[Bards] Dream? What Dream? Did you see a Dream? I know I didn't!

Jay Rudin rudin at ev1.net
Mon Apr 21 08:26:22 PDT 2008


Anyone can complain that the roses have thorns.  Take a moment to notice that the thorns have roses.

At my last three events:

Glaslyn: all the fighters came together to get into the spirit of the tourney, a weird mixture of increasing heroc challenge and increasing silliness.  In both the chivalric and the rapier lists, I had fun, tried some unusual moves, and tested myself against great odds.  I fought for a lady I rarely get to fight for, who came to the field for each fight and showed me honor throughout the day.  I told my first opponent to find somebody who knew how to kill me, and pointed out a couple of people.  (It worked for him, too.  He got the first kill.  But it was double-elim, and I adjusted to what he was doing.)  I'm sure I talked to more than half the people present.

In the tourneys and the archery competition, the winners were awarded, but also, the ladies' pavilion rewarded the person who impressed them the most.  The ladies watched all the fighting, and showed both knowledge and excitement.

It had a really fun bardic compeition, with a wide mix of joy, tragedy, song, story, poetry, and homiletics.  Two people told us the tale of where they found their dream -- Lord Fiacca, a burly fighter, told us how he found it in duty and loyalty, while Violante, a fairly new young lady, described how she was inspired by the fierce heavy melees she watched at Gulf War.

Crown: I was only there for a few hours, and took part in no fighting, fencing or bardcraft.  But did get to watch a great final round, guard the new Prince, admire some weaving, walk around the field and speak to people from all the regions.  I also did some important work, talking to people about solving a political issue (which I'm sure some people will dismiss as politics).

Home-school demo:  Yes, I'm actually listing a demo.  Just a few hours in a city park.  But I served my baroness, saluted my lady and the Queen, fought in both styles, performed and listened to other performers, attended court -- in short, I was able to be Robin of Gilwell.  I loved it.  The dream was there -- and we all shared it.

-----------------------

In my first Black Star, in summer 1979, there was a letter from a baroness who was resigning her barony and leaving forever, because the dream was dead -- people were being too mundane, politics was taking over, nobody would talk to anyone who wasn't a close friend, etc.  I asked Master Lloyd about it, and he said that people were always saying that, but the truth is thatboth the joys and the frustration have always been there, and will always be there.

Since then, I've never gone three months without hearing the the dream was dying.

OF COURSE the dream is dying.  The dream is *always* dying.  This is, after all, an organization founded on the desire to do things that died away over four centuries ago.

In the Renaissance, their tournament pageantry was intended to hold onto the dying embers of the medieval ideal.  A great hero was Don Quixote, a madman trying to keep to the ideals of knighthood.  In the Middle Ages, they wanted to hold onto the ideals of Rome, and the great hero was Arthur, a king who wanted to build a knightly order to defend the dying ideals against an encroaching barbarism.  In Rome, they all pined for the lost glories of Greece, and the Greeks were mourning the lost Golden Age.

The dream is always and forever on the brink of death, and will always and forever need emergency first aid.  From you.  From me.

Go sing of your dream at a bardic circle.  Offer your favor to someone you normally wouldn't (or carry a favor you've never carried before).  Go up to somebody you don't know and introduce yourself.  Help some strangers put up their pavilion.  Hold a revel.  Help somebody sew a costume, research a name, or learn a new combat move.

And hurry.  The dream is dying.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin

P.S.  DON'T nod thoughtfully and agree with me.  Instead, nod thoughtfully, agree with me and MAKE AN ACTION PLAN.   What will **you** do in the next couple of weeks to make things better?

My plan:
A.  On Tuesday, I will teach a period move to everyone at fencing practice, and focus on the joys of combat in every bout.  I will deem it a successful practice if some of them start using the move, and all my opponents walk off the field laughing or smiling.  I will fence with *every* newer fencer.

B.  I will finish the last lines in a praise piece of Elfsea warriors, to be fully memorized for performance at Elfsea Spring Fair.

C. One more, but I won't announce it until Elfsea Spring Faire.

What's your plan?

RoG / JR
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ansteorra.org/pipermail/bards-ansteorra.org/attachments/20080421/02ad3812/attachment-0002.htm>


More information about the Bards mailing list