Ode to Camelot
By cnwriter, 28th Jan 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutWritingPoetry
I was walking the grounds of Camelot and nearer and nearer as I went towards the cliff's edge, a voice beckoned me on until from within I was called to return...plus a great poem from 1765 about Queen Guenevere
- I Remember Walking..
- And So She Walked
- The Boy and the Mantle written by Bishop Percy
- The Undoing of Queen Guinevere
- Credits:
I Remember Walking..
I remember walking atop the cliffs of Camelot
The sky above so blue
And down below the sea tearing at the tall cliffs
I remember walking atop the cliffs of Camelot
A voice calling ‘come, come closer’
My steps drew me towards the edge of the cliffs
A long way down to the sea
I remember the quietness inside of me
The urging of that voice
As I walked
Nearer and nearer to the edge
Knowing I could jump down
Into the waiting arms
Of the clear blue sea
I remember my Traveller calling
Turn around Carolan
Turn around and return to Me
And I did
Back to the waiting arms of Him
Who has been with me since time eternal
He who has watched my every step
And guided me for so long now
He smiled at me
He knew the temptation
That had gripped me
He knew that once again
I had returned into His Care
And So She Walked
And so she walked
Stars in her hair
Lighting up the darkness
Knowing the Light was always with her
The Brightness shining everywhere
And so it is
The Boy and the Mantle written by Bishop Percy
A little boy came to the court of King Arthur with a magic mantle, which no wife could wear who was not true to her lord
The subject is taken not from the Morte d'Arthur but from 'The Boy and the Mantle', a traditional ballad published in Bishop Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765).
This describes how 'a strange and cunning boy' appeared at King Arthur's court of Camelot at Carlisle (other contenders for the location of Camelot are Tintagel, Caerleon and Cadbury Hill) one Christmas with a mantle 'of wondrous shape and hew'.
No woman, he claimed, who had been unfaithful to her husband could wear it without it shrivelling and leaved her naked.
The Undoing of Queen Guinevere
Queen Guinevere was the first to don it, with predictable consequences:
And first came Lady Guenever,
The mantle she must trye,
This dame, she was new-fangled,
And of a roving eye.
When she had tane the mantle,
And all was with it cladde,
From top to toe it shiver'd down,
As tho' with sheers beshradde.
One while it was too long,
Another while too short,
And wrinkled on her shoulders
In most unseemly sort.
Now green, now red it seemed,
Then all of sable hue,
'Beshrew me,' quoth King Arthur,
'I think thou beest not true,'
Down she threw the mantle,
Ne longer would not stay;
But, storming like a fury,
To her chamber flung away.
She curst the whoreson weaver,
That had the mantle wrought;
And doubly curst the froward impe,
Who thither had it brought.
Credit for the above poem goes to Bishop Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765).
Credits:
Thank you Wikinut
Thank you Julia for the pics
Bishop Percy
Do read more of my stories and poems by clicking cnwriter at the top of this page.
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Comments
29th Jan 2012 (#)
Your poem is so magical and enchanting, my friend, like brilliant sunshine cast its rays over you 'in one brief, shining moment."
Thanks for sharing, cnwriter!
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29th Jan 2012 (#)
thank you Buzz for your magical words too..blessings
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3rd Feb 2012 (#)
You weave touches of pure magic in your poetic flow cnw, Such a captivating read..
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24th Mar 2012 (#)
Your poetry glides with consummate grace, and you are an incredibly good teacher as well in "The Boy and the Mantle."
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24th Mar 2012 (#)
ta ever so much Steve...LOL
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27th Apr 2012 (#)
this is definitely an interesting piece...
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