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13_warrior
Buliwyf/Weilow manifesto
In talking about Weilow (the queen) on the dennisstorhoicircle list, I said that I'd been thinking a lot about Buliwyf and his relationship with Weilow. Actually, I've been writing a fic.
I thought screencaps would help explain what I'm seeing and thinking, so I decided to make a post for everybody.
My thoughts about Buliwyf and the queen Weilow stem from personal observations, dialogue, and evident facts from the movie. This is movie fanon, not related to the book.
A few facts:
Buliwyf:
-Appears to be in his mid-30s. In reality Vladimir Kulich was about 41 when he made The 13th Warrior, but I think there’s flexibility.
-When we meet Buliwyf, he fights another man for the position of chief of their group. Nothing is said about Buliwyf being related to the chief or the rival, particularly later when Buliwyf names his father (below), so I presume that the chief who died was not his father.
-Quote: “I am son to Hygiliak, called Buliwyf.”
-Quote (Hrothgar): “I know the man. I sent for him. Knew him as a boy, knew his father, and I know him now. Grown into a man…grown into a fine, fine man.”
-Most importantly, on Vladimir Kulich’s personal site, there are photos of he and Diane Venora from their time on the 13th Warrior set. After I had already formed some thoughts on Buliwyf and Weilow, I saw these pictures. To my shock, they supported what I had been thinking: the two actors are affectionate, cuddling, and even kissing in the photos. They’re not outtakes or mugging for the camera, but seem to be genuine, heartfelt, candid photos of a couple in love.
Vladimir & Diane
V & D playing
V & D happy
V & D kissing
Herger:
-Appears to be an old friend of Buliwyf. I’m going to hazard a guess that they’ve been friends since childhood. In the same vein...
-About the same age as Buliwyf. (Dennis was 37 when he made the film.)
-Well-educated, speaks several languages, skilled in fighting, accustomed to meeting a variety of cultures. All of this would likely come from experience in trading and following trade routes, which is what they’re doing when Ibn Fahdlan meets them. He would have to have several years, if not decades, at trading to get experience like this.
Weilow:
-Appears to be in her mid-30s. Diane Venora was 45 when she made The 13th Warrior, a fact which surprised me. She looks good for her age. Let’s say for the sake of fanon that Weilow is about the same age as Buliwyf. Moving on!
-Married to a much older man, Hrothgar.
-Obviously recognizes Buliwyf when he comes to the kingdom, and he recognizes her. See the photographic evidence at the bottom.
-She and Buliwyf exchange knowing glances more than a few times, experts at nonverbal communication…a hallmark of people who know each other very, very well. They have history.
-Is not particularly recognized by Herger, and he doesn’t interact with her very much. They don’t have history.
-She knows the area of her kingdom well, from childhood: ”Come with me. There is a woman who can help. There is one down here who is old, when my grandmother was a girl. She’s quite mad.”
The crone: “Weeeeilooow…” (gasps, tsks herself) “Shame shame shame. It’s a Queen Weilow who fronts me now, does she not?”
Weilow: “We seek your council, Madam.”
Crone: “We? Or he? Step closer, Buliwyf...closer.”
Buliwyf: “You know me?”
Crone: “I have ears! ‘Warrior,’ says the wind. ‘Chieftain,’ says the rain.”
Hrothgar and his sons:
-Has one son in his late 20s, Wigliff. (Anders T. Andersen was 31 when he made the film.)
-I consider it unlikely that Weilow is Wigliff’s mother, given their relative ages.
-Unstable family dynamics:
Buliwyf: “I thank the lord for his advice, though I don't recall hearing any exploits of his, apart from killing his brothers.”
Hrothgar: “You sit down and be silent! These are guests at what is still my table!”
and later:
Olga: ”Beware of Prince Wigliff. He poisons the king’s ear. Says your Buliwyf plans to take his kingdom. Is the truth in this?”
-The dead sons are likely older than Wigliff, rather than younger, because it is more likely for a younger brother to kill the people preventing his inheritence of the throne. Note that younger Wolfgar is still alive.
My thoughts follow. Again, most of what is below is supposition.
