In the mailbag item In the Elton John song “Levon,” who is Alvin Tostig? , David B teams up with a peaceful honest person to, without coercion of any kind, explain some of the lyrics to this Elton John classic.
But as always, the TM seek more info. Specifically some of the imagery in the song. Does it have meaning, or are we looking at a “blinded by the light” kind of thing? The rowdy but still mostly honest people of General Questions asked about it in the thread He Was Born a Pauper to a Pawn, Dec 25 . I wonder if any Captain Fantastic fans could be persuaded to come in and fill in some of the missing pieces.
Actually, I can’t! Alas, my awsome moderatorial powers of deletion only work in GQ. It has to do with the color of the sun or something like that. But Dex will take care of it when he gets a chance (prolly by deleting this content-free thread, not the good one you started). Come on over to GQ! I’ll go over there right now and post a link to your thread here, and you can fill in the missing pieces over there.
Minor picky point - Tostig was the Earl of the Northumbrians, not Earl of Wessex. He was one of the Godwinsons, brother to Harold, Earl of East Anglia and Essex, who at the time was sort of managing England for the increasingly ineffective Edward the Confessor.
In 1065, the Northumbrians revolted against Tostig, and Harold agreed to his banishment. Tostig went off to Norway, and helped persuade King Harald Hardraade of Norway to invade England in the fall of 1066. Tostig’s brother Harold had succeeded to the throne on the Confessor’s death, as Harold II. Harold II came north and defeated the Norwegians at the battle of Stamford Bridge. Tostig and Harald Hardraade were killed in the battle.
Harold II then had to rush south to face the Normans who had also invade. He lost that battle to William the Conqueror.
I read this. I recognized the song as one discussed in GQ. I knew the article was written by our own David B. But somehow I completely missed the reference to everyone’s favorite Liberterian.
Somebody wooooosh me.
–John
'Twis brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Egads, you’re right! Of course it was Harold II, the King, who took on the Earldom of Wessex. I am to blame for giving David the erroneous information. I even tied an association to it with the fact Bernie Taupin is from Wessex.
Of course, that association still holds since both Tostig and his brother, Harold, were of the Restored House of Wessex. I have no doubt that Taupin had heard all these stories.
Yue
Don’t be embarassed, my friend. My goof was bigger than yours!
Lib, still being picky - was Harold Godwinson ever Earl of Wessex? My source (Chambers Biographical Dictionary) says he was Earl of Essex and East Anglia, not Wessex.
I could be wrong, but I would be surprised if there was an Earl of Wessex outside the Anglo-Saxon royal line, since the Kingdom of Wessex was their starting point (e.g. - Alfred the Great), which they expanded into all England?
wait, I should have looked at the entry in Chambers for Earl Godwin - he was Earl of the West Saxons, but the entry for Harold Godwinson states that he “succeeded to his father’s earldom of Essex.” Can you clear this up, Lib?
“Harold II, Godwinsson was King of England for a short time in the memorable year, 1066. He had become the Earl of East Anglia in 1044. Upon his father’s death in April, 1053, he succeeded to the Earldom of Wessex and from then on, was at the right hand of the king. In 1063, supported by his brother, Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, he commanded a brilliantly conducted campaign against the Welsh.”
I think you’re right - I checked out the Encyclopedia Britannica article on Harold II, and they say he succeeded to Godwin’s titles, including Earl of Wessex. Now I’m disappointed in chambers. Oh well - it happens.
Of course, none of this detail affects your basic point from the mailbag article - the name Tostig was “out there,” and Taupin could have used it without remembering where it came from. I’d never made the connection that you did - thanks.
I was really glad I could help David, whom I’ve admired as the best moderator I’ve ever known. Mind you, as a debator, he can be ingratiating, but as a moderator, he is not just fair, he is actually helpful. He gave me the best advice any moderator ever gave me — develop a thick skin.
Anyway, when Bernie said that the name “Alvin Tostig” was fictitious, he might have simply meant it in the sense that I might use the name “Sarah Fuerstman” in a short story (which I did do). Yes, there is no Sarah Fuestman, just as there is no Alvin Tostig. But I did know a Fuerstman, and I just like the name Sarah. In other words, Bernie might not have used the name Tostig unwittingly; he might have used it intentionally, fully aware of the stories about the restored Wessexes, but synthesized it into a brand new whole name, which is indeed fictitious.
He does seem to be, as I said in GQ, a consistently synthetic writer.
Just so you know, I’m printing that out and framing it. And I’m gonna point to this thread the next time somebody starts a Pit thread about me (which, if my calculations are correct, should be in a week or two).
But, as a nitpick, I don’t think “ingratiating” was what you meant. Though I would accept the term, it just doesn’t seem to fit in that sentence.
