Mistilteinn, Tree Crown without a Ruler
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Mistilteinn, Tree Crown without a Ruler
"Mistilteinn, Tree Crown without a Ruler" is a musical piece composed by Hirokazu Ando [1]. It debuted in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, serving as the boss battle theme for the Master Crown.
Composition
The medley features many leitmotifs associated with the Master Crown, namely the infamous C-R-O-W-N-E-D that plays during the boss fights of Magolor's second form and Magolor Soul, signalling that it is the crown, and not Magolor in control durign these fights. However, leitmotifs from Team Kirby Clash Deluxe as well as its sequel can also heard throughout Mistilteinn, Tree Crown without a Ruler, hinting towards the Master Crown's fate after its defeat. These include (but are not limited to):
Another theme, Road to Victory, is mixed within the composition as well. Road to Victory itself is present in other areas of Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler, as well as being played in the rest area right before the Master Crown's own fight in the True Arena. Due to this, Road to Victory can also be considered a leitmotif associated with the Master Crown and therefore is present in Mistilteinn, Tree Crown without a Ruler.
As a result, these numerous leitmotifs cause the song to change in key a lot, varying from G sharp minor/A flat minor, regular A minor, and as well as C minor. The entire song is consistently in a syncopated 4/4 time signature.
Instruments???:
- Church Bell/Organ Bell
- Guitar
- Xylophone
Trivia
The name features multiple possible meanings:
- Mistilteinn is a Norse word that translates to "mistletoe", a parasitic plant which grows on trees, and in particular apple trees[2]. Master Crown's boss battle reflects this by having a wreath wrapped around the tree-like form of itself.
- The word is associated with the myth of the death of the Norse god Baldr. The mistletoe is considered too young to be asked to swear an oath of allegiance to Baldr, and Loki ultimately transforms it into a lethal projectile killing Baldr.[3] This parallels the killing of beings of mythical and legendary stature so frequently accomplished in the Kirby series, including in the Master Crown fight.
- The mistletoe, by causing the death of Baldr, precipitates a series of apocalyptic events commonly known as Ragnarök. Just as Baldr succumbing to the mistletoe leads ultimately to the final fate of the gods, battling the Master Crown ultimately determines the fate of the universe (again, as is often the case in the Kirby series).
- The name Mistilteinn is also associated with the Icelandic saga of Hromund Gripsson, where it is the name of an enchanted sword. Hrómundr defeats the undead witch-king Þráinn, claims the sword from him, and uses it to slay Swedish kings. This parallels Magolor's use of the sword at the end to slay the Master Crown.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Jukebox
- ↑ See, for example, this article on the European mistletoe facing extinction due to unmaintained apple orchards.
- ↑ See this Oxford University Press blog post, which also suggests the word is borrowed from Old English.
