The Next Project (and a little something something to keep you going for now)

Hej!


It's the Tuesday after my first public display of my poetry at Æthelmearc War Practice.  It went fairly well, but I found things that need improving.  I'll work on it for the next few weeks and try again at Æthelmearc Æcademy in BMDL on June 25th.  If you're attending, please look for the display and come to my classes. I'll be teaching three:

• Build Your Own Kennings (from ideas you have floating around in your mind
• Old Norse Poetic Forms
• Old Iceland Manuscripts

Since I have handouts to prepare and other paperwork that needs doing, my brain is pushing me to a new project.  In discussing my poetry with Master Creature Twinedragon this weekend, we went over how poetry is interpolated into the prose sagas.  From this discussion springs the following idea: chapters from a Saga of the Brothers Thorvaldarsson, Haakon and Boris.  This calls for much pose writing, followed by (or interspersed with) verses from various writings.  As it progresses, I'll post it here for you to read.  Don't expect much until after Pennsic... life is pretty hectic around here.


But for now,  a quick verse I wrote a bit ago, on Crown Tourney.


Crown Tourney Challenge


Grá-hærðr af lifs grjót-möl  

græðas brosa es auðna

mark-lands  lofðungr merk-máll

manndáð-Áþal afli.

Folk-Tyr  mattig (fagr-eygr)  

(furu-rafir) krúnu 

fara andvigr (fylgt hinn) 

feginn-samligr (legg ást)

grizzled by life’s stone-grit

healing savior’s smile is fateful;

Forest-land’s ruler truthful

manful-acts-noble strengthens.

Army-god mighty (fair-eyed)

(fir tree of amber) crown

goes to fight for (guide him)

joyfulness-filled (by love)

Prose translation:

Grizzled by life’s stone-grit, the King’s [healing savior] smiles is fate-filled; AEthelmearc’s [forest-land’s] truthful ruler strengthens noble manly-deeds. A mighty warrior [Folk-Tyr> god of the army] goes to fight for crown joyfully; a fair-eyed lady [furu-rafir > amber fir tree > WOMAN] guides by her love.

Notes:

In this verse, the first helmingr (lines 1-4) describe the king challenging fighters to do great deeds.  The second hemlingr describes a fighter entering the list, inspired by his lady.  The second helmingr shows an example of using enjambment (lines 5-6) and vertical placement (lines 7-8) of a second clause within a first clause.