Yesterday was East kingdom coronation. It was a day of All. The. Feels. For the last six months our kingdom has followed with love, been led with love, and had love as an example. Our outgoing king and queen devoted so much time, energy, and affection into this kingdom, that it was infectious. They were incredibly beloved as rulers and yes I cried. Watching them give each other their respective ciphers (a high honor given out at personal discretion of the king or queen in thanks of service to them or the kingdom) was incredibly moving.
And I had to follow that.
With a dead bunny.
Thanks shinyboss emeritus, love you too.
So let me back up with the dead bunny. Everyone remembers beastie right? My dead entrail reading rabbit? Of course you do! Beastie is the thing that will get me wordfame because who even does that?! Me.
So Thursday morning I see a message from upcoming shinyboss. To be fair he’d sent it the night before but I was already asleep. The basic gist was “You can say no because it’s short notice, but wouldn’t it be cool if for B+C’s stepping down you could do some soothsaying?”
Yes, yes it would be cool. Yes, yes it is short notice. Yes, yes I am a crazy person. I wrote an 8 line poem in quick and dirty saxon verse (the metrics are wrong, a discussion of why will be another post):
“Peace was promised to – proud world King.
But I warn of war – worthy crown.
Soon comes clash of – crimson spears
Drums beat battle cries – blood to stir.
Peace was promised you – Pray, take it!
Power must pass – prince must take
the eastern throne – through his might
your fair lands remain – fierce and strong.”
The intention was to stuff an index card in Beastie and just read it because writing and memorizing and having a poem performance ready in 48 hours is the sort of thing that paid professionals do when they have no other day job. I am not a paid professional. I am, however, a crazy person with an inadvisable amount of coffee. I’m also an improv bard that thrives on this sort of last minute ‘wouldn’t this be awesome’ type of thing.
There was an index card in Beastie, just in case. I didn’t read it. Guys? Do not look to me as an example. Value your stomach lining, drink less coffee, demand reasonable deadlines.
I did my bit, then outgoing shinyboss-in-law called for her own rabbit. I’d made her one and given it to her last week. Seeing her use it made me want to do a tiny little glee dance. But I was supposed to look terrified or something since she “hadn’t liked” my prophesy.
“This means we shall have dinner! And this…! Oh. Um… well. This is awkward.” Best. Line. Ever.
They finished up their final court, released their retainers, their guards, and their champions. They called for Kenric.
Time for performance number two. Kenric (new shinyboss) had requested something Saxon for his processional from my laurel and bardic Aunt a few months ago. Said laurel wrote a poem of how Kenric won crown tourney in the style of Battle of Maldon. I’m not posting the words, since they aren’t mine and I haven’t asked permission to. But when Grim posts them somewhere I’ll include a link. We performed the poem in alternating verses, Grim started, I joined him ect. Auntie Aife played harp for us. It worked beautifully if I do say so myself. I’m proud of us.
Kenric and Avelina were crowned and suspended court in order to sit in state to accept oaths.
Performance number three. Last Sunday I had the brilliant idea to recite my oath of fealty in Old English, because, again, I’m an over caffeinated crazy person. I decided not to memorize it because finding, translating, and memorizing, a one minute piece in a foreign language that I’m still not comfortable with was beyond the abilities of even my coffee pot. Auntie Aife lent me a wax tablet that I could press a copy of my oath into.
Fealty oath (edited by Wendy Hennequin with really helpful pronunciation guide and recording provided to me by Molly Eskridge. Thank you ladies, I owe you one.)
Be Beag-gifa Drihten þe þeos meaht-healle halig healdeþ, ic Kenrice ond Aveline
wylle beon rihtu ond treowe, ond ealle þe lufien wylle lufian ond ealle
þe forescynien wylle forescynian, be æ Eallwealdendes ond diht worulde. Ne nylle ic
mið worde or dæde, don þe mislicien, swa swa mec wurþien swa ic earne ond þas
annese wurþien à uncer forewearde þa ic hiera gewille gecierrede ond swa sægd in
healle.
Translation:
By the Ring-Giver Lord whom this might-hall holds holy, I will be to Kenric and
Avelina right and faithful, and love all they love and shun all they shun, by laws of the
All-Wielder, and the order of the world. Nor will I with will or deed, do that which
displeases them, so as they will honor me as I earn, and they honor this agreement,
when I to their will submitted and said so in court.
I read it, I am proud I got through it, I think they liked it. I think they may like it more after they get a look at the translation rather than just getting the Old English version. But I forgot to include the modern english version in the wax tablet yesterday and didn’t have it memorized.
After doing that I finally got to go get water and eat something. Dayboard was AMAZING. Everything I tried was really really tasty and I want recipes.
To open the second half of Kenric and Avelina’s first court the Queen’s bard and I read the roll of kings (as is traditional). I am thankful and blessed that my counterpart is a herald and so had a copy of the phonetic roll of kings. Even with this beautifully prepared guide I still bobbled a couple names. Trying not to feel bad about that. I’ll get them right in 6 months when I have to do this again.
The rest of the afternoon is a bit of a blur. I ran out of ability to deal with people about halfway through their majesties sitting in state and spent the rest of the day in low grade panic and hyper-vigilance because, well, PTSD and anxiety, and 600 other people around me. I don’t think it was obvious but then again I wouldn’t know what I looked like from the outside.
Random Highlights:
- I was given an award of appreciation for my help with weaving trim for cloaks for their outgoing majesties. I now have a lovely pendant that gets to live with the rest of Aethelflied’s bling and will be worn with pride. This was utterly unexpected and the effort to not cry was herculean.
- I am now the proud owner of a large cardboard box of fiber toys. I haven’t had a chance to fully go through these new treasures yet as I had to send them home with a friend due to car packing tetris. But I’ve got a box loom now, and books, and STUFF!
- I also now have a large bag of weaving yarn. I’ve got gods only know how many yards of dyable weaving wool and some cones and some skeins of linen. I haven’t gone through it all yet since it went home with my laurel for a precautionary freezing. Because wool moths suck and you only need to get them once to be over cautious with every other new wool you get.
- New shinyboss announced his intent to bling me out. Because I am a saxon woman. And he has bling he wants to make but can not wear because he is not a woman. I am 100% ok with being a saxon doll and pointing out to anyone who stands still long enough that my king made me a thing.
Here’s to six months of Saxon Shenanigans.
aethelfliedbrewbane 