Calontir Stands Alone

From Katriana's Songbook - http://www.calonsong.org/CalontirSongs/calontirstands.htm :

Calontir Stands Alone

Words: Brom Blackhand
Tune: Johnny Comes Marching Home
Source: Calon Song
A Filksong Folio

O, Ladies and Lords of Calontir, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
Please gather around and lend an ear, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
O, gather around and lend an ear, I'll sing you a song of Calontir,
And you all shall know why Calontir stands alone.

We're far from the Northwoods Barony, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
And damn near as far from Treegirt Sea, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
And Rivenstar with its flag unfurledIs damn near the other side of the world,
O, that's one good reason that Calontir stands alone.

We haven't got belted chivalry, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
Just good old unbelted fighters, we, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
And on battlefields many we've stood the test,
Proved our bravery, skill, and our honor's the best,
We shall smite our foes till Calontir stands alone.

Our tourneys and feasts to none compare, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
And good times with us are far from rare, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
Let all come to us, for our food is good,
And there's merry song in our halls and woods,
That's just one more reason why Calontir stands alone.

O, Ladies and Lords of Calontir, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
Put your hearts into what you do this year, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
And in the end the world will see,
A merry Principality,
On that bright high day when Calontir stands alone.

This song has often been called the national anthem of Calontir. Brom wrote it on a napkin to fill out an arts competition way back when Calontir was a region. It is usually sung at about a march tempo. Verses 3 and 4 take some practice to fit in all the syllables. Since this song was written so long ago Brom has updated it. I have not heard of anyone writing a new last verse since we became a kingdom.

>When we became a Principality, two verses changed:
> We've got our own brand of chivalry, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
> We fight for the love of battle, we, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
> And on battlefields many we've stood the test,
> Proved our bravery, skill, and our honor's the best,
> We shall smite our foes till Calontir stands alone.

> O, Ladies and Lords of Calontir, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
> Put your hearts into what you do this year, Waes Hael, Drink Hael,
> And in the end the world will see,
> A kingdom proud and strong and free,
> On that bright high day when Calontir stands alone.

---

YouTube Video of Master Erich Hlodowechssun fon Hocheichhallu singing around the fire. Recorded at Bardic Bedlam in the Village of Puddleford in the Barony of Three Rivers in the Kingdom on Calontir, May 21, 2011. http://youtu.be/oA6Tbq_EdYY

From Master Crag

Calontir Stands Alone                                  

(guitar accompaniment, playing the melody softly of CSA. Then dropping back to quiet background chords)

 A long time ago, there lived a smith in the Barony of Three Rivers who made his way as an armorer and bladesmith of no little skill. His hands could mold iron: forging and shaping it to suit himself and those he called friend.

As cunning as he was with iron, he wrought words even better to kindle the hearts of his listeners. When the evenings grew late and the air grew chill,  while the fire flared and flickered around the circle, the spirit of his ancestor sometimes came over him, and Brom Blackhand would sing tales of the northern lands. Then our hearts would be filled with heroic sagas of  dragon ships raiding from sea and battles on the strand.

I first met Brom at a post-revel many years ago in Standing Stones. Our seneschal had taken a shine to this short burly smith and made sure he came often to help our struggling young shire make armor and hold fighter practices. About that time Brom and Kyrieth- who will forever be known as Kinky Troll or the Spandex Baroness- became lovers. Their romance became famous and their exploits were the envy of even that liberated time.

Brom was an iconoclast, an image breaker, a shit stirrer, a rabble rouser, a trouble maker, or a great patriot depending on who you asked. He was and is too plain spoken and impatient for these later, dare I say …..almost Midrealm….times….

Well, once upon a time it happened that Brom went to fight in a tourney nursing a wounded hand. As the Norns wove his fate, that day he was early retired, but had not his lady to attend. So it was that when he was asked to write a song to for a contest held later that day, he assented.

On a trestle table in the mead hall he sat down to write, and for the space of half an hour he poured out his love for Calontir, his chafing ire at the Middle Kingdom, and his readiness to be away on our own. Thus was born the national anthem of Calontir:

(hear play and Marcus sing the First Verse)

My Ladies and Lords of Calontir,        Waes Hael, Waes Hael!

Come gather around and lend a ear,    Waes Hael, Drink Hael!

Oh gather around and lend an ear

I’ll sing you a song of Calontir                                    

( sing broadly with minor dip)

And you all shall know why Calontir stands alone.

At that time the Middle Kingdom, of which we were a region, was enormous. Once it spanned all the lands between the East and West Kingdoms. In the early years of Calontir it still spanned that breadth, less the Atenveldt principalities of Meredies and Ansteorra, and was still four times larger and five times more populated than Calontir itself. The largest and least populated regions were Calontir, Eoforwic, and Northshield, while the rest of the kingdom was relatively smaller and more populated.

The Middle Kingdom had two founding groups- Northwoods in East Lansing Michigan, and Tree Girt Sea in Chicago. The early history of the Middle is the history of these two groups struggling for power, with the emergence of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois at about the time Calontir was borne. Rivenstar in Indiana was the home of Moonwulf who had recently sat the throne, and was a friend to Calontir.

