Posts

Posted on

English Vocal Music Suitable for SCA Performance

Starting from the Beginning:  Period English Vocal Music Suitable for SCA Performance

(This article was written for the “To Be Period” summer issue of The Northern Watch, Endewearde’s Baronial
Newsletter. There is a playlist of music with which to follow along: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_AGpqxzmAWpYDVGG31Y_OhX9PbPdHzXq.)

As a singer, often I am asked about singing and music in the Society. “Where should I begin?” is the question, often followed by, “How do I start?”

Excellent questions both! If one searches for “SCA songs” or suchlike on the internet, the responses are dizzying in size and of extreme variance in quality.  If one wanders the campfires of an event or sits at a “bardic circle” often music is performed which is certainly out of period but with which many identify and find entertaining. Filk songs like “A Grazing Mace” make us laugh (or cringe) together, and music of the modern middle ages relates to us in our own tongues with music that’s familiar to our ears, moving us with the stories and emotions we’ve likely experienced ourselves. Also popular are ballads of many ages, from the Child Ballad collection to folk songs of surprisingly modern origin, and the occasional piece which is unabashedly so.

But my answer would be, were I answering truly, “You should begin somewhere between the beginning and the end.” What I mean by that is “the beginning and end of the Middle Ages and Renaissance”  – the period we strive to recreate in the SCA.

It is somewhat ironic that as a group of people who embrace history, arts, clothing, martial styling of the Middle Ages and Renaissance seem reluctant to embrace the music of our medieval ancestors. It may be because we, as modern people, perceive medieval music as inaccessible or complicated, as too dull or too challenging, as unappealing to our ears, minds, and hearts.

I prefer to think that it’s more because we don’t know where to begin. So let’s begin with what we mean by “period pieces” and go from there. We’ll travel backwards through English music that can be learned with relative ease by a modern person who has an interest in doing so. To aid in the exploration of the pieces in this article, a YouTube channel has been created which includes nearly all the songs mentioned in this article. It can be found at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_AGpqxzmAWpYDVGG31Y_OhX9PbPdHzXq.

“Period” pieces have music and lyrics written prior to 1599 and can be documented as such. Sometimes a period lyric would have its own composition or score, and sometimes it would be matched with a well-known period tune. The latter was such a common period practice that some printed broadsides would simply say the lyric ought be sung to, “some pleasant tune” and let the singer choose what that might be. We refer to that style of putting a lyric to a separate tune “contrafact.” (It is the great ancestor of filk.)

Within the SCA, contrafact pieces are generally as described – they are period tunes with lyrics added (or altered). Sometimes the lyrics are entirely new and set to a period song, a bit of medieval lyric set to a dance tune or period song. The Eastern anthems “Ave Tigris“ is set to an anonymously composed 13th century tune,and “Carmen Orientalis” has a melody borrowed from “In Taberna” from the 13th century Carmina Burana. Both are examples of contrafact, as would be any little thing you sing to the tune of the “Maltese Bransle.” (You can sing a wide variety of things to the tune of the Maltese, including “A Grazing Mace.”)

One of Thomas Morley’s publications of music.

But with a timeframe that stretches from 1599 through antiquity, where does one begin to find pieces which are period and accessible? And what about John Dowland, John Playford, and Thomas Ravenscroft – all popular English composers and collectors whose music was published post-period? Sticklers to a vision of a pre-17th century Society may find these pieces to be not their cup of ale, but I find that the music that falls at the modern edge of the SCA period to be quite accessible and it has a familiar feel to it that some earlier music may not, making it a good place to begin a journey toward earlier music. These fall, in my view, as “honorary period” music. And since this is a time when music is finally being published on a more broad scale, and we have many books of collected works with notation that’s much like what our modern eyes are used to as well.

Dance tunes provide a wealth of options. “The English Dancing Master” was published in 1651 by John Playford. It includes numerous songs which are popular dancing songs, several of which also have lyrics traditionally attached to them: The tune “Goddesses” is used for both “The North Country Lass up to London did Pass“ and also for the setting of Shakespeare’s “Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind” from As You Like It, which was written in 1599. Both of these versions have been heard in Endewearde in recent memory. The beautiful “All in a Garden Green” seems have been, at least in some related form, taken from William Pickering’s “A Ballet intituled All in a garden grene, between two Lovers” as early as 1563 when said song was licensed at the Stationers’ Comp. Register for printing.(1)  “Hearts Ease” is attached to a lyric entitled “Misogonus” (c1560) which urges us to “Singe care away with sport & playe, Pasttime is all our pleasure, Yf well we fare, for nought we care, In mearth our constant treasure…”

The common theme of pleasure, revelry, a carefree life, and often love in its sorrow joy, are utterly appropriate sentiments for life in the Society.

