On Oct 1, 2015, at 8:37 AM, Alexey Sklyarenko wrote: “Why does young Desdemona love her blackamoor as the moon loves the gloom of night?” Why does Queen Disa (King Charles’ wife whose name seems to hint at Desdemona) love her husband whose amorous tastes are quite different?

Dear Alexey,

I've always assumed that Disa was somehow related to the underworld, but never did the research. I don't think that Disa could be related to Desdemona, and here other possible origins that I was able to find:

Two of the sources for the name are found in Wikipedia (in blue): Disa was the heroine of a Swedish legendary saga, which was documented by Olaus Magnus, in 1555. It is believed to be from the Middle Ages, but includes Old Norse themes.

This Disa also makes her appearance in early Scandinavian literature and art: The Encyclopedia Britannica refers to the "historical comedy Disa" (performed in 1611 and reprinted seven times) by Johannes Messinius, historian, dramatist and university professor. According to the Encyclopedia, he was "a genuine poet" who was "discovered plotting against the Government during the absence of [King] Gustavus in Russia [and] was condemned to prison for life." He was imprisoned in a "desolate fortress in Finland near the Russian border."

Further, the saga has been treated by Johan Celsius in the prose drama Disa (1687), which was an adaptation of Messenius' stage play in verse. Later it was adapted by Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna in the poetic letter Disa (1795), and in the fourth song of the poem Skördarne (1796). In the so-called Disasal [Disa room] on the second floor of the castle of Venngarn, there are eight large paintings depicting scenes from Disa's saga.

Additionally Dis turns out to also mean a type of Nordic sprite (reminiscent of Pnin's mermaid-Rusalka):

In Norse mythology, a Dis ("lady") is a ghost, spirit or deity associated with fate who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people. Dísir [plural of Dis] may act as protective spirits of Norse clans. Their original function was possibly that of fertility goddesses who were the object of both private and official worship called disabloet, and their veneration may derive from the worship of the spirits of the dead.

So perhaps I was correct to associate Disa with the underworld after all. It seems to me that, given the many Scandinavian references in Pale Fire, these forms are more likely etymologies for the queen of Zembla. By the way, another Scandinavian meaning for Dis is simply "queen."

Carolyn

p.s. Thanks for quoting the Derzhavin - what a marvelous line. Tsar, rab, cherv (tsar, slave, worm) all being of one syllable, and being linked by repetition of 'r', except for the culminating bog (a god, as you quite properly translate the word).