Emma Makilmone asked if I’d like to write the Equestrian Champs Scrolls. After enthusiastic agreement, I set out to get some important facts. Was this Championship one where the Winner is the King or the Queen’s Champion. Some research proved that the Sovereign's Champion is the overall winner and the Consort’s Champion is chosen by them. Unfortunately the wiki provided conflicting information. I found the information in East Kingdom Law.
The scribe didn’t have a particular time period or place in mind, and that decision was left up to me. Knowing that this was also an Investiture, I reached out to the current baron of Iron Bog and asked him what the personas of the incoming Baron and Baroness were. I was told they were “very French.”
I took to the internet and quickly found Virelai "old" and "new", a 15th century bardic and then purely literary verse form. A little more searching yielded Virelai Poems and the Project Gutenberg. The final form I used was AAB AAB AAB, with the B lines two syllables A lines 5 syllables long.
Sovereign's Champion:
Our Ardi Brennan
Of the East’s great span
Today
5,5,2 was a particularly challenging syllable count! I am just as glad that neither of Their Majesties have names that exceed two syllables. This being the Championship award, I chose to use TRM’s preferred titles. Usually I will choose the title appropriate to the time period of the scroll, but given the nature of this award, I felt their preferred title was the proper emphasis to use.
Right from this first tercet I realized the challenging nature of the 2 syllable word. With the choice of “today” I gave myself many words to choose from.
From royal divan
Watched contestants run
Away
With this tercet I was hoping to evoke the picture of His Majesty sitting in the Viewing Box in all his glory, surveying the proceedings.
I split the sentence in the middle, so to speak, with “Run away” and the next tercet starts with, “and come back…”
And come back as an
Especial Horseman
Display
I particularly liked “Especial Horseman Display” as a phrase evocative of the overall winner of the competition.
-----
Extraordinary
Accomplishments they
Are here
This was just a good solid sentence to begin the next verse with.
At Iron Bog’s gay
Investiture Day
Endeared
I was a little hesitant to use the word, “gay.” The modern definition of a homosexual has almost completely superimposed the original of lighthearted or full of joy. I ultimately decided to use it. The modern connotation has not changed the meaning to something negative, so I decided to use it with pride.
(See what I did there? Happy Pride Month!)
Champion are they
Success their array,
Now cheer!
The final poetic verse ends with a positive declaration and entreaty for the populace to express their positive emotions. Nice way to end the poetry, I say.
NAME GOES HERE
Has been declared The Sovereign's Champion of the Horse AS LVIII
The body of the piece had His Majesty's name and title, the kingdom name, and the event name worked into the poetic words. As such, after the space left for the recipient's name to be added, there was only the award name and the AS date to add.
********
Consort’s Champion:
The East’s Ardrígain,
Wonderful Caoilfhionn
Has asked
To match the other scroll, I started the Consort’s scroll the same as the other one. This also meant that Her Majesty’s name and title, and that of the kingdom were all mentioned in the first tercet.
This talented span
Equestrian clan
Enmassed
I was trying to set the stage as if the Queen was watching the whole of the equestrians at once. Which she is at this competition.
To show their plan
Best in the land,
Steadfast
By describing what would happen at the event the follow up in the next section had bones to stand on. Land and plan aren’t exact rhymes because they end different consonants but they sound right when being read out loud.
…….
We scrutinize past
The first or the last
Triumphant
This is my favorite tercet. I feel it describes the Consort’s Choice. They are not looking for who won or lost the contest, but beyond the mundane success of the contest.
Looking for contrast
Whose honor is vast
Surplants
This further goes on to describe what Her Majesty is looking for in her champion.
All the rest, amassed
And true, unsurpassed
Laud that
Which brings us here to the final tercet that leads to the naming of the Consort’s Champion. I feel this poem flows eloquently to the final reveal of the winner.
NAME GOES HERE
Has been declared The Consort’s Champion of the Horse AS LVIII
at Iron Bog’s Investiture and Equestrian Championship
All of the required information didn’t end up in the body of the Consort’s Champion composition. There were two verses spent on describing how the Consort choses their winner, and I am not disappointed in these verses. Yes it made the scroll 12 words longer, but I was well underneath a hundred words. All told I was quite pleased with these compositions.
This was a wonderful opportunity and I was glad to have it. I do want to delve more into French poetry and look forward to the opportunity.