Thomas Ravenscroft (c.1592 – 1635) published five books between 1609 and 1621, but was a collector as much as a composer. Much of his music is viewed as “plausibly period” including “Three Blind Mice” – which was a round at the time of its first publication but one in an eerie minor key which discussed the preparation of tripe for a meal, in addition to mice. The Ravenscroft song “Three Ravens” is a common on in the SCA. The songs in the collection include part songs and rounds about drinking, politics, common life, street cries, love, and religion.

Some music thematically could be on the radio now – “Sellinger’s Round” was published in 1609 by William Byrd (1539-1623). We have for it several sets of lyrics, notably the “Country Man’s Delight” brightly sings, “Oh, how they did jerk it. Caper and ferk it, Under the greenwood tree.” As usual there is another version of the lyric with a quite different theme: “Farewell Adeiu” talks of banners and battles and knights, written by John Pickering in 1567.

Byrd was a noted student of Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) who is regarded as a master of the choral voice and whose focus was religious works. The famed “Tallis Canon” has had many lyrics appended thought the most well-known is “Glory to Thee My God This Night.” It is a good representative of Tallis’ sound. While usually secular music is performed in the Society, it is important to note that faith was very much required by people and religious services were not missed without grave reason.

Thomas Morley (1557-1602) was a student of Byrd, and and also a prolific composer. He wrote sacred music, but also a great deal of secular music, many are love songs but others are simply silly. One piece, “Will You Buy a Fine Dog” begins with the lyric “Will you buy a fine dog, with a hole in his head?” and continues with a nonsense chorus which might cause one to titter a bit between the verses.

John Dowland, a contemporary of Morely, is beloved through the ages. He worked in many of the courts of Europe, and was even rumored to be a spy for the English Queen. In 1597, Dowland published his First Book of Songs. Among the pieces in that work is “Come Again Sweet Love” – a piece which is well-known and relate-able – passionate desire for a tempestuous beloved. “Her Eyes of fire, her heart of flint is made, Whom tears nor truth may once invade.” Dowland’s work has had a lasting appeal; Sting released an album of Dowland’s songs in 2006.

Printed broadsides begin to appear in about 1550 for purchase which opens up the world for the collections of Ravenscroft, Byrd, and others. While musical treatises and other books, most notably versions of the Bible, are printed by Gutenberg’s press after its invention in 1439, much of the music before that was captured as it had been for centuries – by pen and ink, and required literacy (or an excellent memory) to learn.

As we move backward toward the origin of written English song we still have a wealth of lyric – over two thousand pieces written in Middle English – but far fewer lyrics are paired with written notation. However, those for which we have both are fascinating and moving.

Sheet music for the haunting “Agincourt Carol.”

“The Agincourt Carol” was composted in 1415, and tells the tale of the famed battle of King Henry V, “Owre kynge went forth to Normandy, With grace and myght of chyvalry; Ther God for hym wrought mervlusly, Wherfore Englonde may calle and cry, Deo gratias, Deo gratias anglia, redde pro victoria.” It is stern but beautiful and the three-voiced chorus is haunting. It is one of the few highly nationalistic songs of the period – written of war, battle, history, and nationality rather than of love or religion.

One of the most beautiful love songs in English is “Bryd One Brere.” Written on the back of a papal bull in the 1300s, it is a soaring and sweet song, “Bryd one brere, brid, brid one brere, Kynd is come of love, love to crave, Blythful biryd, on me thu rewe, Or greyth, lef, greith thu me my grave.” Many songs of love spoke of the beloved in terms of nature and separation from the loved one was like death. Similar themes are found in religious music of the time, but with Mary, Christ, or God as the subject of the love.

“Merie it is” is another secular love song from the same period. It speaks to our hearts from the 13th century of how happy life is when it is in its ‘summer’ of love and how sad and sorrowful it is when the love has grown cold or ended in its ‘winter.’ The tune dances and lilts, it is both simple and distant. The Middle English words, while different from our modern tongue, are still quite easy to understand and sing.

