text:
Quest for a Kingdom
(written to a set topic for a Meistersing by the Tanist of the East)
Comes now an errant knight of Tregirtsea;
How can I quest a kingdom who have found
An empty throne beside the eastern sea
And know that more than serfs are sovereigns bound.
All quests are ended when a King is crowned;
It were for England a more fortunate thing
Had Barbarossa lived and Richard drowned
For where is quest sufficient to a King?
But what and where's my Kingdom? Can it be
This tattered cloak, this faded purple gown,
An empty chair beside the restless sea?
To such dead things must Eastern Kings be bound?
Nay, few would fight for such a leaden crown.
Not though the land were gardens in the spring
And mine to watch it blooming from the ground;
There were no quest sufficient to a king.
Only the crown descendeth unto me.
The Kingdom's no more solid than a sound
That must be built on air unceasingly
And to that labor must a King be bound.
There is the light that burns above the crown,
Fair goal and farthest grail of wandering;
The new crowned King who searches far around
Will find no quest sufficient to a King.
A Kingdom is all dike-land and must drown
Save that its Lord do battle with the sea.
To that long labour must a King be bound.
There is the quest sufficient to a King.
[Tournaments Illuminated, very many years ago]
William the Marshall has come into France to win him renown with his sword and his lance. In
all that fair country no knight could be found in battle or tourney to cast William down.
(Being a part of the tale of the deeds of that most valiant and chivalrous warrior,
Sir William Marshall,
set to a tune by Johanna of Dendermonde)
(part 2)
William the Marshall is come into France
To win him renown with his sword and his lance;
In all that fair country no knight can be found
In battle or tourney to cast William down.
William the Marshall right loyal was he
And valiant in service to good King Henry;
On the helms of the French knights he made his steel ring
And beside them fought Richard, the son of our king.
King Philip of France thought the war he had
When he leagued with Count Richard, our king's eldest son,
For an aging king's knights very rarely are known
To blithely bear steel 'gainst the heir to the throne.
Count Richard was doughty and heavy of hand
And called no man master through France or England
But William the Marshall, through all of the West,
Had fought in no combat save he proved the best.
It chanced that our army had suffered a rout
From which fled the king with but few men about;
Them did Count Richard most fiercely persue
And his company likewise was valiant but few.
Quoth Henry "Good comrades, the foe follow
We have fought many battles, but this is the last."
"Nay Sire" said William "I think it not so.
By Your leave I remain here to hinder the foe."
So William the Marshall, with one knight
His leige lord to save turned him back in his ride;
His shield on his arm and his lance couched low
He wheeled round his horse and rode straight at the foe.
Count Richard leads rashly, with three men or
So quickly he'd come that no armor he wore;
Straight at the leaders rides William in wrath
With Richard Plantagenet right in his path.
They say that Count Richard was valiant and
A Lion in battle, as many tales tell,
But even a hero is apt to get hurt
When the best lance in Europe comes aimed at--his shirt.
Count Richard was valiant, and royally proud,
Yet he stood in his stirrups and shouted aloud:
"O slay me not Marshall, for armor I've none
And to slay me unarmored right basely 'twere done."
Sir William replied, for his rage it was hot,
"The Devil may slay you, the Marshall will not."
He slacked not his charge and he bent not his course
But his lance point came down and he slew--Richard's horse.
This only remains: ere a month passed away
King Henry of England upon his bier lay;
In grief were his knights there, all standing around,
When to them came Richard, the Heir to the crown.
Seeing the Marshall he called him apart:
"But lately you sought with your lance for my heart.
You charged me unarmored and I would be dead
But your lance struck my arm and my horse died instead."
"Nay Sire" said William "you do me great wrong
My eye is still clear and my arm is still strong.
I struck where I aimed; had I wished it instead
Your horse would still live and his rider be dead."
"I sought for your death neither then nor before
But would think it no crime to have slain you in war."
"Be pardoned" said Richard "I'll bear you no ire
And pray that men serve me as you served my sire."
(Part 3)
For loyally serving his dying lord
William the Marshall was given in ward
A maiden virtuous, wise and fair,
Strongbow's daughter and only heir.
The rest of that tale is easy to tell;
William is wedded with Isabel.
The bachelor knight who lived by his sword
In the space of a night is become a lord,
Mighty in men and gold and rights;
Her Norman lands feed forty-three knights,
In Pembroke itself, if all else fails,
He can rule like a prince on the Marches of Wales.
But better still does Isabel bring;
Her mother was daughter to Leinster's king,
A quarter of Ireland wedded and won
By Richard Strongbow--who had no son.
Long in tourney and battle field
Has William labored with lance and shield,
First and foremost in all men's sight,
Never defeated in any fight.
But now the knight plays a bigger game,
Earl of Pembroke in all but name,
A wealthy baron in Normandy,
All but a king by the Irish sea.
The Angevin holdings everywhere
Are held from Richard as Henry's heir
Save only that John, by their father's command,
Is paramount lord of Ireland.
A baron in England or Normandy
Holds from Richard his lands in fee;
But William holds, by Isabel's hand,
A fourth of a kingdom from John Lackland.
Richard is off on the long crusade,
England is full of rumor and raid,
Each against all with an eye to the throne--
William sits silent and guards his own.
Richard is taken and held for gold,
Now is the hour when truth is told;
John goes after his brother's crown.
William stands loyal and John goes down.
Richard is back, and at his side
The Bishop of Ely stands in pride,
A baseborn clerk but a loyal man
Who serves his King with a heavy hand.
"Sire, safe you can never be
While John is a sovereign across the sea;
It would therefor be wise in defense of your crown
That the Irish Barons to you should kneel down."
"My brother John holds Ireland free
From our father's hand and not from me.
In England John has no strength to stand
But how am I sovereign of Ireland?"
"Sire, though John has a weighty claim,
You are his master in might and fame.
Though strong in law his case must yield
For parchment is not proof to steel.
On either side of either sea
What lord to John shows loyalty?
If Ireland you claim today
Where is the knight to say you nay?"
Ely fell silent, and looked at his lord.
The king stood in thought with a hand on his sword
Looking out over the glittering crowd
Then turned to the Bishop and cried out aloud:
"By the legs of sweet Jesus, see there where there
The greatest Baron in Ireland.
Go speak to the Marshall and prove here tonight
If the barons of Ireland will kneel or will fight."
As straight and as silent as arrow from string
The Bishop sped off at the word of the king
And passing by many of power and pride
Went straight to the Marshall and drew him aside.
"Good Marshall, Sir William, as all men can
Prince John is defeated in base treachery.
Therefore I bring you King Richard's command
That you kneel now to him for your Irish land."
The knight replies "I will bow down
For English land to the English crown,
Richard by right holds the English throne
But how can he claim what he does not own?
I am a knight and owe my sword
For English lands to my English lord
But Leinster never was English land
Nor Richard Sovereign of Ireland."
So loud his voice rang through the hall
That men could hear him from wall to wall;
Richard stood silent and all beside
While loud the Bishop in wrath replied.
"I see a knight to his sovereign's cost
Planting a garden against the frost.
None can doubt it a prudent thing
To serve a prince who may yet be king."
The knight replied, "as you desire,
Plant, Sir Priest, with vine or briar;
Some might think it a perilous thing
To stand for justice against a King.
But a knight must cleave with lance and sword
And all his strength to his spoken word;
Pembroke I hold from Richard's hand
But Leinster as his brother's man.
When John went after his brother's crown
I did my best to pull him down.
If Richard is claiming his brother's land
I will withstand him as best I can."
Richard strode to the Marshall's side:
"It seems, good Bishop, your test is tried.
And I think my crown I can safely wear
While my knights hold true to the oaths they swear."
Two Voices
There is nothing above the King,
No power to speak him nay;
This is the hour of anything,
The dawn of my golden day.
This is the law behind the king:
Greater power, greater bond.
Who might order anything
Must bend to the breeze like a willow wand.
There is nothing written above my throne.
No strength can cast me down.
The kingdom and power are mine alone
By the sword that won my crown.
This is the law behind the king:
In feast or famine, in peace or war,
He is not master of anything,
The poorest peasant is richer far.
The knights with their shining swords;
By right of might they are mine.
The people, their beasts and their lords;
Ghost be gone with thy riddle rhyme.
Son be done with thy foolish words;
No man may rule my land,
No man can master a hundred swords
Whatever the strength of his hand.
Rule for power and pride
Alone in an empty hall;
Serve or step aside
The King is a servant or nothing at all.
(Lay of Hildebrand. Old German c. 800 A.D.)
I have heard it told
How between two hosts the heros
Hiltibrant and Hadubrant
Son and father fought together
Fought apart. The heroes fasten
Well tried war coats. Over ring shirts
Belt their brands on, ride to battle.
Hiltibrant the ancient hero
Asked the other his ancestry
Who among the hosts his father
What his family. "Noble folk
Ken I all within the kingdom
So your sire's name suffices."
Hadubrant spoke Hiltibrantson
"Ancients of the tribe have told me
Hiltibrant hight my father
I hight Hadubrant.
He fled east from Odoacer's
royal wrath fled Hiltibrant
With his warriors to Theotrih.
Left behind him wife in bower
Babe and young wife both behind him.
Theotrih that was so friendless
First of all his men my father
Loved who loathing Odoacer,
Joyed in battle brave at forefront
Brave men knew him well he died
I doubt not long ago."
Hiltibrant spoke, Heribrantson
"God hold witness from the heavens
Never be thou battle met
With so close to thee a kinsman."
Drew the arm rings king gifts golden
From his arm the Hun king's presents
"These I give thee glad in friendship."
Hadubrant spoke. Hiltibrantson.
"Such things seek I with my spear point
Point to point in open battle.
You are old in craft, most cunning,
When your words make me unwary
Then your spear throw quick will kill me
You grew old by such deception.
Word comes over western waters
Sailors bring it, say in battle
Dead is Hiltibrante Heribrantson."
"From your brand and bright ring jerkin
I can see your lord is kindly.
From his hand thou never had
Exile and cruelty, God me pity Comes my fate.
Thirty summers, thirty winters, I have wandered
Held the front in each fierce battle
Stormed before the walls still no man
Brought me death in any battle.
Now my son's brand batters me down
Else I slay him with my sword.
If thou hast courage come with death
Winning warcoat from warrior old
An easy task to him who for such things has any right.
Not the most fearful of Eastern folk
Could fight deny, thou art so eager come; see of us who
Gives up his battle coat who brings home two."
The heavy ashen spears they hurl like rain
To cluster in the shields. They close on foot
Breaking the battle shields with heavy blows
Splitting them till the fragments fall apart
Broken by blows... (The original ends here; apparently the copyist ran out of room)
...Now blade is loud on blade
Twice Hiltibrante bleeds, but not heart's blood.
A third time Hadubrant brings down his sword
Full on his father's helm.
The blade falls, fountains fire, the helm
Groans like a gong glances the blow.
Then Hadubrante cries aloud "Curse on the crippled blade
The old hun's head is hard as fire rock
His helm defends him though his blade is dumb
His craft is in this treasure and his tongue
I'll split them both." Throws down his broken shield
With both hands wheels his sword up to the height.
Hadubrant lets fall the blow. Hiltibrant flings high his shield.
The broken oak binds fast the falling blade.
Then Hiltibrante, hot with rage
Strikes with a heavy hand. The blow goes home
Bursting the rings beneath the helmet rim
Through golden collar and through collar bone,
Broken, battering a way.
Hadubrant falls. With both hands
Hiltibrant tugs out the blade. Blood follows.
Hadubrant, Hiltibrantson
Dies in his blood while weeps above
Hiltibrant, Heribrantson.
The Merry Holt
(Melody by Johanna of Dendermonde)
There is a holt, a Merry Holt, below the Treegirt Sea; and there two maidens sit them down with
certain ladies of renown, a mock to make of king and crown and half the chivalry.
There is a holt, a Merry Holt,
Below the Tree Girt Sea
And there Two Maidens sit them down
With certain Ladies of Renown
A mock to make of King and Crown
And half the chivalry.
They wrote a song, and another song
And another two or three;
They held not back from any sin
They spared them neither kith nor kin
Nor their good lord sweet Laurelin
From scorn and mockery.
When winters come and breezes numb
Blow from the Treegirt Sea
The Ladies of the Merry Holt
They mostly ward them from the cold
As Tristram warded Queen Iseult
And Isolde of Brittany.
Alas the maids have no such aids
To keep them snug and warm;
All winter long these maidens sweet
Maintain their blood at fever heat
Inventing tales I'll not repeat
And thereby do great harm.
Such serpent's tongue in head so young
A wonder it must be
But it is told in Merry Holt
For maids so fair to grow so old
And keep their Heads the ladies hold
A greater prodigy.
There is a holt, a Merry Holt,...
The Bees' Tale
There was a lonely castle
On a little travelled way;.
A weary knight came riding there
At the close of an autumn day.
The drawbridge came a-clanging down
The door swung open wide;
The Castellan stood there himself
To bid the knight inside.
"Be welcome here most noble sir
As long as you would bide
To guest all weary travellers
It is my boast and pride."
"For I have sworn a mighty oath
By her I held most dear:
Not hungry, nay nor thirsty goeth
Any man from here."
The knight was bathed in water warm
And garbed in linen white,
Then joined that merry Castellan
And feasted through the night.
The feast was fine, the hall was fair,
With rushes on the floor.
Such mead as there unstinting flowed
He'd tasted not before.
An hour before the sun came up
They staggered off to bed.
The hour was late for journeying
When the knight raised up his head.
The hour was late for journeying,
The host he bade him stay
Another night to rest him ere
He went upon his way.
Another night he feasted and
The mead in gallons flowed;
The sext-bell rang for noontime
Ere he was upon his road.
The sext bell rings for noontide but
The vespers sets the sun;
He heard it ring above him and
He knew the day was done.
He heard it ring above him from
That castle fair to see,
Returned there, ye may suppose,
By subtle sorcery.
But truth to tell there was no spell
Save such as all men know.
If he returned it was because
He did not wish to go.
For errant knights see quite a lot
Of war and desperate deeds
Of maids, crusades and bloody raids
But very little mead.
So every night he drained his cup
And filled it up again.
Both host and guest we may suppose
Were very merry men.
The knight was gaunt when first he came
But he started filling out,
For seven gallons every night
Would make a hermit stout.
The barrels of that buttery
Were wide and deep indeed;
But seven gallons every night
Is quite a lot of mead.
So while the guest waxed fatter
The buttery waned thin;
The Castellan grew worried so
He called his daughter in.
Now the daughter of that Castellan
Was known far and wide
As a paragon of virtues, but
Her brewing was her pride.
She walked among her honey bees
And told them what to do;
She set the garden buzzing then
She started in to brew.
She scoured her largest cauldron;
She filled it to the top.
She buzzed around her kitchen like
A human humming top.
The knight he kept on drinking, but
The mead-line did not sink;
The daughter filled the barrels up
As fast as he could drink.
But when a month had passed so
Though he was fain to stay
The knight told the Castellan he
Must be upon his way.
He set off for his castle old
And it was strange to see
His steed, though sleek and full of grass
Yet labored wearily.
He labored wearily to bear
What he had born before,
For though the beast was nothing less
The man was something more.
So off he goes and you suppose
That ends at last my song.
So did that much tried Castellan
And both of you are wrong.
For on a day in early May
The knight came back again
And at his back his squires rode
Full seven thirsty men.
The Castellan he watched them come
And oh his heart was sore;
But he thought upon his mighty oath
And opened wide the door.
He opened wide the door to them
Although his heart it sank;
The knight and seven squires came in
And drank and drank and drank.
Now God forfend my tale should end
With every barrel dry;
No faster can the brewer brew
Nor honeybees can fly.
Despair is on the daughter's face,
A tear is in her eye.
And so the knight he found her
In a garden full of bees;
He took her hand in both of his
And sank upon his knees.
"I have returned to ask" he said
"If thou wilt wed with me.
For mead is not the treasure
That brings me back to thee."
The maiden she consented,
The Castellan did too,
Though he ill could spare his daughter
Yet at the least he knew
It was someone else's problem to
Fill up that thirsty crew.
The wedding was a merry one
Proclaimed throughout the land
And so Sir Gyrth was wedded to
