Videos

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Ballad of the Red Earl
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn

The Unkindest Cut
His fellow actors claimed that Shakespeare wrote so fluidly that "he never blotted a line" (that is, he never edited). Ben Jonson responded, "Would he had blotted a thousand"*. Yes, even the Bard could have used an editor once in a while. In the morning you'll select one of three longish (possibly very bad) poems. Your job is to cut it down to something approximately sonnet length (although the form chosen is up to you).

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Break of Day
Early Bird Warm Up Challenge: Break of Day (John Donne) - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2021 in the ethereal realm.

Early Bird Warm Up Challenge:
Boot up the computer, and warm up your cuppa coffee, tea, chai -- or other preferred beverage at
whatever temperature ;) -- and join us in the first challenge! Perform something of your choice to
merrily cast us off upon the watery ways today...

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Calais
Rondeau: Calais - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2018 in Grey Gargoyles.

Rondeau
The Rondeau is a French poetic form dating back to the thirteenth century. The style used in the
example below is from 16th Century England. It consists of thirteen eight syllable lines and two
repeated four syllable refrains. These fifteen lines contain are broken into three stanzas and
contain only three rhymes.

Poets in this challenge can use a different version of the Rondeau form they choose. There are
several good examples provided on the Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondeau_(forme_fixe).

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Fractured Shakespeare
Mazacroca: Fractured Shakespeare - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Mid-Realm Bardic Madness 2023 in the Shire of Narrental.

Mazacroca:
Choose 1 of the 3 handouts and decipher what appears to be Renaissance gibberish scribblings that
appear to be in style of soliloquy, a sonnet, or perhaps it's a dialogue snippet between 2 or more
people? (Or are these recipes for how to make lasagna?)

You decide, create your own "translation" and present your findings!

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The Hart He Loves the High Lands
Follow the Leader: The Hart He Loves the High Lands (Trad) - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake.

Follow the Leader:
Lead the room in a work that will have the whole room singing, answering, drumming, dancing or
otherwise jamming along with you.

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How Is a Poem Like a Garment
Anglo Saxon Alliterative Verse: How Is a Poem Like a Garment - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2020 in the ethereal realm.

Anglo Saxon Alliterative Verse:
The rules for constructing one are as follows:

Each line is made up of two half lines or distiches.
When spoken aloud, there will be a natural pause between them. This is the caesura.
Each half line consists of two strongly stressed syllables and an indefinite number of weaker
ones.
Stressed syllables rhyme with each other by alliteration.
The first stress of the second half line will rhyme with either of the stresses in the first
half line.
The second stress of the second half line does not usually rhyme with either of the stresses in
the first half line.

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Description:

In Dulci Jubilo
Early Bird Warm Up Challenge: In Dulci Jubilo Trad - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake.

Early Bird Warm Up Challenge:
Boot up the braincells and warm up your cuppa tea, coffee, chai, (or other preferred beverage at
whatever temperature ;) ) to join us in the first challenge! Perform something of your choice in
song, story, poem, prose, script, improv, etc... to merrily start the day!

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Journeyman Concert #1
Journeyman Concert #1 - The Concert that Started a War
Presented at the Second eBardic Symposium in the Ethereal Realm
January 23, 2021