I started by thinking of Buliwyf and Weilow’s apparent history and relationship. Given all the meaningful looks passed between Buliwyf and Weilow, and Weilow and Hrothgar, I felt it was no great stretch to imagine that Buliwyf and Weilow were once young lovers. However, something drove them apart, since Hrothgar and Weilow end up married.
I began to develop a story to tell this, and as I realized more things about the other characters and relationships, details began to work themselves out. For instance, Herger and Weilow don’t know each other well, so in my mind, Herger spent little time with her when they were young. My story initially began with all three being childhood friends, but after realizing that fact, I placed Weilow in a distant land.
I imagine that Buliwyf’s period of development is greatest in his middle teen years, and that this is the vital time for a teenage romance as well. Buliwyf somehow starts to become a warrior. He falls in love with Weilow. He meets Hrothgar before he has grown into a man. What if he also knew something of Prince Wigliff’s brothers, the ones Wigliff supposedly killed?
To connect these thoughts together, here’s the basics of a plot I have outlined: Buliwyf travels to Hrothgar’s kingdom to help in some task, accompanying his father, Hygiliak. There he meets and falls in love with Weilow, a young girl not yet married. He also meets Hrothgar and Hrothgar’s sons.
Before Buliwyf can make any claim on Weilow, she is betrothed/married to Hrothgar. Therefore, something must have happened to Hrothgar’s first wife, the mother of his sons. (This is self-supporting, circular logic, but that’s okay in fanfiction!)
Herger cannot be in Hrothgar’s kingdom with Buliwyf, because he doesn’t know Weilow until he meets her later (in the film). He also must have a lot of experience with trading and experiencing other cultures, so I think it works best for Herger and Buliwyf to part ways at this point.
Still, Buliwyf and Herger were not recently reunited as adults; Buliwyf must rejoin his friend after no great length of time. My explanation is that he is driven from or willingly leaves the North, leaves his father, and spends years of his life with the trading party.
What else? As mentioned, some of Hrothgar’s other sons die, and the older one of his remaining sons is suspected. I chose to place my plot about 20 years before the movie, which would make Wigliff between 5 and 15-young for a murderer. I think there’s a story worth exploring there. (Sidenote: if it’s fair to say that all this happened 20 years ago, Wolfgar would not have even been alive then.)
There’s also Buliwyf’s infamous father. More should be said about him, particularly how he died.
Mostly I’m fascinated with Buliwyf himself: what happened to him throughout his life, how he feels about Weilow, and particularly what he experiences as he dies at the end of the movie. He’s a deep character who never really gets explored, and I think he’s worth the effort.
Photographic evidence
Buliwyf and Weilow’s first meeting. Weilow is staring intently at him, and gulps a little. He nods to her as he approaches Hrothgar’s throne.
Buliwyf is brought up to speed regarding the wendol attacks. Hrothgar tries to remember the name of a village that burned, and Weilow supplies the name and then looks at Buliwyf demurely. Buliwyf watches back.
Edgtho whispers in his ear that the mist is forming, the key to a wendol attack .Buliwyf nods to someone as a signal... ...and Weilow jumps into action. Hrothgar calls for his armor, intending to fight. Weilow reacts to this by making a ‘Do something!’ meaningful face at Buliwyf, and he looks at her as he starts to respond to Hrothgar. Not missing this, Hrothgar gives speculating looks to his wife and to Buliwyf. Weilow tries to look innocent.
Weilow takes Buliwyf to the crazy old oracle. Here, Buliwyf and Weilow exchange a look as they turn to leave.
After killing the Wendol Mother and being poisoned, Buliwyf is slowly dying. The queen tends him, naturally. Buliwyf laments that he will die a pauper, and Hrothgar promises him that he will be buried as a king. This is Weilow’s reaction to what’s being said, and Horthgar’s measuring look. Buliwyf asks Ibn to record the story of his deeds, which prompts Weilow’s glance (toward the camera = at Ibn) in the previous shot. This is Ibn’s reaction to Weilow, which I think is awesome: he’s overwhelmed by all this, and particularly flabbergasted by the emotion he sees from Weilow.
Finally, when Buliwyf dies and is carried to a funeral ship, Weilow attends him by carrying his possessions (arrows indicating Buliwyf and Weilow). Because this is what people do, even when married to someone else.