We’re far from the Northwoods Barony,   Waes Hael, Waes Hael

And damn near as far from Tree Girt Sea,   Waes Hael, Drink Hael

And Rivenstar with its flag unfurled

Is damn near the other side of the world

And that’s one good reason that Calontir Stands Alone.

And so we were, for all practical purposes left to develop on our own, for the Mississippi River was a great psychological barrier to travelers from the rest of the Midrealm- not unlike, alas, it has become for us traveling east nowadays. For this reason, we felt rejected and ignored. We felt our arts, our sciences, and our fighting were as good as anybody’s. Given how much we had accomplished in so short a time, we had a right to be proud of our work. If we were not yet as good as we proclaimed ourselves to be, our momentum soon carried us there. It chafed that in all of Calontir, the Middle had only recognized one Laurel, and there were no Companions of the Pelican.

Our tourneys and feasts to none compare     Waes Hael, Waes Hael

And good times are far from rare with us      Waes Hael, Drink Hael

So come to us for our food is good

There’s a merry song in our hall and wood

And that’s one more reason why Calontir Stands Alone!

Our fighting, too, had made great strides. A few like Brummbar and Ternon were contenders if they fought in Crown Tourney, and others like Bellwood, Chepe, and Humpk were not far behind. Yet there was a pervasive feeling that our fighters were looked down on by the Midrealm Chivalry, and that some of the Chivalry had it in for Ternon and Humpk. Imagine that in all of Calontir there was not a single Knight or Master of Arms. Our Huscarls were formed to be the Chivalry that the Chivalry wouldn’t recognize. Unbelted Knights.

We haven’t got belted chivalry              Waes Hael, Waes Hael

We fight for the love of battle we          Waes Hael, Drink Hael

But on battlefield many we’ve stood the test

Proved our bravery skill and honor the best

We shall smite our foes till Calontir Stands Alone.

And then he wrapped it up and threw it back in our face. He cast down the gauntlet. Because he knew no one would do it for us, it was up to each one of us to go out and make Calontir a principality and thereafter, a kingdom. Brom asked nothing more from us, than he himself already gave. Today we are a kingdom proud and strong and free. Sometimes people ask why this song is important. Without it I think we would still be a part of the Middle Kingdom, we would still be waiting for someone else to do our work for us. “For Calontir to be a kingdom, it must act like one.”

My Ladies and Lords of Calontir                      Waes Hael, Waes Hael

Put your hearts into what you do this year       Waes Hael, Drink Hael

And in the end I think we’ll see

A Merry Principality

On that high bright day

When Calontir Stands Alone!

My Ladies and Lords of Calontir, in recent years it became politically incorrect to sing this song for fear of offending our friends and allies in other kingdoms. Then it became politically incorrect to sing it because the new bards knew nothing of what it meant, how important it had been to our history. And the old ones ceased to teach the new ones the lessons we had so dearly bought. Ancient good became uncouth.

Woe to us, for we have become so insular we no longer see or hear what goes on in other kingdoms. Little wonder that the Army muster is down, and we struggle on the field with our opponents- for we no longer look beyond our own circle. Little do we heed what others do and say, what tactics their armies are learning, while relying on our reputation to carry us.

More and more we have come to resemble the Middle Kingdom we left: so status quo, so little aware or caring about the great world out there around us. If we would regain that edge, if we would be again the preeminent kingdom at war, then we must get hungry- find that lost fire in the belly. We must again study the world outside our borders. Those who lead us must make the glory of Calontir their glory. Those who would stay home and live off the fat of the land should step aside and let a new generation of fighters gain renown, carrying the Falcon Banner before them.

Baron Crag Duggan

Master of the Pelican

Thegn Giligan and Adelith

Grimfells, Calontir

Twelfth Day of January AS XXXI

From Stefan's Florilegium

http%3Awww.florilegium.org/files/STORIES/Calontir-hst-msg.html:

From: "Niewoehner, Hugh"

Date: December 4, 2009 5:14:30 AM CST

To: CALONTIR at listserv.unl.edu

Subject: Re: [CALONTIR] Period Anthems WAS Re: Treason

While I’d think of Song of the Shield Wall as more of an SCA anthem. Go to almost any kingdom and start singing it folks will gather.

In early years I’d think Brom’s “Calontir Stands Alone” was bloody close to being the unofficial anthem. I still have an old email Crag posted to the list describing its genesis [see above] and written as a call for those in these later days to remember those things which motivated us in the beginning. It’s a real rabble rouser who’s purpose may not be needed today but it’s still a good song and bloody fun to sing. There are others trying to find or create a similar unifying spark in their areas of the world.

HE Damon

From: "Niewoehner, Hugh"

Date: December 4, 2009 4:10:41 PM CST

To: Stefan li Rous

Subject: RE: [CALONTIR] Period Anthems WAS Re: Treason

Here you go Stefan,

[story already told above, omitted]

And the thoroughly withdrawn from the SCA Brom Blackhand now lives in Salisaw, OK making his living as a first rate gunsmith.

There are still many characters from those days still active and on the Calon list. Alban, Fernando, and Pavel [RIP] just to name a few.

Regards, Damon

---