Angelique de Conte’s path has been long
Doing service-deeds and work with horses
We’ve heard dazzling praise from Our kingdom’s throng
Washing dishes through multiple courses
Helping for hours: Set up through break down
Her Equine works been observed by the Crown
King Ryouko'jin declares majestically
Queen Indrakshi states with sincerity
That Angelique’s to have her Rank increased
Silver wheel is hers with all transparency
These honors proclaimed in the Mighty East
******** SPACE FOR ARMS *********
At Balfar’s Challenge with fine rarity
AS LVI, April Twenty Three
A joyous day with never a brow creased
In Dragonship Haven’s fine Barony
These honors proclaimed in the Mighty East
Word Count 103
My little blog, Friendship is Magic!
While the recommendation had many wonderful details about the recipient's fine qualities, it lacked personal details. Their wiki entry proved just as basic, saying only that their persona was "late 1400s France."
That was what I decided to focus on.
I looked up Medieval French Literature and found a list of Poetic forms used during that time, which included the Chant Royal. I was drawn to that because of my experience with Chaucer's Rhyme Royal which I have used in many scrolls.
The "References" section of the Wikipedia page gave some marvelous opinions but few details:
“... the most complicated measure of Northern France.”
-Esenwein, Joseph Berg et. Joseph Berg Esenwein, Mary Eleanor Roberts Roberts. The Art of VersificationHome Correspondence School (1920) pg 205
“... a ballade of five stanzas iif eleb lines, with an envoy of 5 lines. It is not, however, a practical form of verse, and is difficult of construction.”
-Elements and Science of English Versification
By William Caswell Jones · 1897 (pg 118)
I wanted to dig deeper, so I looked up another modern source and found Chant Royal: Poetic Forms which broke things down nicely:
The article added a wealth of nuance to my understanding of the history, and how the Chant Royal was used over time. I am so happy to have found that source!
On to Composing. I could tell this had the potential to be a very long scroll. I contacted the scribe, Alienor Salton, to ask how wordy I could get. My rough estimate was 10 words per line, 16 lines total, for approximately 160 words. (Yes, I was estimating one syllable per word, but better to over- than underestimate.) Alienor told me to go for it, so I set to it!
I planned on only doing one 11 line stanza and the envoy, so I started by placing the rhyme scheme down on the paper, and color coding it to help me remember the scheme.
The Chant Royal:
ababccddedE
ddedE
Stanza
a
b
a
b
c
c
d
d
e
d
E
Envoy
d
d
e
d
E
a Angelique de Conte’s path has been long
b Doing service-deeds and work with horses
a We’ve heard dazzling praise from Our kingdom’s throng
b Washing dishes through multiple courses
c Helping for hours: Set up through break down
c Her Equine works been observed by the Crown
d King Ryouko'jin declares majestically
d Queen Indrakshi states with sincerity
e That Angelique’s to have her Rank increased
d Silver wheel is hers with all transparency 11
E These honors proclaimed in the Mighty East
Space for atms
d At Balfar’s Challenge with fine rarity
d AS LVI, April Twenty Three
e A joyous day with never a brow creased
d In Dragonship Haven’s fine Barony
E These honors proclaimed in the Mighty East
I worked on the abc rhymes in the main refrain, and chose the refrain, the repeated line, E. Then I jumped to the envoy, and built that up.
If I choose this poetic form in the future, I need to remember that d is the word with the most rhymes. In this scroll, I started with the word “Barony” and wrote my way back up. Thankfully I had a lot to choose from.
I left a place for the arms of the recipient's in between the verse and the envoy. l wanted to emphasize the difference between the two and it also made sense in the composition of the scroll.
I attempted a new poetic form with this scroll and learned a lot in the process. I am particularly happy with the research I did before I started.
I am tucking this verse form away for future use. If I ever get the chance to write a peerage scroll again, a full Chant Royal would be an excellent choice. To be able to break down all 5 essential elements of a scroll with their own 11 line stanza would be epic!
I looked up Medieval French Literature and found a list of Poetic forms used during that time, which included the Chant Royal. I was drawn to that because of my experience with Chaucer's Rhyme Royal which I have used in many scrolls.
