Poems for Marie l’Englois’ Elevation to the Order of the Laurel

By TH Laird Colyne Stewart, Mar AS 51 (2017)

Marie was apprenticed to Master Naon na Chruitire of beloved memory. As Naon could not be at Marie’s elevation, some items of import were chosen to represent him and honour his memory. As each item was brought into court and placed about Marie, the following poems were read. (Please note that the Cloak unfortunately did not make it to the event, so that poem was not read.)

The Harp (Golden Singer)

Well form’d with love by Naon’s hand,

Sings so grand, truth like a dove,

Twin it had, music taken,

Here, awaken, gold coat clad.

Spirit marked, the wood well worn,

Oh in morn, the sound so good,

Echoes still, with harper’s soul,

T’was his goal—strings play when will’d.

The Cloak

Harper’s cloak, weighted with worth,

Mantle, mirth, smudged with camp smoke,

In wolfen keep, hall of hare,

Camp of bear, let listeners weep.

To the learned Lucie left,

Rough heft, the mortal mien shed,

Light so sharp, to night sky fled,

Bright thread, cape for hallow’d  harp.

The Psaltery

String’d psaltery, sweet its sound,

Crowned with notes, fingers flurry,

For nobles played, for decree,

With much glee, it would be bade.

From entrusted Enid on,

To brother, baron, gusted

Sounds so pure, notes oh serene,

In mein and grace, soulful sure.

The Drum (painted bodhran)

Annoint’d skin, with flower seen,

In dark serene, drummer’s grin,

Call spirits wild—come and dance,

By bardist’s trance, beguil’d.

Friendship’s mark, from hand to hand,

Knotwork band, and history’s arc,

Kept in love, held in respect,

Souls affect, here and above.

Notes on the composition

Rannaighheacht mhor (pronounced ron-a’yach voor; great versification) consisted of quatrains made of 7-syllable lines. Two words in each line must alliterate; lines rhymed abab and so forth. The end words rhymed internally in opposite lines of each couplet. The end word of line three rhymes internally with line four. The last word of line four alliterates with the previous word. Rannaighheacht (pronounced ron-a’yach; “versification”) were a bruilingeacht version of dán direach (that is to say they used a simpler rhyme scheme than regular dán direach). All versions of rannaigheacht made use of dunadh. Dúnadh (conclusion) is when a poem began and ended on the same sound (the same letter, word or syllable).  It can also refer to chain rhyme where the last syllable of one line rhymes with the first syllable of the next.

Each poem is shown again below with alliteration marked in bold and rhymes in italic.

The Harp (Golden Singer)

Well form’d with love by Naon’s hand[1],

Sings so grand, truth like a dove,

Twin it had, music taken,[2]

Here, awaken, gold coat clad.[3]

Spirit marked, the wood well worn,[4]

Oh in morn, the sound so good,

Echoes still, with harper’s soul,

T’was his goal—strings play when will’d.[5]

The Cloak

Harper’s cloak, weighted with worth,

Mantle, mirth, smudged with camp smoke,

In wolfen keep[6], hall of hare[7],

Camp of bear[8], let listeners weep.

To the learned Lucie left[9],

Rough heft, the mortal mien shed,

Light so sharp, to night sky fled,

Bright thread, cape for hallow’d  harp.

The Psaltery

String’d psaltery[10], sweet its sound,

Crowned with notes, fingers flurry,

For nobles played, for decree,

With much glee, it would be bade.

From entrusted Enid[11] on,

To brother, baron[12], gusted

Sounds so pure, notes oh serene,

In mein and grace, soulful sure.

The Drum (painted bodhran)

Annoint’d skin, with flower seen[13],

In dark serene[14], drummer’s grin,

Call spirits wild—come and dance,

By bardist’s trance, beguil’d.

Friendship’s mark, from hand to hand[15],

Knotwork band, and history’s arc,

Kept in love, held in respect,

Souls affect, here and above.

---

[1] The harp, Golden Singer was made by Naon.

[2] At the end of each day that Naon worked on this harp, a friend of his at the time snuck into the shop and duplicated his work, thus building essentially a clone of Golden Singer. This “stolen” twin apparently does not have as good a sound as Naon’s work.

[3] Naon built the harp originally for another musician. When she could no longer play, she returned it into his keeping. He was surprised to find that she had spray painted it gold to emulate the golden harp of mythology. Contrary to his expectations, he found that the paint improved the instrument’s sound rather than detracting from it. Thus he dubbed it Golden Singer.

[4] Naon played this harp so often that his arms rubbed off the paint and you can see their marks on the wood.

[5] Sometimes this harp will sound for no apparent reason.

