Then came an enemy's ruthless command,
All unexpected, attacking their land.
The knights were at tourney, Lord Tamarack, ill,
Told Horcon, "Find shelter, where the singing birds trill."
Chorus:
To the friend, the stranger, we sing,
Come raise a glass with us, make the hall ring!
Strong protection the serpent will bring,
Sheltering all with her broad golden wing.
Horcon collected the populace then,
Took them together through forest and fen.
Seeking the safety the winged birds know,
They walked for two days, then no further could go.
There in the Haven of Winds Horcon found
A friend and an ally, a serpent renowned.
Mother of winds, great and golden was she,
Protector of marshes, proud amphiptere.
Chorus:
"To the friend, the stranger, I sing,
Come raise a glass with us, make the hall ring!
All here are welcome, from peasant to king,
And I shall protect you with my golden wing."
The enemy followed, and there in the marsh
A battle took place in conditions most harsh.
The valiant serpent was wounded to death
And Horcon swore solemnly to her last breath:
"I will protect well the haven of winds,
Home of the singing birds, from mankind's sins.
Never again will your family be harmed.
This do I promise by my strong right arm."
Chorus:
To the friend, the stranger, we sing,
Come raise a glass with us, make the hall ring!
Strong protection our leaders will bring,
And all will be sheltered 'neath broad golden wing.
Now, centuries later, the marsh is still home
To many brave creatures, and all safe may roam.
Deirdre and Natan have safeguarded their kin,
And Dagr and Leaina will likewise begin.
So Skol! to the serpent and Skol! to the land,
Skol! to the people of Windhaven grand.
Skol to the Baron and Baroness too,
And most of all Skol! to the mead that they brew.
Chorus:
To the friend, the stranger, we sing,
Come raise a glass with us, make the hall ring!
In memory of kindness, in hope of great things,
Bo-Tii protects you with her golden wing.
In honor of the Baronial Installation of Leaina and Dagr of Windhaven, done at the Tournament of Chivalry, Feb. 8, A.S. XXXVII (2003), by the hand of Tarrach and Fina, Rex et Regina Mediterranae.
Lyrics and verse tune: ©1/27/03 and 1/31/03, J. Friedman (SCA: Éliane Halévy)
Story: "The History of Windhaven", by Baron Natan of Windhaven
Chorus tune: "Quem Pastores Laudavere", German, 1555
She asked that I use the story found at http://www.baronyofwindhaven.org/hist.html, an imaginative mix of mostly fiction, a few references to actual early members of the Barony, and an environmental lesson about (I assume) the Horicon Marsh, which occupies part of the land of the Barony. When I asked Leaina what that story meant to the people of Windhaven, in three words or less, she said, "Loyalty and hospitality". So that's what I emphasized.
The tune is at http://www.gflower.org/SongAmphiptere.mid.