Of course this brings us at last to what is likely the best-known piece of medieval English music – “Sumer is Icumin In.”  Believed to have been written in the mid 13th century in an abbey, it has been assumed that the piece was lost in time from the 14th century to the 19th, when its rediscovery made it the popular piece is is today. It sings of the fertility of summer and all the things which happen, from the singing birds to the leaping, and even farting, animals are celebrated in song. “Well singeth the coo-coo” in this round, found in only one manuscript, it is paired with a Latin text “Percipce Chrisicola” making it the earliest known text to combine the sacred and secular pieces into a single document. It’s an excellent reminder of the dual nature of medieval life in which the sacred and the secular were utterly intertwined.

As you explore the richness of music in the SCA period you may find that it is more pleasing and entertaining than you may have thought. The themes range from silly to somber and there are songs within the SCA time period which are appropriate for all occasions. When these pieces are performed it brings us closer to our past and enriches and deepens our connections to the times which inspire us.

The performance of medieval music in the Society tends to do more than merely entertain – it is a magical transportation device which seems to subtly alter our realities. I like to think it helps us not only better know about the people we honor in our recreation of an earlier time, but also bring their lives closer to our own.

Resources:
All the pieces in bold may be heard at: http://tinyurl.com/NorthernWatchMusic
http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Will_you_buy_a_fine_dog%3F_%28Thomas_Morley%29
http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/There_were_Three_Ravens_%28Thomas_Ravenscroft%29
http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Three_Blinde_Mice_%28Thomas_Ravenscroft%29
Byrd one Brere – http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/brere.php
Merie it is – http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/online/medieval/rawlinson/images/G0223650.jpg
Agincourt Carol manuscript – http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/medlyric/agincourtms.jpg
Sumer – http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/musicmanu/sumer/

Note 1.The Roxburghe ballads, Volume 8, By William Chappell, Ballad Society;

 

 

This article first appeared in “The Northern Watch”, Barony of Endewearde’s newsletter.  (http://www.northernwatch.net/uploads/1/1/1/8/11184890/2013_summer_northern_watch_b.pdf)

Posted on

On Not Using “Bardic Arts” as a Name for Performing Arts

~Given the ample discussion I’ve witnessed and participated in over the years in the SCA, I have come to the following “manifesto” regarding the “Bardic Arts” and the “Performing Arts.”  I wrote it to clarify my own thoughts, but decided that I would be public in my personal statements of belief.~
Aneleda’s Personal Manifesto on the Performing and Bardic Arts and Terms Used Therein

I believe that performances born from authentic works from actual periods has intrinsic and historic value and should be encouraged.

I believe that period work remains relevant, as do all “timeless” things, and that the creation and recreation of that work should be valued and shared.

I believe that study and performance of period works is useful and creation of works which are inspired by or in the style of early works is an essential part of learning. (As modern painters learn by copying the works of early masters, so to is there value in modern artists of all kinds, including performers, “copying” earlier works to better understand their own gifts.)

I believe that creation of new works in a researched period style and reproduction of works in a period style are of value to the A&S community, and a focus in those areas are things which rightly grow beside the Path to High Arts.

I believe that many modern people in this game deserve (and desire) to have music that is new and reflective of their love of the SCA and how they play within the Society.

I believe that music that is new and in the style of our traditional modern ballads has intrinsic value as both art and as a chronicle of deeds and events in the Society.

I believe the act of documenting the history of the SCA in a modern way – including in story and song – is an art which grows beside the Service Path, as it is a valid art rooted in celebrating our subculture and brings us together as a Society rather than celebrating the arts of the past.

I believe that “Bards” are the emotional chroniclers of the Society.

I believe that “Bard” could be a deed name or title given to a particular kind of performer by people who are not that performer. (As in “You are not a bard until someone calls you a bard.”)

I believe that use of that term “bard” ought to be discouraged within the performing community as a catch-all.

I believe that use of the term “bardic arts” should be discouraged unless it is specifically relating to original or semi-original performance works of the modern middle ages which relate in some way to or are inspired by experiences in the Society for Creative Anachronism.

I believe that “SCA Folk Music or Music” of the “Modern Middle Ages” present a clearer view of what those often known as “bards” do as their art and service in the Society, though those terms are still insufficient.

I believe a performer may style herself as a particular kind of performer – a joungleur, a troubadour, a minnesinger ,a trouvere, a minstrel, a mummer, a skald, a poet, an actor, a mime, a fool, or simply a performer and she should use her self-descriptor often.

