KEY ABABCC - Rhyme Scheme & Syllable count is noted before the Rhyme scheme
6 A There is a meeting of minds
8 B When interest becomes vocation
8 A To query how the fiber winds
8 B what is effect or causation
8 C Whereby are these seams so achieved?
12 C By so Comparing thread with thread and weave with weave
6 A Learning meticulous
8 B Needle work. Then demonstrate it!
8 A With patience, concern, and thus
8 B We have a place these skills befit
8 C In the order of the Maunche’s clime
12 C Our ovation for Maria Von Ossenheim
6 A Now in Maunche’s draw
8 B Conferred by Eastern Majesties
8 A Mohammad & Corotica
8 B With Our ample capacities
8 C At Concordia midst snowflakes
12 C AS LVII High Nobility and Low StakesAshes to Ashes and dust to dust.
Return because I say you must…and BLOG
(with apologies to Tanya Huff, quoting from Summon the Keeper)
I found out about the award and put in a request for it before the Signet even had it scheduled on their docket! Soon enough the fabulous Fiona O'Maille contacted me and we got started.
Before even starting to write I went on a deep dive to learn more about the Minnesang, “the German courtly love poem of the 12th to 14th century.” I had used this form before, but I wanted to learn more about it. My basic understanding of the verse form is that the ABABCC rhyme scheme was commonly used. I have used those syllable counts below since my first scroll in this style:
6 A
8 B
8 A
8 B
8 C
12 C
Through some intense searching, I found the Minnesang Handbook. Unfortunately it is written in German and I could not find a translated version anywhere. More's the pity.
In a fit of despair over the lack of translations available for what looks to be an excellent resource, I took to the Book of Faces to vent my frustrations. Here it was suggested that I reach out to bards as the Minnesang was largely a sung form and members of the bardic community could possibly send me in a more fruitful direction!
I did that and Mistress Deonna von Aachen pointed me toward Walther von der Vogelweide
I also found a SCAdian research paper and poem, “The Falcon’s flight,” which also provided a wealth of research and their interpretation of the Minnesang.
With the abundance of new information and all the research in front of me, I was still at a loss for where to proceed. Her recommendation mentioned the recipient’s in-depth exploration of the St. Birgitta cap, including all the impressive background research and experimentation that was done for the project. The phrase "skill-building” struck a chord in me and I temporarily left the Minnesang research in favor of poetry from other countries besides Germany in the 14th century.
Searching for poems or writings about architecture or building and I found 10 of the Best Poems about Architecture and Buildings on the first hit. The first poem on the list was Church Monuments, by George Herbert (1593-1633). It also included a link to A Short Analysis of George Herbert’s ‘Church-Monuments’. I was glad to find an analysis of this Welsh memento mori poetry. It definitely helped me understand the short work as I adapted it to my own uses.
The second to last line of the second paragraph, in particular, caught my eye:
My body to this school, that it may learn
To spell his elements, and find his birth
Written in dusty heraldry and lines ;
Which dissolution sure doth best discern,
Comparing dust with dust, and earth with earth.
These laugh at jet, and marble put for signs,
The idea of changing that line to:
Comparing thread with thread and weave with weave came to mind and I had my inspiration.
VERSE ONE
6 A There is a meeting of minds
Near as I can tell this phrase, which sounds as if it were used in the SCA time periods, is a modern phrasing based on a poor translation of latin. The phrase was too good to pass up though. It was very evocative of the polling orders, which sets the tone for the scroll.
8 B When interest becomes vocation
As I was seeking inspiration for the words, the Robert Frost quote “My goal in life is to unite my avocation with my vocation, As my two eyes make one in sight” came to mind.
Mark Twain said it, too, “The secret of success is making your vocation your vacation.”
While turning one’s mundane career into something related to this hobby can be done, it is rare in the larger array of SCAdians. I chose an interpretation of “vocation” to describe when a passing interest becomes an encompassing passion for someone in the SCA.
As it happens, I am friends with the recipient. I have been watching every step of their process as they researched and recreated the St. Birgitta’s Cap. A project that was mentioned prominently in the recommendation.
8 A To query how the fiber winds
The intent of this word voice is for the herald to pronounce “winds” as the rhyme to “minds” and not the meteorological occurrence of moving air currents! Thus the third line stands out as the first reference to what the subject of the award is out for.
8 B what is effect or causation
Causation was the first rhyme for vocation that stood out to me. “Cause and effect” came to mind when thinking about the enormous amount of research the recipient had done for their Brigitta Cap project.
A short trip into the origins of the phrase led to the philosophical tradition of Aristotle. Which led me to the links for the wiki article on Aristotelism. I then looked at their sources listed and found Aristotle for Everybody. A book I remember being on my parents bookshelf my whole life! It was nice to find a familiar source to check and see if I was using the phrase in its correct context!
8 C Whereby are these seams so achieved?
12 C By so Comparing thread with thread and weave with weave
The first verse ending couplet was the epitome of the many paths of research that were walked on. It includes the adaptation of the inspirational sentence. The proceeding rhyme highlights the kind of the recipient's craft: the needlework that I wanted to emphasize. While I realize that I emphasize one project in particular, the recipient’s blog is evidence of multiple examples of many projects.
While the suffix of achieved prevents it from being a full hit rhyme I pushed it through anyway.
VERSE TWO
6 A Learning meticulous
8 B Needle work. Then demonstrate it!
The second verse starts by breaking the rules! Generally, I attempt to make each line its own complete thought. Unlike other forms, like Dróttkvætt or even Shakespearean sonnets where sentences often wrap around lines of verse. The several examples of the different Minnesang authors implied that each line was its own sentence.
Given my druthers I would have liked an extra syllable to work with. “Then demonstrate it” said out loud can convey the same feelings as, “then so demonstrate it” would have. Yet again another example of the multiple layers that any aspect of this art form can have.
8 A With patience, concern, and thus
While this was a transitory line into the last couplet of the verse, I used it to continue to emphasize what goes into any of the myriad of embroidery and sewing projects the recipient has accomplished.
8 B We have a place these skills befit
This last B rhymed line, organically flowed into the final couplet of the second verse.
8 C In the Order of the Maunche’s clime
12 C Our ovation for Maria Von Ossenheim
Herewith the recipient's name becomes a sweet rhyme in the verse couplet. Clime, meaning climate, is first recorded as being used in around the 1540s. This fit the nature of being a member of an Order in the Society. That it was an excellent rhyme with the recipient’s last name was the best outcome I was looking for.
VERSE THREE
6 A Now in Maunche’s draw
Draw may seem to be an unusual choice as a descriptor here. With the context it fits in with the use attributed to drawing a bow and to draw or select people.
8 B Conferred by Eastern Majesties
8 A Mohammad & Corotica
The limits of syllable choice did limit the effusive adjectives that are usually conjoined to Their Royal Majesties.
As far as it goes I really like the rhyme with Her Makesty Corotica/draw. It might be a bit of a mouthful to say with the correct emphasis, I certainly hope the herald emphasizes it.
8 B With Our ample capacities
Majesties/capacities is an excellent rhyme. Yet it counts as a near hit rhyme, not a true rhyme. That was surprising.
8 C At Concordia midst snowflakes
12 C AS LVII High Nobility and Low Stakes
The conclusionary couplet! I was so very pleased to put a snowflake reference into this scroll! While the full name of the Barony is Concordia of the Snows, it's not often that the syllable count of the verse form and rhyme scheme allows for the full name to be included.
This scroll is filled in so-
So much research.
So much time.
So much love.
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