Lyonnesse, Boasting

[Gunnora Hallakarva]

Heilsa, All!

Thank you to everyone I fought at Lyonnesse.  I had a great time!

Several people have posted me asking me what exactly I said during my
introduction to Lady Lyonnesse that so impressed the King.  What it was was
a custom belonging both to earlier Lions and Lyonnesse tourneys, as well as
to the chivalry and warriors of the Middle Ages and before: a boast.

In our modern life, we are taught to hide our lights under a bushel, to
self-denegrate and not speak up about our abilities:  not so for the warrior
in period.  Part of prowess was knowing your own abilities.  It was not only
not censured, but was expected and praised for a warrior to make boasts
about his deeds to come on the field of battle, from the Migration Age to
the field of Agincourt, from Vidoss to Milan.

The Old English term for a boast is "beot" which can also be translated as
"bet, wager".  The boast was literally a "wager with fate".  You said what
you would do, and failing the boast had real social, political, and personal
consequences.  Therefore a boast had to be something the warrior could
actually accomplish.  Further, foolish boasts were worthy of ridicule, even
if the boaster accomplished the task:  even the mighty hero Beowulf was
ridiculed for a foolish boast he had made during his youth.

OK, back to Lyonnesse:  during my introduction to Lady Lyonnesse, I
extemporized a short alliterative poem (i.e., made it up on the spot) that
contained my boast for the day.  Any early period boast has several
elements, most containing an introduction, a lineage of some sort, often a
listing of past deeds of prowess, the boast, and often what the consequences
would be if the boast were not completed.  A boast is an oath, made between
the boaster, with his listeners and ancestors as witness. (Later period
boasts were often made with one's liege or a priest as witness.)

Since I extemporized the verse, I don't remember it exactly, but the gist of
it was:

Gunnora am I called, of Karelia's kin.
Over Ran's roads have I ridden to reach
the Land of the Lioness, long heard of.
The oak's-bane of Endill's-ground did its best to break my sea-steed's boards,
But strong arms and stout hearts saved my ship:
I thank Freyja for that.  Fairest of friends I bring with me now:
Damaris, delight of drinkers,
best of brewers, to witness my battles.
This, then, is my wager with wyrd: listen well!
For I shall not flee a footlength in battle.
Only a fool fears death -- wordfame alone endures.
For the war-play of wound-wands this raven's friend waits.

This served as both a boast and an introduction of myself and my sponsor.
The introduction was a simple statement of my name, my lineage was
abbreviated to say that I was a Finn (of Karelia's kin).  The boast itself
was that I would not flee any foe... I took all challenges, and though I won
only a few, faced all without fleeing.  The consequence at Lyonnesse of
failing the boast was not death, since the weapons are blunted, but loss of
wordfame.

The poem itself used a few complex kennings, or word-riddles.  "Ran" is the
goddess of the sea and drowned men, "Ran's road" is the ocean.  The
"oak's-bane" is an axe, "Endill" is a legendary sea-king, making "Endill's
ground" the ocean, and the "axe of the sea" is the storm wave, which I said
I battled successfully in travelling to the mystic Island of Lyonnesse. A
"wound-wand" is a sword, "war-play of swords" is a battle, and a "raven's
friend" is a warrior (who spills blood to feed the ravens that gather after
battle).

I would very much like to see more period-style boasts being used at
Lyonnesse.  Boasts are appropriate when being introduced either to Lady
Lyonnesse (if very short) or to the Lady of your field, and specific boasts
may be made before a battle, or a segment of battle, during the tournament.

Boasting would not be out of place done at other SCA combat venues as well.
The custom applies to any armored warrior in the SCA period.  A Crusader
might boast that "I will be the first onto the ship leaving for the Holy
Land, and the first off when we reach Acre."  A Viking or Saxon warrior
might boast that he follow his lord anywhere on the field of battle, and if
the lord dies, so too will he.  There are many, many examples of boasts in
period literature.

I plan to bring special largess next year to Lyonnesse to reward those who
make, and keep boasts in period style.  Start thinking now!
Wassail,
::GUNNORA::

Gunnora Hallakarva
Herskerinde
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