Maria Von Ossenheim - Order of the Maunche

 There is a meeting of minds

When interest becomes vocation

To query how the fiber winds -

What is effect or causation?

Whereby are these seams so achieved?

By so comparing thread with thread and weave with weave 

Learning meticulous

needle work. Then demonstrate it,

With patience, concern, and thus: 

We have a place these skills befit

In the Order of the Maunche’s clime 

Our ovation for Maria Von Ossenheim

Now in Maunche’s draw. 

Conferred by Eastern Majesties 

Mohammad & Corotica. 

Within Our fine capacities 

At Concordia midst snowflakes.  

AS LVII, High Nobility and Low Stakes

Word Count 94

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 Stakes

Ashes 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 

where I found the wiki article of The Palästinalied ("Palestine Song"). I had to rely on the very lovely translations in the wiki article because all the sources were in German or unavailable for me to look at in person. The article did include a lovely section with the original, a rhymed translation, and a close English translation, which is exactly the kind of translations I aspire to find of these medieval and renaissance poems!

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.

Photo by Fiona O'Maille

Photo by Maria Erika von Ossenheim

Photo by Maria von Ossenheim

Photo by Cateline la Broderesse

Ellice de Valles - Order of the Laurel

 Under gabled arches

Breathing the scent of lemon balm 

Tired ones from the line of march 

Find rest in the sun dappled calm 

Flowers blooming and grass down-pressed 

Creating succor and comfort for those much stressed 

Our Ellice de Valles, 

Spends her days building small havens 

Modest gardens with vined trellis 

Homes for nightingales and ravens 

With beds for multiple flowers 

Herbs and climbing ivy decorated bowers  

Margarita the Queen 

An Eastern bloom in the sun 

Has walked the tiles of the green. 

The raised grass bed she sits upon 

To better hear the tinkling brook 

Peacefully situated, tucked off in this nook  

Under bower florals

Her garden pleasing Our senses

We heed the call of Our Laurels

With no fear of consequences

We welcome Ellice de Valles therein

Our Order of the Laurel, her role to begin

word cunt 193

Come into the garden, Blog, (with no apologies whatsoever to Alfred, Lord Tennyson) Lada Monguligin approached me to write a scroll inspired by the Codex Manesse, also known as the "Great Heidelberg Book of Songs." I decided to match the codex with the Minnesang, Middle High German Love Songs found therein. I quickly found the basics of the minnesang, the stanzas, the metrics and the rhyme schemes, but I couldn’t find a standard syllable count for each line. In desperation I found an actual excerpt in German and asked my husband - who studied high school German - to break down the syllables for me. From there I chose to go with 6/8888/12. The 8888 appears to be variable judging by different poems in the codex, but the 6 syllables in the beginning and doubled to 12 at the end of the stanza seemed to be fairly regular. I used a stanza of 6 lines with an ABABCC rhyming scheme, a standard alternative to iambic pentameter used in the minnesang. Syllable Count/Rhyme Scheme: 6 A 8 B 8 A 8 B 8 C 12 C Once I had the meter down, I took my inspiration from the gorgeous garden the recipient made and displayed at Pennsic, which I had the opportunity to view in person. This made the scroll a joy to write. I tried to convey the point of view of the populace, as if they and HRM were enjoying the garden. I also took great inspiration from Under der linden by Walther von der Vogelweide that is found in the Codex Manesse itself. Under gabled arches This is directly inspired by the first line of the poem: “Under der linden.” I tried to write the scroll from the top down, starting with the arches and ending with the grass under the feet of attendees. Breathing the scent of lemon balm In reading Ellice de Valles' write up of the garden, I saw she had included lemon balm, an herb not found in medieval gardens, but an important herb to her. So I made sure to include it by name in the scroll. Tired ones from the line of march Find rest in the sun dappled calm This is an allusion to the fighters at Pennsic coming off the field and seeing the beautiful garden before them. Flowers blooming and grass down-pressed This references a line from Under die Linden, “Flowers crushed and grass down-pressed.” While this did clutter my top to bottom scheme for the flow of the composition, I liked the imagery of down-pressed grass in a garden. Creating succor and comfort for those much stressed The conclusion of the opening stanza summed up what I felt was the recipient's goal in making the garden. Our Ellice de Valles, Spends her days building small havens Modest gardens with vined trellis Homes for nightingales and ravens With beds for multiple flowers Herbs and climbing ivy decorated bowers I hope the strong rhymes of Havens/Ravens and flowers/bowers outweighs the weakness of Valles/Trellis. I used nightingale here as it was mentioned by name in Under der Linden. Ravens, while not necessarily known for their beautiful singing voices, did fit the rhyme scheme perfectly. Margarita the Queen An Eastern bloom in the sun I couldn’t resist the opportunity to reference that the Queen’s name means daisy, by calling her an “Eastern bloom.” Has walked the tiles of the green. The raised grass bed she sits upon To better hear the tinkling brook Peacefully situated, tucked off in this nook The rest of this verse mentions features found in the garden. Under bower florals Her garden pleasing Our senses We heed the call of Our Laurels With no fear of consequences We welcome Ellice de Valles therein Our Order of the Laurel, her role to begin This verse introduced the Order and the award. Furthermore, as We name Ellice de Valles a member of the Order of the Laurel with letters patent, to wit: Per pale azure and argent, an owl and in chief a heart counterchanged. Concluded this day of November 16th, AS 54 At the St. Eligius Arts and Science Competition In the Barony of Dragonship Haven Here’s where I abandoned the poetic structure entirely to get the information required for the scroll, including the heraldic latin of her arms. I always feel when I tackle an uncommon rhyme scheme that I should put a note on the scroll for the herald. I've even warned heralds in person at events. Scrolls are a collaborative art form, and the voice herald who reads a scroll is an often forgotten member of that team, as important as the calligrapher or illuminator. At this particular event, St. Eligius, I was involved in the competition all day and couldn't get to the herald in time, so as I recall the herald stumbled a bit over the words. But I was fortunate enough to watch the scroll being read, and I treasure that special moment.