00 00:00:00 Introduction
01 00:01:22 Count William of Fairhaven (Mid-Realm)
Garlanda's Song
The Banner
02 00:09:55 Lady Lasair Inghen Ui h'Airt (Atlantia)
Emer's Sick-Bed
03 00:13:50 THL Agnes Marie de Calais (East)
The Wife of Bath's Tale
04 00:23:38 Lord Éadaoin Ruadh (Æthelmearc)
Éadaoin's Lament (music: Lúnasa)
05 00:29:14 Lady Líadan Liathán & Lord Dai Gerdwr (Mid-Realm)
John Barleycorn (Trad)
The Pennsic Laundry Mountain (music: Harry McClintock)
Pennsic War (music: Mary Chapin Carpenter)
06 00:39:35 Lady Ealawynn Maeru (Atlantia)
Caedmon the Cowherd
07 00:45:06 THL Ciaran mac Breandain (Atlantia)
The Road to Santiago
The Path
08 00:51:37 Sir Hákon Hábrok (Atlantia)
Here's to Valhalla
09 00:56:20 Lord Drake Oranwood (East)
Can She Excuse My Wrongs (John Dowland)
I Must Be Silent
10 01:04:46 Lady Jeane Kilmeny (Atlantia)
Ygraine's Lament
The Oak
11 01:09:36 THL Siobhán an Einigh of Connacht (Mid-Realm)
Y Gododdin (Aneirin)
12 01:16:04 THL Kateryn Draper (Meridies)
The Cursed Dancers of Colbeck
13 01:22:16 Ermagerd, nobilis (Ansteorra)
Weep You No More Sad Fountains (John Dowland)
The Riddle
14 01:28:31 THL Ursula Mortimer (Mid-Realm)
Under Siege
15 01:30:21 Baroness Nezhka Orshinaia (Atlantia)
Our Monsters Are Worse than Yours
Anna Vsevolodovna of Kiev
16 01:38:05 Lady Alienor Hathaway (East)
The Dream Remembered
Across the Wide Sea
17 01:41:02 Ruqayya bint Rabi'a al-'Aaliyya (Atlantia)
Three pieces by Rabia al-Basri
18 01:44:14 Lord Maraha Kahanikar (East)
The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey (Aesop)
19 01:50:02 THL Mathias Hakonson (Caid)
If Words Would Suffice
Dancing with My Shadows
20 01:53:30 Lady Laila al-Sanna' al-Andalusiyya' (East)
La Rosa en Florese (Anon)
Amarilli, mia Bella (Giulio Caccini)
Nani Nani (Anon)
21 02:05:43 THL Hilla Stormbringer (Mid-Realm)
Where the Lake Meets the Sky
For the Love of a Rose
Fireflies in the Twilight

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King Lear, as a Haiku
Open Stage Shakespeare: King Lear, as a Haiku - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Mid-Realm Bardic Madness 2023 in the Shire of Narrental.

Open Stage Shakespeare:
Solo, With a friend or group - share one of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Soliloquies, Scenes ~ spoken or
in song! Perhaps try to do all or part of a Shakespeare play in about 5 minutes

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The Lie Direct
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn

The Lie Direct
In contrast to modern playwrights Shakespeare rarely has a character state something contrary to the
facts as he or she knows them. When they do lie, the liar is usually a villain, and he or she will
immediately tell us all about it. Lie to us, and tell us all about it.

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Queen Elizabeth's Solar Eclipse
Let Us Not Forget: Queen Elizabeth's Solar Eclipse - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2018 in Grey Gargoyles.

Let Us Not Forget
In honor of a figure from history, either Historical or Modern Middle Ages, create and perform a
piece (song, story, or poem) to remind us of them, their qualities, and/or the deeds they have done.
Or perhaps perform a work composed by an SCA bardic artist who has passed, yet their work lives on
in all who continue to carry it forward.

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Description:

Queen Margaret from Richard III, Act IV, Scene 4
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn

Period Piece
Perform a documentably period piece of music, verse, story, or song. Dig out those reference books,
blow off the dust (try not to sneeze), and see what wonderful and magical treasures you can find in
them. There is a staggering amount of fantastic material out there. Find something, be it silly or
sublime, and amaze us with it..

Title:
Description:

Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn

Immoment Toys - A Shakespeare Stir-Fry
Shakespeare coined over 1,700 words, and many are in common use today. But many aren't - they never
caught on and their meaning isn't obvious.* Given a list of those words in the morning, do something
creative with them, whether or not you know what they mean.

* "Immoment" is a terrific word. It means "of no moment, inconsequential"; the stress is on the
second syllable. In all English literature, the only use is in Antony and Cleopatra.

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The Second Weaver's Tale
Concert: The Second Weaver's Tale - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2020 in the ethereal realm.