I believe that the term “performing arts” should be encouraged, and with it the appropriate names for other activities – Mumming, Theatre, Commedia, Music, Dance, etc.

For me, I will cease using bardic as a catch-all. It is not appropriate for the majority of things and it’s only barely appropriate for even the narrow definition that I allow it myself.

I will have performing circles or sharing circles. I will have fires – but unless we are burning actual bards – not bardic fires. I will host evenings of music and story but not “bardic” night that more people may feel included and able to share their performances.

I will make this change myself and aspire to serve as an example of what I think is a better way to serve all performing artists.

– A

WHY THIS POST?

The term “bardic arts” is a long-held term in the SCA which attempts to describe what the “bard” does. It is meant to describe a variety of vocal performances inspired by the view of the medieval minstrel of the hall. It has come to include nearly all arts which involve singing or speaking  or storytelling in some way for an audience. It is sometimes thought to also include “any art that tells a story” in a physical way. A well respected luminary is noted to say, ‘if your performance tells a story then it’s bard enough for me.’

It’s also a term which is either loved or loathed. To some, being called a bard can be either a bitter insult or the highest praise. Many performers who do things we lump into the “bardic arts” openly say things like, “I’m a minstrel, not a bard.” It also, despite our “bard enough for me” attempts at inclusion, seems to spiritually exclude different kinds of non-vocal storytelling and it’s honestly a harder fit for dancers, mummers, and instrumentalists, and writers who don’t perform as well.

I’ve come to conclude that the “bardic community” is ill-served the the term. It seems to cause division based on the following sets of issues: period vs modern style performance; original vs existing period lyrics and music; attachment to different musical styles and languages; desire vs disregard for documentation; musician vs solo vocal performers; scholars vs hobbyist; persona-driven SCA experience vs non-persona-driven SCA experiences; and more…

In addition, the “bardic arts” are complicated in terms of their recognition at a Kingdom and Society level. Many “bards” can feel unrecognized even though their works are incredibly popular. Those who are scholarly and less popular may rise through the SCA award system. As an example, Lady Warren writes songs about the SCA in a modern way and sings them to the great pleasure and acclaim of her friends, audiences, and royalty. She may have a couple of CDs which sell well. People can sing her songs. That seems very successful. However, if she does not do scholarly work as well, she will not be recognized in the structure of the SCA.  Lord Witten sings only songs from the time of his persona. He can tell you about the chords, and the styles, and has written a few pieces in the same style as his ancient mentors. He’s a decent performer, but not someone who has recordings or popular praise. Both Lord Witten and Lady Warren are in the “bardic arts” category but they are not similar in any way. Lord Witten may be recognized with awards in spite of his audience’s tepid applause because he’s a scholar-performer while the popular Lady Warrren may have great praise from her audience, she does things in a modern way and does not fulfill the criteria for consideration for SCA awards. Putting them in the same “category” does each of them a disservice for now they will be spiritually comparing each other’s gifts – which are apples and oranges – of equal value in the Society to different people for different reasons. 

It is only fair to give them each a place where their gifts name them more than one where they are shoehorned into an ill-fitting theme which has little actual relevance to either of their performance styles.

Some “bards” do both well – period music recreation/reproduction and new music which has the soul of the SCA as its lead. They are luminaries and are very seldom simply “bards.” “Bardic” is generally but one part of what they do exceptionally well, but it’s often the most public face of their other talents. I know those who are recognized for their poetry, music writing, and research into stories of the past who were recognized for those things but their prominence as performers causes the gifts for which they were recognized – their scholar work – to be eclipsed by their own brightness. These folk are “bard-and-_____” people. Period work/research must be done (and documented) to achieve some kinds of recognition, as with all arts and sciences in the SCA.

This loose naming of the “bardic arts” also hinders our recognition of artists for what they have been truly respected for doing to achieve that recognition. I would rather see skalds, musicians, pipers, actors, fools, and others be so recognized – better that than a “bard” which is near meaningless in our use of it.

This recognition issue also seems to cause a lot of other issues regarding what we see as valued in the Society- for art and performance art in particular. Should performances be more period and scholarly? Should they reflect the modern chronicles of the SCA? Should we play only in persona? Should we be fine with a persona that is simply part of the subculture? Can there be a balance? Where is that balance?