The "References" section of the Wikipedia page gave some marvelous opinions but few details:
“... the most complicated measure of Northern France.”
-Esenwein, Joseph Berg et. Joseph Berg Esenwein, Mary Eleanor Roberts Roberts. The Art of VersificationHome Correspondence School (1920) pg 205
“... a ballade of five stanzas iif eleb lines, with an envoy of 5 lines. It is not, however, a practical form of verse, and is difficult of construction.”
-Elements and Science of English Versification
By William Caswell Jones · 1897 (pg 118)
I wanted to dig deeper, so I looked up another modern source and found Chant Royal: Poetic Forms which broke things down nicely:
- Five 11-line stanzas followed by a five-line envoy
- The 11-line stanzas have this rhyme scheme: ababccddedE
- The envoy has this rhyme scheme: ddedE
- The final line of every stanza is a refrain
- Lines can be any length as long as it's consistent within the poem, but most commonly eight or ten syllables
The article added a wealth of nuance to my understanding of the history, and how the Chant Royal was used over time. I am so happy to have found that source!
On to Composing. I could tell this had the potential to be a very long scroll. I contacted the scribe, Alienor Salton, to ask how wordy I could get. My rough estimate was 10 words per line, 16 lines total, for approximately 160 words. (Yes, I was estimating one syllable per word, but better to over- than underestimate.) Alienor told me to go for it, so I set to it!
I planned on only doing one 11 line stanza and the envoy, so I started by placing the rhyme scheme down on the paper, and color coding it to help me remember the scheme.
The Chant Royal:
ababccddedE
ddedE
Stanza
a
b
a
b
c
c
d
d
e
d
E
Envoy
d
d
e
d
E
a Angelique de Conte’s path has been long
b Doing service-deeds and work with horses
a We’ve heard dazzling praise from Our kingdom’s throng
b Washing dishes through multiple courses
c Helping for hours: Set up through break down
c Her Equine works been observed by the Crown
d King Ryouko'jin declares majestically
d Queen Indrakshi states with sincerity
e That Angelique’s to have her Rank increased
d Silver wheel is hers with all transparency 11
E These honors proclaimed in the Mighty East
Space for atms
d At Balfar’s Challenge with fine rarity
d AS LVI, April Twenty Three
e A joyous day with never a brow creased
d In Dragonship Haven’s fine Barony
E These honors proclaimed in the Mighty East
I worked on the abc rhymes in the main refrain, and chose the refrain, the repeated line, E. Then I jumped to the envoy, and built that up.
If I choose this poetic form in the future, I need to remember that d is the word with the most rhymes. In this scroll, I started with the word “Barony” and wrote my way back up. Thankfully I had a lot to choose from.
I left a place for the arms of the recipient's in between the verse and the envoy. l wanted to emphasize the difference between the two and it also made sense in the composition of the scroll.
I attempted a new poetic form with this scroll and learned a lot in the process. I am particularly happy with the research I did before I started.
I am tucking this verse form away for future use. If I ever get the chance to write a peerage scroll again, a full Chant Royal would be an excellent choice. To be able to break down all 5 essential elements of a scroll with their own 11 line stanza would be epic!
In the envoy, I put the line: “AS LVI, April Twenty Three” - not a full hit rhyme with "Barony," but good enough and conveyed some necessary information. I also worked in a very subtle My Little Pony reference - - “Rarity” is the name of one of the characters.
I left a place for the arms of the recipient's in between the verse and the envoy. l wanted to emphasize the difference between the two and it also made sense in the composition of the scroll.
I attempted a new poetic form with this scroll and learned a lot in the process. I am particularly happy with the research I did before I started the composition.
I am tucking this verse form away for future use. If I ever get the chance to write a peerage scroll again, a full Chant Royal would be an excellent choice. To be able to break down all 5 essential elements of a scroll with their own 11 line stanza would be epic!
East Kingdom Gazette: Balfar’s Challenge Court Report
Photo by Sitt al-Gharb ha-nigret Khazariyya
Photo by Sitt al-Gharb ha-nigret Khazariyya
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