Monday, May 12, 2014

Sample - The Lay of Balfrith and the Draugeborg

This is something I've been planning to write for a while. Actually, to be more precise, I was planning to write snippets of the beginning and the end, but not necessarily the entire thing. Below is the end of the Lay - well, the rough draft of it anyway. It's written in the same form used in Beowulf, which is also similar to the Norse poetic sagas which I'm trying to emulate.

Also, this is my two-hundredth post!

Since I'll be traveling again this week (Europe this time), I might have some time to work further on the Lay. At least I hope so. This was actually quite fun to write.

* * *

In marching formation          they came to the hall-door,
The four wester-men            brave, battle-weary.
And lord of those men          marched he among them;
Proud with retainers              he came ’cross the fields.

That prince of thanes            then entered the hall,
Brave in his deed,                 honored in fame,
A man battle-tested,              he greeted Gregorius.
Then sword of draug-king    he carried o’er the hall.

Balfrith, the hero,                  laid sword on the table,
And sat himself down           on the floor for to rest,
To quit of his labors              so mighty, and terrible,

To quit of the fight                and sleep it did find him.

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