Mmmm... documentation
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sca_documentationMost people I know in the SCA spend a lot of time recreating physical things: silk flowers, clothing, weaving patterns, fighting things. I only know a few who document non-physical objects like poetry, and even fewer who document them well (at what I would call a Laurel level). I am aware that my poetry is not Laurel-level stuff, but I see no reason to have my documentation be anything less than that. Under the cut, I have posted a poem, documentation and citations. I would love another set of eyes on this doc, as I feel it could be better. Criticism and flat-out rewrites are not only accepted, but welcome.
Katerinka Lvovicha of the Two Kingdoms
Katherine Toomajian
The Lay of Liam
Feb 2009
Hear this Lay of Liam,
Loyal peer of east-realm
Charged with quest by Konrad,
King of Tyger's homeland.
"Send for smiths of malt-surf , [beer]
Sundry brews you'll call for.
Taste and test their spirits,
Tell me of your findings."
East rode Alethea,
heiress strong of Konrad.
Made her camp near mountain,
Mead-horn bearers' envy. [valkyries]
Princess, pleased by mission
Promised him her blessing.
Liam left there, Munr's soul [heart]
Longed for Alethea.
Liam searched for sooth-glass [screen of a computer]
Saw he visions many.
Birds of light and breath-air
brought to all his missive.
“Send me wares of alesmiths,
Solemn quest I'm charged with.
East-king's entertainment
In my hands is trusted.”
Casks and kegs are emptied,
Corked and sealed with treeskin. [cork]
Brewers, tribute bearing,
Beer of homelands brought him.
Lover dear of lifeblood, [alcohol]
Liam's mettle tested.
Vessels vast were brimming.
Valiant Liam drained them.
Seasons, silent marching
Sovereign Konrad passes.
Heiress Alethea,
East-realm crown inherits.
Liam's quest completed,
Cup-oak strong returned then. [warrior of cups]
Ruler faithful faltered,
From her lips, words tumbled:
“Olrun's east-realm presence [Valkyrie named for beer-rune]
Earned respect through actions.
Searched and sought out alesmiths [brewers]
Sampled, then reported.
Weary not, this wanderer
Worked for noble favor.
Love of Queen he longed for
Through love of beer is granted.”
Katerinka Lvovicha of the Two Kingdoms
Katherine Toomajian
Documentation for The Lay of Liam
Feb 2009
BASICS
Norse poetry has many forms. One of these forms is called drottkvaett. A sub-form of drottkvaett is the formless verse, as described by Snorri Sturluson in . This so-called “formless” verse has less rules than strict drottkvaett in that it does not generally contain rhyming elements. Drottkvaett in all its forms is characterized by the following elements:
Each stanza has 8 lines.
Each line has three stressed syllables and three unstressed syllables.
Each line must end in a trochee.
The odd numbered lines (1,3,5,7) have two alliterative stressed syllables.
The even numbered lines (2,4,6,8) have one alliterative stressed syllable that corresponds with the alliterative syllable of the preceding line.
These concepts are difficult to explain using rules and are best understood by example. The following selection is from Egil's Saga (chapter 65, stanza 41), by generally acknowledged to be by Snorri Sturlason, with a translation by Bernard Scudder:
Fell sás flest et illa, The feeder of wolves fell, [warrior]
fót hjó skald af Ljóti, worker of evil deeds.
ulfgrennir hefr unnit, The poet chopped Ljot's leg off,
eir veittak Friðgeiri; I bought Fridgir peace. [peace-spear]
séka lóns til launa I do not ask a reward
logbrjótanda í móti, from the splasher of gold for that. [generous man]
jafn vas mér í gný geira The spear's din was fun enough, [battle, fight]
gamanleikr við hal bleikan. the fight with the pale man.
ALLITERATIONS
I have bolded the alliterative words in the original Icelandic to make it easier to pick out the pattern. As you can see, the first two lines alliterate on the f- sound. The second two lines alliterate on a vowel, which is acceptable. The vowel does not need to be the same for this to work. Skaldic poetry alliterates based on the sound of the word, not the actual letter. Words like “Ketil”, “Coldwood” and “Camping” all alliterate with each other, but “celebrate” does not. Similarly, “unwashed” and “water” alliterate with each other, because the word normally “unwashed” puts the stress on the second syllable, not the first.
