Brain--strained.

As in "Strained through a sieve." I did find out a few things by trying to translate Occitan poetry into English while retaining meter and rhyme. 1. Occitan is much more flexible than English as far as rhyming words. 2. Trying to translate poetry is much, MUCH harder than it looks. 3. Occitan is not French. And I've forgotten most of the French I knew. Well, I'm working on a different project now: indexing the available Troubadour corpus for a website. There are already several text books that do this, but I've not seen anything on the Internet.

Brain Strain

My current project: working on translating the surviving troubadour songs of Aimeric de Belenoi (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aimeric_de_Belenoi). Translating the original language (right now, it seems to be a regional variant of Occitan), is one hurdle, making sure the translations retain the same meter as the original is another.

My Once Upon a Time

A response to "Once Upon a Time," by Master Ioseph of Locksley.

G                     C   G     Em                   C
I still hear song and story, in tales I've heard and read.
  G                C  G         D              D7
I sought a land of honor, where chivalry's not dead.
    G                    C   G          Em              C
For some, the dreams are tarnished, the luster dead and gone.
G               C           G              D7              G
But for me, the Dream still shines, And my dreams still go on.

G             C  G
Ring-a-ring-a-rosie,
Em              C
As the new light shines 
     G             C  G
I look for my own story,
D              G
My once upon a time.

Once upon a time there was a kingdom close at hand.
They sang a song of chivalry, there in that empty land.
Now new ones come, and build on dreams the old ones have begun.
And with our time, and toil, and love, dear God, what dreams may come?

We are the children springing up from seeds that others sow.
Are those seeds acorns, or dragon's teeth? Only time will show.
We learn from those before us, we see what others do.
We also seek the Holy Grail, an ancient quest, made new.

Ring-a-ring-a-rosie,
As the new light shines 
We look for our own story,
Our once upon a time.

I'm still enthusiastic--a symptom of my youth.
I still see dreams in daytime, and take my dreams for truth.
And I still strive to take my dreams and make them come alive.
And I'll find my own glory--my once upon a time.

From Drakenwald, Meridies, and Atlantia's coast.
We're Atenveldt, Caid, and East, and Middle's endless host.
Your children make new memories, a new song from old rhyme.
Come join us in a brand new day, our once upon a time.

Ring-a-ring-a-rosie,
As the new light shines 
We're making our own story
Our once upon a time.

So sit no more in silence, regretting time and tide.
Aislinn is not defeated, your dreams have not all died.
You gave your gifts to others, as your heart bid you to.
Now accept the gift, I pray, of one who's learned from you.

Ring-a-ring-a-rosie,
As the new light shines 
Come help a student find his way
To once upon a time.

Back in the Bardic Saddle

I've been away from music for a few years now, and been away from the SCA for nearly a decade. Some of that was the amount of energy work was taking up, some of that was dealing with fibromyalgia and CFS, but now it's time to get back into both.

I'll be using this blog to post things I'm working on or researching for my SCA Arts and Sciences stuff, and my musical stuff both in and out of SCA period. FOr now, however, let me introduce myself for those who don't know me.

Within the realm, I am called Madog Hir of Gwynedd. Madog was born in Gwynedd in the Year of our Lord 1228, and fled to England after the death of Llywellyn ab Iorweth and the battles that followed. He currently resides near London, working as a jongleur, in the Year of our Lord 1265, watching Llewellyn ap Gruffydd gain control of Wales and wondering if it is time to go back home, or if he should stay in England.
Justin is a hobby musician and filker, living in North Carolina, who has been away from the SCA for a decade (almost long enough to consider himself a newbie again). Musical interests range from medieval secular monophonic music to classic rock, with stops along the way for British folk music, Child Ballads, and American folk.