queensthief | The Queen of Attolia and Beowulf

Ready for another archaic analogy? You know how Beowulf and other ancient stories will take random tangents to talk about other people that no one cares about? Well, I was reading Beowulf and came across this little side story. When Beowulf returns home victorious, the queen of the Geats is introduced, and the poem pauses to contrast her favorably against another Ice Queen who was quite cruel. As a fan of the Attolia books, this story becomes a whole lot more interesting:

            "Great Queen Modthryth perpetrated terrible wrongs. If any retainer ever made bold to look her in the face, if an eye not her lord's stared at her directly during daylight, the outcome was sealed: he was kept bound, in hand-tightened shackles, racked, tortured until doom was pronounced--death by the sword, slash of blade, blood-gush, and death-qualms in an evil display.
            Even a queen outstanding in beauty must not overstep like that. A queen should weave peace, not punish the innocent with loss of life for imagined insults.
            But Hemming's kinsman put a halt to her ways and drinkers round the table had another tale: she was less of a bane to people's lives, less cruel-minded, after she was married to the brave Offa, a bride arrayed in her gold finery, given away by a caring father, ferried to her young prince over dim seas.
            In days to come she would grace the throne and grow famous for her good deeds and conduct of life, her high devotion to the hero king who was the best king, it has been said, between the two seas or anywhere else on the face of the earth. Offa was honored far and wide for his generous ways, his fighting spirit and his farseeing defense of him homeland[.]"

What do you think? When I read this, I thought "Irene and Gen!" I like the idea of stories of Gen's kingship and Irene's transformation spreading up the Continental coast, reaching the far northland, being mentioned in a barbarian hero's saga.