Bardic Arts

"Elriin of Hrassvelg"
by
Diana Listmaker

South wind, east wind, what have you seen?
The wind blowing warm, the grass shining green.
What does the wind from the west have to say?
How many the warriors who gather today.
And what is the word that comes down from the north?
Elriin of Hrassvelg to war has gone forth.
South wind, east wind, what have you in sight?
The wind blowing cold from the wings of the night.
What is the sorrow the west wind knows?
How many have fallen, struck down by their foes.
And why does the wind from the north wail in pain?
Elriin of Hrassvelg will not come again.

From a collection of fighter poems titled Valhalla. This is from the section titled: "The Way It Was".

"Long ago, the West Kingdom bards decided to produce poems for every fighter in each crown lists. We carried this on for several years before finally faltering. A large number of bards were required, since the lists kept getting larger and eventually the effort involved wore us out. Even so, we published two volumes of the best of the fighter poems. I was president of the college of bards of the West Kingdom at that time and I regard that effort as perhaps the most satisfying thing I ever achieved in the SCA." -- Steven MacEanruig

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