The Fighter - a quote

I have been reading a book called "Ancient Warfare" (ISBN: 978 0 7524 5471 9). It is basically a bunch of essays by academics about warfare in the Bronze Age. I read the introduction to one of them today and immediately thought of Weird Fantasy Roleplaying and the Fighter class. It is by Deborah J. Shepherd, The Elusive Warrior Maiden Tradition - Bearing Weapons in Anglo-Saxon Society.

"According to those,..., who have discussed the myths, world view and hypothetical culture and society of the Indo-Europeans, the warrior played a dominant role as protector of the Home territory against the outside Other. In this decidedly territorial role, the warrior was the guardian of boundaries. His place ... at the edge of the ordered community, in the face of the unknown, put the warrior paradoxically outside his own society and among or nearer to the Other. His fearsome behaviour and ritual ethic of ferocious, heedless courage made him a less than ideal dinner guest. ... In fact, the warrior was often feared and shunned by his own people, who none the less acknowledged their need of him...."