great Undoing in a fair meadow west of Silverstead, which contains the Doom-ring and Thingstead of the Wolf folk. After the burning and burial, the banners of the kindreds are borne into the Mote-house and hung over the dais, and fire is kindled on the Holy Hearth using a glass disk focused on the sun. A song is sung celebrating the return of the Wolf and the reunion of the people.
Themes in this chapter
Community and Kinship
The Host gathers to honor their dead and re-hallow the Mote-house together, singing a song of reunion and brotherhood, emphasizing the bonds of the kindred.
Redemption and Renewal
The re-kindling of the Holy Hearth and the hanging of banners in the Mote-house symbolize a renewal of the Wolf folk's presence and a new beginning after loss.
Key passages
“They brought them into a most fair meadow to the west of Silverstead, where they had piled up a very great bale for the burning.”
They carried the dead to a beautiful meadow west of Silverstead, where a large funeral pyre had been built.
Describes the location and preparation for the cremation.
“And when the Burning was done and the bale quenched, and the ashes gathered and buried (and that was on the morrow), then men bore forth the Banners... and with great joy and triumph they brought them into the Mote-house and hung them up over the dais; and they kindled fire on the Holy Hearth by holding up a disk of bright glass to the sun; and then they sang before the banners.”
After the cremation and burial the next day, the banners were carried with joy into the Mote-house and hung above the dais, and a fire was lit on the sacred hearth using a glass disk to focus sunlight, followed by a song.
Highlights the ritual re-hallowing of the Mote-house.