I am immortal, I have inside me BLOG of kings,
I have no rival, no one can be my equal
Take me to the future of you all!
-Queen
I started this Tyger’s Cub pondering about what was actually written FOR children in the middle ages. A google search rendered Childhood in Medieval England, c.500-1500. Medievalists.net is, frankly, a poor source. The article appeared to be merely a summation of the academic article it quoted. I opted to follow their source and found a pdf of Childhood in Medieval England, c.500-1500 by Nicholas Orme, University of Exeter.
Which while informative was not what I was looking for. I followed its bibliography to Medieval Literature for Children 1st Edition by Daniel T. Kline (Editor)
“This volume will be a critical anthology of primary texts whose main audience was children and/or adolescents in the medieval period. Texts will include theoretical and interpretative introductions and commentary.”
Which seemed perfect, but with an Amazon listing at 200$, not feasible for me without knowing more about what was inside the book.
Going further I found Ælfric's Colloquy Book by, Ælfric of Eynsham cited… somewhere. I thought it was in one of the bibliographies that I had looked at previously. I couldn't find any link to how I found it. I was being so careful to track my rambling searches too! ARGH
Then found the translated Elfrics Cpllquay by Stephan J Harris , Old English Ælfric's Colloquy on the Occupations, Aelfric’s Colloquy and Ælfric Bata’s Colloquia: Reassessing an Eleventh-Century Latin Textbook
I initially prepared for it to be in Old English and I had dug out my standard key in preparation for composition:
Old English
Alliteration
Compound Words
Kennings
Kenning Meaning
Heraldic Language
Then promptly threw the Old English Key Out the Window. The uniqueness of Aelfric’s Colloquy, a Latin piece created for teaching, suggested that (possibly a different) scholar had added the Old English between the lines.
While a magnificent piece for the translation of the two languages, it was not an example of the poetic structure of Old English. Aelfric’s Colloquy is designed to teach Latin through an extensive list of questions and answers. Similar in style to The Confessions of Saint Augustine from the 5th century, and The Owl and the Nightingale from the 10th century. A style of writing that was used for centuries.
In regards to the scroll, I opted to follow the translations of Aelfric's Colloquy as a guide with this scroll instead of the poetic form seen in pieces like Beowulf.
Youth: We, the Youth of the East, do entreat you, Great Majesties East: Matthew and Fiamuin, to speak of Dimitri Alekhin of Buckland Cross. For we fear the people of the East are unlearned about them.
The original , and first line of the Colloquy was:
“Scholar: We boys beg you, Master, to teach us to speak Latin correctly, for we are ignorant, and we speak badly.”
Right off, I changed the role of the scholar to that of the youth. I went through several iterations using different terms we use, Urchins,Kids, Children, Cubs, Young Tygers, etc. I wanted the word to encompass all the children of the East, so a particular reference to the youth award seemed awkward. Urchins and kids, while period terms for children, I deemed too informal for the piece. Children could possibly be interpreted to exclude teenagers and so I settled on youth as the best word to use.
I had initially changed beg to bid, to entreat as the petitioners are asking the respondent (TRM) to do something. While bid is certainly an acceptable word, its modern connotation seemed too demanding whereas in this context it ended up being entreat.
The rest of the first question was also used to include three of the required pieces of information for the scroll.
Majesties: What do you wish to talk about?
This is taken verbatim from the translation and was the inspiration for using these words. What I liked about this technique is that the Respondent, the Scholar in the original and Their Majesties in the scroll,are having the Petitioners, the Youth extol the virtues of the award recipient and why they are in need of the Tyger’s Cub. Like any good teacher, the petitioner figures out the answer.
Youth: We want to hear of why they do not have the Tyger’s Cub?
The naming of the order.
Majesties: Let Us ask you then; what do you say? What have they pursued?
Once again the respondent leads the petitioners to answer the problem themselves.
Youth: They have arrived early to events, and left late; aiding as they can.
They have attended to the needs in the kitchens.
They have attended to the needs of Your Majesties.
They have sewn and crafted, for clothing and gifts.
They have drawn and gamed, for their joy and others.
I specifically wanted the petitioners to list the attributes of the recipient.
Here I borrowed from The Instructions of King Cormac, written in the 9th century. Translated by Kuno Meyer. In the repetition of the answers that they give. The inspiration poem of Aelfric's Colloquy, written in the late 900s rarely goes over two lines of answer before moving to the next question. Given what the scroll needed at this moment, the description of the recipient, I deemed it a fair compromise in styles, though they were separated in time as well as location.
Majesties: Well, Youth of the East: We have heard you.
We will now do what you have entreated Us so, for your words bear truth.
Today at 100 Minutes War, AS 59, in the Shire of Rusted Woodlands, let it be so stated that Dimitri Alekhin now stands amongst you as a member of the Order of the Tyger’s Cub!
At last the conclusion answer. I would have liked to include phrasing from the conclusion in the original piece:
“Master: O good boys, and pleasant scholars, your instructor exhorts you to be obedient to the rules of divine discipline, and to behave yourselves decorously, wherever you may be. Walk with steadiness when you hear the bells of the church, enter into the house of prayer, and bend reverently before the holy altars. Stand in good order, and sing together, ask forgiveness for your faults, and go out again, without playing the fool, into the cloister or the schoolroom.”
However the language in the original did not fit well with the concluding information that the scroll needed to say. Instead, Their Majesties answer the Youth’s entreaty and announce the recipient a member of the Tyger’s Cub, with the last of the required information tucked in as well.
This ended up being a very high word count for a Tyger’s Cub. That’s something that happens when working with translations of the original piece, rather than composing something original using the syntax. The scribe loved it! And I can’t wait to see it go out in court.