The gentle Melisande.
The moral of my story
Is plain enough to see:
The fool's content with honey;
The wise man takes the bee.
Two Provençal Poems
Dawn Song Us cavaliers si jazia
by Bertran d'Alamano(fl. 1230-1260
or Gaucelm Faidir (fl. 1180-1215)
A knight beside his sweet desire
Between his kisses makes inquire:
Sweet, what is to do my dear?
Dark must end as day draws near.
I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'
On the heels of dawn runs day.
Sweet, if day and dawn for ever
Ended were that lovers sever,
Best of blessings where true knight
Lies beside his best delight.
I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'
On the heels of dawn runs day.
Sweet, be sure there is no smarting
Pain can match with lover's parting;
I myself can count its pains
By how little night remains.
I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'
On the heels of dawn runs day.
Sweet, I go but leave thee knowing
I am thine wherever going;
Keep me ever in thy mind
For my heart remains behind.
I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'
On the heels of dawn runs day.
Sweet, without you death would find me,
Love put all my life behind me.
I'll be back as soon as fled,
For without you I am dead.
I hear the watchman's 'Up away;'
On the heels of dawn runs day.
Riposte Ma domna am de bona
My Lady hath my heart to rule
Yet am I not some lovesick fool.
I pray the Lord to save me not
If ere I gave save as I got.
Her love in truth is what I pray for--
But will not have if I must pay for.
Her love for me is honor--yes
But mine for her no honor less.
(based on prose translations by Willard R. Trask)
Medieval Lyrics of Europe by Willard R. Trask, The World Publishing Company. Cleveland: 1969.
The Froggy Woods
Composed in honor of the Most Noble Baron
Sir Francois du Vent
At His Investiture in His Barony of Draconia
(To the tune of The Tailor and The Mouse)
With sword and spear to have a romp
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
We all went down to the Dragon Swamp
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Tarum, Tantum
Through the froggy woods oh
Hi-diddle-ump-cum over the lea
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Just at the first watch of the night
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
We heard the frogs to left and right
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
But when the night was half along
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
It seemed that half the frogs were gone
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
And when the dawn was growing near
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Not a croak assailed the ear
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
If you know where the frogs have gone
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Then you have understood my song
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Francois says that dinner's hot
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Guess what's bubbling in his pot
Hi-diddle-ump-cum feedle
Two poems in praise of the Ladies of Caid
On a time it chanced that, travelling in the kingdom of Caid, I came upon a hall where the King of that land held feast and revelry, with his people about him. At that place was held a court of love, in the Frankish fashion, and to that court I presented a charge against the Ladies of Caid--to wit, that they were too beautiful, and so a temptation to sin for those of us permitted, by the Law of our Lord the Prophet (on whom be the peace and the blessing), only four wives. The court conceded the justice of my charge, yet (most unjustly) sentenced me, rather than the ladies; the sentence being that I was to write a poem in praise of the Ladies of Caid. Further, His Majesty, in delivering the verdict and sentence, chose to interpret my remarks as if I had asserted that the Ladies of Caid were more beauteous than the Ladies of other kingdoms, which thing I had most certainly not intended.
Being desirous to obey His Majesty's charge and to
correct any misunderstanding, I wrote the following two poems:
Written on Command in Praise of the Ladies of Caid
Caidan ladies, fair and wise,
For whom full many knights do sigh,
Though my own Love, whom most I prize
Most strictly veils my wandering eyes
Yet through my lashes still I spy
Caidan ladies, fair and wise
Nor can I wholly then disguise
My admiration from the eye
Of mine own Love, whom most I prize,
Yet pray it cause no false surmise
If I appear entranced byrhymes.
Caidan ladies fair and wise.
For though no knight might e'er despise
Such lovely ladies passing by
It is my own whom most I prize
And I must own my glad surprise
When ladies in Caid I spy
Almost as gentle, fair and wise
As mine own love, whom most I prize.
Verses In Praise of the Ladies of Caid
Written at the Command of the King Thereof
Caid must seem a garden fair
Whose blossoms bloom in many climes
To errant knight that wanders there;
Her beauties praise I in my rhymes.
First met, and here by rights first told
(Though beauties grow in every clime)
The golden bloom of Gildenholt;
I praise thy garden in my rhyme.
And last the warded flower that grows
(For blossoms bloom in many climes)
Beneath the Dragon and the Rose
I praise her beauties in my rhymes.
The flowers spread like wildfire
(Well may I praise them in my rhymes)
From Calafia to Rieslinshire
For beauties bloom in many climes.
Yet, King who guard this land so rare
(That gladly praise I in my rhymes)
Think not that others are less fair;
For gardens grow in many climes.
At the fourth Pennsic War, Allah (the Compassionate, the Merciful) let fall upon us the Seas that are Above the Earth. To that War came thirteen fighting peers of the East, knights and masters together. Twelve fought; one returned home, being displeased with the weather.
My belt is white, as white as snow,
My chain is bright as fire
And I would be a fool to go
With them into the mire.
There wars my King, and by his side
Fight knights of great renown.
My snowy belt is all my pride;
I think I'll stay in town.
They pile in heaps the foemen dead
And die above them, yet
My place is here, for it is said
That blood is very wet.
My sword, my arms, might rust, and O
Unless my blade is bright
How will the pretty ladies know
I am a valiant knight?
Fly Dragon Fly
Fly, dragon, fly
Although it may upset you;
Fly, dragon, fly
The tyger's come to get you.
The tickling claws of cats they say
Make dragons catch their breath;
A pussycat is on his way
Who tickles them to death.
Fly, dragon, fly
The tyger's come to get you.
Fly, dragon, fly
As far as he will let you.
The dragon is designed to scare,
His face drives foes in flight;
But whoever heard a story where
The dragon slew the knight?
Fly, dragon, fly
And pray we may forget you;
Fly, dragon, fly
The tyger's come to get you.
Old Smaug was feared for miles around;
He fought a one worm war.
A single archer brought him down
And we have brought a score
Fly, dragon, fly
They have not come to pet you;
fly, dragon, fly
The tyger's here to get you.
Dragons have teeth and claws and things
And armor like a knight;
And best of all great leather wings
For flying from a fight.
Fly, dragon, fly,
Although it may upset you;
Fly, dragon, fly
The tyger's come to get you.
(This is a Pennsic song; the dragon is the token of the Middle Kingdom, as the Tyger is of the East. Andrew of Seldom Rest, sometime King of the Middle, bears a dragonfly upon his shield.)
A Pennsic Tale
(Tune: Michael Said to his Man)
I've fought at Pennsic a time or two,
Fie, man, fie;
I've fought at Pennsic a time or two
Who's the fool now?
I've fought at Pennsic a time or two
And just as the other warriors do
I've a tale that might be true
Who's the fool now?
After the bodies are carted away
Fie, man, fie
After the bodies are carted away
Who's the fool now?
After the bodies are carted away
The warriors feast till the break of day
And I sit silent and hear what they say
Who's the fool now?
We lost the war, as we most times do
Fie, man, fie
We lost the war, as we most times do
Who's the fool now?
We lost the war, as we most times do
Which never stopped us telling anew
What each of us did, and how and to who
Who's the fool now?
Of all our host that the foeman slew
Fie, man, fie
Of all our host that the foeman slew
Who's the fool now?
Of all our host that the foeman slew
There wasn't a man or a woman who
Didn't take at least one or two
Who's the fool now?
For glory in the ladies' sight
Fie, man, fie
For glory in the ladies' sight
Who's the fool now?
For honor in their ladies' sight
The squires fought with main and might;
Every squire slew a knight.
Who's the fool now?
The deeds of their lords were fierce and fell
Fie, man, fie
The deeds of their lords were fierce and fell
Who's the fool now?
The deeds of their lords were fierce and fell
Twelve men Visivald sent down to hell;
Ferd slew a score, or so the tales tell.
Who's the fool now?
Gavin is certain of twenty-four
Fie, man, fie
Gavin is certain of twenty-four
Who's the fool now?
Gavin is certain of twenty-four
But Tamara counted thirty more;
Add them up and he won the war.
Who's the fool now?
The host of Atlantia slew and slew
Fie, man, fie
The host of Atlantia slew and slew
Who's the fool now?
The host of Atlantia slew and slew
Just how many no man knew
But at least they're certain of forty-two.
Who's the fool now?
It comes to a hundred and ninety-four
Fie, man, fie
It comes to a hundred and ninety-four
Who's the fool now?
It comes to a hundred and ninety-four
We slew for certain--there might be more;
The rest should have drowned in that sea of gore.
Who's the fool now?
Knights and nobles of high degree,
Fie, man, fie
Knights and nobles of high degree,
Who's the fool now?
All the East's nobility,
This is their tale as they told it to me.
But the Middle started with fifty-three,
Who's the fool now?
So we lost the battle but slaughtered the foe,
Fie, man, fie;
So we lost the battle but slaughtered the foe,
Who's the fool now?
So we lost the battle but slaughtered the foe,
I may be wrong but I think I know
What really happened at Roncevaulx.
Who's the fool now?
A Song in Praise of the Warriors of the Middle Kingdom
(Tune: Battle Hymn of the Republic, unfortunately)
The warriors of the Middle are as brave as brave
can be;
Each summer ere the leaves turn red they turn them easterly
Where they know their death is waiting with the Eastern King's army
Praise to the Dragon Throne.
Glory, glory what a beautiful day to die,
Glory, glory what a beautiful day to die,
Glory, glory what a beautiful day to die,
To die for the Dragon Throne.
There is none can fault the courage of the Middle Chivalry
Though some believe they suffer from some dreadful sorcery
That herds them east like lemmings who will never reach the sea,
To die for the Dragon Throne.
The Marches of Debate are where the Flower of the Brave
When tired of the tourney field come east to find a grave.
We welcome them right royally and grant them what they crave
To die for the Dragon Throne.
The Ansteorran Tale
(To The Rising of the Moon )
Oh, the Ansteorran warriors have one trick that
never fails;
One body is a hundred when it comes to telling tales.
The smallest border skirmish is a fight where hundreds fell;
And the Ansteorrans won it in the tales their warriors tell.
Oh, the Ansteorran ladies, like ladies
Are fair and wise and virtuous, and chaste and wise and fair,
But it's only Ansteorra where, when they get into a tiff,
The women all are warriors--like Sif, and Sif, and Sif.
Oh, the Ansteorran warriors on Pennsic's fields
were few,
But they littered up the landscape with the multitudes they slew.
Each squire felled a score at least, each knight brought fifty low;
We know that's how it happened cause Duke Sigmund told us so.
Oh, the Ansteorran warriors have one trick that
never fails;
One body is a hundred when it comes to telling tales.
The smallest border skirmish is a fight where hundreds fell;
And the Ansteorrans won it in the tales their warriors tell.
Franks find that bloodshed and strife
Occupy most of their life--
The proper reward
For serving a lord
While ardently courting his wife.
When pursuing a maid who is very
Passionate, proper and wary
You first must assure her
Your amor is pura
And then demonstrate the contrary.
The favor of ladies is bought
So the learned Andreas has taught
With fainting and sighs
But a lover who dies
Has done rather more than he ought.
Dame Eugénie is lacking in front
Said a suitor whose language was blunt
A part love requires
To quench its fierce fires.
I presume that the part which he meant
was the heart.
A (Short) Limerick Cycle for the Instruction of Pages
Address all unknowns as "gentle."
Treat ladies as if sacramental
Unless their bare arms
Loose hair and bold charms
Announce that their favors are--rental.
As the she-wolf and lioness feel
for their cubs, so the knight for his steel.
When looking at such
Ask leave ere you touch
Or instead of seeing, you'll feel.
Be still when a bard holds the hall.
Join the dancing or stand by the wall.
Don't boast of your might
Till you learn how to fight
Or after--or ever at all.
(Chorus by Yang, Tune "traditional"--i.e.
Middle Kingdom Verses (ancient)
When two tall sons of one mother
The brothers de Tahe fight each other
The loser must kneel
Say "I yield to your steel
But my brother can still beat your brother."
Ai, yai, yai yai
Your knives are too ready to hand
If I stick to verity
You'll show me no charity
So here's all the truth you can stand.
The trouble with fighting with Andy
Unless you're both hefty and handy
Is he gives you one leer
Then makes it appear
Like he's knocking down babies for candy.
You can fight with the horde if you wanna;
You'll see plenty of blood, guts and honor.
While you're turning them green
With your shield work supreme
Watch out for the left hand katana.
His Grace or Her Grace, it depends,
Whenever the Dark Horde descends
With chickens and goats
Three Serbs and four Croats
Says "My friends? I thought they were your friends."
(An excellent parody/reply to this verse was
written by a horde bard; perhaps you can find someone who still
remembers it)
Though he mocks us with vigor and vim
I have seen Azareal looking grim.
To make myself terse
He loves pointed verse
Except--when it's pointed at him.
The magical music machine
That someone complained she had seen
Is a box made of tin,
A small mandolin,
And the Lady Diana Alene.
The trouble with fighting the Duke
Is enough to make anyone puke;
You cut at his thigh
And the Marshall cries "high"
"You're shaving the Ducal puruke."
I tell this story since it's
The one Thorvald's said to wince at:
The sign that's above
When he rides out to love
Is "In hoc Signe Vincet."
The trouble with listening to Yang
Is that every damn song the man sang
Was either illicit,
Immoral, explicit
Or lower Mongolian slang.
East Kingdom Verses
Murad, a reliable source,
Informs me that Akbar's discourse
Is usually cryptic
Or curt and eliptic
Or spoken--alone--to his horse.
Sir Eolf strides out in shining mail,
Clutching a cat and biting its tail,
Or so it appears
To my eyes and my ears
Though he swears it's the pipes of the Gael.
A blade is a maid's last appeal
To prove her refusal is real;
De _______, I'm told
Being timid and bold
Now courts in a full suit of steel.
Miscellaneous Verse
Though Shaums have a sound that is froggy
They should never be played when it's foggy,
Lest ships go aground
Through mistaking the sound
For a foghorn--which makes sailors soggy.
Atlantian Verses
Sir Alaric Rotstern Graf Von
When standing can just see the dawn
Coming up in the East
At the close of the feast
When the last of the sunset is gone.
Mistress Moira o Seaumus Maureen
When in yellow or brown she is seen
Is as meek as a child
But a thunderstorm's mild
Beside Mistress Moira in Green.
[Moira was Triton Herald]
Fair Tanis of far Tyr y Don
Deserves to be praised in a song
With trumpets and lutes
And a consort of flutes
Which I haven't and so I'll move on.
Alura's a Lady, no doubt,
Who would never get angry or shout
Or glower or roar
Stamp her staff on the floor
So her twin must be often about.
Once at the end of a feast
Having finished three oxen at least
And drunk half a tun
Ragnar swore by Thor's thumb
To make Foebane the queen of the east.
[Foebane is Ragnar's axe.]
If you're looking for Donal the tall
You'll find it no trouble at all;
He's the fellow you see
By the lovely lady
Who makes even Donal look small.
I am certain there must be a few
One could probably find one or two
Gentle arts, I've no doubt,
Giovanna's without
But everything else she can do.
In the lists of things great you won't read it
But Rome and Cathay would concede it;
The small city state
Has a wall that is great
For putting wherever you need it.
(The Dinas Moryn shield wall)
The Devil and Eugénie
(Tune: The Devil and the Farmer's Wife)
It chanced to the Baron of Isleway
Rightfu, rightfu, titty fy day
It chanced to the Baron of Isleway
That the Devil came to him and to him did say
With a rightfu rightfu, titty fy day.
"See here Baron John I have come for your fool
Who has served us so well under both of our rule."
So the Devil tossed Eugénie up on his
With a flick of her wrist she laid open his rump.
Then down to Hell with her he did jump;
When she got there she complained of the bump.
"If you don't bring me down here more gently and
I fear you will make me unfit for the guild."
There stood three small devils the lady to
She gave them one look and they melted away.
When all but one devil away they had fled
She noticed him there and she bit off his head.
The Devil tossed Eugénie back in his
They were three days coming but one going back.
It chanced to the baron of Isleway
Rightfu, rightfu, titty fy day
It chanced to the baron of Isleway
That the Devil came to him and to him did say
With a rightfu rightfu, titty fy day.
"See here Baron John I've brought back Eugénie
For Hell hath no fury to match such as she.
Barak's Song
(Tune: An Irish Ballad--by Tom Lehrer. Suitable for post-revels.)
About a bold Viking I'll sing a song
Singing plunkety plinkety pling
About a bold Viking I'll sing a song
Who wasn't a Jomsviking very long,
