Medieval Marriage A Noble Arrangement Poem by Lodigiana Poetess
Medieval Marriage A Noble Arrangement
Seraphina rises, eyes red rimmed from absent sleep.
Dawning day begins with monstrous effort
Feet on cold stone floor feeling for warm comfort…
Laid before her ruby, red silken gown..
and in honour of proceedings soon
the edgings trimmed with rusty red fox.
Undergarment, chemise and hose in close proximity,
all newly woven and sewn.
Abandoned on the floor… her ‘poppet'
So belov'd since babyhood…..
But now a brutish reminder of her changing status.
Brushing burning tears, she washes in the scented water,
Her maids scurrying, flustering, blustering..
Leather and velvet shoes buckles gleaming.
Her thoughts stray to yesterday…
a lifetime, almost years, away.
Sun glinting on the tumbling stream
where grass stained feet would skim the shiny stones;
and the cool waters would soothe her soul.
‘Poppet' always in tow and held to her breast as though
Never to be let go.
But let go she must, for today she fulfils her parents bond.
Dowry paid, nobleman chosen.
Told his name is Gorvenal…my Lord Gorvenal..
A memory stirs somewhere in the dim beyond
of when she was small the sight of a noble of the name
Thrusting his lance at the Quintain,
and when all went well he roared with savage delight but when
he failed the target his squire would feel his might.
She felt fear even then and turned her head away..
Now she must show forever allegiance to this man today.
Alone she faces a future unknown, a contract drawn between two friends
Her mind still not yet fully grown, today she knows her childhood ends.
(cont.) quintain noun historical a post set up as a mark in tilting with a lance, typically with a sandbag attached that would swing around and strike an unsuccessful tilter. the medieval military exercise of tilting at a quintain. YES! i played at such a game in my youth! ! ! ! :) i 'went through' 12 squires in 7 months one year. : ( AND i, too, 'lost my childhood' the first time (of 4) that i married. (cont.)
(cont.) interestingly, in a poem i read a little earlier, another poet misspelled monstrous as monsterous, a VERY EASY mistake! and maybe he did it on purpose? Poppet' always in tow and held to her breast as though Never to be let go. ...i 'love' the lines, the spacing, and the rhyme! ! to MyPoemList ASAP! and, if not already done, to my Favorite Poet List. :) (cont.)
In folk magic and witchcraft, a poppet (also known as poppit, moppet, mommet and pippy) is a doll made to represent a person, for casting spells on that person or to aid that person through magic.....Seraphina may yet receive her 'popp-it', ...on her wedding bed. see she changed gowns, from ruby to blue; perhaps the latter matched her emotions that day? i like flustering, blustering.. ..but i'd guess they were more likely flustered. then again, i was NOT there! (cont.)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/18/2024 8:45:43 PM # 1.0.0.1119
(cont.) This is a fabulously-written poem, AND brought back such memories [some 'good', some 'bad') of (my) yore. bri :) p.s. if this were any better (the poem) , i'd be tempted to think that Bri Edwards wrote it! ;)
Hi Bri..I just love that you enjoyed this poem! Secretly it is one of my favourites and I remember being totally lost in a bygone time when writing it. If such a thing as reincarnation were true, I am sure that was an era familiar to me..who knows you might have even been a nobleman, a Squire who knows? ! Always appreciate your interesting comments Bri and so pleased this particular one was as good for you to read as it was for me to live within and compose! Xx