Constancia de Vienne, Troubadour

wot ys that sund that calls us to war?

ys þe horn ðat lady blaws to roar.

Rosa rubicundior

wot ys that sund wot maks myn herte ache?
ys þe swet sound this same lady mak.

wot ys the laugh ich can now here?
ys a tale from the lady just finished near.

lilio candidior

wot ys that tune that make vs go round?
ys her song ðat bringeþ daunce to ground.

wot ys that note that ringeþ so cleir?
ys þe lady herself a-fluting ther.

omnibus formosior

wot is that brigþ and merrie sound?
ys þe lady who singeþ there unbaundoun.

semper in te glorior

wot can we do for one so fayr
to laud hire gift ðat give us cheer?

dulcis musica

a silver cup, a pretty thynge,
granted by our virtuous King,

ys very good and fitting fine
to grant this kynde lady sign

her herte doþ mak us synge and more,
thus we name hire Troubador.

Ai! With sound of horn, voice and recorder,
Constancia comes to the Order.

by our hand this finest day
while at the Castle Knox we play

signed here by King Edward and Queen Marguerite,
this lauding songe is now complete.

Latin Translation: Rosa rubicundior, lilio candidior, omnibus formosior, semper in te glorior dulcis musica – Redder than the rose, whiter than the lilies, fairer than everything, I will always glory in thee, sweet music.)

Notes on the piece:

I was reading a lot of very early English verse at the time this was written, and so it was created with that in my mind.  I used all the period writing bits too,  ð (eth) the (th) þ are the sounds.  They look neat at least!  She plays the straight horn and trumpet, and is really great on recorder, and sings beautifully.  So all that was incorporated into the images in the song.  It’s supposed to be a bit of a love song to her.

Right, so Lady Constancia de Vienne was previously Lady Melisunde d’Ione, and was of this writing and of the initial award long before.  This was a backlogged scroll, and a joy to write for a friend!  In this version, I updated it to use her current SCA name.

Also, I forgot that it would actually have been King Kelson and Queen Geneviere. That would have changed the scheme.

It should have read, I suppose:

“Signed here by Kelson von Heidelberg, King and
Geneviere d’Alsace, Queen
we at long last rest serene.”

Or something like that.

But nobody reminded me, and so it’s not.  *lol*

By Aneleda Falconbridge