[6] Naon was once Bard of Ealdormere.

[7] Naon was also once Bard of Skraeling Althing.

[8] And he was once Bard of Septentria.

[9] The cloak was left to the keeping of Lady Lucie Pelletierre. Lucie was Naon’s friend and former PhD advisor.

[10] Like the harp, Naon made the psaltery (a stringed instrument similar to a dulcimer).

[11] The psaltery was, for many years, in the keeping of Dame Enid Aurelia, the first Baroness of Skraeling Althing.

[12] It was then passed on to Baron Duncan, Naon’s friend and one time roommate.

[13] The drum skin is painted with knotwork and a trillium.

[14] The paint apparently glows in the dark.

[15] The drum was given into the keeping of Dame TSivia bas Tamara v’Amberview.

Her Royal Heritage

By TH Laird Colyne Steward, Lupine Bard, November AS 51 (2016)

My Queen has asked me to recite

Fair words about her forebears bright—

“My regal mothers, were they fierce,

And with sharp spears the foemen pierced?

Or were they kind and debonair,

With flowers in their braided hair?

And did they work with silk and thread,

Or were they bookish and well read?

Of horses did they know their way,

And could they lead the hounds that bay?

Oh tell me, poet, of my past,

And of my line, my mothers passed.”

“My fairest queen, hear now your lore,

So many others gone before,

Lo each of them were royal true,

And many were the things they’d do;

But there was one who did them all,

Who led her folk in field and hall,

With those of wolf and of the bear,

Met strong the tygre’s steely stare,

She rode her stead in battle’s hell,

And strode with spear and never fell.

She bled her blood, she worked her hands,

For betterment of all our lands.

With needle, thread, she knew her art,

And always giving from her heart,

She clothed so many ‘gainst the cold—

Yet, wait! For more there must be told!

Around her children laughing play,

While hounds, obedient, panting stay;

Within her rooms are piled tomes

Among her pins and fancy combs,

And red and yellow hair bound flowers,

From which she’s read in midnight hours.

So worthy she, so right and true,

A Pelican and Laurel too,

Countess, Duchess and Baroness,

Her name to you I will confess

‘Tis Adrielle, the Iron Queen,

Whose virtues I see in your mien.

Xristina, ruler, sovereign,

My duty now is duly done.”

During the reign of Siegfried II and Xristina, the people of Ealdormere were challenged to write a song, poem or story about one of the Queens of Ealdormere. I choose Her Grace, Adrielle Kerrec, who I feel epitomizes all that is noble within our Society. I wrote my poem as an amas, which was a genre in 7^th century Ireland that extolled the virtues of a local saint. 

The dog is intent

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, April AS 50 (2016)

The dog is intent

In the window sitting

Barks at those who trespass

As is only fitting

Our lives she protects

From our peaceful neighbours

Who daily go about

Toiling at labours

At the dog shouting

Never who will waver

In her mind a hero

The dog intent, savior.

This poem is written in breccbairdne which were Old Irish quatrains consisting of one 5-syllable line followed by three 6-syllable lines. They rhymed xaxa xbxb (and so on, where the x lines did not rhyme). All end words had two syllables. Poems written in breccbairdne concluded with dúnadh (when a poem began and ended on the same letter, word or syllable).

Carl and Scop

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, April AS 50 (2016)

At fire a scop was speaking

While around him all were drinking

He spoke of his deeds

The giving of beads

And the seeds of thinking.

At back of the flaming fire

A carl calls scop a liar

Calls out tale teller

Calls him lie seller

Pit dweller, insult dire.

The carl, no beard on his chin,

In front of his family and kin,

With head full of mead,

And eyes full of greed,

Pays no heed to his sin.

The scop silent looks at the churl,

Then asks him when he became earl?

What deeds has he done?

What tales has he spun?

Low-born son of swine-pearl.

In what realms the halls he has raised?

In whose heart of hearts is he praised?

What monsters he’s slain,

To whom is he bane,

In the rain what towns razed?

Rebuffed, the carl pulls back his seat,

‘Til all that is seen are his feet,

Consumed by the dark,

Struck now with a mark,

Far from spark and fire’s heat.

Written in Clogyrnach (pronounced clog-ir’-nach) which is n awdl stanza form. It consisted of two 8-syllable lines, followed by two 5 syllable lines and two 3-syllable lines. The last two lines or four lines could also be collapsed into one line. I have chosen to collapse the last two.

"Through the mists a northern ship"

Through the mists a northern ship,

Lets oars dip in water cold,

As warriors bold their axes clasp

And rough breaths rasp in hungry throats.

In wolfen cloaks they howl loud,

Fierce and proud and free to roam

So far from home yet not afraid.

