Re: Re[2]: Battle Poetry

[Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

Duhess Melisande wrote:
>      
>      Although I agree with the good Baron Corun that to watch Lady Susannah 
>      Grey is to watch grace and gentility in action, I fear that his 
>      message (appended below only because my mail reader isn't cooperating) 
>      may tend to feed the fallacy that you have to speak medieval French or 
>      do something else outside the reach of ordinary mortals to be 
>      courteous.  It's not so.  You can be courteous and courtly, which is a 
>      different thing altogether, in plain English just as well.

My thanks to you, Your Grace, for pointing out the unintentional error in
my missive. You are quite correct that one need not speak any language but
English to show courtly manners and grace. This is what I get for trying
to write something profound while at work with people popping in and out of
my cubbyhole. I was so concerned with not giving offence to those I didn't
mention that I made an entirely different faux pas (ok, so I do speak just
a *little* French).

On a related note, I haven't kept track of how many recent Universities
have held classes on courtly manners, but perhaps it's time to ressurect
some. I know Lord Beornherd has done something of the sort on "speaking
forsoothly", though I don't if it's been at the University level. I would
be happy to work with anyone on putting together such a class or track of
classes for the next University. I offer my meager skills as an actor to
those wishing to learn something of the "performance" end of this. Perhaps
Mistress Deirdre, who has done much work on the aspects of Chivalry, could
suggest suitable sources of research to me and an avenue to follow in
accomplishing such a class or classes.

In service,
Corun

-- 
===============================================================================
   Corun MacAnndra   |  Can not run out of time. There is infinite time. You
 Dark Horde by birth |  are finite. Zathras is finite. This....is wrong tool.
   Moritu by choice  |                                        -- Zathras
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