Maister Colyne Stewart, AS 53 (August 2018)
An elegy for a beloved dog, part of the family of Pasi and
Jaclyn Paltanen.
All-father Odin
one-eyed watchman
Sings through sky-horn
shatters the calm night
Calls to him champions
curs of great valour
Hounds of honour
he would extoll
Claim to his company
captain his ghost-pack
Wolf-daughter wizened
wick low lit fading
Second-shadow
sky-bridge strider
Hound of honey-thieves’
hall, child-guard well
Lap-friend loyal
last duty now done
Comes to his hall
charges moon-ward
Emma earth-bound
eases her long-fate
Leia still listens
looking from high
Draugar and dvergar
dare not to enter
Bee-foe Bjarnscur
begotten watcher
Battles for bear-cub
bright star of night
Written in the style of the Ango-Saxon scops, using a
variety of line types. The oral Old
English versification tradition was brought to England from Germany by the
Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century. It therefore shares many (if not
all) characteristics with Old German
versification.
The lines of verse (which were not recorded in written form
until the 8th century[1])
were alliterative, of variable length, and divided by a caesura. The third
stressed syllable in each line had to alliterate with either or both of the
first two, while the fourth did not alliterate. All vowels and diphthongs
alliterated with each other. Sc, sp and st usually only alliterated with
themselves. The disposition of stressed syllables is the same as the Sievers’
types described in Old German
versification.
Synonyms and compound words were widely used (likely to
assist with alliteration). Kennings, though not common, were sometimes used.
Sometimes the words used could have multiple meanings (though whether this was
done on purpose is open to debate).[2]
Variation (using multiple names for the same subject within the same lines) was
also used and poets would often reuse lines or word patterns from earlier poems
by other poets.
The version of the poem below has the alliterative letters
bolded, with the stressed syllables in italics. Synonyms, variation and
kennings are explained in footnotes.
All-father Odin[3] one-eyed[4]
watchman
Sings through sky-horn[5] shatters
the calm night
Calls to him champions curs
of great valour
Hounds of honour
he would extoll
Claim to his comp’ny captain
his ghost-pack[6]
Wolf-daughter[7]
wizened wick
low lit fading[8]
Second-shadow[9] sky-bridge
strider[10]
Hound of honey-thieves[11]’ hall[12], child-guard[13] well
Lap-friend[14] loyal last
duty now done
Comes to his call
charges moon-ward[15]
Emma earth-bound eases her long-fate[16]
Leia still listens looking
from high
Draugar[17]
and dvergar[18] dare
not to enter[19]
Bee-foe Bjarnscur[20] begotten
watcher
[1] Dance, Richard. “The Old English Language and the Alliteative
Tradition.” A Companion to Medieval Poetry. Saunders, Corrine, ed.
Wiley-Blackwell: West Sussex, 2010. p. 35.
[2] Ibid: p. 47.
[3] Odin, father of the
gods.
[4] Odin had only one eye.
[5] Odin sounds his great
horn.
[6] Odin calls to him dogs
of worthy character.
[7] Dogs are descendants
of wolves.
[8] A reference to Leai’s
long life.
[9] Like many dogs, Leia enjoyed following her humans about. In
particular, she spent a great deal of time with baby Emma, Pasi and Jaclyn’s
young daughter,
[10] Suggesting Leia will answer
Odin’s call and has crossed the rainbow bridge to enter Valhalla, the Norse
afterlife.
[11] A kenning for a bear.
[12] Pasi and Jaclyn refer
to their home as Bearhall.
[13] Leia was sometimes
referred to as Emma’s nanny.
[14] Dog.
[15] Leia answered Odin’s
call.
[16] Emma’s life will be easier
for Leai having been in it.
[17] Scandinavian zombies.
[18] Scandinavian dwarves.
[19] Boogeymen dare not
even enter Emma’s room.
[20] Leia was a Karelian beardog.
The bee-foe is a name for a bear. Bjarn is Pasi’s name in the SCA, so Bjarnscur
means Bjarn’s dog.
[21] Leia still watches
over Emma.
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