Photo by Sitt al-Gharb ha-niqret Khazariyya, aka Hrefna Spákona

Unofficial Court Report: St. Eligius Arts & Science Competition

Alverik Wyntervelt - Order of the Silver Tyger

We question forth today 

Who will now shine in East’s great hall?

The one that We wish to convey, 

For following his protocol

And such field demeanor heartfelt,

Our Royal praise for  good Alverik Wyntervelt 

We feel he represents: 

For his actions that so impress, 

Such fine gallantry he presents,

Excellence in warring prowess!

With fellows that stand side by side

Alverik, newest Silver Tyger, beams with pride 

The Eastern Majesties

Culann and Honig with all pomp

Go through all these formalities

In Barony of Settmour Swamp

At Ducal Challenge circumstance

Celebrating Our Alverik’s glad happenstance 

Anno Societatis LXI

Word Count 100
Illumination and Calligraphy by Magdalena Lantfarerin

Photo by Magdalena Lantfarerin

KEY Minnesang
ABABCC - 6 8 8 8 8 12

Syllable count:

6A 

8B 

8A 

8B 

8C 

12C

Imperfect syllable Count

Heraldic Language

6A We question forth today -

8B Who will now shine in East’s great hall?

8A The one that We wish to convey, 

8B For following his protocol

8C And such field demeanor heartfelt,

12C Our Royal praise for good Alverik Wyntervelt.

6A We feel he represents: 

8B For his actions that so impress, 

8A Such fine gallantry he presents,

8B Excellence in warring prowess!

8C With fellows that stand side by side

12C Alverik, newest Silver Tyger, beams with pride.

6A The Eastern Majesties

8B Culann and Honig with all pomp

8A Go through all these formalities

8B In Barony of Settmour Swamp

8C At Ducal Challenge circumstance

12C Celebrating Our Alverik’s glad happenstance 

Anno Societatis LXI

What a crazy, random happenstance!
-Dr Horrible’s Sing Along BLOG

When first cracking into this assignment I went straight to the recipient’s wiki page.There was a fairly good description of their persona, “from the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation's Circa 1300's.” Which turned me directly to the troubadours or Minnesingers of the 1200s through the 1400s of Germany. I had done a great deal of previous research for this poetry form here and here. Considering the fast turn around for this project, there wasn’t going to be much additional research. 