Concert:
If anyone has a piece (or pieces) they're dying to perform, but that doesn't really fit any of the
criteria - this is the spot for it.

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Description:

Siege Triptych
Concert: Siege Triptych - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2021 in the ethereal realm.

Concert: If anyone has a piece (or pieces) they're dying to perform, but that doesn't really fit any
of the criteria - this is the spot for it.

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Description:

Three Witches Walk into a Bar
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn

Pass the Tale
All those who wish to participate get up together and tell a tale from beginning to end. The
challenge's patron will 'conduct' by pointing to the person whose turn it is to continue the tale
and deciding when it is time to end.

Title:
Description:

To Renounce the World
Rondeau Prime: To Renounce the World - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake.

Rondeau Prime:
The rondeau prime is a shorter variation of the rondeau. It too is a French form dating from the
13th century. It contains twelve lines, which tend to be iambic. Ten of them are of similar
length, while the two half-lines restate the opening phrase. The verse is split into two sections -
seven lines in the first and five in the second. Both sections end with the half-line refrain. The
rhyme scheme is as follows: abbaccbR abbaR

A The rondeau prime is an alternate form;
B It has but twelve lines and not fifteen -
B Throughout the verse, iambs are routine.
C Now while the line lengths can be varied,
C They should stay close, like they were married.
B Except the half-line, which restates the theme:
R The rondeau prime

A So to these guidelines please conform,
B And do not let your lines careen,
B Your verse should sweetly sound serene.
A A new piece that you now perform.
R The rondeau prime

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Description:

Under Siege
Journeyman Concert #1 - The Concert that Started a War

Under Siege - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at the Bardic eSymposium 2021 in the ethereal realm.

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Description:

untitled 14th c Sephardic style poem
Blow Someone Else�s Horn: untitled 14th c Sephardic style poem (Ezra ha-Yona) - Ursula Mortimer
Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake.

Blow Someone Else’s Horn:
Perform the work of some other SCAdian. Extra applause for matching the theme of the day and/or
choosing something that is not well-known.