All in all, I think this is strong support for a relationship between the two characters that didn't make it into the film. My fic is about done, too, so soon you'll have the chance to see more of what I'm thinking.
I thought screencaps would help explain what I'm seeing and thinking, so I decided to make a post for everybody.
My thoughts about Buliwyf and the queen Weilow stem from personal observations, dialogue, and evident facts from the movie. This is movie fanon, not related to the book.
A few facts:
Buliwyf:
-Appears to be in his mid-30s. In reality Vladimir Kulich was about 41 when he made The 13th Warrior, but I think there’s flexibility.
-When we meet Buliwyf, he fights another man for the position of chief of their group. Nothing is said about Buliwyf being related to the chief or the rival, particularly later when Buliwyf names his father (below), so I presume that the chief who died was not his father.
-Quote: “I am son to Hygiliak, called Buliwyf.”
-Quote (Hrothgar): “I know the man. I sent for him. Knew him as a boy, knew his father, and I know him now. Grown into a man…grown into a fine, fine man.”
-Most importantly, on Vladimir Kulich’s personal site, there are photos of he and Diane Venora from their time on the 13th Warrior set. After I had already formed some thoughts on Buliwyf and Weilow, I saw these pictures. To my shock, they supported what I had been thinking: the two actors are affectionate, cuddling, and even kissing in the photos. They’re not outtakes or mugging for the camera, but seem to be genuine, heartfelt, candid photos of a couple in love.
Vladimir & Diane
V & D playing
V & D happy
V & D kissing
Herger:
-Appears to be an old friend of Buliwyf. I’m going to hazard a guess that they’ve been friends since childhood. In the same vein...
-About the same age as Buliwyf. (Dennis was 37 when he made the film.)
-Well-educated, speaks several languages, skilled in fighting, accustomed to meeting a variety of cultures. All of this would likely come from experience in trading and following trade routes, which is what they’re doing when Ibn Fahdlan meets them. He would have to have several years, if not decades, at trading to get experience like this.
Weilow:
-Appears to be in her mid-30s. Diane Venora was 45 when she made The 13th Warrior, a fact which surprised me. She looks good for her age. Let’s say for the sake of fanon that Weilow is about the same age as Buliwyf. Moving on!
-Married to a much older man, Hrothgar.
-Obviously recognizes Buliwyf when he comes to the kingdom, and he recognizes her. See the photographic evidence at the bottom.
-She and Buliwyf exchange knowing glances more than a few times, experts at nonverbal communication…a hallmark of people who know each other very, very well. They have history.
-Is not particularly recognized by Herger, and he doesn’t interact with her very much. They don’t have history.
-She knows the area of her kingdom well, from childhood: ”Come with me. There is a woman who can help. There is one down here who is old, when my grandmother was a girl. She’s quite mad.”
The crone: “Weeeeilooow…” (gasps, tsks herself) “Shame shame shame. It’s a Queen Weilow who fronts me now, does she not?”
Weilow: “We seek your council, Madam.”
Crone: “We? Or he? Step closer, Buliwyf...closer.”
Buliwyf: “You know me?”
Crone: “I have ears! ‘Warrior,’ says the wind. ‘Chieftain,’ says the rain.”
Hrothgar and his sons:
-Has one son in his late 20s, Wigliff. (Anders T. Andersen was 31 when he made the film.)
-I consider it unlikely that Weilow is Wigliff’s mother, given their relative ages.
-Unstable family dynamics:
Buliwyf: “I thank the lord for his advice, though I don't recall hearing any exploits of his, apart from killing his brothers.”
Hrothgar: “You sit down and be silent! These are guests at what is still my table!”
and later:
Olga: ”Beware of Prince Wigliff. He poisons the king’s ear. Says your Buliwyf plans to take his kingdom. Is the truth in this?”
-The dead sons are likely older than Wigliff, rather than younger, because it is more likely for a younger brother to kill the people preventing his inheritence of the throne. Note that younger Wolfgar is still alive.
My thoughts follow. Again, most of what is below is supposition.
I started by thinking of Buliwyf and Weilow’s apparent history and relationship. Given all the meaningful looks passed between Buliwyf and Weilow, and Weilow and Hrothgar, I felt it was no great stretch to imagine that Buliwyf and Weilow were once young lovers. However, something drove them apart, since Hrothgar and Weilow end up married.
