In Bayard's Honor

SYLLABIC STRESSES

   /        /                /       /
Captain, Counselor    and comrade is he, 
      /            /          /       /
Who guides where I go  and guards my way. 
    /          /          /         /
A Soldier of solace with soul of a poet 
      /         /        /          /
Wnd ardor of artist and heart of a tiger. 
      /        /         /           /
His swinging sword can swiftly deal death 
        /           /        /          /
But is tempered in truth untouched by wrath. 
  /          /          /         /
Weapons he wields; but wisdom as well 
       /         /        /         /
Both friend and foe have found his mercy. 
     /         /      /        /
He serves in silence seeking ideals. 
    /       /         /           /
He begs no boon and boasts of no deed. 
   /      /         /   /
Humble is he in all his actions 
     /       /         /        /
Yet duty he does with diligent mind. 
 /         /              /          /
Behold and be joyful for Bayard has come. 
      /        /        /             /
He wishes you well and waits for you now. 
     /             /            /         / 
He wants from you what you can willingly give 
        /         /                     /             /
As he drinks and draws breath for this dream that he loves.

This poem is done in the style of Fornyrðislag (pronounced FORT-near-this-lahg) It is the descendant of the older poetry found in the poetic eddas. This style was in common use in Iceland in the early 14th century and was likely in use well before that. It was also used in varied forms of Skaldic poetry for quite a while after that.

This particular style usually consisted of 8 line verses. Each line had two stressed syllables and between 2 and 5 unstressed syllables. The lines came in pairs (or strophes) that practiced alliteration (consonant rhyming) so that the same consonant sound was heard usually two or three and sometimes four or five times in a pair of lines. Usually, though not always, the stressed syllables were part of the first three alliterative words. The third stressed syllable of the strophe ( which is also the first stressed syllable of the second line) is the ‘Head stave’. It forms the backbone of the structural alliteration. In the first verse of this particular poem, for instance, the ‘Head staves’ are as follows, in order; Comrade, Guards, Soul and Heart.

It should be stated that while this practice of alliteration is also often referred to as consonant rhyming it does NOT have to be done only by consonants. Vowel sounds at the beginning and even in the middle of words are acceptable practices in Fornyrðislag, and the 7th and 8th lines of the 1st verse (which repeat the ‘ar’ sound in ardor, artist, and heart) are found in both the eddas and the translations of them as being part of alliteration.

In this particular poem, which is two verses long, I have made sure to include three alliterative sounds in every strophe. This is the standard, although there are many exceptions to the rule.

The slash marks above the words are the stressed syllables in each line. Note how they match most of the time with the first three alliterative words.

The subject matter of my poem is obvious; this poem is a poem in praise of my friend and my Peer, Master Valdemar Wendell Bayard. He has helped to guide me through good times and through bad and I never cease to be amazed by his willingness to lead by example. Poems in Praise of great leaders are very common in Skaldic poetry. It was, in fact, one of the primary purposes of many Skaldic poems to praise a great King or Jarl.

The vast majority of these praise poems had to do with courage or skill in battle. One example of this can be found in the story of King Gautrek (late 13th century) where Vikar marches against King Herthjof. There are several verses devoted to the excellence of Vikar in battle.

Less common, but certainly still present in Skaldic poetry, were verses praising virtues other than prowess in battle. One example of this can be found in the story of Arrow-odd, where the soothsayer praises Ingjald and the honor and respect with which he is held by his people.

REFERENCES
1) Ringler, Dick. Formal Features of Jónas Hallgrímsson's Poetry and the Present: Verse Translations. University of Wisconsin-Madison,1996. Found on the website http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/jonas/Prosody/Prosody-I.html

2) Seven Viking Romances, trans. Herman Palsson and Paul Edwards. Penguin Books, London, England, 1985.

3) Terry, Patricia. Poems of the Elder Edda. Revised ed. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.