I do like working from a period source, translating into modern English. From Selected poems of Walther von der Vogelweide, the minnesinger and the particular poem: 

THE DECAY OF COURTESY

Who now shall shine in honour's hall? 

The young knights' chivalry is small, 

And squires now flaunt their boorishness 

In word and action, unashamed. 

Virtue as folly now is blamed. 

Look, how ill customs spring and spread apace ! 

There was a time one whipped the young 

Who kept no curb upon their tongue ; 

Now it is held a gentle art

To shout, and slander each pure woman's name. 

Now woe betide your hides and hair. 

Who never for a pleasure care, 

Unless it break a woman's heart ! 

Lo ! Thus we see sin side by side with shame. 

In which too many have a part

When working with a translated piece, I break down the rhyme schemes that translation includes. The chosen poem does not have the same scheme as the key used in the scroll. Given that trans;lations do not always include the rhyme scheme and the time involved with this scroll, the decision was made to use my rhyme scheme. Much influenced by the inspiration poem above. In particular I was enamoured of the question format it used in the first line and answered in the first verse.

Minnesang Poetry Forms, specifications and examples: This was particularly useful as it identified how the syllabic lines were grouped together. In this case in Iambs or poetic feet with the stress on the second syllable of the foot.
This common rhythm in English became the pattern that was followed in the composition. 

Further searching discovered the Introduction to The Minnesanger, Medieval German Poetry. A class on the minnesang that was recorded a few years ago. This was a gold mine of information and I look forward to watching it in more depth in the future. 

VERSE ONE

6A We question forth today -

8B Who will now shine in East’s great hall?

The poems influence can be seen in intriguing the opening lines:

“Who now shall shine in honour's hall? 

The young knights' chivalry is small” 

While right away you can see that a poem called the Death of Courtesy is not going to align with the praise poems that are created for giving awards. As such, the original poem's question was kept but was changed to reflect the positive nature of the award document.

8A The one that We wish to convey, 

8B For following his protocol

Hall/protocol is a weak rhyme and the onus will be on the herald to pronounce it in such a way so that it will rhyme correctly. This is the sort of performance note that are included in the cut sheets that are sent to the heralds before the event.

8C And such field demeanor heartfelt,

12C Our Royal praise for good Alverik Wyntervelt.

The Heartfelt line is about the recipient, followed by the last line which answers the question with the recipient’s name. Identifying them as the subject of praise.

VERSE TWO

6A We feel he represents: 

8B For his actions that so impress, 

The next two couplets focus on the recipient using praise language and fighting terms to describe them. There was considerable agonizing over rhymine represents/presents as audibly they are so similar. But in context it is clear that the meaning is in what the recipient represents the award, and how the recipient presents himself to others.

8A Such fine gallantry he presents,

8B Excellence in warring prowess!

There are often repeated words heard in scrolls, such as “fighting” and “service.” This scroll definitely stretched the thesaurus for different ways to say, “fighter” in the effort not to use them.

8C With fellows that stand side by side

12C Alverik, newest Silver Tyger, beams with pride.

This couplet takes the perspective both to the audience and the recipient. 

In this reign the Silver Award recipients are asked to stand in place in support of the newest member. In the original poem there was the line:
“Lo ! Thus we see sin side by side with shame.”

It evoked that image and therefore was included in the scroll.
Throughout the many iterations of this line, the final result encompasses the moment of receiving this award.

VERSE THREE

6A The Eastern Majesties

8B Culann and Honig with all pomp

The last verse was the easiest to write. In this final verse is that all the rhymes were exact. Same number of syllables as its matching couplet. It makes the last verse really tight, poetically speaking.

8A Go through all these formalities

8B In Barony of Settmour Swamp

Pomp/Swamp is definitely my favorite rhyme. 

8C At Ducal Challenge circumstance

12C Celebrating Our Alverik’s glad happenstance 

Circumstance is being used here in its other definition of a state of affairs: eventuality

It is most often used in this context in its plural form of “circumstances” but the syllable count here had more precedence. As is so often the case I will sacrifice proper grammar for a better rhyme.

Anno Societatis LXI

At the very last the Society year is tacked on at the end, outside of the rhyme scheme.

While this scroll had a relatively short turnaround, it came out wonderfully. Discovering new sources and paths for further research makes every foray into a particular verse is worth it. All in the effort of making scroll composition better.