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’).