When Battle Becomes Weather

How can weather describe a battle?

The Language of Poetry calls battle “Odin’s weather.” Other names include “the weather of weapons” and “the weather of shields.” Battle can also be described as a roar or a ringing sound. Gods, weapons, and sounds all provide ways to name it.

A helmet can be compared to a hat or a cloth wrapped around the head, and a coat of mail to a jacket. A shield can be “the sun of a ship” or “the moon of a ship.” Clothing and objects in the sky become names for arms and armour.

A sword is called “Odin’s fire,” while arrows are “the hail of the bow” or “the hail of the bowstring.” A shield can also be “the land of weapons.” In that image, weapons become the hail or rain falling on the land.

Ships, too, can be named after other things. Examples include “the horse of the sea” and “the beast of the sea.” A ship can also be compared to a wagon. The Language of Poetry includes a poem that describes a ship as a horse of the waves.

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