In the skaldic poem, “Lay of Liam,” I tried to keep as fast to the rules of drottkvaett as possible. Because the rules were originally developed for a non-english language, some adaptations had to be made. For example, in Icelandic languages, there is a letter called thorn, which is written as Þ. It makes a “th” sound. As we do not have that letter in English, I have chosen to make all words beginning with a “th” sound alliterate with each other. For similar reasons, I've chosen to have the sounds “ch” and “st” alliterate with themselves and not with others.
KENNINGS: Basics
The words which are italicized in the translation are called kennings. The phrases in brackets next to them are what they mean. A kenning is essentially a really fancy way of saying something. For example, a “splasher of gold” is a generous man, and a “sword-oak” is a warrior. They are used to deepen the meaning of the poem. Some poems may have a theme, where a “battle-board” is a warrior, a “sword-elm” is a woman who is fighting and a “feller of sword-trees” is someone on the opposing side.
Kennings can also be used to further develop the complex nature of the poem. Word order in skaldic poetry is often thrown to the wayside for the sake of sound. For example, a phrase that reads, “a very dangerous woman” might be re-written as “Goddess of the lair of snakes.” This kenning might then be re-written to fit a more trochaic rhythm: “snake-lair's goddess.” This sounds better to the trochaic ear and will also fit in better within the 6-syllable line of a drottkvaett poem.
For similar reasons, words are often left out. For example, “the princess was pleased by the mission” is shortened to “princess, pleased by mission,” both to tighten the sentence poetically, and also to make it fit the parameters of the form.
KENNINGS: Adaptations
Some of the kennings used within the poem are ones I created myself. I used existing and established kennings to guide my way. For example, there are no kennings for “computer” or “internet” so I chose to develop one myself using an extended kenning. Stanza 3, lines 1-2 read:
Liam searched for sooth-glass
Saw he visions many.
Here, sooth-glass is used to describe what a computer is and does. The screen is of glass, and it “tells” the viewer the truth, or some reasonable facsimile thereof. The viewer is then be able to see “visions,” or non-material images, which will help him or her in their quest.
The next quarter-stanza continues the kenning:
Birds of light and breath-air
brought to all his missive.
Birds were tools of communication, especially the ravens of Odin. They traveled and saw what was going on in the various worlds, and then returned to tell Odin of the goings on. The electical and light pulses used in modern communication techniques perform similar tasks to Huginn and Munin. This quarter stanza, combined with the preceding quarter-stanza forms an extended kenning, or a kenning that uses more than one line, that describes modern communication techniques within the context of the norse culture. While this kenning is more obscure than my original kenning for computer (“Web of light and wire | Way it made to sound-home”), I feel that my second choice is more appropriate to the period. Obscure kennings were used with some frequency in period.
Another kenning I developed was “cup-oak,” used in stanza 5, line 6. As was mentioned previously, the term “sword-oak” describes a warrior, or a very strong man who wields a sword. Similarly, a “spear-tree” is a strong man whose weapon of choice is a spear. Liam is not a man who choses to participate in the traditional activities of choice for a warrior, and thus can not be described as a sword-oak. His weapons of choice are his love of all things that are good in life. His weapon in this poem is his love of good beer, and thus his drinking implement. Thus, Liam can be accurately described as a “cup-oak,” or a very strong man who wields a drinking cup.
CONTEXT
In period, poems were often inserted into stories. Sometimes they were part of the main story and were just a way for the character to speak on his or her own in the first person. Sometimes though, the poems were stories in and of themselves. I imagine this piece fitting into the second category as part of the larger edda of Master Liam's life and activities in the SCA.
DEVELOPMENT OF STORY: Background and history
This is poem was written to record the quest given by Sir Konrad I to Master Liam. Sir Konrad, who was King at the time the challenge was issued, told His Excellency Liam to sample beers from each kingdom and then report back to him. Baron Liam, being a most faithful servant of the crown, set off and did just that. My muse found this idea positively delightful and formed an idea, which, after several weeks of serious work, was abandoned in favor of shinier subjects. After a period of time, she (my muse, that is) decided that she wanted the poem done and proceeded to drop the remaining bits out of my head fully-formed. This is the poem that you see before you.