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	Title: Description:	Ballad of the Red Earl Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn The Unkindest Cut His fellow actors claimed that Shakespeare wrote so fluidly that "he never blotted a line" (that is, he never edited). Ben Jonson responded, "Would he had blotted a thousand"*. Yes, even the Bard could have used an editor once in a while. In the morning you'll select one of three longish (possibly very bad) poems. Your job is to cut it down to something approximately sonnet length (although the form chosen is up to you).
	Title: Description:	Break of Day Early Bird Warm Up Challenge: Break of Day (John Donne) - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2021 in the ethereal realm. Early Bird Warm Up Challenge: Boot up the computer, and warm up your cuppa coffee, tea, chai -- or other preferred beverage at whatever temperature ;) -- and join us in the first challenge! Perform something of your choice to merrily cast us off upon the watery ways today...
	Title: Description:	Calais Rondeau: Calais - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2018 in Grey Gargoyles. Rondeau The Rondeau is a French poetic form dating back to the thirteenth century. The style used in the example below is from 16th Century England. It consists of thirteen eight syllable lines and two repeated four syllable refrains. These fifteen lines contain are broken into three stanzas and contain only three rhymes. Poets in this challenge can use a different version of the Rondeau form they choose. There are several good examples provided on the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondeau_(forme_fixe).
	Title: Description:	Fractured Shakespeare Mazacroca: Fractured Shakespeare - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Mid-Realm Bardic Madness 2023 in the Shire of Narrental. Mazacroca: Choose 1 of the 3 handouts and decipher what appears to be Renaissance gibberish scribblings that appear to be in style of soliloquy, a sonnet, or perhaps it's a dialogue snippet between 2 or more people? (Or are these recipes for how to make lasagna?) You decide, create your own "translation" and present your findings!
	Title: Description:	The Hart He Loves the High Lands Follow the Leader: The Hart He Loves the High Lands (Trad) - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake. Follow the Leader: Lead the room in a work that will have the whole room singing, answering, drumming, dancing or otherwise jamming along with you.
	Title: Description:	How Is a Poem Like a Garment Anglo Saxon Alliterative Verse: How Is a Poem Like a Garment - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2020 in the ethereal realm. Anglo Saxon Alliterative Verse: The rules for constructing one are as follows: Each line is made up of two half lines or distiches. When spoken aloud, there will be a natural pause between them. This is the caesura. Each half line consists of two strongly stressed syllables and an indefinite number of weaker ones. Stressed syllables rhyme with each other by alliteration. The first stress of the second half line will rhyme with either of the stresses in the first half line. The second stress of the second half line does not usually rhyme with either of the stresses in the first half line.
	Title: Description:	In Dulci Jubilo Early Bird Warm Up Challenge: In Dulci Jubilo Trad - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake. Early Bird Warm Up Challenge: Boot up the braincells and warm up your cuppa tea, coffee, chai, (or other preferred beverage at whatever temperature ;) ) to join us in the first challenge! Perform something of your choice in song, story, poem, prose, script, improv, etc... to merrily start the day!
	Title: Description:	Journeyman Concert #1 Journeyman Concert #1 - The Concert that Started a War Presented at the Second eBardic Symposium in the Ethereal Realm January 23, 2021 00 00:00:00 Introduction 01 00:01:22 Count William of Fairhaven (Mid-Realm) Garlanda's Song The Banner 02 00:09:55 Lady Lasair Inghen Ui h'Airt (Atlantia) Emer's Sick-Bed 03 00:13:50 THL Agnes Marie de Calais (East) The Wife of Bath's Tale 04 00:23:38 Lord Éadaoin Ruadh (Æthelmearc) Éadaoin's Lament (music: Lúnasa) 05 00:29:14 Lady Líadan Liathán & Lord Dai Gerdwr (Mid-Realm) John Barleycorn (Trad) The Pennsic Laundry Mountain (music: Harry McClintock) Pennsic War (music: Mary Chapin Carpenter) 06 00:39:35 Lady Ealawynn Maeru (Atlantia) Caedmon the Cowherd 07 00:45:06 THL Ciaran mac Breandain (Atlantia) The Road to Santiago The Path 08 00:51:37 Sir Hákon Hábrok (Atlantia) Here's to Valhalla 09 00:56:20 Lord Drake Oranwood (East) Can She Excuse My Wrongs (John Dowland) I Must Be Silent 10 01:04:46 Lady Jeane Kilmeny (Atlantia) Ygraine's Lament The Oak 11 01:09:36 THL Siobhán an Einigh of Connacht (Mid-Realm) Y Gododdin (Aneirin) 12 01:16:04 THL Kateryn Draper (Meridies) The Cursed Dancers of Colbeck 13 01:22:16 Ermagerd, nobilis (Ansteorra) Weep You No More Sad Fountains (John Dowland) The Riddle 14 01:28:31 THL Ursula Mortimer (Mid-Realm) Under Siege 15 01:30:21 Baroness Nezhka Orshinaia (Atlantia) Our Monsters Are Worse than Yours Anna Vsevolodovna of Kiev 16 01:38:05 Lady Alienor Hathaway (East) The Dream Remembered Across the Wide Sea 17 01:41:02 Ruqayya bint Rabi'a al-'Aaliyya (Atlantia) Three pieces by Rabia al-Basri 18 01:44:14 Lord Maraha Kahanikar (East) The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey (Aesop) 19 01:50:02 THL Mathias Hakonson (Caid) If Words Would Suffice Dancing with My Shadows 20 01:53:30 Lady Laila al-Sanna' al-Andalusiyya' (East) La Rosa en Florese (Anon) Amarilli, mia Bella (Giulio Caccini) Nani Nani (Anon) 21 02:05:43 THL Hilla Stormbringer (Mid-Realm) Where the Lake Meets the Sky For the Love of a Rose Fireflies in the Twilight
