We strive to recognize most everyone
Here in this Barony of Iron Bog
We’d take time to reveal this analogue
of Caitrina’s arts that shine like the sun
The garden of skills she’s worked to accrue
We've found accomplished art in threads and roux
Victuals with savory accuracy
Fine clothing sewn most meticulously
The years spent honing these skills are on view
These artistic contributions held dear
The Silver Brooch is hers, let Us be clear
At BOE Ultimate Tournament
Caitrina Gordon, this Brooch represents
Those skills and knowledge with no dissent!
10 syllables (iambic pentameter)
AABBA
CCDDC
EEFFF
A Royal Majesties Tindal, and Emerson
A We strive to recognize most everyone
B Here in this Barony of Iron Bog
B We’d take time to reveal this analogue
A Of Caitrina’s arts that shine like the sun
C The garden of skills she’s worked to accrue
C We've found accomplished art in threads and roux
D Victuals with savory accuracy
D Fine clothing sewn most meticulously
C The years spent honing these skills are on view
E These artistic contributions held dear
E The Silver Brooch is hers, let Us be clear
F At BOE Ultimate Tournament
F Caitrina Gordon, this Brooch represents
F Those skills and knowledge with no dissent
Anno Societatis XIL
The recipient’s wiki had very little detail as to the nature of their Scottish persona. However, it did have a link to the Tadcaster Militia which had more in depth detail. Including wonderful background details and a date of her persona in the late 16th century. While both sources made it clear that the recipient did not limit themselves to just this time period, I wanted to work in Scottish poetry, trying my hand at a new form.
I quickly found William Dunbar and continued my search through his works.
William Dunbar: The Complete Works, 2004
Another important characteristic of Dunbar's versatility may be seen in the poet's metrical virtuosity. A few of his poems are written in rhyming couplets (Poems 5, 45, 46, and 81) and one, The Tretis of the Tua Mariit Wemen and the Wedo (Poem 84), is written in the Middle English alliterative long line.1 The vast majority of his poems, however, are written in short stanzas with complex rhyme schemes. In most of these poems the stanzas contain anywhere from four to eight verses, with most of them having refrains. One of Dunbar's favorite forms is the five-line stanza rhyming aabba, a form he uses sixteen times.
It goes on with further descriptions of his poetic styles, but the 5 line stanza particularly caught my eye.
I looked further at the Poetry Foundation entry for William Dunbar which told me little about what poem was written in what poetic style.
Poems Public and Private turned out much better, with having the poems right there for examination.
At First I looked at Of James Dog and its sequel, He Is Na Dog, He Is a Lam
But decided, mainly due to its more pleasant subject matter, to emulate the poetry of Sweet Rose of Virtue by William Dunbar.
‘Sweet Rose of Virtue’ by William Dunbar is a three-stanza poem that is separated into sets of five lines or quintains. It should be noted that this poem was translated from an original archaic Scots dialect. The translation from Dunbar’s dialect used in this analysis was completed by Michael R. Burch.
Each of these quintains follows a consistent rhyming pattern of aabba ccddc eefff, dependent on the particular pronunciation of the lines. A reader should also take note of the meter Dunbar selected for this piece. It is structured around iambic pentameter”
Looked for some different sources about the poem: Sweet Rose of Virtue: William Dunbar translation and Poems in the Courtly Tradition
The eight poems in this small group are all concerned with fin'amor (or "courtly love"), a pervasive and influential literary phenomenon that flourished from the twelfth century into the sixteenth. Fin'amor was an elaborate code of behavior and discourse that established guidelines for the conduct of amorous relationships between the sexes. It is a complex and controversial literary phenomenon and one that appears in many guises and permutations throughout the Middle Ages. In brief, it posited the sovereignty and superiority of the lady, whose male wooer was expected to perform long service and endure great suffering before his suit could be entertained or his amorous desires reciprocated. Some medieval writers seem to take the doctrines of fin'amor very seriously and others, particularly in the later Middle Ages, are more inclined to satirize them. One group of Dunbar's poems appears to celebrate fin'amor (Poems 61-64), while another clearly repudiates it (Poems 66-68). Posed between these two starkly contrasting attitudes is Dunbar's The Golden Targe (Poem 65), which critics have variously interpreted, although it seems quite likely that the poem is more negative in its attitude toward courtly love than positive. Dunbar wrote relatively few poems in the courtly love tradition, but two of them -- "Sweet Rose of Virtue" (Poem 61) and The Golden Targe -- are often ranked among his most impressive works.
Verse One
a Royal Majesties Tindal, and Emerson
a We strive to recognize most everyone
Originally I had everyone rhyme with everyone and I hadn’t noticed. At some point the night before completion I had to literally save the file (as it were) and walk away for the night. A technique that has worked well in the past. Sometimes one needs to walk away from a piece before adding the final tweaks and solve parts that one was stumped on.
b Here in this Barony of Iron Bog
b We’d take time to reveal this analogue
In this introductory paragraph I was grateful to slip in the solid rhyme of bog and analogue. Analogue is an early Victorian word. Usually I eschew them, but every rule will be broken at some point.
a of Caitrina’s arts that shine like the sun
The final line of the first verse, both praising the recipient and setting up for the next verse. With the listing of the recipient’s attributes
Verse Two
C The garden of skills she’s worked to accrue
I wanted to paint the picture here that the recipient’s art was varied. To that end “garden” seemed a good choice for the many different things that can be found in one.
C We've found accomplished art in threads and roux
Keeping with my trend of using Victorian words here, “roux” was first coined in its modern usage in 1813. Though fat cooked in a pounded grain, or breadcrumbs can be found in many medieval recipes.
While I was working with less general words than fabric arts and cooking arts, these words fit and became the set up for the next sentences.
D Victuals with savory accuracy 11
I agonized over this line to make the proper syllable count. Thankfully victuals only has 2 syllables for all it has a proliferation of vowels. Much to my surprise, victuals is also a period word and to the time period of the scroll! I thought for sure it was a Victorian at best, purely an American word at worst. It delightfully surprises me the history of the words we use and their history!
D Fine clothing sewn most meticulously
The recipient’s sewing skills was particularly mentioned. They had just received a Pelican a few weeks before this for their works in kitchens. Both the write up and I wanted to emphasize their other artforms!
C The years spent honing these skills are on view
That and they had spent many years participating in these arts and it's always nice to be able to acknowledge that.
Verse Three
E These artistic contributions held dear
E The Silver Brooch is hers, let Us be clear
These are very solid rhymes and indicative of what the entire scroll is here to praise.
F At BOE Ultimate Tournament
With the way “Tournament” rhymes so well, you’d think that was the rhyme word that inspired the scroll! That was a very happy inclusion though.
F Caitrina Gordon, this Brooch represents
F Those skills and knowledge with no dissent
I might have rhymed a plural with a singular here but it made the two couplets work so much better. It’s both the conclusion couplet, names the award the the recipient while at the same time heaping praise upon them.
Anno Societatis XIL
I didn’t have to include the recipient’s arms, as this was not their first armigerous award. The Year of the Society did need to be included. At under a hundred words, there was the space to include the full words instead of their abbreviation. Unfortunately, I was unable to include the year in the poetry of the scroll. While every effort is made to do so, adding it in at the end is a viable option.
I enjoyed the new rhyme scheme. It matched the recipient’s persona and was a fun challenge. I look forward to using it in the future.
This scroll became a lesson in not really adhering to my Pre-17th century word rule. Every rule in poetry gets broken eventually and I am not above this. Or, in keeping with one of the subjects this scroll covers, sometimes, ya gotta break some eggs!
East Kingdom Gazette – Beast of the East