I feel that this piece has deepened my understanding of the skaldic arts in a way that my previous pieces have only scratched at. Perhaps it is because the subject and hero of the piece is someone who I consider one of my closest friends.
I wrote this poem as a way to honor Baron Liam in the best way I know how. I am not a mighty warrior who can carry his banner into battle, nor am I a skilled artisan who can carve his likeness hither and yon. I am but a simple wordsmith, and these words are my humble offering to honor his feats, great and small.
Works Cited
Arthur, Ross G.. "English-Old Norse Dictionary". In Parenthesis Publications, Cambridge, Ontario. 27 Feb 2009 <http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/language/english-old_norse.pdf>.
Dixon, Michael. writing as Redbeard, Toki. “Basics of Skaldic Poetry." (2005) 18 Aug 2008
"Lexicon of Kennings." 2001. 27 Feb 2009 <http://www3.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/kennings/kennings.html>.
Simek, Rudolf. Dictionary of Northern Mytholgy. D. S. Brewer, 2007.
Preminger and Brogan, ed., The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Sturluson, Snorri, Edda, Trans. Faulkes, Anthony. London: Everyman, 1987.
Sturluson, Snorri. "Egil's Saga." 27 Feb 2009 <http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/egils.htm>.
Sturluson, Snorri; trans. Scudder, Bernard. "Egil's Saga."The Sagas of Icelanders. 1st ed. 1997.
A note: Master Toki Redbeard of the East Kingdom advised me during the somewhat violent birthing of this piece. Master Toki wrote the precursor to what has become the second and third stanzas. Evidence of his addition remains and so I acknowledge him here with great thanks.
Katerinka Lvovicha of the Two Kingdoms
Katherine Toomajian
The Lay of Liam
Feb 2009
Hear this Lay of Liam,
Loyal peer of east-realm
Charged with quest by Konrad,
King of Tyger's homeland.
"Send for smiths of malt-surf , [beer]
Sundry brews you'll call for.
Taste and test their spirits,
Tell me of your findings."
East rode Alethea,
heiress strong of Konrad.
Made her camp near mountain,
Mead-horn bearers' envy. [valkyries]
Princess, pleased by mission
Promised him her blessing.
Liam left there, Munr's soul [heart]
Longed for Alethea.
Liam searched for sooth-glass [screen of a computer]
Saw he visions many.
Birds of light and breath-air
brought to all his missive.
“Send me wares of alesmiths,
Solemn quest I'm charged with.
East-king's entertainment
In my hands is trusted.”
Casks and kegs are emptied,
Corked and sealed with treeskin. [cork]
Brewers, tribute bearing,
Beer of homelands brought him.
Lover dear of lifeblood, [alcohol]
Liam's mettle tested.
Vessels vast were brimming.
Valiant Liam drained them.
Seasons, silent marching
Sovereign Konrad passes.
Heiress Alethea,
East-realm crown inherits.
Liam's quest completed,
Cup-oak strong returned then. [warrior of cups]
Ruler faithful faltered,
From her lips, words tumbled:
“Olrun's east-realm presence [Valkyrie named for beer-rune]
Earned respect through actions.
Searched and sought out alesmiths [brewers]
Sampled, then reported.
Weary not, this wanderer
Worked for noble favor.
Love of Queen he longed for
Through love of beer is granted.”
Katerinka Lvovicha of the Two Kingdoms
Katherine Toomajian
Documentation for The Lay of Liam
Feb 2009
BASICS
Norse poetry has many forms. One of these forms is called drottkvaett. A sub-form of drottkvaett is the formless verse, as described by Snorri Sturluson in . This so-called “formless” verse has less rules than strict drottkvaett in that it does not generally contain rhyming elements. Drottkvaett in all its forms is characterized by the following elements:
Each stanza has 8 lines.
Each line has three stressed syllables and three unstressed syllables.
Each line must end in a trochee.
The odd numbered lines (1,3,5,7) have two alliterative stressed syllables.
