new year, knights, and fortune’s fools

“You and the land are one… drink from the chalice and you will be reborn and the land with you.”

“Ready my knights for battle. They will ride with their king once more. I have lived through others for far too long. Lancelot carried my honor, and Guenevere, my guilt. Mordred bore my sins. My knights have fought my causes. Now, my brother, I shall be… king.”

This is my favorite scene from Excalibur. It gives me chills when Arthur rides forth and the land blossoms in his wake, while Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana plays. The words were written by goliards {defrocked monks and minstrels} sometime between the 11th and 13th centuries, while the music was written by Carl Orff in 1935-1936 *cough* nazis *cough* {to be fair, I’ve read that Orff had jewish relatives who remained unmolested due to his popularity.} Many years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Orff’s Carmina Burana performed and it was breathtaking. The themes of fickle fortune, the transience of life, and the peril and pleasure of vice are as relevant today as they were when written. I often wonder if we have begun the decent into a dark age or the ascent to another renaissance.

O Fortuna (fortune)
Velut luna (like the moon)
Statu variabilis (you are changeable)

Semper crescis (ever waxing)

Aut decrescis; (and waning;)

Vita detestabilis (hateful life)

Nunc obdurat (first oppresses)

Et tunc curat (and then soothes)

Ludo mentis aciem, (as fancy takes it)

Egestatem, (poverty)

Potestatem (and power)

Dissolvit ut glaciem. (it melts them like ice.)

Since I’ve been reading the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin I’ve been obsessing on knights again. His characters are well crafted, especially for the fantasy genre, and because his world is so detailed, his books read more like the history of a hitherto undiscovered country. Below are some of my favorite pictures of dragons, knights, and ladies fair which have been dancing circles in my head since I started the series~ {all scans are from books in my library unless noted and linked. right click and open in a new window for full size}