Their foes waylaid and sent to Hel

And told to tell of how they passed

From first to last upon the blades—

In forest glades—of the northmen.

A ship of ten they treasure take,

And thirst they slake, with blood and mead

As fury’s freed to wander south

While bearded mouth of mighty skald

Loudly called and told of deeds

Of planted seeds that grew so tall

They could not fall to any man.

Bezerker clan leaps into lake

And like cold drake they wade ashore

Grip axe and oar in burly hands.

They scan the lands they’ve come to reave

While Southerns leave in haste and fear

As ten draw near, the moon so bright

In fell light bloody work commences.

Riot of the senses, scent of blood,

The feel of mud and steel and flesh,

Muscles thresh, the sounds of fright

And fierce delight, panic, pain and disbelief,

And sobbing grief. Then sudden still

In morning chill as pelted wolf-men,

Now nine of ten, collect their geld

From those they felled upon their boat.

With laugh and gloat they fill their fists

As through the mists they disappear.

Written using the Aicill rhyme scheme where the final word of one line rhymes with an internal word in the next rhyme.

For Helen Grey

By THLaird Colyne Stewart

Amid the rustling banners bold

A tale is told of Korigan

Who fears no one, the wolf red-black,

Who from her pack will never stray.

For Helen Grey she stood the field

With sword and shield, and heavy axe,

To make me wax on honour bought

With how she fought for Helen Grey.

On August 29, 2015, at the Emprise of the Ermine Star, I fought Lord Korigan in a deed of arms. Part of the rules of the list were that if any part of a fighter other than their foot were to touch the ground, they owed a ransom to their opponent. I fell to the ground, and for my ransom Korigan tasked me to write a poem for her wife, Helen Grey.

Written using the aicill rhyme scheme where the final word of one line rhymes with an internal word in the next rhyme.

Hounds of Arrochar

Dedicated to Gilchrist, Ilsa, Boaz, Ozymandius, O’ber and Fengil

By THLaird Colyne Stewart, March AS 49 (2015)

In northern hall the hounds all sit,

Sleek bodies fit for dogs who hunt,

When with a grunt released they fly,

Give voice to cry as swift they go,

The whippets flow through bright green grass,

While greyhounds pass and kennets bay,

Lymers find the prey, elusive,

And then, conclusive, end the game;

So heed their lord and dame, head home,

No more to roam and on floor sprawl.

Written using the Irish poetic device known as Aicill. Aicill is a rhyme scheme where the final word of one line rhymes with an internal word in the next rhyme.

For instance:

He was a man both strong and tall,

Who, come the fall, would travel round

To hallowed ground, and there kneel down

etc

I again settled on iambic octometer for my meter (for some reason that feels most natural to me), and did not use a traditional poetic stanza form. I instead wrote single ceathramhain (lines of verse) until I felt the tale had been told (in this case a scene of all the dogs who are part of House Arrochar chasing something through a field). I also chose to write it as a single rann (stanza). Technically I also used the device known as dúnadh (meaning “conclusion”) where the poem begins and ends on the same sound. This sound can be the whole word, a syllable, or just a letter. This poem begins and ends with the letter L, so it could be considered to be using dúnadh. Another device I made use of a on a few ceathramhain was uaim, which is the use of alliteration in early Irish poetry. With uaim only unaccented syllables should come between alliterated words (so “hall the hounds,” “fit for,” “when with,” “green grass,” and “head home” all alliterate correctly).

Kennets were a type of dog used as small hunting hounds, while lymers were dogs used to locate game.

For more information on dogs in period, check out:

Walker-Meikle, Kathleen. Medieval Dogs. British Library, 2013.

For Gann upon his Elevation to the Order of Chivalry

THLaird Colyne Stewart, December AS 49 (2014)

I invoke the name of Gann:

Gann who stands on fields of battle,

Battle, wherein he forged his name,

A name based on honour and right,

Right on his side, high his banner,

Banner steady and preaux,

Preaux is this man, word-bound,

Bound to justice and service,

Service to his King and land,

Land of the north, which he defends,

Defends with blood free spilled,

Spilled in protection of the weak,

Weak are his foes when they see him,

Him, from Éire’s northland,

Northland’s son this warrior,

Warrior for Queen and wolf-born,

Born to the lance and sword,

Sword dipped to touch his shoulder,

Shoulders a burden from high-lord,

Lord names him worthy knight,

Knight is this man, and I,

I invoke the name of Gann.

Written as an amra (a praise poem) using the technique known as conachlonn (where the last word of each line is the first word of the subsequent line). Partially inspired by Amergin's invocation of Ireland.