Indo-European patrons vs. clients, and the role of poets as social brokers: ‘Leaders’ vs. ‘friends’, and intelligent speakers in the mythologies of Scandinavia, India, and Rome

Structural and linguistic parallels between the Norse myth of Kvasir, the Indic myths of Agastya Mānyá-, and the Roman legend of Agrippa Menēnius allow for the comparative reconstruction of an inherited IE myth, according to which INTELLIGENT (*men-) SPEAKERS, i.e., POETS, had the role of social brokers (i.e., mediators) between PATRONS (called *h2ens-u- ‘leaders’) and their CLIENTS (called ‘friends/allies’).