Her Excellency Ysemay

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, AS 50 (2015)

For Mistress Ysemay Sterling, who was made a Baroness of the Court at Pennsic 2015

A crown upon a noble brow

Bestowed before assembled crowd

To show the worth of one so dear

Oh Ysemay, of eternal cheer,

In glory bright, with honour filled,

Rewarded as the Royals willed.

For Baroness Eleanor von Atzinger upon being named a Vigilant of the Order of the Pelican

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, August AS 50 (2015)

In service she’s known for her toil,

In name of both low-born and royal;

To Crown both loving and loyal;

So El,nor is called with a cheer.

At king’s word she bends down to kneel,

Astonished that this could be real,

And great ones bring treasure to heel,

So El’nor is draped with new gear.

They speak of her virtues with pride,

As of her great deeds they confide,

All true words that can’t be denied,

So El’nor’s proclaimed far and near.

The Queen now she bids her to stand,

And raises her up with her hand,

To show her to all in the land,

And El’nor stands proudly as Peer.

Written as a zéjel, a Spanish form likely originally Arabic in origin. I used the most common four verse form (rhyming aaab, cccb, dddb, eeeb) and the most common kind of line (octosyllabic). 

The Wolf Pack Came South

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, August AS 50 (2015)

The wolf pack came south from the northlands,

The wolf pack came down for the king,

The wolf pack came down from the northlands,

They came down their axes to swing.

The band of ten men went out onto the field,

To meet all in combat, Queen’s honour they’d wield,

The brave band of ten fought and bled in the fray,

In all but one battle they carried the day.

The wolf pack came south from the northlands,

The wolf pack came down for the king,

The wolf pack came down from the northlands,

They came down their axes to swing.

The sky rippled scarlet, the warriors sang,

As swords upon shields in glad victory rang,

Our Monarchs stand tall, raised up high by the throng,

And let the world know that the wolves won in song.

The wolf pack came south from the northlands,

The wolf pack came down for the king,

The wolf pack came down from the northlands,

They came down their axes to swing.

The wolf pack came south from the northlands,

The wolf pack came down for the king,

The wolf pack came down from the northlands,

They came down their axes to swing.

At Pennsic War 2015, Ealdormere’s Unbelted team won the ten-man tournament for the first time.