The even numbered lines (2,4,6,8) have one alliterative stressed syllable that corresponds with the alliterative syllable of the preceding line.
These concepts are difficult to explain using rules and are best understood by example. The following selection is from Egil's Saga (chapter 65, stanza 41), by generally acknowledged to be by Snorri Sturlason, with a translation by Bernard Scudder:
Fell sás flest et illa, The feeder of wolves fell, [warrior]
fót hjó skald af Ljóti, worker of evil deeds.
ulfgrennir hefr unnit, The poet chopped Ljot's leg off,
eir veittak Friðgeiri; I bought Fridgir peace. [peace-spear]
séka lóns til launa I do not ask a reward
logbrjótanda í móti, from the splasher of gold for that. [generous man]
jafn vas mér í gný geira The spear's din was fun enough, [battle, fight]
gamanleikr við hal bleikan. the fight with the pale man.
ALLITERATIONS
I have bolded the alliterative words in the original Icelandic to make it easier to pick out the pattern. As you can see, the first two lines alliterate on the f- sound. The second two lines alliterate on a vowel, which is acceptable. The vowel does not need to be the same for this to work. Skaldic poetry alliterates based on the sound of the word, not the actual letter. Words like “Ketil”, “Coldwood” and “Camping” all alliterate with each other, but “celebrate” does not. Similarly, “unwashed” and “water” alliterate with each other, because the word normally “unwashed” puts the stress on the second syllable, not the first.
In the skaldic poem, “Lay of Liam,” I tried to keep as fast to the rules of drottkvaett as possible. Because the rules were originally developed for a non-english language, some adaptations had to be made. For example, in Icelandic languages, there is a letter called thorn, which is written as Þ. It makes a “th” sound. As we do not have that letter in English, I have chosen to make all words beginning with a “th” sound alliterate with each other. For similar reasons, I've chosen to have the sounds “ch” and “st” alliterate with themselves and not with others.
KENNINGS: Basics
The words which are italicized in the translation are called kennings. The phrases in brackets next to them are what they mean. A kenning is essentially a really fancy way of saying something. For example, a “splasher of gold” is a generous man, and a “sword-oak” is a warrior. They are used to deepen the meaning of the poem. Some poems may have a theme, where a “battle-board” is a warrior, a “sword-elm” is a woman who is fighting and a “feller of sword-trees” is someone on the opposing side.
Kennings can also be used to further develop the complex nature of the poem. Word order in skaldic poetry is often thrown to the wayside for the sake of sound. For example, a phrase that reads, “a very dangerous woman” might be re-written as “Goddess of the lair of snakes.” This kenning might then be re-written to fit a more trochaic rhythm: “snake-lair's goddess.” This sounds better to the trochaic ear and will also fit in better within the 6-syllable line of a drottkvaett poem.
For similar reasons, words are often left out. For example, “the princess was pleased by the mission” is shortened to “princess, pleased by mission,” both to tighten the sentence poetically, and also to make it fit the parameters of the form.
KENNINGS: Adaptations
Some of the kennings used within the poem are ones I created myself. I used existing and established kennings to guide my way. For example, there are no kennings for “computer” or “internet” so I chose to develop one myself using an extended kenning. Stanza 3, lines 1-2 read:
Liam searched for sooth-glass
Saw he visions many.
Here, sooth-glass is used to describe what a computer is and does. The screen is of glass, and it “tells” the viewer the truth, or some reasonable facsimile thereof. The viewer is then be able to see “visions,” or non-material images, which will help him or her in their quest.
The next quarter-stanza continues the kenning:
Birds of light and breath-air
brought to all his missive.
Birds were tools of communication, especially the ravens of Odin. They traveled and saw what was going on in the various worlds, and then returned to tell Odin of the goings on. The electical and light pulses used in modern communication techniques perform similar tasks to Huginn and Munin. This quarter stanza, combined with the preceding quarter-stanza forms an extended kenning, or a kenning that uses more than one line, that describes modern communication techniques within the context of the norse culture. While this kenning is more obscure than my original kenning for computer (“Web of light and wire | Way it made to sound-home”), I feel that my second choice is more appropriate to the period. Obscure kennings were used with some frequency in period.