Though once the Jomsvikings were fierce and strong
Jarl Hakon did most of them in, them in,
Jarl Hakon did most of them in.
(continue refrain line and repeats for every
Now a Jomsviking never may show any fear
However black things may appear
But then the fleet started to disappear
Along with his kith and his kin.
Only one ship refused to run;
They killed the crew off one by one
And Orm became a Khazarian
Though his Yiddishe accent was thin.
"He wandered East and he wandered South
Through feast and famine, floud and drouth,
'Till he came to a host by the Dnieper's mouth
Wearing yarmulkas made out of tin.
He hardly had started to brag and to boast
When they welcomed him into the Khazar host
For the Persians were marching up the coast,
And they would let anything in.
He plucked at a string and he started a tale
The Khazar host began to wail
"It isn't enough we've got Azareal
Another one's come for our sins."
But a Khazar warrior old and grey,
Said "Don't send the bards away,
They're a gift from God to save the day
They're the only way we can win."
"There are just two gates in the mountain
Put a bard in each and let them squall,
They'll hold the passes from spring to fall,
The Persians will never come in."
And that's why the emirs, shahs, and shiekhs,
Never crossed the Caucasian peaks;
If you don't believe me, hear his shrieks,
But first let me out of the inn, the inn,
But first let me out of the inn.
Trouble on the Field
(Somewhere there should be a tune for this, distantly related to Brennan on the Moor.)
There's none can match with Bork in trees,
At fencing Yang's a whiz;
Dagen once slew a dozen men--
But six of them were his.
Trouble on the field, brothers,
Trouble on the field
We can't keep up the image if
You can't keep up your shield.
The Ninja they are mighty men
And masters of the steel;
They'ld cut our foes in little bits
If only they were real.
Trouble on the field, brothers,
Trouble on the field
We can't keep up the image if
You can't keep up your shield.
Post-revel we are past all count
In rumour past all dream
And when the sun is underground
We scheme and scheme and scheme.
Trouble on the field, brothers,
They've got us three to one;
We can't keep up the image if
We vanish in the sun.
Our Yurts are simply beautiful,
Our Troubador's a pearl;
If we only had an army we'ld
Be masters of the world.
Trouble on the field, brothers,
Trouble on the field
We can't keep up the image if
You can't keep up your shield.
Logistically we're past compare;
Three kingdoms fear our spies.
But its hard to fight an army with
Three girls and seven guys.
Trouble on the field, brothers,
Our lines are getting scant.
The foemen say our women fight
Because our warriors can't.
Trouble on the field, brothers,
Trouble on the field
We can't keep up the image if
You can't keep up your shield.
The Maple Tree
(Tune: The Willow Tree)
There was a Khan, a cruel Khan
In the Northwoods Barony;
Six great kings he had betrayed
By a lonely maple tree.
As he held speech with the Eastern King
Where the battle was to be
An evil thought there came to him
By that lonely maple tree.
"Give up, give up your golden crown
Your scepter yield to me
For I claim lordship of all your lands
From here to the eastern sea."
"If your golden crown you'll not give up
Then answer me this riddle:
Where will you find a host to fight
Both me and the Middle?"
"If my golden crown I must give up
Then answer me one riddle:
When you, the Khakhan are Eastern King
How fares it with the Middle?"
"When I, the Khakhan am Eastern King
The Middle must yield to me
For I claim lordship of all their lands
From here to the Tree girt sea."
"Come out, come out, my Cousin dear"
The Eastern King cried he
And the King of the Middle he came out
From behind the Maple tree.
"Die there, lie there, you cruel Khan,
Lie there, die there" cried he.
Six great kings you have betrayed
Go keep them company."
They buried him at the forest's edge
With his Mongol company;
No living thing shed a tear for them
Save a Silver Maple tree.
Verses in Honor of Shaugn Rubaru
From Ireland, where, I've been told,
The men are fair, the women bold,
Where faith is strict and fancy free
A warrior fared across the sea.
Through foam of wreck and raid and war
The shortship floundered to the shore
And out a tattered bundle threw
That struggled straight as--Rubaru.
Then cursing a blue streak about
(A passing Celt in woad, no doubt)
He whirled his broad sword round his crown
And brought the shortship's maintwig down.
Dressed in mail from toe to head
The brave crew swam like lumps of lead;
Too courteous to stand and scoff
Rubaru went striding off.
And coming on a homeless cow,
An orphaned chicken, and a sow,
A little distance from the sea
He gave them--Irish charity.
Then, leaving all his pets at peace,
He wiped his mouth and beard of grease
And moaning loud for want of beer
Started for a farmhouse near.
Told the farmer he had seen
His cow and sow loose on the green
And having so dispatched the lout
Sought his wife and daughter out.
Asked for wine and--something more.
But alas for his amour;
Though their principles were few
They drew the line at Rubaru.
Drew the line and not the beer,
Flung him out upon his ear,
Barred the door and windows tight;
Rubaru set them alight.
And having quenched ni thirst ni lust
Started off as dry as dust.
When will they ever learn?
First you plunder then you burn.
Twelve Days of Battle
(Tune: Twelve Days of Christmas)
1. On the first day of battle, my leige lord sent to me,
a Patri in a pear tree.
2. ...Two tiny Dukes, ...
3. ...The whole Herlathing, ...
4. ...Four fighting maids, ...
5. ...Five fierce knights, ...
6. ...Six Saxons swinging, ...
7. ...Seven scared squires, ...
8. ...Eight Aetheling idiots, ...
9. ...Nine pursuivants punning, ...
10. ..Ten Tygers terrible, ...
11. ..El of the Two Knives, ...
12. On the twelfth day of battle, I sent to my
leige lord,
12 Dragon's Tails, borne by El of the Two Knives, etc.
The New Order
(This was written, many years ago, as a comment on the chivalry merit badge--the list of detailed requirements for knighthood given in the corpora.)
This is what it is to be a knight
To be able to perform two dances common at
to know the moves of chess
to know how to blazon the picture on your shield
Metals and tincture, argent
jingles in the pocket, azure
is a fine color for
Gules (is the color of blood
Brave blood out of Roland's lips
Over the mouthpiece of crying Oliphant)
That is chivalry, and, O yes
To stand in a playing field with a stick of rattan
or a roll of toilet paper on a handle, wrapped with canvas,
and a piece of plywood tied to your left arm
and win a game. That is chivalry.
(A breeze slips through silk, touches
The bare brown skin of Mauretania's King
Riding alone and weaponless into the Emperor's camp)
that is all it is -- a game. Costumes. Calling
pretty girls Lady, when you remember, or Mistress,
Knowing your tricks, saying your lines,
Passing the
examination, cribbing tinctures scribbled on your
tunic sleeve with a quill pen.
That is all.
Wine is only a drink colored red.
Blood is only a red leak. Put a bandaid on it.
Chivalry is only something
to do with horses.
(Galled by base labor, dragged to Carl's hall,
Beiffrer greets Ogier like a trumpet call.
Twice Bayard struggles to his master's side;
At the last, masterless, dies.)
Now the Pavane
left together, right together, left, right, left together.
Let us all learn Chivalry
with Ogier and Lancelot
and Arthur Murray.
Mists War Song
For my Master
"A Warrior is the Shield of His People"
Before and before and before and before
Someone is walking along the shore,
Sowing seed as white as bone
Between the sea and the bitter stone.
Mist blows off; the empty sand
Shows no mark of the foot of man.
Meadow green, forest tall,
No beacon fire, keep or wall.
Sea wise eyes of Egil's kin
Scan the shore and send her in.
Sea steed drives to naked shore,
War hard hands on rope and oar.
Serpent scrapes the sand--and then
The shore is sudden black with men,
Tattered mist for pennon flies,
Broken backed the serpent dies.
Raiders, shun our fenceless sands,
Fortune find in other lands.
Walls of stone are few and weak,
But hawk's hill fire elsewhere seek;
Walls of stone in time must fall,
Better ward a living wall.
Naked shore the serpents' bait,
Shun the jaws that there await,
Scan the ebbing shore again,
Rounded rocks or skulls of men?
Sand above, steel beneath,
Where Edwin sowed his dragon teeth.
A Report, in Verse, Presented to
His Majesty Iriel of Brannoch, King of the Middle Kingdom, at Twelfth
(some general verses about rumours of war.
"Border Lords sharpening swords" etc. then...)
Young knights and squires only care
To prove their valour to ladies fair;
Border lords sharpen their brands
With a greedy eye on their neighbors' lands.
I am neither a squire nor a border lord
Nor a new dubbed knight with a thirsty sword;
I do not make war for an idle game
I fight for my king and my kingdom's gain.
For three long months at feast and field
As close as I watch my foeman's shield
I have watched the play of the Eastern lords;
Ere three months more I will try their swords.
I watch a hand that is near a knife;
I listen to rumours of civil strife,
To tales of knights and their tourneying
To the least little word that may aid my king.
I say again as once before
That only a fool goes blind to war.
I have served as eyes for the Middle King;
Harken all to the word I bring.
To match with our Middle Chivalry
Are four great lords by the Eastern Sea
Fit to stand on a bloody field
And fight our fiercest, shield to shield.
From lands beyond the morning sky
The valiant Shogun, Rakkurai.
From southron jungles hot as hell
The dusky giant they call Lord El.
From the house that bears Old Murad's name
The noble Duke hight Akbar came;
His sire, Old Murad, wise men tell
For a seasoned warrior, fierce and fell.
With divers squires by their side
These are the four must break our tide;
If these four fall the kingdom's down
And you will have loot of the Eastern Crown,
And you will have loot of the Eastern lands
Their castles and palaces under your hands
To do your will with all things dear
Women and horses and castles and gear.
But if these four with their folk beside
Break our ranks, then woe betide;
So ere you lead out your gathered powers
Hear how I match their strength with ours.
Lord El's a mountain of a man
No knight so tall in your hall stands
With strength to move his giant's height
And will and skill enough to fight.
Yet I think a sword of Seldom Rest
Dividing him below the crest
About the level of the eyes
Could cut El down to Andrew's size.
Cast your Grim Hawk adown the sky
Against the noble Rakkurai;
The Shogun's tall and bitter strong
But Thorvald's blade men say is long.
Set good Sir Franz at my right side
Or if the Baron cannot ride
His valiant Squire and we'll defy
House Murad's thrice crowned chivalry.
As for the Shogun's common men
My brother Bashta and his men
Who feast beside us here tonight
Could face them all in open fight.
Has the East Barons? Two or three
But theirs cling to the Eastern sea
While every march of the border land
Is loyal to my King's command.
But let them come, with all their might,
To put those baronies to flight
Remains beneath the King's own hand
A mighty host of the Middle Land.
Barin and Finnvairr, brothers tall,
The squires that feast in Thorvald's hall
With all the marches' gathered bands,
Rough levies of the cloven lands.
The little lands are scattered far
But loyal to their King in war,
The triple Hills, the valiant Flame,
Castel Rouge on her northern plain.
I say again as twice before
That only a fool goes blind to war;
I have served as eyes for the Middle King
Harken all to the word I bring.
The Shogun has heroes under his hand
But we can match them man for man;
The Shogun has hosts by the Eastern Shore
But my King's hosts are as many and more,
Sire, my word is War, War, War.
Verses prepared by the Ambassador of the Middle, Bringing the War Arrow to Rakkurai, Against a Contingency That did not Occur
How deep the dungeon where I guest
I still can whistle when the wind blows west;
And that wind blows through an apple tree
In a grove by the shore of the Tree Girt Sea
Where mine own lady waits for me.
When the wind is loud in her apple trees
I can whistle in the west running breeze
And that same gale blow back to me
The loyal swords of Tregirtsea,
The dark horde under the command
Of my brother, Bashta of the Bloody Hand,
And maybe a prince, or a border lord,
Or an errant knight with a thirsty sword,
For my Lady waits by her apple tree
Where half a kingdom does courtesy
To Her Grace, Diana de Tregirtsea.
A Brother's Tale
This is a tale of days long ago, and of matters that loom very small, it may be, in the affairs of great kingdoms. Yet to me it is of some moment, and it may be there is a lesson in it, even for these latter days. It is the tale of how I, who in my birth was given but one sister for sib, found for myself a brother, and that most strangely.
In those days I dwelt in my own lands in the
Middle Kingdom, on the southern shore of the Tree Girt Sea. There
chanced into the kingdom--it is a matter on which many tales touch--a
wandering Mongol band. Between them and the Warriers of the Middle
there was little love, for the Warriors of the Middle held the Sword
Brothers of the Horde in scorn, thinking them poor foes unworthy of
their steel, while to the Sword Brothers it seemed that the Warriors
cared too much for victory and not enough for how it was won, and
they believed, nor did they always scruple to say, that they
themselves held closer to the codes befitting a warrior than did many
a knight.
It chanced at a tourney, that same where Iriel of
Brannoch was crowned King, and Andrew of Seldom Rest won the right to
be his heir, that there were many melees, the Sword Brothers of the
Horde fighting against the Warriors of the Middle, and they were in
numbers greatly outmatched. Seeing which I lent to them my aid, which
I think no man else in the Kingdom did, though little enough good it
did them. And it may be that is part of my tale, and it may be
On another day was a tourney held in the Canton of
the Three Hills, and to it came the horde, and the Warriors of the
Middle, I among them. It had been proposed that in that tournament
some fight in a fashion then new to the kingdom, holding matches by
the blow, each man permitted to strike so many blows and no more, the
winner judged by a panel of fair ladies. There came to me Yang, the
spokesman of the horde, and he proposed that we fight so, not one
bout but five, with divers weapons. It seemed to me a brave thing
that he did, for he was reputed more skillful with tongue than sword,
and I was then young and in the fullness of my strength, and
accounted a great warrior among my peers.
So we fought first with spear and shield, and he
proved a fell foe, quick and skilled. Yet it chanced, in the noble
fury of battle, that he struck the blows alloted to him, all five,
and there remained to me yet one blow more. Thinking it no fit part
of chivalry to chase about the field a foe who could do me no harm, I
touched his shield with my spear point, and that was my fifth blow. I
think no man saw it, save my foe alone. In the next match it chanced,
through my carelessness or pride, that I struck all the allotted
blows at him, and there remained one more to him, or it may be two;
he touched my shield, and that was his blow. So the day went on. When
our combats were done he filled a great cup, and offered it to me,
and for what I spoke I make no excuse, for I was young then, and full
of joy and pride to do battle with so noble a foe. The toast was "To
Ourselves. There are damn few of us left." And we drank the toast, we
two, from one cup.
It chanced another time, some weeks thereafter,
that high feast and revelry was held in a great hall in my own lands,
in the province of the Tree Girt Sea. There came Yang attired as a
minstrel, and with him many of his folk. When the feasting was done
he sang songs for the company, and last one of his making. It was
called the ballad of the Griffin and Snake, for Yang bears on his
shield for a sign a snake, red as blood. That song by fortune you may
hear from his lips.
Think then that this is that high hall, all about
a bright company, at their head Iriel, King of the Middle, garbed
black as a raven, with a hauberk of rings overall, and by him Morna,
robed green as grass, than whom few fairer queens has any land known.
There is a great stillness of all that company, and in it a voice
clear as silver. The tale is of Griffin and Snake met in combat, each
thinking the other but a weak foe. It tells how over the meeting
blades each found in the foeman not skill alone that bringeth
victory, but that also which he himself held dearer than any victory
that skill may bring.
The song ceased. He called me forth into the hall,
and to me gave a knife, and with it his oath of aid whenever and
wherever I had need of it, and likewise I did for him. We have called
each other brother since that day. His oath he repaid ere a year had
passed, on a muddy hill, fighting at my side with a long spear
against a foe that came and came and there was no end to them.
Pennsic I: Before the Battle
It is the morning before battle; the King of the East sits enthroned, and to him comes the spokesman of the Dark Horde, his warriors about him:
Cariadoc: Welcome, Welcome most noble Yang.
Have you come here with your valiant Sword Brothers to fight under
the banner of the East against our common enemies of the Middle?
Yang: No.
(Brief Silence)
Cariadoc (slightly less enthusiastically):
Forgive me, most noble and subtle Yang, by some called Silvertongue,
Spokesman of the Dark Horde, if I misspoke. What I meant to ask was,
have you come here to fight under your own banners, beside the East
Kingdom as its allies, against our common enemies of the Middle?
Yang: No
(Longer Silence)
Cariadoc: Tell me then, oh most subtle and
devious Yang, why have you come?
Yang: You may remember, Brother, that some
while ago I promised you my aid if you had need of it. Well, brother,
today you have need of it.
Pack to my home page


