Lady Kateryn Draper - November 29th, 2009
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05:58 pm
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Bardic madness
Bardic madness was fun. I recited a poem, "The Story of Macha," for the period challenge; told a story, "Alvild and Alf," for the Warrior Women challenge; and sang a song, "Byrd one brere," for the love and madness challenge. There were patrons for each challenge, and one of them handed out these really cool home made pater nosters.
There are YouTube videos up of some of the performances, although none of me.
I have mixed feelings about "Alvild and Alf." On the one hand, it's a really cool period story about a female pirate. On the other hand, I hate the ending. Prince Alf goes to defeat the pirates only to discover that the pirate captain is his long-lost fiance. He offers her the choice between execution or marriage; she chooses marriage.
There were two other disquieting tales at Bardic madness. One was a traditional Norse tale about a smith who gets revenge by, among other things, raping the daughter of his enemy. The other was an Irish myth in which Cathbad holds Nessa at swordpoint and says, "Marry me or die." (Nessa and Cathbad are the parents of Conchobur, king of Ulster.)
I have never felt comfortable changing the ending of "Alvild and Alf," since ultimately it's not my story. But what do we do with period stories that have a misogynistic streak? Do we not tell them? Do we alter them? Do we tell them in a way that problematizes them? Or do we tell them as is?
Thoughts?
Current Music: Byrd one brere
Tags: sca, storytelling
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