Here are a couple of poetic renderings, by myself and by a fellow club member Pete Irving following our round 1 games. Pete plays with Romano British and composed a very 'Heroic' missive about his game against a Saxon warband playing my very own 'Drustan and Essylt' scenario, where the objective of the game is to capture the lady Essylt and her serving maid...
"Lo, wreaking red-ruin upon the Saxon dogs who had defiled his true love, yea, did he slay one band of a hundred, breaking them before his fury and shattering his first beaten sword, yea did he slay a second band of a hundred, breaking them before his rage and shattering his second beaten sword, yea, did he challenge the third band and ripped out the vile Saxon Warlord's spleen with his bare hands, and he slew another hundred in his anger but three hundredth-and-first's dagger found his back and Lord Castus fell upon a mound of enemy before the gates of his true love's hall. And she, held by a kinsman, lamented for the loss of her lord.... the brave Artorius Artorius (so good they named him twice) Castus. "
(Pete Irving)
And here is my own, written in the style of a Welsh poem of late Antiquity (a la 'Y Gododdin', etc) Note the...ahem....'heroic' twist I managed to put upon what was in essence an uneventful game!!!! Sheer genius, I reckon... :-)
Cattle Raid
And the Lord Cunedda,
Dragon of Gwynedd
Did come unto the fight
Protector of the land
Of Cymri and their cattle
Blades bright, banner flying, men of Gwynedd come to the war-field
Saxon slaying follows the mead-hall song
Lo Dogmail,
Of sword bright, of mind cunning
Did draw the enemy on by feigning flight
Thrice cunning, thrice running
Yet turning
To take up again the fight
And Cymri youth
Too poor for the sword-song or spear
As David to Goliath did their storm of death fall
Saxon Hearthguard bleed and die
Death falling from the heavens
Now Cunedda,
Shield-splintering dragon of the West
Calls his Teulu
Forward to the foe
Saxon Hearthguard bleed and die
Caught in mighty onrush
Now wounded and in pain most mighty
Cunedda’s anger knows no bound
Swords flash
Spears fly
Shields splinter
Saxon Hearthguard bleed and die
Flee in mighty terror
Hail to the Lord Cunedda
Warlord victorious
Dragon of Gwynedd
Protector of the land
Of Cymri and their cattle
(Andy Hawes)
Expect more as the campaign continues... :-)
2 comments:
"Thrice cunning, thrice running" Brilliant way of putting a positive spin on what was obviously a 'feigned flight' ;-)
Keep the reports coming.
Cheers
Matt
PS - Thanks for the excellent booklet :-)
I'm looking forward to more reports (in-period style, etc.). I think it's pretty awesome that you guys have started it. I also liked the Bretwalda campaign write-up on the club pages.
~Paul
Post a Comment