Given the ample discussion I’ve witnessed and participated in over the years, I have come to the following “manifesto” regarding the “Bardic Arts” and the “Performing Arts.” We are all easily seen and understood as “Performing Artists” regardless of our style of performance. There is no shoe-horn or mallet needed to squeeze people into places they barely fit. The term is broadly inclusive, immediately recognizable, and lets folk name themselves within that in a way that suits them best.

I make this change for me, but also because I believe it is healthier for our community to change that we may stop fighting over what is and isn’t included in this or that, but rather that we can celebrate our differences and similarities in a more respectful manner.

I wrote it to clarify my own thoughts, but decided that I would be public in my personal statements of belief.

– Aneleda

OTHER TERMS FOR BARD (in addition to musician, dancers, mummers, et al…)
bard synonyms and related words:
Meistersinger, Parnassian, arch-poet, ashik, ballad maker, ballad singer, balladeer, balladmonger, bucoliast, elegist, epic poet, fili, folk singer, gleeman, griot, idyllist, imagist, jongleur, laureate, librettist, major poet, maker, minnesinger, minor poet, minstrel, modernist, muse, occasional poet, odist, pastoral poet, pastoralist, poet, poet laureate, poetress, rhapsode, rhapsodist, satirist, scop, serenader, skald, sonneteer, street singer, strolling minstrel, symbolist, troubadour, trouveur, trovatore, udgatar, vers libriste, vers-librist, wait, wandering minstrel…

Or, as would be accurate for me, dilettante – an admirer or lover of the arts or one having a surface-level interest in an art or branch of knowledge, a dabbler.

Posted on

The Garden of Sir Jibril – Words for the Knighting of Jibril al-Dakhil

The Full Chapter from the Book of Jibril on the Occasion of His Knighting

1. Into the kingdom came a man. 2. He was only a man, nothing more and nothing less, bestowed with the gifts which all men may access. 3. He took a name for himself, and was called Jibril. 4. This man could have taken his own gifts and done with them for himself. Many men do this, neither to their credit nor demerit. They are not judged. 5. Jibril took his gifts as though they were the seeds of fine trees. Each one he planted and tended.

6. After many years the trees did grow, to the height of a man, each green with leaves. 7. Though the growth was slow, he nurtured them with his deeds. The things he did for himself made the leaves brighter. The things he did for others made the trunks stronger. The things he did because they were the right things – those went deep into the soil.

8. In time the trees gave shelter and shade. Each limb he trimmed was fashioned into an object of beauty or a finely wrought weapon. The trees became a grove where people gathered around him in friendship. 9. All had come to respect this man who so tended his grove and was generous with his property and riches it had granted him. 10. One day Jibril was with his beloved company among the grove he had planted when, in the heat of the summer sun and its monsoons of rains, every tree burst into bloom. 11. The blossoms shone in the light, reflecting the gifts he had planted long ago, each branch weighty with his virtues.

12. The trees could now be named: Courage, with blossoms red as blood; Justice, blooming with orange fire; Generosity, as gold as honey; Hope, as green as the first spring; Mercy, as blue as lapis lazuli; Nobility, as purple as the dusk; Prowess, indigo so dark as to be night.  13. The last tree which opened did so at dusk, and it bore a flower of the most pure and shining white ever seen. All who saw it understood that Jibril, in all his ceaseless tending, had brought forth the rarest flower of them all – Chivalry.

14. And so it was that a blossom from this tree was shown to all the land. 15. Thus was Prophet summoned before the King and Queen in his own garden with those of greatest honor, each of whom wore about them the white of the sun reflected in the moon. 16. They bade Jibril sit vigil in his garden to consider the deeds of his life. 17. After the moon had set, the white blossoms fell before him and a single great fruit grew upon the tree. 18. When the crowd returned, the white-bearers plucked this blossom and did open it into the hands of Jibril. This was the fruit of his labours and love – a belt of white and a chain of gold. 19. It is said that this, while seeming miraculous, was indeed not so, for it was merely the fruits of labor well-earned. 20. And so it was that he who was known as Prophet was now known also as Knight.

_________________________________________________

The Abbreviated Court Version as read by Queen Kiena at Pennsic’s East Kingdom Court
upon the Knighting of Sir Jibril al-Dakhil

Into the kingdom came a man.He took a name for himself and was called Jibril. Jibril took his gifts as though they were the seeds of fine trees. Each one he planted and tended.

