the dancing moon - shireofcalanaisnuadh.org · 9 – 12 the sestina poetic form: no rhyming...
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Image @2015 Lady Catin of Edington [Cathy Glueck]. Used with Permission.
LLLooonnnggg
LLLiiivvveee ttthhheee
SSShhhiiirrreee Yippee
The Dancing Moon August 2015 AS L
The Dancing Moon Page One
Table of Contents Cover The Dancing Moon 1 Art, Article and Photo Credits 1 Shire Announcements 1 Minutes of the August Meeting 2 - 3 Shire Cites 3 Shire Officers 4 Pictures of the New Champions 5 The Gem Trader’s Bag 6 - 7 A View from CalonCon 7 Pictures from Shire Picnic/Archery 8 The Sestina Poetic Form: No Rhyming Necessary! By Lady Dulcibella de Chateaurien 9 - 12 2nd Quarter Seneschal Report 12 Calendar 13 - 14 Driving Directions 14
Art, Article and Photo Credits Cover Image @2015 Lady Catin of Edington [Cathy Glueck]. Used with Permission. 5 Images @2015 Lady Catin of Edington [Cathy Glueck]. Used with Permission. 6 – 7 Article @2015Wilhelm von Graen Bart [Keith Gettings]. Used with permission. 7 Image from Borders and Frames, Dover Press, page 58 8 Images ©2015 Howard of Yle [How Patton]. Used with Permission 9 – 12 The Sestina Poetic Form: No Rhyming Necessary! By Lady Dulcibella de Chateaurien
Shire Announcements Huzzah for the duly won and acclaimed Shire Archery and A&S [Arts and Sciences!] Champions. Positions were won and chosen at our Shire Picnic this weekend past. All Hail HL Thomas Fleischacker and Mistress Roselyn of Aberdeen!
Page Two The Dancing Moon
Minutes of the meeting 11 August 2015
Officer Reports
Arts & Sciences:
No classes have been scheduled for this quarter at this time.
There will be competitions at the Shire Picnic this weekend.
A&S Theme, per current champion, is Dog Days of Summer. Winner to be chosen by
populous choice, 3x5 card for documentation.
Archery Chapin will be by a Surprise Tourney. Negative points per round ARE possible.
Queen’s Prize is Sept 19/20. Many sponsors ARE available. See MEWS for more information.
Fighter Marshall: practice will continue to be held in conjunction with Archery Practice.
Archery Marshall: Aug 16 cancelled for Shire Picnic; 23/30 Aug as weather allows; 6 Sept cancelled for
holiday; 13 Sept tentative.
Exchequer: $3 965.39 in the bank. Storage bill paid; no contract yet on Autumn Arrows [AA] Site nor
bill presented for the website.
Chronicler:
By Shire approval, Newsletter will be delayed for Picnic and Champions to be determined.
Officers who attended CalonCon are requested to submit 25/30 words on their meeting.
Officers are requested to please send a copy of their Quarterly Reports to me for inclusion in the
Newsletter. Reminders will be given.
WebMistress:
AA flyer linked to website and forwarded to MEWS
Herald:
Still consulting the Arms for Emerika and Margery.
The Dancing Moon Page Three
New Business
Shire Picnic will be at home of Alan and Margery, Sunday, 16 August at 2PM. Directions to their
location have been promulgated via Yahoo Group and FaceBook. Dry goods will be provided by the
Shire. Shooter in the Archery Tournament may need to provide bug repellant.
New Shade Fly. Our current fly has been requested for use at Battlemoor for the Kingdom. Our Sir
Eric is to transport same. James, member at large, has found a group willing/wanting to purchase our
CURRENT fly. Provider of CURRENT fly is no longer in business. It is also suggested that fabric be
obtained and NEW fly made in house. Current member has access to suitable sewing machine. It was
moved and seconded that specific information on size and cost be obtained. Tabled for further
discussion.
Autumn Arrows. Filled Positions: Looking for:
Christine/Rose Auto-Crats Troll: _______
Thomas Feast Arts & Sciences _______
Jon Archery
Katheryn, Sharon Scorekeepers
Missy Inn
Keith, Howard plus 1 Auctioneer
Shire Badge. Per Kingdom suggestion, it would be preferred to use a fieldless component. Several
suggestions have been made. [I will see if I can get copies to be placed in the Newsletter.]
Website http://shireofcalanaisnuadh.org
Group
List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/calanaisnuadh/
FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/shireofcalanaisnuadh
Page Four The Dancing Moon
Shire Officers
Seneschal Lady Catin of Edington
Archery Marshal HL Thomas Fleischacker
Knights Marshal HL Paul Adler, Vince Zahnle
11413 Upton Rd; Plato, MO 65552.
417-967-1034
Minister of Arts & Sciences
Baron Jon Tristram. John May,
417-458-1046
Exchequer
Lady Disa of Calanais Nuadh. Denise Howard
Chronicler
Lady Ascellina Bethell, Sharon Ponzer
Chatelaine
OPEN!
