Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Icham of Irlaunde -- Anonymous

In honour of St. Patrick's Day...
(Poem #372) Icham of Irlaunde
   Icham of Irlaunde
   Ant of the holy londe
   Of Irlande.

Gode sire, pray ich the,
For of saynte charite,
Come ant daunce wyt me
In Irlaunde.
-- Anonymous
Brittanica has this to say about the lyric, of which today's poem is an
example:

The lyric was virtually unknown to Old English poets: poems like "Deor"
and "Wulf and Eadwacer," which have been called lyrics, are thematically
different from those that began to circulate orally in the 12th century
and to be written down in great numbers in the 13th; and these Old
English poems have a stronger narrative component than the later
productions. The most frequent topics in the Middle English secular
lyric are springtime and romantic love; many rework such themes
tediously, but some, such as "Foweles in the frith" (13th century) and
"Ich am of Irlaunde" (14th century), convey strong emotions in a few
lines. Two lyrics of the early 13th century, "Mirie it is while sumer
ilast" and "Sumer is icumen in," are preserved with musical settings,
and probably most of the others were meant to be sung. The dominant mood
of the religious lyrics is passionate: the poets sorrow for Christ on
the Cross and for Mary, celebrate the "five joys" of Mary, and import
language from love poetry to express religious devotion. Excellent early
examples are "Nou goth sonne under wod" and "Stond wel, moder, ounder
rode." Many of the lyrics are preserved in manuscript anthologies, of
which the best is British Library manuscript Harley 2253 from the early
14th century. The love poems in this collection, such as "Alysoun" and
"Blow, Northerne Wynd," take after the poems of the Provençal
troubadours but are less formal and abstract and therefore more lively.
The religious lyrics also are of high quality; but the most remarkable
of the Harley Lyrics, "The Man in the Moon," far from being about love
or religion, imagines the man in the Moon as a simple peasant,
sympathizes with his hard life, and offers him some useful advice on how
to best the village hayward.

        -- EB

The key phrase in the above is that the best lyrics 'convey strong
emotions in a few lines'. Indeed, that's especially true of today's poem
- it's exceptionally simple and direct, and wonderfully moving.

thomas.

[In Modern English]

   I am of Ireland
   And of the holy land
   Of Ireland.

Good sir, I pray thee,
For the sake of charity,
Come and dance with me
In Ireland.

[Links]

Around this time last year we ran Sir Henry Newbolt's poignant 'Ireland,
Ireland', archived at poem #41

'Pangur Ban' always calls up some beautiful associations in my mind; you
can read it at poem #167

'The Viking Terror' is a perfect example of the 'Northern' poetic
tradition; in this case, alliterative verse. It's archived at poem #109

And finally, you might as well pay a visit to
http://www.st-patricks-day.com/

19 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Rizal said...

This is the marvellous post that I have come over after huge searches. I am really thankful to you for providing this unique information. I think you can visit my blog too. This is my blog cctv malang | cctv malang | cctv malang | cctv malang | cctv malang | cctv malang

Rizal said...

Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your site is very cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this site. I think you can visit my blog too. This is my blog cctv bali | cctv bali | cctv bali | cctv bali | cctv bali | cctv bali

Rizal said...

yeap exactly!! awesome post, Thanks for sharing your knowledge about it I think you can visit my blog too. This is my blog cctv surabaya | cctv malang | cctv bali | cctv denpasar | cctv solo | cctv semarang | cctv jogja

Jual Parabola said...

Exceptional post and really quality info here. Thanks for your hard work. thanks for your post, I have a simple blog about game, I think you can visit my blog too.

unsgu said...

Terimaksih telah berbagi infonya,,sukses selalu untuk cara besar alat vital info and websitenya,,,and be the best to the next info,,

unsgu said...

Berbagai informasi yang diposting price and specifications pada web ini sangat bermanfaat, dan menambah specifications car and motorcycle wawasan untuk para pembaca. Terimakasih yah udah mau share, dan ditunggu berita terbaru menarik lainnya. home design and decorating ideas

unsgu said...

Info yang diberikan bagus sekali, semoga menjadi berkah minimalist home interior design dan bermanfaat bagi kita semua

unsgu said...

Info yang diberikan bagus examples simple minimalist kitchen sekali, semoga menjadi berkah dan honda sonic 150R bermanfaat bagi kita minimalist house design 1 floor semua yamaha vixion

nhgkm said...

semua telah tersaji dengan sempurna melalui website ini.. informasi price and specifications toyota yang akuarat tajam dan terpercaya.. thanks mas bro telah rela berbagi dengan kami.

Assignment Help said...

Nice blog. Thanks for sharing.
Write My Essay

Post a Comment