text:
Nineteen-year-old Paige Raque, of Louisville, has been released from intensive care but is still being treated at Altoona Regional Health System in Pennsylvania.
Raque broke her pelvis and suffered brain trauma in the Oct. 13 fall during a party, and WJAC-TV in Johnstown reports a State College police search warrant shows investigators want to know her blood-alcohol content based on hospital tests that night.
The station says the warrant also shows that police have interviews and other evidence that alcohol was being served to minors at the party, and that police are attempting to determine who was responsible.
Information from: WJAC-TV, http://www.wjactv.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Re: New Star Trek
VFX Reel | Twitter | IMDB | Blog
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And youtube's recommended video after that is... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8aUuFsXRjU
The less said about that the better.
I'm still worried about those alleged Klingons. Maybe it's better to assume it's a prequel to the Abramsverse or another alternate timeline (I wouldn't have a problem with that) than try to fit new ideas and redesigns into the original timeline canon.
Oh, well... We'll just have to wait and see.
And youtube's recommended video after that is... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8aUuFsXRjU
Wait.. STD...Not sure I want an STD
I'm excited for both Orville and Discovery, so looks like my fall is all stacked up.
STD's premiere date has been announced.
Lot's of nice stuff at Comic-Con being revealed, including props, and some info on aliens. Avoid if you don't want spoilers, but the phasers are looking pretty cool, and the Klingons are getting a full set of armor.
'The Orville' episode 1: I almost liked it. I mean, it kept my attention to the end so...?! It turned out to be just a watered down version of both trek and family guy - never nailing the tone of either leaving me confused to what it was trying to be. In honesty, I would have liked it more if Seth McFarlane wasn't leading in it. He isn't a leading man. Don't get me wrong he has a fantastic character voice but a voice does not an actor make.
I personally found the first episode of Orville be pretty good. Not as funny as I thought, but it had a lot of heart, and very solid world building. I don't have enough experience with McFarlane's work I guess to have huge expectations, but I found his character to be interesting, quirky and funny. I guess I related or something.
The rest of the cast was solid, and none of them felt like "Oh, that's just this character from Star Trek" to me. It all felt very genuine.
'The Orville' episode 1
I was expecting a disaster; it turned out to be watchable. The real thing premieres in two days
Well, that was certainly exponentially better than the last episode of Star Trek!
So the Klingons look different and everyone has holograms but so what!?
The leads have a really fresh and interesting dynamic from the very start. It manages to feel very Trek yet completely fresh.
From what we've seen so far, this may be Abramsverse: The Series with focus on battles in space. The "exploring new worlds" aspect is absent so far (hopefully this will change a bit in the upcoming episodes).
I didn't hate it. I still prefer to think of it as another alternate timeline; trying to fit all the new stuff (like the various redesigns and anachronistic technology) into the Prime Universe is just too cumbersome.
Being a part time Trekker - I dug ST:D. Looking forward to see where they 'boldly go' with this.
And, as much as I miss the Klingons looking like seasoned metal-heads, I'm down with the new look.
'Navy in space'... I certainly felt seasick with all the dutch angles and messing with the 180 rule - the camera work was all, at least, interesting and at most, a bit distracting.
I'm starting to really like The Orville; the show is having a lot of fun with Star Trek tropes while delivering some interesting social satire.
It's still a little too early to pass definite judgment on Discovery. The "darker and edgier" tone and other similarities to Stargate Universe can be the show's downfall. Discovery can work if the writers have a plan for the whole season (or even the whole series). If they're making it up as they go along, I don't see much chance of success.
A new trailer for Discovery Season 2:
As much as I enjoyed the first season, I am pleased see some nods back to the original show, with the uniforms and Klingon ships. The big question will be how much we see of the Enterprise and what that will look like.
Of course, Now Captain Pike is taking command of Discovery, the Trekkies are going to have to update their Encyclopedias with a new Captain of the Enterprise.
A new trailer for Discovery Season 2:SPOILER
Really excited for this, especially Pike.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live- … ed-1175816
Michelle Yeoh is getting a 'Discovery' Spinoff.
I should probably be doing other things than making Disco image macros...
Last edited by Regan (2019-02-12 11:23:09)
And the title of the upcoming Picard show is...
"Hey Google, how old is Patrick Stewart?"
"Patrick Stewart is 78 years old."
This could be an interesting show.
One of those things that lives in my brain and has chosen now to leap out:
We need a detailed history of the Borg. How they were once just like us, how they became what they are. Jerry Ryan must star, obviously. Maybe she teaches at the academy, sometimes presenting uploaded collective memories she once held as part of their cloud. A whole 'nother take on Locutus. Probably a limited number of episodes to be had there, but with new ST coming I'm putting my marker down.
Im down for that. Mind im also down for the Nickleodeon animated kids show
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Cataract Falls and Alpine Lake, Mt Tamalpais State Park - Rock Spring Trailhead, San Francisco: Marin Headlands - Mt Tamalpais - Point Reyes, California
Cataract Falls and Alpine Lake - 5.4 miles
Mt Tamalpais State Park - Rock Spring Trailhead
|Round-Trip Length:
|5.4 miles
|Start-End Elevation:
|1,965' - 768' (1,965' max elevation)
|Elevation Change:
|-1,197' net elevation loss (+1,438' total roundtrip elevation gain)
|Skill Level:
|Dogs Allowed:
|Bikes Allowed:
|Horses Allowed:
|Related Trails:
Cataract Falls and Alpine Lake - 5.4 Miles Round-Trip
Cataract Falls is located 1.75 miles from the Rock Spring Trailhead in Mt Tamalpais State Park. The trail closely follows Cataract Creek to a series of falls along its path, and continues on to the redwood-lined shores of Alpine Lake. This popular trail features diverse ecology, numerous cascades, and fishing at Alpine Lake.
Winter visitors will see Cataract Creek at its most voluminous, while spring-summer visitors will enjoy green trailsides, an array of wildflowers and more stable trail conditions.
The Cataract Trail passes through Rock Spring Meadow to the Benstein Trail split (.07 miles) and veers left down a corridor of fir, laurel, oak, buckeye, maple and redwood. Look for deer, fox, coyote and turkey moving about the forest fringes.
The trail crosses small tributaries several times before aligning with Cataract Creek - still quite tame - at .4 miles. Keep straight past a bridge leading to Laurel Dell Road (1.0 miles : 1,711'). The Cataract Trail eases to the Mickey O'Brien Trail split (1.25 miles : 1,685'), circles the top of Laurel Dell (1.4 miles : 1,678'), and crosses Laurel Dell Road into the Laurel Dell picnic area.
Pass through the picnic and rejoin Cataract Creek, which plunges through a deep gorge and sequence of tumbling falls and swirling pools. Immense fir, oak and redwoods line these banks.
Newly built rails and stairs help negotiate steep, oft-wet and rugged sections past the High Marsh Trail split (1.7 miles : 1,648') to the first of several cordoned viewing areas for Cataract Falls (1.75 miles). A second flight drops to a wide cascade and deep pool (1.85 miles : 1,580'), one of the trail's best views, and good turnaround point for those with limited time.
The trail continues downstream to the Helen Markt Trail split (2.4 miles : 1,156'), just past which it crosses Cataract Creek on a wide bridge. A rugged, twisting course resumes between redwoods and the creek to Alpine Lake's inlet (2.7 miles : 768').
For many this is the final destination, but you may continue on considerably milder grades and explore the widening lakeshore another .3 miles to the Cataract Trail's northern terminus at Fairfax-Bolinas Road.
Interactive GPS Topo MapKey GPS Coordinates - DATUM WGS84
- N37 54.654 W122 36.766 — 0.0 miles : Rock Spring Trailhead
- N37 54.706 W122 36.803 — .05 miles : Cataract Trail - Benstein Trail split
- N37 54.841 W122 37.191 — .5 miles : Gentle descent along Cataract Creek
- N37 55.121 W122 37.490 — 1.0 miles : Bridge leading to Laurel Dell Road split
- N37 55.311 W122 37.570 — 1.25 miles : Mickey O'Brien - Barths Retreat split
- N37 55.404 W122 37.620 — 1.4 miles : Cross Laurel Dell Meadow and Road
- N37 55.462 W122 37.740 — 1.7 miles : Cataract Trail - High Marsh Trail split
- N37 55.866 W122 38.122 — 2.45 miles : Cataract Trail - Helen Markt Trail split
- N37 56.027 W122 38.168 — 2.7 miles : Alpine Lake
Worth Noting
- Anticipate steep, slippery and muddy trail conditions beyond Laurel Dell picnic area, especially in the rainy season. Sturdy footwear is recommended.
- Cataract Creek is born from a natural spring located near the Rock Spring Trailhead. It's illegal to disturb the spring or swim in Cataract Creek and Alpine Lake.
- The banks of Cataract Creek are highly susceptible to erosion. Help prevent erosion and trail degradation by staying on the maintained trail and using designated viewing areas.
- The Rock Spring Trailhead - and Cataract Trail in particular - are among Mt Tamalpais State Park's busiest. Arrive early to secure parking and solitude.
Camping and Backpacking Information
Backcountry camping is not permitted within Mt Tamalpais State Park.
Pantoll Campground
- The Pantoll Campground is located on Panoramic Highway adjacent to the Pantoll Ranger Station. It has 16 campsites, each with a table, rock barbecue, food locker and space for a tent. Phones, faucets, firewood and flush toilets are nearby. There are no showers. Sites are first-come, first-served.
Steep Ravine Environmental Campground
- The Steep Ravine Environmental Campground is located on a coastal terrace off Highway 1, one mile south of Stinson Beach. It has nine rustic cabins and seven primitive campsites. Each cabin has a wood stove, picnic table, benches, sleeping platforms and outdoor bbq.
- The cabins do not have running water or electricity. Primitive toilets, faucets, and firewood are nearby. Primitive campsites are located a few hundred yards from the parking area. Each site has a table, fire pit, food locker and space for a tent. Primitive toilets and water faucets are nearby. There are no showers at Steep Ravine Campground.
Alice Eastwood Group Camp
- Alice Eastwood Group Camp is located off Panoramic Highway on Alice Eastwood Road. It has two campsites. Site A holds up to 50 people; Site B holds up to 25 people. Both sites have tables, flush toilets, water faucets with sinks, bbq grills and a large area for tents.
Frank Valley Group Horse Camp
- Frank Valley Group Horse Camp is located 1.5 miles West of Muir Woods National Monument on Muir Woods Road. It has 12 pipe corrals, water faucets, watering troughs, picnic tables, fire rings and a pit toilet. The minimum group size is 2 horses; the maximum size is 12 horses.
- To reserve a campground visit www.reserveamerica.com or call 800.444.7275. For specific camping and campground questions, call Pantoll Ranger Station at 415.388.2070.
Fishing Information
- All seven lakes operated by the Marin Municipal Watershed District (MMWD) are open to fishing year-round, including Alpine Lake.
- Bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish can be caught in all of the lakes except Lagunitas.
- State fishing licenses are required for all fishing in MMWD lands. Lake Lagunitas is managed under a special program for trout and has different fishing regulations from the rest of the reservoirs.
- Lagunitas Creek between Alpine Lake and Kent Lake is open to fishing from the last Saturday in April through November 15. All other streams on MMWD lands are closed to fishing year-round.
- Call 415.945.1194 for a recorded message with the most current fishing information.
Rules and Regulations
- Dogs are permitted but must be leashed at all times.
- Bikes are not permitted on the Cataract Trail.
- Fishing is not permitted on Cataract Creek.
Directions to Trailhead
Mt Tamalpais State Park is located north of San Francisco in Marin County. The Rock Spring Trailhead is located 9.9 miles from Highway 101 on Panoramic Highway. The Rock Spring Trailhead is located 1.4 miles north of Pantoll Ranger Station at the Pantoll Road and West Ridgecrest Blvd intersection.
From Highway 101, exit Stinson Beach - Highway 1 and follow the exit ramp west .6 miles to the Highway 1 - Almonte Blvd intersection.
Turn left on Highway 1 toward Stinson Beach. The road winds up the mountain to the Panoramic Highway split (3.2 miles) - veer right on Panoramic Highway (anticipate this quick turnoff). Remain on Panoramic Highway and follow signs for Mt Tamalpais State Park to the Pantoll Ranger Station (keep straight at the Muir Woods - Mill Valley fork at 4.0 miles).
From the Pantoll Ranger Station, veer right up Pantoll Road and continue 1.4 miles to the Rock Spring Trailhead parking area.
Contact Information
Mt Tamalpais State Park
801 Panoramic Highway
Mill Valley, CA 94941
Marin Municipal Water District
220 Nellen Avenue
Corte Madera, CA 94925-1169


