Melchizedek

To the tune of "In Peascod Time"

In ancient Alexandria there lived a Jew of fame,

In wealth and wisdom much renown, Melchizedek his name.

The Sultan sought to trap him and to make him ransom pay,

And so he called Melchizedek to ask of him one day.

“Of all the people of the book that God above holds dear,

Which one of Christian, Jew, or Muslim hears God's word most clear?”

The Jew said “Ere I make response, your leave a tale to tell,

A story true of ages past that all my tribe knows well.

“Once long ago a wealthy man, to mark his rightful heir

Had made a ring of finest gold for him to proudly wear.

“And when this son grew full of days he said in likewise vein,

That he who wears the ring of gold shall all my treasures gain."

Thenceforth each father chose the son most worthy of the prize

Until a father had three sons, each equal in his eyes.

“Each one was kind and merciful, and just in all his ways,|

And so the father kept the ring until his final days.

"He sought to find a jeweler of unprecedented art,

To make two copies of the ring, that none could tell apart.

“When he had passed all gathered near to see who he had named,

Each son produced a golden ring, and each the treasures claimed.

“The brothers laughed when they saw this, their father's final jest,

And on the spot they all agreed to honor his bequest.

“They shared the lands and worked as one; ten fold their riches grew,

And which one had the one true ring the brothers never knew.”

When treasure base is split each one receives a smaller part

But wisdom shared is multiplied by pure and noble heart.”

Notes

Sara/Ysemay, who won Bardic Champion the same year I did, also earned a much greater honor earlier in the year: being Laureled. The actual award would be given at the Dragonship Haven investiture in Central Connecticut, where (among other things) there was going to be a performance space for stories either about the local SCA group, or inspired by the Decameron. Now, I actually did a story based on the Decameron (see A Trick Played on Pantalone), but I hadn't read it in awhile, so I dug up my copy and eagerly dove into it...

...and a few hours later, realized why I'd never used it as a source book. The problem is that the stories are either bawdy, which I'm fine with as audience, though I don't have the temperament to tell; or require espousing a viewpoint that I'm uncomfortable with. For example, the story that inspired A Trick Played on Pantalone ends with the Pantalone character beating his wife for ruining the invisibility stone.

The net result is that, of the 100 stories in the Decameron, there are just three (!) that I felt I could tell: The invisibility stone, minus the bit of domestic violence; the one-legged crane story; and this one, from the first day.

At first, I thought I could just tell the story. But I figured if I wrote it as a song, it would dovetail nicely into my goal of writing one new piece a week. One piece of music I'd been playing around with is In Peascod Time, which fits nicely to iambic heptameter. Which also means that the same music can be used for Devil's Deal and---surprise, surprise---The SCAdian Next Door.

Incidentally, the original story is particularly interesting, because while many perceive medievals as being dogmatic and inflexible, the key point of the story is that no religion can claim a monopoly on “the truth.” So it has the bonus of fitting my own philosophical bent.

Incidentally, the 7th stanza is a good example of something that works fine in music but not so well as poetry. (I think this has become a new rule...lyrics should also work when read instead of sung). The original couplet was:

“Thenceforth each father chose the son who ranked above the others

Until one day a father had to choose between three brothers.

The elision works fine as a vocal piece, and it wasn't until I read it that I realized it had an extra syllable.