The Wooing of Igraine
Someone suggested to me that I should take period myths and stories and use them to write poetry, and it seemed like an excellent idea, so I thought I would give it a try. The first one is this poem. The story I used is out of Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, and it’s the story of King Arthur’s conception.
In the story, King Uther wants a woman named Igraine, but she is the wife of the Duke of Tintagil, who he’d been at war with, and she was definitely not interested in Uther’s advances. Merlin decides to step in though! While the real duke is away fighting, Uther goes to Igraine disguised as the duke, and they conceive a son. Later she finds out that the duke had been killed some three hours before Uther had come to her. She was pretty troubled by this, but once Uther took her as his wife, he told her that it had been him and that the child would be legitimate, and all was well again.
This is another rondel, so it follows that structure.
By candle’s light, he sought her as his own
Without a word, as silent as the night
In rival skin, seeing through rival sight –
In that late hour, he came to her alone.
With daylight, to her fair eyes it was shown,
After he had fled with the morning light
By candle’s light, he sought her on his own
Without a word, as silent as the night
Night settled now again, as she had known
Her husband’s life cut short by some foul knight.
Yet… three hours later, all had seemed set right
Looking at her, eyes sharper than a stone:
By candle’s light, he sought her as his own.