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LG Electronics has developed handheld terminals compatible with the U.S. mobile digital TV format and will show them at this week's International Consumer Electronics Show.
The products include the DP570MH, a portable DVD player, and several cell phones. Detailed specifications of the products were not released but LG did issue images showing the products. The cell phone appears to be a modified version of its Lotus smartphone that has a 2.4-inch widescreen display and QWERTY keyboard.
The DVD player has a 7-inch widescreen display with WQVGA (480 pixels by 234 pixels) resolution and two earphone sockets so TV shows and DVDs can be shared with a fellow traveler. Battery life is about 2.5 hours when watching TV and 4.5 hours for DVD playback. It can also be powered from an AC socket.
It will be launched later this year and will cost $249.
All will be compatible with the ATSC-M/H standard, to which LG Electronics contributed technical knowledge. The service is expected to be mainly used for free-to-air broadcasts of local TV stations with widespread availability across the U.S. beginning during 2010.
To coincide with the launch of services many electronics makers are likely to roll out compatible products and some are expected to be on show at CES.
The International Consumer Electronics Show takes place in Las Vegas from Jan. 7 to 10.


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We have designed ETD with you the business owner in mind. We use short engaging e-learning and video-based courses that allow your team to learn on the job. So whether it's health and safety compliance, product knowledge, brushing up on skills or onboarding new team members, you are in the driver's seat.
Browse our approved and accredited courses.