Another kenning I developed was “cup-oak,” used in stanza 5, line 6. As was mentioned previously, the term “sword-oak” describes a warrior, or a very strong man who wields a sword. Similarly, a “spear-tree” is a strong man whose weapon of choice is a spear. Liam is not a man who choses to participate in the traditional activities of choice for a warrior, and thus can not be described as a sword-oak. His weapons of choice are his love of all things that are good in life. His weapon in this poem is his love of good beer, and thus his drinking implement. Thus, Liam can be accurately described as a “cup-oak,” or a very strong man who wields a drinking cup.
CONTEXT
In period, poems were often inserted into stories. Sometimes they were part of the main story and were just a way for the character to speak on his or her own in the first person. Sometimes though, the poems were stories in and of themselves. I imagine this piece fitting into the second category as part of the larger edda of Master Liam's life and activities in the SCA.
DEVELOPMENT OF STORY: Background and history
This is poem was written to record the quest given by Sir Konrad I to Master Liam. Sir Konrad, who was King at the time the challenge was issued, told His Excellency Liam to sample beers from each kingdom and then report back to him. Baron Liam, being a most faithful servant of the crown, set off and did just that. My muse found this idea positively delightful and formed an idea, which, after several weeks of serious work, was abandoned in favor of shinier subjects. After a period of time, she (my muse, that is) decided that she wanted the poem done and proceeded to drop the remaining bits out of my head fully-formed. This is the poem that you see before you.
I feel that this piece has deepened my understanding of the skaldic arts in a way that my previous pieces have only scratched at. Perhaps it is because the subject and hero of the piece is someone who I consider one of my closest friends.
I wrote this poem as a way to honor Baron Liam in the best way I know how. I am not a mighty warrior who can carry his banner into battle, nor am I a skilled artisan who can carve his likeness hither and yon. I am but a simple wordsmith, and these words are my humble offering to honor his feats, great and small.
Works Cited
Arthur, Ross G.. "English-Old Norse Dictionary". In Parenthesis Publications, Cambridge, Ontario. 27 Feb 2009 <http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/language/english-old_norse.pdf>.
Dixon, Michael. writing as Redbeard, Toki. “Basics of Skaldic Poetry." (2005) 18 Aug 2008
"Lexicon of Kennings." 2001. 27 Feb 2009 <http://www3.hi.is/~eybjorn/ugm/kennings/kennings.html>.
Simek, Rudolf. Dictionary of Northern Mytholgy. D. S. Brewer, 2007.
Preminger and Brogan, ed., The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Sturluson, Snorri, Edda, Trans. Faulkes, Anthony. London: Everyman, 1987.
Sturluson, Snorri. "Egil's Saga." 27 Feb 2009 <http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/egils.htm>.
Sturluson, Snorri; trans. Scudder, Bernard. "Egil's Saga."The Sagas of Icelanders. 1st ed. 1997.
A note: Master Toki Redbeard of the East Kingdom advised me during the somewhat violent birthing of this piece. Master Toki wrote the precursor to what has become the second and third stanzas. Evidence of his addition remains and so I acknowledge him here with great thanks.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-06 03:55 pm (UTC)On your documentation: I would move your last section, on the development of the history, to the beginning, and title the "Basics" section something along the lines of "Poetic Structure". You should say what a trochee is.
I would also talk a little bit about adapting Norse poetic structures into English. Is this structure well-suited to English? How does it compare to (for instance) Anglo-Saxon poetry?
The technical term for repeated vowel sounds is "assonance".
When you talk about kennings, can you give examples of some that you didn't invent?
Did you find accounts of brewing and drinking in Norse literature to draw on? Are there examples in Norse literature of a man doing a quest for the King or Queen, or are you adapting a French chivalric idea (or an SCA idea) to a new setting?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-06 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-06 06:33 pm (UTC)I agree with Ursula on defining "trochee", and on discussing a little more about adapting the poetic structures into English. Actually, everything else she said, too.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 12:48 am (UTC)Want me to see if she'd be willing to have a lookie-see?
no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 12:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-25 12:55 am (UTC)