Minister of Youth
OPEN! There are many requirements for this office.
Contact Kingdom MoY for complete information.
Herald
Amerigo de Tincto da Venicia
Emory Cook
Web Minister
Margery of Penrith
calls or texts at 573-201-9938
The Dancing Moon Page Five Under the watchful Eyes of our resident Knight, Fighter Marshall, Archery Champion and Host… The official hand-off of the Symbols of our Champions … Lady Dulcibella de Chateaurien To Mistress Roselyn of Aberdeen … and Baron Jon Tristram to HL Thomas Fleischacker And the populous chosen Work - Images this page @2015 Lady Catin of Edington [Cathy Glueck]. Used with Permission.
Page Six The Dancing Moon
Fire Opals
Greetings! Before we start listing facts, fiction and non-fiction about the wonderful fire opal, let’s learn just a little about opals as a whole. There are numerous types of opal in the world today, but, they can generally be categorized into two types; precious and common. We won’t be referring to common, not that they don’t have their place in the world, it’s just that they don’t have a place in our discussion (at this time). Precious opals do, they are generally identified in one of three categories; white, black and fire. Now that we have that straight, one “little” item to discuss and we’ll be on our way. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYONE TAKE ANYTHING FROM THIS ARTICLE SERIOUS!!! MOST OF IT IS NOT BASED ON SCIENTIFIC FACT, RHYME OR, REASON. WHILE SOME INFORMATION IS FACTUAL, THE FICTITIOUS AND NON-FICTITIOUS INFORMATION IS NOT SEPARATED, SO, DON’T TAKE ANYTHING SERIOUS! ATTEMPTING TO USE THIS GEMSTONE FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN JEWELRY IS NOT RECOMMENDED, STRONGLY DISCOURAGED AND JUST NOT A GOOD IDEA!!! The majority of fire opals are found in Southern Mexico, in the Yucatan Region. A small amount has also been discovered in a remote area in the former Soviet Union. Opals can contain every color of gemstone and can be a prized possession. Over the years, some have believed that they can be charged with many different types of energy and then used for magic spells. Opals are carried on one’s person for protection during astral projection. Fire opals are said to have healing properties, that they can boost energy, stimulate the adrenal glands and sexual organs, as well as, stimulate enthusiasm. The Fire opal is believed to have other uses, attracting customers to one’s business, increasing spontaneity and one’s ability to form new ideas. In medieval times, all blond maidens wanted a necklace made of opals, as this was considered an absolute guarantee to prevent their hair from fading or darkening. The opal was also thought to make a person invisible whenever he wished, and for that reason, it was called Patronus forum (patron of thieves). It’s also said that the opal can stop bleeding and disease if caused from a ruby, or, and emerald, respectively.
The Dancing Moon Page Seven Please remember, don’t use any information from this article to cure anything, help with ideas for work or for any other reason mentioned before, especially to make yourself invisible, I’ve heard rumors that the last guy that tried that is doing 5 - 10 years for jewelry theft. Until next time…
A View of CalonCon
I left my house at 5:30 AM. After 5 and a half hours of driving [well, riding actually] – including 4 rest
stops and breakfast on the road … I missed the meeting.
End of report … just kidding.
Well, I did miss the scheduled meeting time per MY downloaded schedule. But, I guess it must have
been revised at least once!
But my new boss was most kind and understanding and repeated himself for Calanais Nuadh!
Besides requesting information to identify US to HIM, he suggested several things could and will be
requesting from YOU to add to the Newsletter. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! And keep your ears open …
I will be asking you for more stuff.
Page Eight The Dancing Moon
Did you know that the Shire had a Picnic?!?!?!? And an Archery Competition?
Lady Katherine takes aim … Odd or even? Lady Asa At rest Archers retrieving … Chronicler looking for inspiration … Archers do a LOT of retrieving … Images this page ©2015 Howard of Yle [How Patton]. Used with Permission
The Dancing Moon Page Nine
The Sestina Poetic Form: No Rhyming Necessary!
By Lady Dulcibella de Chateaurien
What is a Sestina?
A sestina is a 39 line poem with a precise structure. The first 36 lines are separated into six six-line stanzas (also
called strophes or sextets). The end or key words of each line of the first stanza are repeated in the next stanza in a
different, specific order. This repeats for each stanza. In the final three-line stanza (or tercet), two of the end
words appear in each line, one in the middle and one at the end, in a specified pattern. The tercet is also known as
the envoi or tornada.
English sestinas are decasyllabic; each line should contain 10 syllables.