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Library Search
The NRFC Library is a collection of materials to build a knowledge base around fathers, fatherhood, and operating a Responsible Fatherhood program. It also houses all resources created by the NRFC, including fact sheets, PSAs, and past webinars.
Use the search options provided below to find resources that you are interested in.
Non-resident fathers' compliance with child support agreements is low. An estimated 50% of fathers never pay any formal support to their co-parents (Stykes, Manning, & Brown, 2013). This study adds to the sparse literature on the evaluation of responsible fatherhood programs by…


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Nub's Nob Skiing & Snowboarding
Since 1958, Nub's Nob has been doing what it does best: providing a great family place to ski and place. Today, Nub's Nob offers 53 ski slopes and trails on three separate peaks, friendly staff, fresh homemade food, an award winning lodge and a decorated snow making and snow grooming crew.
Located just outside Harbor Springs in the "ski valley" with Boyne Highlands just across the valley, Nub's Nob provides first class and friendly skier in a spectacular setting.
Fun? You bet! With a free beginner's area, first time skiers can practice with confidence. A ski school, ski rentals, childcare, NASTAR, ski league events, night skiing, cross country ski trails (included a loop with lights for night skiing), snowboard and terrain park--what else do you need?
The ski lodge serves up great food by the fireplace. Sip a hot coffee or step into the bar and watch the skiers zip down the hills in front of you.
Snow making--spectacular snow making--means you can be on the hills early in the season. If you live outside of Northern Michigan and don't see snow in your backyard during the winter, there is always snow at Nub's Nob! Northern Michigan skiing at its best!
Nub's Nob lift ticket prices can be found here: Ski Rates
Nub's Nob
500 Nub's Nob Rd
Harbor Springs, MI 49740
More Northern Michigan Winter Info...
- Cross Country Ski Series at Nub's Nob
- Ski, Board, Snow Conditions Up North
- Winter Fun Up North!
- Winter Activities for Kids & Families
- Sledding and Ice Skating in Northern Michigan
- Skiing and Snowboarding in Northern Michigan
- Cross Country Ski Trails in Northern Michigan
- Boyne Mountain Skiing & Boarding, Boyne Falls in Northern Michigan
- Ski and Snowboard at Boyne Highlands in Harbor Springs
- Nub's Nob Skiing & Snowboarding
Uniquely Harbor Springs...
- 10 Top Attractions in Harbor Springs
- M-119 Tunnel of Trees from Harbor Springs to Cross Village
- Harbor Springs History Museum
- Thorne Swift Nature Preserve
- The Andrew J. Blackbird Museum
- Harbor Springs Art Galleries Entice Art Lovers
- Business Properties Available in Harbor Springs
- Travel Information for Harbor Springs in Northern Michigan
- Little Traverse Conservancy
- Learning to Sail--Little Traverse Sailors
For more activities & attractions, check out these additional links for Things to Do in Northern Michigan:
Harbor Springs, Michigan -- Harbor Springs is the place to try new things! Rent a bike or a kayak, go snow tubing, attend a concert or an art fair, or play a round of golf with friends.
Petoskey -- There's so much to do in Petoskey from the Bear River Valley Recreation Area, to Petoskey State Park, to biking, golfing, hiking, and more.
Charlevoix, Michigan -- Visiting Charlevoix in Northern Michigan is a fun-filled vacation with great beaches, boating, skiing, fishing and year 'round family fun.
Things to Do in Boyne City, Michigan -- Nothing is quite like Boyne City in Northern Michigan with camping, boating, skiing, year 'round outdoor activities, and of course, the morel mushroom!
Lots of Activities in Mackinaw City, Michigan -- Explore Mackinaw City in Northern Michigan for history, the International Dark Sky Park, and outdoor activities.
Mackinac Island -- Take a step back in time and find lots of things to do when you visit Mackinac Island by horseback or bike--no cars allowed!
Northern Michigan Activities & Things to Do -- Northern Michigan offers many fun things to do for the entire family whatever the season, whatever the reason!


