Chitin Musings

[roughneck]

Do you ever look at a clipping from your big toenail and think to yourself, "That would make a good scimitar blade for a small enough person."

[tiny rainbow]

a very clever old man once did

'An' C is for claymore . . . and crivens, I'll gi'e ye sich a guid kickin' if'n you stick that sword intae me one muir time,' shouted the third, turning and hurling himself at one of his brothers.

A yellowing crescent-shaped object fell to the ground as the brawl spun off into the brambles, and Rob snatched it up and tried to hide it behind his back.

  Tiffany narrowed her eyes. That had looked suspiciously like . . . yes, a bit of old toenail!

  'Weel,' said Rob, shuffling his feet, 'ye is always cuttin' these little chunks off'n them old gentl'men you goes to visit most days. They fly out o' the winders, jus' waitin' for a body to pick 'em up. An' they is hard as nails, ye ken.'

  'Yes, that's because they are nails—' Tiffany began, then stopped. After all, maybe someone like old Mr Nimlet would like to know that parts of his body were still ready for a scrap. Even if he himself couldn't get out of a chair without help these days.

Jeannie nodded over at a happy bundle of young Feegles, who were tumbling out of the mound, waving their crescent-shaped clubs in the air.

  'Aye, it will be good practice for them,' Rob said, looking at them proudly. And then ducked as one of the Feegles let loose his club and it shot through the air and nearly smacked him on the ear.

  To his amazement, the weapon swung round in the air and shot back to the young Feegle who had hurled it, giving him a bang on the head, saving Rob the trouble.

  'Ach, boys,' Rob shouted. 'It fights ye back! Now that's a weapon fit for any Feegle. Double the fun, ye ken.'

https://wiki.lspace.org/Book:The_Shepherd%27s_Crown/Annotations

Pat O'Shea's fantasy novel Hounds of the Morrigan (Reading_Suggestions) where the Celtic Irish war goddess Morrigan returns to Ireland. She/they (the Morrigan is a triple Goddess) uses her fingernails as a sort of boomerang-like ninja throwing star. This is also in Irish mythology, apparently. Where fingernails are lethal projectile weapons.

THE SPEAR IN EARLY ANGLO-SAXON ENGLAND: A SOCIAL-TECHNOLOGICAL HISTORY

Grendel's fingernails / claws become blades. Later, Beowulf fights with a sword named nagling, his own iron fingernail / claw.

A READING OF BEOWULF

the translation of naegling as "nail" or, perhaps, "son of nail"

[..]the portraits of Grendel's mother and of Modthryth, who represent the absolute and the temporal expressions of female aggression in a society for which such aggression was perhaps more feared than outmoded (see Chapter III). The fashion of the later Anglo-Saxon aristocratic ladies to wear their fingernails shaped like eagles' claws might have had its origins in practical necessity, but the mere fact that their hands remained in this condition of predatory perfection indicates that they were no lonqer used for pugilistic purposes. Whether fashionable or functional, however, the hand is perhaps the best symbol of the aggressive instinct of man (and woman), because, as the distinguishing mark of the highest forms of animal life, the hand seems to represent a major biological triumph over the natural environment in its power to manipulate and change the material world.

Beowulf's hands were an important aspect of his heroic presence; he was renowned for the strength of his mundgripe, "handgrip"

Writing Beyond Pen  and Parchment - Inscribed Objects in Medieval European Literature

Objects with names can even move from one narrative to another, as we see with Beowulf 's  sword  Nægling,  which  is  strikingly  similar  to  a  sword  called  Naglringr  in  the Old Norse Þiðreks saga af Bern. Naglringr "was made by the dwarf Alfrikr (1.  34,  21;  B Alpris), who, when  captured  by  Þiðrekr,  ransoms  his  life  by  stealing  it  from  its  owner,  the  giant  Grímur, and giving it to Þiðrekr (see  Alberich,  p.  4,  Eckesahs,  p.  34,  Grime,  p.  53,  and Nagelrinc, p.  96)" who later "gives it to Heimir, whose first sword was Blodgang"

A CATALOGUE OF  PERSONS  NAMED  IN GERMAN  HEROIC LITERATURE (700-1600) INCLUDING  NAMED ANIMALS AND  OBJECTS AND ETHNIC NAMES (archived)

which angers  Viðga,  who  reveals that  Heimir  has  left  him  to  fight  twelve robbers   single-handed   at   Briktan   (see Witege,  p.  146);  for  this  Þiðrekr  banishes Heimir from  Bern  (Verona).6  He lives  for a short time as a robber before being reconciled with  Þiðrekr.  On  Þiðrekr's  Bertangaland expedition  he  is  defeated  by   I sungr's youngest son. Heimir and Viðga remonstrate with  Erminrikr  for  forcing  his  nephew, Þiðrekr,  into  exile  from  Bern,  and  Heimir knocks  out  the  teeth  of  Erminrikr's  evil counsellor,  Sifka  (see  Sibeche,  p.  117);  he then lives as an outlaw, pillaging Erminrikr's realm for thirty years.  On Erminrikr's death Heimir enters the monastery of Wadincusan in Lombardy  under the name of 'Lodvigur' (11.  376,  3).  The monastery is threatened  by the  giant  Asplian.  'Lodvigur'  forces  the abbot  to  return  his  weapons  and  his  horse, Rispa, who is at first too weak from starvation to  carry  him;7  Heimir  eventually  kills  the giant.  Þiðrekr  visits  the  monastery  and recognizes the  broad-shouldered monk with the  long  grey  beard;  he  rejoins Þiðrekr  in Romaborg  (Rome),  then  returns  to  destroy the  monastery  by  fire  and  to  kill  all  the monks.8  Heimir  is  finally  killed  by  an  aged giant,  who  is subsequently slain  by Þiðrekr.
[..]
HEIME
Son  of  Madelgêr (B, of  Adelgêr  in A and AHb) and the companion of Witege;  he has four  elbows (AHb,  Rg, Swedish  Þs);  his sword  is  named  Nagelrinc
[..]
  in  later  re­ports  he is said to have killed a hostile giant named Thürss as well as a dragon (ibid.  179, 490 ; Mone, 288 f.) ; baroque statues of Haymo and Thürss flank  the  door  of the monastery church ; within the church is a large  wooden effigy of the hero (c.  1500).In  the  OE  poem Widsithf  Wudga  and Hama are named among Eormanrïc's follow­ers  (OE innweorud)  (124);  apparently  they are  exiles  or  adventurers  (OE wraeccan)  in control  of  people  and  wealth  (125-30).  In Beowulf Häma (1198) is thought to have fled from the wrath of Eormanrïc,  after carrying off the necklace of the Brösingas (1197-1201 )lto  the  'bright stronghold*;1 2 then he died.
[..]
Nægling,  a sword,  96, see NAGELRINC
Naglringr,  a  sword,  4,  29,  53,  65,  96,  see NAGELRINC
[..]
In  the  Danish  ballads,  a  sword  with  the corrupt  name  'Adelryng'  is used by Miemerinng  in Ravengaard  og  Mentering(DgF  1. 204 ff.) ; Sivard (MHG Sîfrit) is the owner in Sivard og Brynild  (Version  A)  (ibid.  16 ff.); in Kong Diderik og Löven  (Version A)  (ibid. 132 f.),  Dhyryk  (MHG  Dietrich)  finds  the dead   Syfred's   sword   Adelryng  in  the dragon's lair and kills the dragon with it (see Wolfdietrich,  p.  149,  and Rose,  p.  109).

that was interesting