Big Gay Outfit!

  My protege, Lord Nicola Canis, at Murder Melee 2023, debuting his "Big Gay Outfit" which he made completely by hand!

A Praise Poem for Baron Valdr

 http://colyne-poetry.blogspot.com/2021/05/valdrs-light.html

Scroll by HE Sciath.

Surprised!

 I haven't been posting much here this Yeare of the Plague, but Thorfinna and I have been keeping ourselves busy making (and helping others make) videos for the Kingdom of Ealdormere's Youtube channel.

So then this happened on Saturday:

It's a little hard to hear with the wind and traffic but here's a transcription of the scroll:

Since the fortune of all is created such that it can never remain in one state, such that when one seems to be prosperous, one is plunged into adversity. Whence you all know, that there is very great affliction throughout the Kingdom and indeed all lands. We are all the more tortured, because We are separated in body from all Our subjects. This tribulation has a beginning, but the end is not known; it never diminishes; it has newly arisen but does not tend to set. Because of this, Our anguish is everywhere and We did not know what We should do.

In answer to our pious pleas came forth the efforts of two of our populace such that that this malaise may be made tolerable and lighter for us all.

We have been much consoled and you can rejoice with Us that We have found great harmony beyond what could be believed, and great happiness and joy through the efforts of Colyne Stewart and Þorfinna gráfeldr and We commend them in all things and wish to demonstrate to all the high esteem in which We hold them.

With the contents of these lines, We commit to the memory of everyone concerned these words of praise and commendation.

We, Amelius Claudius Rattanicus and Isabel Atwyll, by perseverance and patience King and Queen of Ealdormere in these burdensome times, have the great duty and privilege to recognize those whose skill, knowledge and efforts increases and strengthens Our fair land during these vexatious times. Coylne and Þorfinna have displayed a vast and imaginative skills, furthermore they have greatly added to the splendor of Our Realm and given all the gift of laughter, music, information, education and entertainment to gladden the hearts of all. They have lifted the body of our people with such gifts, and they have nourished the very soul of our Kingdom in their service to Our Realm.

For these good works and services, and in recognition of the love and esteem We hold for Coylne and Þorfinna, We do so grant them the rank and estate of Baron and Baroness of Our Court with all rights and privileges thereto appertaining. And further, We charge them in their new estate to continue their works, to wit to ensure the growth and prosperity and tithe of their graces to lift the spirits of all the peoples of Our realm as they are so able to.

This is so done and given by our hands on the 5th Day of December, Anno Societatis 55, being the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas, at their keep, Raven's Roost.

This was very humbling, and incredibly meaningful to us, both for receiving the first award of the Plague Reign of Their Majesties Ranntanicus and Isabel, to be receiving it from Their hands as we they are great friends who have been doing so  much for the kingdom Themselves, for having our joint Laurel in attendance, and for the Herald and Videographer also being good friends. We are truly honoured.

[Edit: I have updated my full Achievement of Arms to reflect that I am a Plague Baron,]

Why do we say wassail?

 An article looking at Ealdormere's traditional call of celebration.

New Scroll Wording

Arwyn of Leicester, Order of the Laurel, 2019

New Scroll Wordings

Ronin, Award of the Wolf's Cub, 2019

Aurelia Gabriana, Order of the Laurel, backlog scroll (written in 2015; updated in 2017)

Aurelia Gabriana, Order of the Pelican, 2018

Æppel Ūp

By Maister Colyne Stewart, October AS 54 (2019)

Talisman Bran’s[1] | at Brok’s Kaer[2] grows

The fruit of health[3] | so fulsome tree’d

Clíodna’s birds[4] | eat deep and full

Though locked the gates | of garden pure[5]

From poisons foul | it protects well[6]

In press is crushed | for cider, wine,

Ydromellum[7] | if done with sweets

So sought by bears | lo, binge we all!

Written in the Anglo-Saxon style to commemorate a day of apple picking and cider making at the farm of Joffr and Dubhessa.

Sources

Hooke, Della . Trees in Anglo-Saxon England: Literature, Lore and Landscape.

Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2010. Accessed September 28, 2019

https://books.google.ca/books?id=bs6qO2b1NwIC&pg=PA249&lpg=PA249&dq=anglo+saxon+apple&source=bl&ots=UmY5Hjh5Wj&sig=ACfU3U2mBSuHzVNHO9VLiL-gCal_6Al_hw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjjuqP55fTkAhUxHjQIHUplBFcQ6AEwB3oECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=anglo%20saxon%20apple&f=false

Horn, Peter C. “The Alcoholic Drinks of the Anglo-Saxons” (March 18, 2011).

Tha Engliscan Gesiðas https://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/archives/the-alcoholic-drinks-of-the-anglo-saxons accessed October 3, 2019

Levick, Ben, and  Uzzell, Hazel. “Food and Drink” (1992; 2001). Regia Anglorum https://regia.org/research/life/food.htm accessed October 3, 2019

Thomas, Kate H. “Comparing æppla and oranges: Anglo-Saxon fruit” (August 3, 2016). For the Wynn.  https://forthewynnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/comparing-aeppla-and-oranges-anglo-saxon-fruit/ accessed October 3, 2019

---

[1] A reference to ‘The Voyage of Bran,’ a medieval Irish tale.

[2] Kaer Brok is the name of their farm, and means “castle of the badger”.

[3] The Anglo-Saxon’s used the apple as a cure for many ailments.

[4] Clíodna is an Irish faerie, the queen of the banshees. She is attended by birds who are known to eat apples.

[5] The forbidden fruit in the biblical story of the Garden of Eden is often depicted as an apple.

[6] One of the many medicinal uses of the apple in Anglo-Saxon times was a cure for poison.

[7] A form of cider that is fermented with honey.

A poem for Rattanicus

https://colyne-poetry.blogspot.com/2019/05/rattanicus-knee-to-take.html

Appointment of Bailiff, Manor of Colyesburg, 2019

To all faithful in Ealdormere to whom the present writing shall come, Colyne Stewart of Colynesburg say greeting in the Name of the Wolf. As it was the prerogative of the Crown of the North, in the personage of Siegfried II and Xristina, to bestow upon me, the said Colyne, rights to the lands of Colynesburg called in the vernacular Drews End, to hold in feu and heritage with all its just perinents, as contained by the King's Highway to the north, thence west and south along the Crossroad Creek, thence east along coast till it comes to the Royal Forrest of Beaton, thence north over the fen back to the King's Highway.  Such lands were granted to my personage, whole, free and undisturbed in perpetuity, without any kind of subjection, service claim or demand, with liberty of fishing in the loch and with liberties in the forest of Beaton. As it is now come a time for myself, the said Colyne, and his house to pay chevage to Their Excellencies Septentria and move from Their ancient Ursine lands to the eastern reaches of the Hare, know ye that I have called upon Her Excellency Anneke the Furious, to act as my steward, bailiff and reeve and watch over the entirety of the estate as described above in my absence, and I ennoble her to oversee and collect from any lands, tenements, rents, reversions and services, with their appurtenances, of the manor of Colynesburg. In witness whereof to this present writing, I, the aforesaid Colyne have put my seal. Given on the feast of Margaret Pole, in the 1^st month of the reign of Roak Khan and Hyrrokin Khan Begam and 24 years since the Proscription .

Based on Quitclaim of lands and Arms by Walter Haywode To John Fromond (12 March 1402/3).

Taking a Break

I, Maister Colyne Stewart, am departing these lands on a pilgrimage, one from which I may not return. I have asked the scribes of my ethereal library to maintain these archives, for now at least.

I wish you all good journeys.

Colyne's Pelican Elevation Ceremony

This ceremony was written by Magistra Nicolaa de Bracon.

Notes:  The poetry is based on a passage from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The rest of the ceremony is based on the induction ceremony for the Order of the Golden Fleece, translated by Ursula Georges from the fifteenth-century Chronique of Jean le Fevre, Toison d'Or King of Arms.

Wording for my Pelican Scroll

To all Ealdormere's faithful people who shall see these letters, Siegfried, King and Xristina Queen, in the presence of Our noble and powerful Dukes and Duchess, Counts, Earls and Countesses, Barons and Baronesses, Masters,  Laurels, Pelicans, Knights and their squires, ladies and lords, and all in the future as well as the present, We greet you on this Feast of the Annunciation this 25th day in the month of March in the 51^st  year of our society, in our beloved lands of Caldrithig, a place suitable and convenient for this.