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Vagrant: ShellProvisioner vs. Chef
In my last blog entry, I demo'd how to get started with Vagrant and the ShellProvisioner.
To further illustrate how amazingly simple it is to get started on some Ruby, I'll convert the shell script from my last blog post to a little recipe for chef. Same objective, we install a PEAR package — but it could be anything really.
Follow me.
This is the shell script from before:
#!/bin/sh apt-get update apt-get install -y php5 php5-cli php-pear hash -r pear upgrade-all pear install -f HTTP_Request2
Create a cookbooks directory and create structure for your first cookbook in it:
$ mkdir -p my-cookbooks/first/recipes/
Create a
default.rb file with the following content:
# my-cookbooks/first/recipes/default.rb execute "apt-get update" packages = ["php5", "php5-cli", "php-pear"] packages.each|p| do package p end execute "pear upgrade-all" execute "pear install -f HTTP_Request2"
The recipe is later referred to as
first or
first::default (name of the recipe directory, name of the .rb).
It's so simple it hurts. ;)
Step by step
- I run
apt-get updateusing Chef's execute resource.
- I create an array of the packages (Arrays are ordered in Ruby, hashes are not (up until Ruby 1.9.x). Order is important here.)
- I run
pear upgrade-allusing the execute resource.
- I run
pear installusing the execute resource.
Vagrantfile looks slightly different when you provision with chef-solo:
Vagrant::Config.run do |config| config.vm.define :web do |web_config| web_config.vm.box = "lucid64" web_config.vm.host_name = "web" web_config.vm.provision :chef_solo do |chef| chef.cookbooks_path = "PATH-TO-YOUR-COOKBOOKS" chef.add_recipe "first" chef.log_level = :debug end end end
The important bit: the path to the location of your cookbooks — could be an
/absolute/path or
Because a Vagrantfile is essentially Ruby code, anything goes here.
Further reading
Getting started with Chef and Ruby can be intimidating or even frustrating at times. Google "chef cookbooks" and you know what I mean.
These links are what you need:
Save, and enjoy —
vagrant up.
The author does not allow comments to this entry


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Noble Street Tires from TireRack
Noble Track Tires from TireRack
Here you can find answers to questions about how the board works. Use the links or search box below to find your way around.
Select this option if you would like your search to look in the text of FAQ items as well as their titles.
Select an option here to specify how you would like your search query to be treated. 'Any words' will return the most numerous but possibly least relevant results, while 'Complete phrase' will return only results that contain exactly what you are searching for.
Rossion Q1 Street & Track Tires from TireRack


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Shuckleford Run is a stream located just 15 miles from Petersburg, in Pendleton County, in the state of West Virginia, United States, near Seneca Rocks, WV.
Join us as we discuss the West Virginia Fishing License options, fishing rules and fishing regulations.
Please remember to check with the local Fish and Wildlife department to ensure the stream is open to the public. Now get out there and fish! Check out our Fishing Times chart to determine when the fish will be most active.
"Been fishing at Black's Run since my wife told me to leave the house more. Love it..." Blacks Run
"near dock big bass..." Lake Shenandoah
"Blackwater River provides the angler with what they need when it comes to stocked trout. There are..." Blackwater River
Tips, tactics, gear reviews for everything from bass and bluegills to stripers and bluefish - if it's fishing related, we cover it.
Get the latest outdoor news regularly.


text:
Serge Ferrari, a world leader in flexible composite material technology, provides expertise and products to help you to design ever-innovative projects. Our lightweight, durable and recyclable solutions meet the functional and aesthetic requirements of sectors as diverse as building, industry, furniture and yachting.
unlimited applications
solar protection
solar protection
tensile architecture
tensile architecture
modular structure
protection and environment
protection and environment
sustainable production
to do more with less
be inspired
see reference projects
question? project?
we are at your service


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Scott Thuman is the Emmy-award winning, Chief Political Correspondent covering the White House, Capitol Hill & international affairs for the Sinclair Broadcast Group. He's also a weekly contributor to Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.
In addition to his reporting from the Washington, Scott consistently files stories on terrorism from overseas as well as combat zones and has broadcast in-depth pieces from Russia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey and anywhere the news needs to be told.
His objective political coverage has earned his team the prestigious Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism and multiple Emmys.
Scott graduated from Florida Southern College with a Communications degree, a minor in Spanish and is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Citizens Academy.
Whatever free time he has, Scott is an avid traveler, adventurer and photographer, recently documenting the 7-day trek to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
You can catch his reports each evening or follow him on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @ScottThuman.


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Click here to submit an event request form.
Toddler Time
July 1, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 10:00 am on Tuesday, repeating indefinitely
This fun introduction to reading is designed for children ages 18 months to 3 years. Weather permitting, the programs will take place in the outdoor amphitheater. Free. Registration is required; call 386-789-7207.


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Charter for Compassion plaques now available
When Karen Armstrong was given one wish to change the world through the TED Prize, she wished for the creation of a Charter for Compassion. On November 12th, the charter was unveiled to the world, after months of collaborative effort and multi-denominational participation. At launch, over 60 plaques bearing the charter were hung in significant […]Continue reading


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Installation issues / Re: Orbiter failed to setup transparency?« on: March 25, 2007, 01:32:50 am »
It set up the vesa driver even though I already had the nvidia module installed on the box. I'm stuck at 'Orbiter failed to setup the transparency' also for now. The web interface is working and I've changed the driver from vesa to nvidia though, so if someone figures out the transparency problem, I think I can get it working.


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There has been quite a bit of noise around the purported relationship, or lack thereof, between Apple CEO Steven P. Jobs and Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt. The reported "feud" is based on a series of events — namely Google releasing a phone OS, Schmidt stepping down from Apple's board, and Jobs calling Google's motto "bullshit" — but it has yet to impact any services or products the two companies offer. Apple still bundles its iPhone OS with Google as the default search provider, as well as the "Google Maps" program, and Google still develops Google Earth, Maps, Search, etc. for the iPhone platform. The alleged tiff has led to some great cartoons though; take this Daniel Adel, New York Times offering:
As fun as it has been to wind up, a few images captured by a Gizmodo reader imply that perhaps we in the media should take it down a few notches. The pictures show Schmidt and Jobs having a cup of coffee, in public, engaged in civil discourse. The Giz article has a few "our tipster heard" quotes, but we'll let you hit up said article for all the speculation. One thing we do know: the net worth sitting around that little cafe table is roughly $9.8 billion.


