>And as an example of a skald working to "smear" a hero...
>
>Just how much trouble/bad press did Al Gore get for saying he "invented
>the internet"?
>
>(He really didn't say that, but that's what the media (read: Skalds)
>reported)
Except that skald's don't lie which the media does in this example.
A skald would remind the audience that their king announced victory several years ago but they are still fighting the same enemy and the casualties are rising.
This is why a skald or bard is regarded as a high entertainer. You can trust what he says whereas a low entertainer might well lie to make a good story.
In many ways the skald is the counterweight to the boaster.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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