We will and do grant by these Letters Patent, for us, our heirs and successors, with the common advice, assent and consent of many nobles, including Our beloved companions of the Order of the Pelican,  giving with sincere intent,  induction unto Colyne Stewart into the Order of the Pelican, for he has performed exemplary and long-standing service to Canton, Barony and Kingdom as historian, scribe and officer, always as one who provides an example of courtesy worthy of emulation.  We do create and advance him to the title and degree of Maister of the most noble Order of the Pelican, to be in all places of honor numbered a Peer of Our Realm, with all right, privileges, insignia, precedence, and responsibilities thereto appertaining.  We affirm by these Letters Patent his right to bear the arms per pale gules and argent, a fox rampant counterchanged. In token whereof, We grant him the privilege of displaying above his shield, in whole or in part, the achievement proper to the Order: to wit, a cap of maintenance gules trimmed argent plumetty gules, the whole goutty de sang.

We wishing to recognize his devotion and goodwill and on account of such faithful service and loyalty  do establish by this his present  charter, to Colyne Stewart, that land called in the vernacular Drews End,  to hold of him in feu and heritage with all its just perinents, as contained by the King's Highway to the north, thence  west and south along the Crossroad Creek , thence east along coast  till it comes to the Royal Forrest of Beaton , thence north over the fen back to the King's Highway.  Such lands shall belong to our ally and friend, whole, free and undisturbed in perpetuity, without any kind of subjection, service claim or demand, with liberty of fishing in the loch and with liberties in the forest of Beaton.   And wheresoever any letters, charters, deeds or instruments may be discovered bearing upon obligations, conventions and compacts of this nature, We will that they be deemed cancelled, invalid, of no effect and void, and of no value or moment.

If any, however, should try, against Our wishes, to harm this charter, through the spite of oppressive covetousness, may they, falling down to the swirling masses of noisome darkness, be cursed, into everlasting fire, where they may be tormented in a cruel punishment by demons with heated iron instruments of torture if they do not change this before their death with appropriate penitence.

That the certainty of foreknowing may give true and clear remembrance of the past and to that  it is forever to be known, this shall be executed in manuscript  and be proclaimed in the Barony of Caldrithig bearing the seal of the Crown, together with the seals of  the Ducal house of Arrochar. 

Dated this 25th of the month of March in the 51^st  year of our society in the reign of Siegfried and Xristina. 

Wording  by Her Grce, Duchess Adrielle Kerrec.

Personal Statement of Ideals

I, Colyne Stewart, member of the Order of the Pelican, citizen of the Kingdom of Ealdormere, do hereby, under the stars of the Orion, and in service to the Society, hereby make this pledge:

That I will, as a Peer of the Society, always strive to abide by the expectations of those who hold such a station, as outlined in Corpora and other governing documents of the Society;

That I seek to recreate only the positive aspects of the past, and I reject all forms of intolerance and bigotry and those who would practice them;

That I believe the exploration of any culture, whether through garb, persona, or arts and sciences, is welcomed, so long as that exploration is performed with respect;

That real world concerns will always over ride the concerns of my game;

That I welcome participants from all backgrounds, regardless of their ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious beliefs, nationality, or abilities;

That I believe such diversity makes us stronger, both in the game, and in the modern world;

That I will aid those who require aid as I am able;

That I will be a voice for those who may feel voiceless;

That, if I should fail in these tenets in any way, that those who observed this failing bring it to my attention so I may redress any wrong;

This I do, by my hand and seal, in my holdings of Colynesburg, in the lupine lands of the north, on this, the feast day of Amadour, year of the Society fifty and three.

***

This personal statement of values is based partially on ones issued by Their Excellencies Ayreton, Baron Gareth Ostwestly and Baroness Hillary of Langforde, and by the Order of the Laurel in the Kingdom of Lochac.

New Poem

Tristhamsaga

Poem for Dagmar

A new poem for Duchess Dagmar.

Blóðhrafn: For Duchess Dagmar halvdan on her Elevation to the Order of the Pelican

Aeschine der Welfengau, Award of Arms, 2017

Her hand is weary with writing;

The words always pull at her heart;

She spends her hours in study

To further her skill in her art.

She studies words of the masters,

The flow and the rhythm of lines,

She lives where the music dances

Where wordplay and meanings entwine.