Italian sestinas are hendecasyllabic: each line should contain 11 syllables.
French sestinas are made up of alexandrines; each line should contain 12 syllables
Sestinas work well as expressions of triumph, despair, or complaint because the constraining forms and rules,
especially the repetition of the end words, kind of lock the poet into cycle of revisited ideas. Some period topics
for sestinas have included love, nature and the seasons, death, war, and disappointments in life.
The prescribed order for the repetition of the six key words in the sestina is as follows:
First stanza: 1-2-3-4-5-6
Second stanza: 6-1-5-2-4-3
Third stanza: 3-6-4-1-2-5
Fourth stanza: 5-3-2-6-1-4
Fifth stanza: 4-5-1-3-6-2
Sixth stanza: 2-4-6-5-3-1
Tercet (Final Three Line Stanza)
Line 1: 2 in the middle, 5 at the end
Line 2: 4 in the middle, 3 at the end
Line 3: 6 in the middle, 1 at the end
The Envoy or Tornada
The key word scheme for the sextet is standard. However, there are variations on placement of the key words in
the envoy (the three line verse at the end) among both modern and period poets. The important thing seems to be
that three key words appear in the middle of the lines and three appear at the end.
Page Ten The Dancing Moon
Meter
Meter isn’t really a consideration in the sestina although there have been poets both in period and out of period
who have crafted sestinas with attention to both meter (iambic pentameter) and rhyme schemes. Poets of all eras
have also doubled sestinas or written them in a series to expound at length on a subject or create a story.
Choosing End/Key Words
Because you will be using the end/key words over and over and over again, it is important to select good ones.
Choose a combination of nouns, adjectives, verbs, gerunds, and adverbs. Words that can have more than one
meaning work well and are easier to reuse in different ways. Don’t be afraid to pun or be playful.
History/Background
According to the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, the invention of the sestina is generally credited
to Arnaut Daniel, a fourteenth century troubadour from Provence. However, some of his contemporary poets
suggest in their writings on poetry that he built on earlier poets’ work to come up with the final form.
The sestina has moved in and out of popularity over the years. It gained in popularity in France and Italy
throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, then gained favor in England in the sixteenth century. It lost
popularity in Europe by the end of the seventeenth century, but was “rediscovered” by nineteenth century poets
and later by twentieth and twenty-first century poets.
The earliest known English sestina is “Ye Gote-heard Gods” by Sir Philip Sidney. Written in 1590, the stanzas
alternate between two speakers, a pair of goatherds who are lamenting over the loss of their sweetheart. In the
poem, both goat-herds love the same girl, but she is not interested in either of them and has moved away. Sidney’s
use of the stanzas to create a story through conversation between two speakers is particularly interesting.
If you are interested in exploring Arnaut Daniel’s sestina that began it all or reading Sir Philip Sidney’s “Ye Gote-
heard Gods”, you will find links to them at the end of this article.
Below, I have included a revised version of my own sestina that was published in the newsletter a few months
ago. In my research for this article, I came to realize that I hadn’t learned enough about the form before writing
the first version of the poem. The new version limits the lines to ten syllables as prescribed for the English style
sestina.
The Dancing Moon Page Eleven The Ambitious Bard
by Lady Dulcibella de Chateaurien
At Fame’s gates I stand, clenched fists battering.
Though my past efforts have all proved futile,
Here I remain, bearing my soul to the wind,
Desperation filling my poet’s heart
And despair dimming my ambitious hope,
As I pray Fortune ope her cold, hard doors.
My grand truths should have pried open those doors,
But they budge not for all my battering.
I wave my rhymes ‘neath heedless eyes in hope
My efforts might charm, but all seems futile.
“Forsake thy dreams!” whispers, nay, screams my heart.
Toss thy verses into the whirling wind.”
But impish notions dance in the wild wind,
And my muse’s voice sings at my fertile doors.
Sweet visions and fierce conceits flood my heart.
My pen leaps, its tip the page battering
As words flow, my rhymes no longer futile!
My heart, my mind, my soul are filled with hope.
Eagerly, I smith my words, forging hope
That they will be my banner in the wind;
That my voice may not be lost, my words futile.
Poem in hand, I face Fame’s looming doors,
A silent shield against my battering.
In vain, I knock. Fame’s pets are without heart.
They ignore the verses ripped from my heart,
Will not acclaim my words of wit and hope.
I stand amazed. My ceaseless battering
Has not shattered Fame’s fort like some vile wind,
Nor ripped from their hinges those daunting doors.
Fame hides from my overtures quite futile.
I pound on her door, though it be futile,
Because my next rhyme, I know in my heart,
Will catapult me through those tempting doors.
I cannot lose hope. I will not lose hope.
Clutching my scribblings, I face the world’s wind
And weather all its jeers and battering.
