Questions about analysing syntax in a few Latin sentences

Question

everyone. The two sentences are from a medieval book called "De antiquitate regum Norwagiensium". Here are the sentences and my thoughts about them:

Sentence:

Inventum est etiam uas argenteum, locatum super pectus eius, in quo confectio myrrhe erat et balsami pretiosissima, indeque egrediebantur duo calami aurei, quorum summitates naribus infigebantur, ut videlicet virtute unguenti corpus non minus interius quam exterius duraret incorruptum.

Thoughts: Here I am curious about "quorum". What words is this plural genitive connected with? Is it connected with "duo calami aurei"? I really think that has to be the case, but I want to be sure.

Sentence:

Cumque instaret rex paganis, ut baptizarentur, illique detractarent suspicere iugum Domini, ait se non indigere paganorum et a Deo alienorum, maxime contra christianos, vilem sibi fore victoriam que iniquorum manibus patraretur.

Thoughts: Is "paganorum" a direct object here? I think it has to be a direct object for the verb "indigere", but I am asking because I have doubts that a genitive can be a direct object.

What do you think?

Answer 1

The answer to the first question is: yes, of course. The calami are the only plural noun outside of the relative clause (except balsami, which is in a different main clause), so what else could quorum possibly refer to? Summitates is supposed to mean the "tips" or "ends" of the golden tubes.

The answer to the second question is: "direct object" is another way of saying "accusative object," and indigere usually does not take one. It means "to want, need or lack something," and the something is in the genetive or ablative.

(Lewis & Short mention an ante-classical nihil indigere, which is accusative, but that's a rare case and probably restricted to general accusatives like nihil or quid.)