She is a gift to the northland,

A wolf who is destined to sing;

A ram, and poet, and author:

A boon to her Queen and her King.

Therefore do We, Qulliam, King, and Tangwystl, Queen, gift unto our worthy subject Aeschine der Welfengau an Award of Arms. Done on the Feast Day of Saint Sanctan, in the fifty-second year of the Society, in our Canton of Der Welfengau.

Wording by Maister Colyne Stewart, based on “Is scíth mo chrob ón scríbinn” (My Hand is Weary with Writing), an anonymous poem from around 1200.

Poem from my Elevation to the Order of the Pelican

For Maister Colyne Stewart, on the occasion of his elevation to the Order of the Pelican
By Magistra Nicolaa de Bracton

He bears arms of shining gules and argent,
with the fox counterchanged painted there in richest hues.
Recalls his lineage, from grace descended
A fox’s jamb, a pen sustaining for his sigil.
And why the fox applies to that laird noble,
I intend to tell, though I tarry more than I should.
The fox, fair cunning and full of wit,
Tenacious in token of truth, by the title that he has,
Seven virtues fire the feisty fox:
Franchise in proud bearing, Fortitude, slayer of sloth,
Humility, purgative of Pride, Temperance, the middle path;
Justice, giving each his worth; Honesty in word,
And Courage, great strength of heart
For so it accords with this laird and his bright arms,
Steadily sure in seven ways,
Colyne was for good known, and, as shining silver,
void of every villainy, with virtues adorned
all, so.
And so the fox changed thus
he bore on shield and coat,
as sigil of faith and trust
and gentlest laird of note.


The poetry, which was part of Maister Colyne's elevation ceremony, is based on a passage from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and is inspired by the poetry that Colyne has written for so many on the occasion of their elevations.

A Poem for Me!

For the Lupine Bard
For Master Colyne Stewart upon being named a Vigilant to The Order of the Pelican
By Duchess Kaylah the Cheerful, Feb AS 51 (2017)

Be Merry, Colyne
As midsummer oceans
Serve the pelican.
A noble bird of the sea
With solace and gladness
Much mirth and great aptness
So joyously
So good naturedly
So conscientiously
With humour
His demeanor
Pen flashing
Poetry surpassing
What I can indite
Or suffice to write
Of Colyne Stewart
Scooping up tasks to be
As a pelican
Snaffling fish from the sea.
Patient a tutor,
Magician at the computer,
Autocrat
Not wombat
Acrobat of thought
Well made, well wrought
Compositions always sought
Newsletter Editor,
Literary epicure.
Event expeditor,
Industrious labour
Sempiternal service
Scribe of puppet conical
Historians chronicle
Master Colyne Stewart.

This poem is based on the John Skelton (1460 –1529) poem “Merry Margaret”. I attempted to emulate this poet because writer and literary critic George Puttenham (1529– 1590) asserts John Skelton is a “rude railing rhymer”, which seems about the right level for a stick jock attempting to wield a pen. My best efforts turned out more like “Jabberwocky” than like prose. Sorry, Colyne. I just thought you ought to have a poem along with Marie and myself. (Kellen, you got a cover!)

New Book Available!

Ossa poetices: A Cyclopedia of Early, Medieval and Renaissance Poetic Forms, Devices and Genres.

From the works of the troubadours and trouvères of the 14th-century to those of the skalds and scops of the 6th, poetry has been written in Europe for a very long time. Within this volume Todd H. C. Fischer has gathered information on different poetic genres, forms and devices used across Europe during the early, medieval and Renaissance time periods. You may have heard of roundelays, madrigals, ballads, and—of course—sonnets in high school English class, but have you heard of hrynhent, leich, letrilla and zéjel? Mr. Fischer (who holds a double honours BA in English and Creative Writing) has made the study of medieval poetry a passion. He has scoured hundreds of volumes on medieval literature to here gather together information ranging from Anglo-Saxon versification to the obscure fatras of France. Most entries are illustrated by period examples, quoting works by Dante, Shakespeare, Marie de France, Raimbaut of Orange, and many others. Indices at the end of the volume allow easy cross referencing of entries by location and time period. Students of literature, lovers of poetry, and medieval re-creationists alike will find this volume essential.

BUY IT ON AMAZON!

New Article Posted

My class notes for Medieval Debate Poetry have been posted to the Athenaeum Hectoris site.