One who uses his artistic drive to spur
Opportunities for others to serve
We’re here for Our Ibrahim al-Rashid
To honor one that's fulfilled myriad needs
Who’s endeavors above the norm exceeds
Mechanics behind the scenes of the Arts
Planning, reporting, and Filling out charts
Vast skill involved to navigate those parts
The Silver Crescent for one who can leed
From behind the scenes at their own speed
Brennan and Caoilfhionn have so decreed
That this is bestowed at the Pennsic War
AS LVIII, as accounted for
This new rank to be his own evermore
Success in Passions, is of note We concede
To find passion in the supporting deeds -
Is why we honor Ibrahim al-Rashid
Word count 123
Illumination by by Emma Makilmone
Calligraphy by Aleksei Dmitriev
Once I was the King of BLOG now I eat humble pie!
The recipient had such a well researched and specific persona that I began to look for poetry or writing in that time and place. He is listed as a resident of 14th century al-Andalus (the era of Muslim rule in Spain). Which became my starting point for research.
Wikipedia was a complete dud. This became an exercise in annoyance! The meter was tough to track down! Almost everything found in the various sources I checked, Poems from al-Andalus Britanica, the Poetry Foundation, etc… said that, "it had a complex rhyme scheme," but did not describe it! I even found class notes on it: Andalusian Poetry with nothing about its form, meter or style!
But this led me to: The Rich and Surprising Variety of Love Lyrics. Which included translations of poems, but no description of the accrual poetic forms.
I searched more and found The Medieval Lyric by Peter Dronke
"The precise syllabic scheme in the original is: refrain 11 4 I I, rhyming
aaa; strophes I I I I I I I I I I 4 I I, rhyming bbbaaa, cccaaa."
“A poem of this kind, called a muwashshah, consisted of some five such stanzas, each stanza being followed by the refrain. The last stanza ended with the adopted lines (the kharja, or concluding verse”
“While the muwashshah was in classical Arabic or Hebrew the kharja was always colloquial - whether in Arabic or in Spanish interspersed with Arabic words, as was common in the everyday speech of the bilingual, “Mosarabic” areas.
The Spanish kharjas show a wide range of expression and in quality/ At one end of the scale poetically, are the seemingly artless exclamations and cries of a girl in love…”
With the different name for the poetry form Muwashshah I found it on Wiki, which confirmed everything I had just read in the other document.
To the best of my knowledge as amassed here I am going with the rhyme scheme of BBBAAA CCCAAA DDDAAA 10 syllables long (as used by the translations, though not actually stated an anything I read)
VERSE ONE
Majesties East know of a connoisseur
One who uses his artistic drive to spur
Opportunities for others to serve
The recipient was already in possession of a Laurel. As such they are considered an expert in their field of the arts. The words acknowledge the other award while pointing out within this community the recipient had both worked behind the scenes and had offered opportunities for others to excel. All in the service aspects of the East Kingdom.
We’re here for Our Ibrahim al-Rashid
To honor one that's fulfilled myriad needs
Who’s endeavors above the norm exceeds
From the construction of the scroll it appears that Rashid was chosen as the rhyme word from the beginning. However since the A rhyme would have 9 or more words that needed to rhyme the choice was made with some care. That the A rhyme word ended up rhyming with the recipient's name was essentially a bonus and it was used twice intentionally within the scroll.
Here the words are describing the praise-worthy attributes. How the recipient's actions go beyond the norm and are thus worthy of the award.
VERSE TWO
Mechanics behind the scenes of the Arts
Planning, reporting, and Filling out charts
Vast skill involved to navigate those parts
The first half of this verse is to describe the various reasons why the recipient was given the award. Since the majority of their service was from many positions behind the curtain, so to speak, they deserved individual description.
That being said, I did not list off individually all the various tasks and roles the recipient has done. We have an online resume, essentially, in the form of the East Kingdom Wiki. Anyone who wants to see the impressive itemized list of what the recipient has accomplished can look there for such details. To include such in a scroll runs the risks of tedium in sound to the listener and the various poetic forms that we emulate can describe these attributes so pleasantly that an itemized list is not even needed.
The Silver Crescent for one who can leed
From behind the scenes at their own speed
Brennan and Caoilfhionn have so decreed
Here we have the wordsmith’s greatest horror: There is a phrase repeated in the verse. In the long run, it’s not noticeable and it doesn’t detract from the final piece, but it’s something that should have been corrected ahead of time. Alas, it is even too late to have it read differently in court.
The recipient’s time management skills were particularly mentioned in the write up for the award. This prompted the “at their own speed” phrase. Knowing how to manage one’s time for the benefit of the kingdom in such a way that is not dangerous or detrimental to the individual is a subject that is often praised within the community. It was important to include it, however briefly, in the scroll.
VERSE THREE
That this is bestowed at the Pennsic War
AS LVIII, as accounted for
This new rank to be his own evermore
This half of the verse is dedicated to the place and year that the award is being given out in. The last of the required information for the scroll.
Success in Passions, is of note We concede 11
To find passion in the supporting deeds -
Is why we honor Ibrahim al-Rashid
The three conclusionary rhymes really sum up what the award is saying. That the recipient has found success in their arts is extraordinary, but more importantly (for this scroll, at least) their success in service is both well deserved and what is being praised in the form of this award.
The first line does have an extra syllable. This was rewritten in a thousand different variations. In the end, it stayed as it was a choice, not an oversight.
This scroll was so much fun to compose, including the frustrating elements. Those even added to the enjoyment, especially since they had a rather concrete conclusion that ended with a clear way to write the words in a manner that best suited the recipient.
The error, more than being something that was incorrect, represented a certain amount of carelessness. A repeated line that was not an intentional one. Such errors are aspects that need improvement for further endeavors.
Ibrahim al Rashid - Silver Crescent
Mark 2:27
Video by Yona Carmichael
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