Though the growth was slow, he nurtured them with his deeds. The things he did for himself made their leaves brighter. The things he did for others made their trunks stronger. The things he did because they were the right things – those went deep into the soil.

In time the trees gave shelter and shade. Each limb he trimmed was fashioned into an object of beauty or a finely wrought weapon. One day Jibril was with his people among the grove when every tree burst into bloom. The blossoms shone in the light, reflecting the gifts he had planted long ago, each branch weighty with his virtues.

The trees could now be named: Courage, with blossoms red as blood; Justice, blooming with orange fire; Generosity, as gold as honey; Hope, as green as the first spring; Mercy, as blue as lapis lazuli; Nobility, as purple as the dusk; Prowess, indigo so dark as to be night. The last tree which opened, did so at dusk, and it bore a flower of the most pure and shining white ever seen. All who saw it understood that Jibril, in all his ceaseless tending, had brought forth the rarest flower of them all – Chivalry.

Thus was Prophet summoned before the King and Queen in his own garden with those of greatest honor, each of whom wore about them the white of the sun reflected in the moon. After the moon had set, a single great fruit grew upon the tree. The white-bearers plucked this blossom and did open it into the hands of Jibril. This was the fruit of his labours and love – a belt of white and a chain of gold. And so it was that he who was known as Prophet was now known also as Knight.

Posted on

On Chivalry and Honor

If I fight with the strength of men and of angels, and I have not Honor, I am made as a thoughtless gale, or a falling tree.

And if I have prowess, and know all strategies, and all knowing of tactics, and if I have all armies so that I bear over hills from one place to another, and I have not Honor, I am nought.

And if I part all my goods into the meats of my allies, and if I perfecteth my form and talents, so that I burn, and if I have not Honor, it profiteth to me nothing.

Honor is patient, it is just; Honor envieth not, it doeth not wickedly, it is not blown up with pride,

it is not covetous of others’ accolades, it seeketh not those things that be his own, it is not stirred to wrath, it thinketh not evil, nor keepeth record of others’ wrongs, nor cause others dishonor;

it joyeth not in wickedness, forsooth it joyeth together with truth;
it suffereth all things, it protecteth all things, it sustaineth all things, it defendeth all things.

Honor falleth never down, whether battles shall be voided, either households shall cease, either alliances and armies shall be destroyed.

For a part we know, and a part we prophesy, but when that shall come that requires Honor, that thing not of Honor shall be voided.

When I was a little child, I spake as a little child, I understood as a little child, I thought as a little child; but when I was made a man, I voided those things that were of a little child.

Forsooth we see now by a mirror in darkness, but then face to face; now I know of part, but then I shall know, as and I am known.

And now dwelleth Honor, Loyalty, Justice, Defense, Courage, Prowess, Largess, Humility, and Nobility; but the most of these is Honor.

* * * * *

— These thoughts are dedicated to the members of the Chivalry in my life, some of whom wear the white and some of whom who do not yet wear the white. I am as a little child, but I watch and grow with everything I witness. Your personal dedication to Honor is ever an inspiration. I am certain you know who you are. —

(Text based on the Wyclyffe Bible version of the famed First Corinthians. The Wyclyffe Bible was first compiled/translated in the late 1300s.)

Posted on

The Knight’s Ennui

I needa field of half-mown timothy

a steady summer breeze

a setting sun in splendor,

her long, slanting golden rays

reflected on the armor stand

sentries by the gate.

 

I need

a fire ring set with iron pots

a brace of coneys stripped

a hand of herbs and salt to cook

the beasts with wine,

stewing there so perfectly,

their scent wafting to the field.

 

I need

a family to gather

a table heavy laden

a jug of endless mead to share

sweet as that late summer sun

sinking into purple night

while the fire is built to brightness.

 

I need

a star filled sky

a harp nearby

a glass half-filled

to fill again with drink

as the laughter of good friends

intoxicates our aching selves

after a day of long battles.

 

I need

a field of half-mown timothy

a steady summer breeze

a rising sun in splendor,

her long, slanting golden rays

reflected on the armor stand

sentries by the gate.

 

****

 

May 29, 2013This was my response to Sir Tanaka’s Facebook status yesterday which noted that in light of his “ennui” he bid us answer the question, “I need…” “I Need…A Muse – and I Just Got One” was, while stunningly accurate, too awkward a title, so “The Knights Ennui” is the title instead.

 

– aneleda