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====== Bardic Arts Booklist ======


At the //Bardic in the Barn// event in A.S. LXI, Master Hector was asked to create a Bardic Arts booklist, separate from the lists available on the Athenum. Here's what he came up with.

=== 1. A dictionary *on historical principles* ===

A dictionary is always handy, especially when using words you may be unfamiliar with. The "historical principles" part means the definitions provided are linked to dated citations. When writing verse set in a specific period, it can be very useful to know if the word you are using existed, in some form, way back when. The classic example is the //Oxford English Dictionary//; this is available on-line for a subscription, through various universities' web resources, and in hard copy in many public libraries. Miriam Webster's dictionary also is very reputable.

=== 2. A poetic reference ===

The professional poet's tool is //The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics//. This is a university-level reference work with entries on... just about everything. You want to write a poem for an Ethiopian noble? Look under "E" for "Ethiopian Poetry", and read in; there you'll find "Ge'ez", the medieval classical poetry of Ethiopia, along with a detailed description of the poetic form; how many lines, how many syllables, the rhythm of the syllables, and examples. You name it, it's in there; enjambment, metaphor, villanelles, sestinas, terza rima... As noted, it's a university-level reference and it costs what university textbooks cost, which is a lot (about $75 CDN). Used copies and earlier editions are available for less. If you are anticipating pursuing poetic narrative arts for an extended period, bite the bullet and pay the cost. Amortize it over 20 or 30 years, it becomes cost-effective.

Another reference that is out of print but far more economical than the //Princeton// is //The Poet's Manual and Rhyming Dictionary//, by Stillman. This is a great little reference on the meat'n'potatoes of English poetry; if you can find a copy (and it's out there on the on-line used bookseller sites) it costs around twenty to twenty-five bucks, including shipping. In an easily understood, concise format, the author lays out all the basics. How does an Iamb work? What is the difference between a Dactyl and a Trochee? How many lines are in a sonnet? All this is there, plus a great overview of historic forms, alliterative poetry and counted-syllable poetry (e.g. Japanese poetry). All this in an easily portable book, suitable for your event scrip or weekend camping bag. (Please note I have *not* used the rhyming dictionary in Spellman; I cannot say how good or not-good it is, though a cynic might observe that any rhyming dictionary should be better than none. See below.)

Both these books are highly recommended.

=== 3. A rhyming dictionary ===

For many poetic forms in the SCA's period and scope of interest, end-stopped rhyme (e.g. moon/spoon/June) is unavoidable. One of the sad truths of European poetry is it's much easier to write end-stopped rhyme in Italian and French than in English. If you are writing medieval French or Italian forms in vernacular English for an SCA audience, you WILL need a good rhyming dictionary, to prevent using the same words over and over. Lots of rhyming dictionaries are out there; I like the //Penguin Rhyming Dictionary// because it is computer-generated and thus, one hopes, comprehensive.

=== 4. A thesaurus ===

Poets and prose writers always are searching for that just-right word. The tool to have on hand is a thesaurus. What's a word that means... A thesaurus will provide the answer. //Roget's Thesaurus// is the classic, and is readily available. I know, I know, Google can provide an easier reference, but when the Internet is down or you're at a camping event a book works, and without batteries to boot!

=== 5. An anthology of English literature covering the SCA period ===

The best way to see how good poetry works is to read it. One of the most readily available references in vernacular English is a 100- or 200-level university text from an English literature or English poetry survey course. In particular, these texts include modern translations of Early and Middle English standards, like "The Battle of Maldon" or "Le Roman de la Rose". If they are decent translations they should give you a feel for the flow of the narrative through the various facets of form, rhythm and style. I like the //Norton Anthology of English Literature//; these are readily available, new and used, and you don't need the most recent edition. Other such anthologies are available; take your pick.

A very specific translation I like very much is by Dorothy L. Sayers (yes, that Dorothy Sayers, the murder mystery author), the //Song of Roland// (Chanson de Roland), available from Penguin in paperback. Sayers does not sacrifice the medieval French poetic form for ease of English translation; which is why it is such a great piece of the translator's craft. Sayers even leaves in the unexplained "AOI" at the end of stanzas; she leaves it to the reader to decide what, if anything, that cryptic abbreviation or anagram (or something else) means.

=== 6. A grammar book ===

Grammar is the rules of the road for any language. In my (limited) experience, the grammar of languages *other than English* iss taught more completely than our own, English, language. Grammar includes sentence construction, parts of speech, punctuation and other building blocks of our written language. There are lots of guides to English grammar out there; my personal favourite is //Grammar Is Important; a basic course for American schools//, by McGuire. It's an oldie but a goodie.

=== 7. Christian literature of the period ===

In Western Europe, past the millennium Christianity was definitely becoming predominant. As time went on, Christianity provided many (most?) written-down literature, particularly in medieval England. Various vernacular translations of the Bible were produced, starting with Wycliffe's in the late 14th C. These led up to one of the gems of the English Language, the King James version of the Bible. While published just out of period (1611), it is a fantastic example of how late-period English sounded, and how it was written by expert authors, translators and academics of the time. The other gem still quoted is Thomas Cramner's 1549 masterwork, the //Book of Common Prayer//. Even in recent translations (for the Anglican Church of Canada, 1962) the genius of Cramner and the beauty of his language shines through.

=== 8. Non-Christian literature of the period ===

As Mistress Morgana bro Morganwg observed, what we call Norse mythology is the fragments of Norse myth as recorded by Christian monks; what we have is a few stories and typical religious myths (e.g protology and eschatology), all seen through a Christian-superemist lens. If Norse mythology reflected a vital and useful Norse religious faith, we are missing a lot. Just as Christian imagery saturates Western European literature, Norse culture (so near and dear to our many SCAdian Vikings) must have had both the mythology and deeper cultural significance of a living religion, worthy of consideration and recreation. For the Greco-Romans among us, the Japanese (those darned foxes and tengu!), the Celts and any other culture you'd care to mention, references to myth and legend always add depth and colour to SCA writing. A good encyclopedia of mythology is always useful. I have used the //Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology// as a general survey for years; for your persona, area and period of interest, a more specific reference may well be more useful.

and, finally, for lovers of the truly obscure,

=== 9. Anything by Eric Partridge ===

Eric Partridge was a mid-twentieth century English lexicographer. I own three books of his, //Origins// and his amazing //Dictionary of Slang// (in two volumes). They are comprehensive, well-researched and delightful to read.