	Title: Description:	King Lear, as a Haiku Open Stage Shakespeare: King Lear, as a Haiku - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Mid-Realm Bardic Madness 2023 in the Shire of Narrental. Open Stage Shakespeare: Solo, With a friend or group - share one of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Soliloquies, Scenes ~ spoken or in song! Perhaps try to do all or part of a Shakespeare play in about 5 minutes
	Title: Description:	The Lie Direct Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn The Lie Direct In contrast to modern playwrights Shakespeare rarely has a character state something contrary to the facts as he or she knows them. When they do lie, the liar is usually a villain, and he or she will immediately tell us all about it. Lie to us, and tell us all about it.
	Title: Description:	Queen Elizabeth's Solar Eclipse Let Us Not Forget: Queen Elizabeth's Solar Eclipse - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2018 in Grey Gargoyles. Let Us Not Forget In honor of a figure from history, either Historical or Modern Middle Ages, create and perform a piece (song, story, or poem) to remind us of them, their qualities, and/or the deeds they have done. Or perhaps perform a work composed by an SCA bardic artist who has passed, yet their work lives on in all who continue to carry it forward.
	Title: Description:	Queen Margaret from Richard III, Act IV, Scene 4 Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn Period Piece Perform a documentably period piece of music, verse, story, or song. Dig out those reference books, blow off the dust (try not to sneeze), and see what wonderful and magical treasures you can find in them. There is a staggering amount of fantastic material out there. Find something, be it silly or sublime, and amaze us with it..
	Title: Description:	Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn Immoment Toys - A Shakespeare Stir-Fry Shakespeare coined over 1,700 words, and many are in common use today. But many aren't - they never caught on and their meaning isn't obvious.* Given a list of those words in the morning, do something creative with them, whether or not you know what they mean. * "Immoment" is a terrific word. It means "of no moment, inconsequential"; the stress is on the second syllable. In all English literature, the only use is in Antony and Cleopatra.
	Title: Description:	The Second Weaver's Tale Concert: The Second Weaver's Tale - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2020 in the ethereal realm. Concert: If anyone has a piece (or pieces) they're dying to perform, but that doesn't really fit any of the criteria - this is the spot for it.
	Title: Description:	Siege Triptych Concert: Siege Triptych - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2021 in the ethereal realm. Concert: If anyone has a piece (or pieces) they're dying to perform, but that doesn't really fit any of the criteria - this is the spot for it.
	Title: Description:	Three Witches Walk into a Bar Recorded at Bardic Madness 2015 in Unicorn Pass the Tale All those who wish to participate get up together and tell a tale from beginning to end. The challenge's patron will 'conduct' by pointing to the person whose turn it is to continue the tale and deciding when it is time to end.
	Title: Description:	To Renounce the World Rondeau Prime: To Renounce the World - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake. Rondeau Prime: The rondeau prime is a shorter variation of the rondeau. It too is a French form dating from the 13th century. It contains twelve lines, which tend to be iambic. Ten of them are of similar length, while the two half-lines restate the opening phrase. The verse is split into two sections - seven lines in the first and five in the second. Both sections end with the half-line refrain. The rhyme scheme is as follows: abbaccbR abbaR A The rondeau prime is an alternate form; B It has but twelve lines and not fifteen - B Throughout the verse, iambs are routine. C Now while the line lengths can be varied, C They should stay close, like they were married. B Except the half-line, which restates the theme: R The rondeau prime A So to these guidelines please conform, B And do not let your lines careen, B Your verse should sweetly sound serene. A A new piece that you now perform. R The rondeau prime
	Title: Description:	Under Siege Journeyman Concert #1 - The Concert that Started a War Under Siege - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at the Bardic eSymposium 2021 in the ethereal realm.
	Title: Description:	untitled 14th c Sephardic style poem Blow Someone Else�s Horn: untitled 14th c Sephardic style poem (Ezra ha-Yona) - Ursula Mortimer Recorded at Bardic Madness 2022 in the Shire of the Ravenslake. Blow Someone Else’s Horn: Perform the work of some other SCAdian. Extra applause for matching the theme of the day and/or choosing something that is not well-known.