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Laxmi holds up her hard-won annulment. (AFP)At an age when most kids are learning to walk, Laxmi Sargara was already married. Her husband, Rakesh, was just three-years-old when family sealed the deal on their fate. She was one.
How a child bride finally made her escape
Now seventeen years later the couple have set a history-making precedent by having their marriage annulled. But the real hero of this story is Laxmi, now 18, who took remarkably brave steps to reverse the archaic tradition and opened the door for more child brides to follow.
Though technically illegal in India, poor families living in rural areas often rely on these types of partnerships, using kids as pawns in order to provide more financial stability to those who can't afford to feed their children long-term. The fall-out is hardest felt for child brides, plucked from their parents' homes in their teens and forced to live with the husband they wed as a toddler and his family. The girls are expected to play the role of obedient wife and daughter-in-law, and in some instances, are beaten into submission by members of their new family.
Just days ago, Laxmi's was informed of her own marriage obligations, promised almost two decades before by her Rajasthani elders, and given a move-in deadline of April 24 from her in-laws.
"I was unhappy about the marriage. I told my parents who did not agree with me, then I sought help," Sargara told AFP.
She reached to a social worker in Jodhpur who advocates for children's rights through an organization called the Sarathi Trust. The social worker contacted the groom, who was prepared to go through with family arrangement. After some persuading, he finally changed his mind and agreed to an annulment, influenced by the fact that he'd be marrying a woman risking everything to live without him.
"It is the first example we know of a couple wed in childhood wanting the marriage to be annulled, and we hope that others take inspiration from it," Kriti Bharti, the social worker who orchestrated the annulment, told AFP.
A joint legal document signed by both Rakesh and Laxmi made it official and provided a road map for other young brides to do the same.
"Now I am mentally relaxed and my family members are also with me," said Laxmi, who beamed as she held up the document for photographers. She plans to continue her education in hopes of landing a job so she can maintain her independence. But Laxmi's newfound freedom comes with risk.
In India, where an estimated 50 percent of girls are married before they're 18, opponents of arranged child marriages can face serious threats, including gang rape, beatings and maiming. On the same day as Laxmi's annulment became official, protesters trying to stop a mass child wedding in Rajasthan were attacked and injured by villagers. When a 13-year-old refused to wed her arranged husband in 2009, her parents withheld her food for two weeks. Amazingly, the young girl prevailed and gained international attention and support for her stance. This week Laxmi moved the needle even further; hers is the first legally-binding child marriage annulment in India's history.
Child marriages are a worldwide phenomenon, particularly in rural areas with high poverty rates and closely-guarded ancient traditions. In parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, The Middle East and even the U.S. underage children are forced into marriages at the behest of their families. In recent years, American officials have cracked down on fundamentalist polygamist sects in Utah and Texasknown to pair adult grooms with child brides. Other countries provide less legal clout needed to protect young girls. In Yemen where, there is no punishment for families who marry off an underage daughter, about half the country's brides are under 15. In Saudi Arabia, there is no minimum age for marriage at all. An 8-year old girl found this out in 2009, when the Saudi courts denied her annulment request. At the time, her husband was 58.


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Metadata language
regional studies region Silesia Poland Czech Republic Germany regional journal historical journalDescription:
Silesian Quarterly Historical Journal "Sobótka" [Śląski Kwartalnik Historyczny "Sobótka"] has been published in Wrocław since 1946 – initially as a semiannual periodical and a yearbook with the title "Sobótka", and since 1957 quarterly, with the current title. It is among the oldest regional scholarly journals in the field of history in Poland and a significant element of Polish humanities. "Sobótka" is considered one of the most important periodicals concerning Silesian studies, but the editorial team remains open also to material from other thematic fields. The journal serves for presentation of research on history of Central and Eastern Europe, with a special focus on Silesia and neighboring regions and countries, as well as on regional history. For several years, its publisher was the Wrocław Society of History Enthusiasts [Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Miłośników Historii], i.e. the Branch of the Polish Historical Society [Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne]; currently, the journal is published under the auspices of the University of Wrocław.Place of publishing: Publisher:
Uniwersytet Wrocławski Wydział Nauk Historycznych i Pedagogicznych Instytut Historyczny click here to follow the linkDate issued: Resource Type: Detailed Type: Identifier:
e-ISSN 2658-2082 ISSN 0037-7511DOI:
doi:10.34616/SKHS.2020.2.160.164Language: Is part of: Access rights: License:
Creative Commons - Attribution, NoDerivatives (CC BY-ND 4.0) click here to follow the linkRights holder:
Copyright by Uniwersytet Wrocławski University of WroclawAutor opisu:


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It might be lacking the charm of a real game show without a host like the late, great Richard Dawson, but the AppQuiz iPad accessory lets four contestants test their knowledge without the embarrassment of being exposed as a complete dunce in front of a TV audience.
The $48 iPad dock features four crowded buzz-in buttons—and that coupled with the size of the display means players are going to have to cozy up close to compete. And while the AppQuiz is compatible with the iPhone as well, anything more than a couple of contestants is going to feel awkwardly crowded with a smaller device. A free accompanying app is promised to provide thousands of questions and additional downloadable theme packs when you exhaust its supply, as well as a virtual host named Chuck Boldhart that you'll probably get tired of long before you run out of content.


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I thought I'd done a decent survey of the caves near my desert town. They seemed wide, but shallow. I could easily enough dig them out. Layer some dirt, pour in some water, and I could have a neat green valley next to my desert town. It wasn't a two-hour project, but it was something I could get down in a reasonable bit of time.
Then I did some more exploring.
It turns out it is a lot wider than I thought. Which is fine. But it is also deeper. A lot deeper. "I can find lava" deep. I haven't even explored all of it yet, because I keep finding scary things and getting scared by them. Apparently randomly-generated geography doesn't care about planning.
The project is getting to be intimidating. I'm not sure how to take on something of this scale. I really could use a few million unemployed people in Minecraft. That's how we built stuff back in the Depression and it was good. If I'm remembering my history properly, the Hoover Dam, built entirely by hand, was so amazing that the mere existence of it kept Mexico out of World War I, Zimmerman telegram or not. My point is that digging one shovel of sand at a time is very slow and a horde of serfs would be useful. Alas, I have no serfs.
So I did what anyone does when the hoped for goal becomes impractical: I made a slightly helpful but ultimately symbolic anything. In this case it was a bridge that made it slightly easier for me to walk from the desert to the forest. Rather than using the readily available sandstone, I used to more rare cobblestone and gravel (I've not been digging in mountains much, so these aren't as common, but I do have sand). These look better. Then I built a structurally-pointless arch, or possibly suspension, it's hard to tell when everything has zero structural significance. I suppose the stone deck supports the gravel, but that's all.
Maybe someday I will be able to screenshot a forest in a desert valley, but not today. Today is neither the day for screenshots, nor for the courage of men failing.
Minecraft and why everything is over budget
Posted by Klepsacovic at 6:00 AM | Wednesday, November 2, 2011
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Part I: Great strides for the "New Woman," suffrage, and fashion
On the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration in 1913, 5,000 women marched up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., demanding the vote. The parade is the subject of an artifact wall display here. In addition to banners and programs, the women used their clothing to communicate their message, a topic we discussed with Alden O'Brien of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum. See Part II of this post here.
The exhibition you curated at the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum is titled "Fashioning the New Woman: 1890-1925." Who was the "New Woman"
The New Woman was a stereotype, or an archetype that burst on the popular culture scene just about exactly in 1890, the beginning of the time covered by the exhibit. Like the flapper or the hippie, the New Woman embodied a certain "type" of person that in some way uniquely represented her time.
What was "new" about her was that she was bolder, more active, more out-and-about in the world, more outspoken than her mother's generation. Of course, it should be said that the New Woman was mostly a middle-class phenomenon, and to some extent an urban one. But in embracing new activities and eventually (not without some resistance and criticism along the way) making them more acceptable, these New Women influenced American women's lives overall.
It's hard to say why she emerged at this time except that the time was ripe. The Victorian bourgeois ideal of the middle-class lady who stayed at home and kept quiet, was getting old, and a new generation was ready to seek other options.
The display at this museum on the 1913 woman suffrage parade includes some costume elements worn in the parade. What was fashion like in 1913?
Styles of 1913 were well on their way away from Victorian and Edwardian layers and bulk. Corsets no longer constricted the waist, really, but instead they would give you a smooth line, like today's Spanx for example, and the silhouette was quite slender, needing just one slim petticoat instead of several.
The tailored suit was a staple of every woman's wardrobe, and the skirt-and-blouse look was one of the most popular. Dresses were looser-fitting, whereas they used to be very precisely fitted to the corseted figure. Women had already come a long way since the multi-layered, corseted, upholstered look of the late Victorian era.
In the 1913 suffrage parade, women used their clothes as well as many other tools (signs, printed material, etc) to get their messages across. What messages did the clothes of the 1910s send?
Well, we know that women were encouraged to wear white for some of these parades—probably more true of spring and summer ones than the March 1913 one, as photos of this parade show women bundled up in their coats and muffs. White was one of the colors of the suffrage movement along with purple and yellow (green and purple in England). The traditional association of white with young girls, weddings, youth, and "purity" must all have played into using this color—it may have been intended to suggest the purity and high-mindedness of their goals.
In general, fashion of this time was starting to reveal just a tiny bit more of women's bodies: daytime outfits could now show a bit of collarbone instead of having those high, snug collars of just a few years ago. Sleeves could be elbow-length instead of to the wrist; and you might catch a glimpse of ankle—very shortly after 1913, hemlines rise to a few inches above the ankle. (Although women still felt they should wear boots rather than reveal their actual ankles for a few more years!)
All these freer, looser styles allowed more freedom of movement, which suggested great strides were being made in women's ability to get around and be less constricted physically.
That said, there was a strange fad for the "hobble skirt" around 1910-1912, which made skirts tight at the ankles, restricting women's steps. A comic postcard of the time mocks this style specifically referring to how it contradicts women's progress being made at the time: "And yet they say we are making great strides," it says—no strides were possible with those tight skirts! Fortunately, it was a brief fad, and one which many women ignored!
Alden O'Brien is the Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum in Washington, DC, and curated the Fashioning the New Woman exhibition on view there through August 31, 2013. To learn more about the 1913 suffrage parade, read our post on Alice Paul, this post on three suffrage artifacts from the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum, explore our woman suffrage collections, and visit the National Museum of American History's display about the parade. Stay tuned for Part II of this blog post.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Salma Hayek is apologizing for promoting a controversial new novel, Jeanine Cummins' "American Dirt," without actually reading it.
"American Dirt," published Tuesday, tells the story of a Mexican woman and her 8-year-old son fleeing to the U.S. border after numerous family members are murdered in drug cartel-related violence. The heavily publicized book has been praised by Stephen King and Ann Patchett among others and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club. On Saturday, it ranked No. 4 on Amazon.com's bestseller list.
But numerous Mexican-American writers have called "American Dirt" an ill-informed narrative about Mexico that reinforces stereotypes. Cummins, a non-Mexican, even acknowledged in an author's note that she had reservations about writing the novel. She has said she wanted to personalize the issue of immigration and be a "bridge" between different worlds.
Earlier this week, Hayek had posted a picture of herself on Instagram holding the book, and she praised Winfrey for "giving a voice to the voiceless & for loving harder in response to hate." But after facing criticism online, the Mexican-American actress pulled back Friday, writing that she was unaware of any controversy.
"I thank all of you who caught me in the act of not doing my research, and for setting me straight, because that means you know me and gave me the benefit of the doubt," she wrote, "I apologize for shouting out something without experiencing it or doing research on it."
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