I began to develop a story to tell this, and as I realized more things about the other characters and relationships, details began to work themselves out. For instance, Herger and Weilow don’t know each other well, so in my mind, Herger spent little time with her when they were young. My story initially began with all three being childhood friends, but after realizing that fact, I placed Weilow in a distant land.
I imagine that Buliwyf’s period of development is greatest in his middle teen years, and that this is the vital time for a teenage romance as well. Buliwyf somehow starts to become a warrior. He falls in love with Weilow. He meets Hrothgar before he has grown into a man. What if he also knew something of Prince Wigliff’s brothers, the ones Wigliff supposedly killed?
To connect these thoughts together, here’s the basics of a plot I have outlined: Buliwyf travels to Hrothgar’s kingdom to help in some task, accompanying his father, Hygiliak. There he meets and falls in love with Weilow, a young girl not yet married. He also meets Hrothgar and Hrothgar’s sons.
Before Buliwyf can make any claim on Weilow, she is betrothed/married to Hrothgar. Therefore, something must have happened to Hrothgar’s first wife, the mother of his sons. (This is self-supporting, circular logic, but that’s okay in fanfiction!)
Herger cannot be in Hrothgar’s kingdom with Buliwyf, because he doesn’t know Weilow until he meets her later (in the film). He also must have a lot of experience with trading and experiencing other cultures, so I think it works best for Herger and Buliwyf to part ways at this point.
Still, Buliwyf and Herger were not recently reunited as adults; Buliwyf must rejoin his friend after no great length of time. My explanation is that he is driven from or willingly leaves the North, leaves his father, and spends years of his life with the trading party.
What else? As mentioned, some of Hrothgar’s other sons die, and the older one of his remaining sons is suspected. I chose to place my plot about 20 years before the movie, which would make Wigliff between 5 and 15-young for a murderer. I think there’s a story worth exploring there. (Sidenote: if it’s fair to say that all this happened 20 years ago, Wolfgar would not have even been alive then.)
There’s also Buliwyf’s infamous father. More should be said about him, particularly how he died.
Mostly I’m fascinated with Buliwyf himself: what happened to him throughout his life, how he feels about Weilow, and particularly what he experiences as he dies at the end of the movie. He’s a deep character who never really gets explored, and I think he’s worth the effort.
Photographic evidence
Buliwyf and Weilow’s first meeting. Weilow is staring intently at him, and gulps a little. He nods to her as he approaches Hrothgar’s throne.
Buliwyf is brought up to speed regarding the wendol attacks. Hrothgar tries to remember the name of a village that burned, and Weilow supplies the name and then looks at Buliwyf demurely. Buliwyf watches back.
Edgtho whispers in his ear that the mist is forming, the key to a wendol attack .Buliwyf nods to someone as a signal... ...and Weilow jumps into action. Hrothgar calls for his armor, intending to fight. Weilow reacts to this by making a ‘Do something!’ meaningful face at Buliwyf, and he looks at her as he starts to respond to Hrothgar. Not missing this, Hrothgar gives speculating looks to his wife and to Buliwyf. Weilow tries to look innocent.
Weilow takes Buliwyf to the crazy old oracle. Here, Buliwyf and Weilow exchange a look as they turn to leave.
After killing the Wendol Mother and being poisoned, Buliwyf is slowly dying. The queen tends him, naturally. Buliwyf laments that he will die a pauper, and Hrothgar promises him that he will be buried as a king. This is Weilow’s reaction to what’s being said, and Horthgar’s measuring look. Buliwyf asks Ibn to record the story of his deeds, which prompts Weilow’s glance (toward the camera = at Ibn) in the previous shot. This is Ibn’s reaction to Weilow, which I think is awesome: he’s overwhelmed by all this, and particularly flabbergasted by the emotion he sees from Weilow.
Finally, when Buliwyf dies and is carried to a funeral ship, Weilow attends him by carrying his possessions (arrows indicating Buliwyf and Weilow). Because this is what people do, even when married to someone else.
All in all, I think this is strong support for a relationship between the two characters that didn't make it into the film. My fic is about done, too, so soon you'll have the chance to see more of what I'm thinking.