Worldly dreams may be futile; still I hope.
Still I sing if but the wind hears my heart.
I cry my rhymes, at Fame’s doors battering.
Page Twelve The Dancing Moon
Sources
“Forms of Verse: Sestina.” Victoria and Albert Museum. Web. 11 June 2015
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/forms-of-verse-sestina/
Preminger, Alex, and T. V. F. Brogan, eds. The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. New York:
MJF Books, 1993. Print.
Sidney, Philip. “Ye Gote-Heard Gods.” Representative Poetry Online. University of Toronto. Web. 12 June 2015.
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem1942.html
Links to Poems by Arnaut Daniel and Sir Philip Sidney
Daniel, Arnaut. “Lo ferm voler qu’el cor m’intra.” Tobar.org. Web. 16 July 2015.
http://www.trobar.org/troubadours/arnaut_daniel/arnaut_daniel_09.php
Sidney, Philip. “Ye Gote-Heard Gods.” Representative Poetry Online. University of Toronto. Web. 12 June 2015.
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/html/1807/4350/poem1942.html
Just for Fun
The Sestin-a-matic - an online app that lets you plug in your end words, then generates the end word pattern for
all your sestina stanzas. Really kind of cool!
http://dilute.net/sestinas/
2nd Quarter Seneschal Report:
Local Group Activities
Calanais had meetings on each Tuesday of each month, the 1st and 3rd being project nights and the 2nd
Tuesday being the Business meeting and potluck. The 4th Tuesday is class night. We had Arts and
Sciences classes on Finger Loop Weaving, a Lilies Prep class for those that have never attended, and an
after Lilies roundup of classes taken and taught. Attendance at each meeting is between 8-20 people.
Archery practice is happening on Sundays at 4:00pm and being attended by 5-10 people, fighter practice
is held at the same time and is usually attended by 2-3 fighters. We did not have a meeting the week of
Lilies. One of our events Spring Spears fell in this quarter, see below.
Issues: No problems!
Kingdom Level Events
Spring Spears was held in Calanais Nuadh on April 4th. Estimated attendance was 195 adults and 26
children. The theme was “Off With Their Heads” and it was a mostly fighting and thrown weapons
event. There was a Knighting Ceremony which greatly increased our attendance. It was a very
successful event!
Issues: No issues!
The Dancing Moon Page Thirteen
August, 2015 Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1
16 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice
TBD
17 18 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting Project Night Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO
19 20 21 22
23 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice
TBD
24 25 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting A&S Class – TBD Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO
26 27 28 29
30 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice
TBD
31
September, 2015 Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting Project Night Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO
2 3 4 5
6 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice CANX for holiday
7 8 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting Business Meeting & Potluck Dinner Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO
9 10 11 12
Page Fourteen The Dancing Moon August 16 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice, TBD 18 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting Project Night
Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO 23 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice, TBD 25 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting A&S Class – TBD,
Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO 30 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice, TBD September 01 6:45 PM Shire Weekly Meeting Project Night
Newburg United Methodist Church, Newburg, MO 06 4 PM Archery Practice, Fighter Practice cancelled for holiday Addendum to Chronicler CalonCon Report: There may be a change to require HARD copy of Waivers at Kingdom level. This may then require AT LEAST a scanned hand-signed copy at the Branch level, NOT a virtual one … I will be gathering and scanning … YOU have been WARNED … Driving Directions: Archery Practice: Beaver Creek Conservation Area: No Crossbows. No Archery in freezing temperatures (32° F). From
Rolla, take Highway 63 south for several miles. The range gate will be on your left, immediately across the highway from
the VFW post. Drive through the gate to the top of the hill, park and take the line!
Fighter Practice: tbd
Shire Meetings: Newburg United Methodist Church: Take I-44 to the Newburg Exit. Turn south. The church will be on
your right, a little past the patrol car waiting at the bottom of the hill to catch all of you scoff-law speeders. If Newburg
School District is closed due to weather, the meeting for that night is cancelled.
This is the August 2015 issue of the Dancing Moon, a publication of the Shire of Calanais Nuadh of the Society for Creative
Anachronism, Inc. (SCA, Inc.). The Dancing Moon is available from Sharon Ponzer, 202 Belmont Dr., Rolla, MO 65401. It
is not a corporate publication of SCA, Inc., and does not delineate SCA, Inc. policies.
Subscription Policy: Email: Free to anyone on request from: Sharon Ponzer, [email protected]. Electronic copies are
also available on the Shire website a few days after the email version. Hard Copies are available upon request.
Copyright ©2015 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. For information on reprinting photographs, articles, or artwork
from this publication, please contact the Chronicler, who will assist you in contacting the original creator of the piece. Please
respect the legal rights of our contributors.