A poem for a poet! I admit that I was paralyzed with fear, for the longest time, before I could even begin this one. I asked Duke Dietrich for any impressions he was left with at the end of the day and his response was typical of so many of his own poems: he fights for the love and honor of his lady and for no other reason.
Looking, then, to Germanic styles in general, and compositions by minnesingers, specifically, I selected to write a Wechsel (alternating) song, wherein two lovers speak in alternating verses. Rhyming couplets were commonly used in this form.
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Herzog Dietrich von Vogelsang
fallen in Spring Crown Tourney, A.S. XLII
(wechsel)
The day was new! Yet, most familiar was that field
As were the blows old foes returned upon my shield.
With each of these I answered, thus did I impart
I fight with Lady’s Love and Favor in my heart.
So many times I’ve waited here with heart in hand
And watched this valiant knight against his foeman stand.
I’ve come to feel his blows and sing his cries aloud;
Yet, I find comfort, then, in his admiring crowd.
Neither lightning strikes nor horns of sable bull
Could wound or wane the ardent fervor of my will.
Yet, thrice, the sloth was there with sure and swifter blows
Delivering my Lady’s Love to my repose.
So still! My knight now lies recumbent at my feet
For on this tourney field, he suffered a defeat.
But, with his final dance, his victory was dealt
And all that saw him fall, shared in the joy I felt.
I may fall one thousand times upon this field
Yet, only for my Lady’s Favor I will yield;
And for my Lady’s Love I will, with joy, replay
Another battle fought on, yet, a better day!
— THL Beathog nic Dhonnchaidh
. . . is a 14th century bard who can often be seen traveling far from her home in the Highlands with her lord husband and muse. If a good tale crosses her path, she will sing a song about it, pull out its hair and spin it, or throw it in a pot and cook it up.