I was honored to be asked by His Grace to create the scroll text for his Laurel scroll. Because it is for his Laurel, I decided that the research needed to be even more on point than normal to make sure that it’s worthy of the occasion. Normally I include a few lines explaining the source of the text and any unusual language, but for His Grace I went full on research paper and wrote two pages of research notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The text is based on ‘The Epic of King Geser’, one of the most important Mongol literature. In adapting it, I essentially wrote a fragment of an epic poem about the lineage and deeds of Bataciqan-nu Ko’un Ashir. This fits for both the importance of a double peerage scroll, and leaves room for myself or a future author to continue it in case His Grace is ever made a triple peer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Text:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dongal Khagan, white boned son of Bai Ulgan, A great feast they commanded, Anton Khan, the Viper of the East, raised his mighty voice. Dongal Khagan, proud and famous, agreed. Then came Ashir, called by many glorious names: Before all the Ordu it was declared that on the 14th day of\nthe Fire Horse, in the year of the Earth Pig, the great Taiji Ashir was set at\nthe high table and a laurel set on his brow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dongal\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Catalina <\/p>\n\n\n\n Research:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The scroll text for Duke Ashir\u2019s Laurel is based on the\nMongol epic poem \u2018The Epic of King Geser\u2019, also known as the Abai Geser. This\nis one of the three foundational works of Mongol literature, along with the\nEpic of Jangar and the Secret History of the Mongols. The scroll is based\nspecifically on the first section (branch) of the Buryat version of the poem[1]<\/a>.\nThe Buryats are \u201cthe northernmost of the major Mongol peoples\u201d, primarily\narrayed around Lake Baikal in Siberia[2]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the descriptive or more unusual lines come directly\nor were adapted from the source. The text dedicates a great deal of time to\nlisting the attributes of the gods and heroes it depicts, in great detail.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The description of \u2018white boned\u2019 is a Mongol (and Turkic,\nand various other East Asian) method of describing both nobility and kinship.\nNobles were \u2018white bones\u2019 and commoners \u2018black bones\u2019; it also describes levels\nof interrelation where no marriage was allowed (someone too related to you was\nwhite bone, and you couldn\u2019t marry them)[4]<\/a>.\nThis survives even into the 21st<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> Century, where\nSoviet propagandists talked about the triumph of \u201cthe blackboned proletariat\nover the whiteboned bourgeoisie.\u201d[5]<\/a>\nThis kind of description of family can also be seen elsewhere in both Asia and\nthe world; compare the Korean Bone Rank system[6]<\/a>,\nand the often non-academic discussion of the Red Hand of Ulster signifying the\nrequirements of relation to select the new Tanist<\/em>\n(with the fingernail and joints of the fingers signifying the four generation\nrequirement to sit in the derbhfine<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The scroll text represents multiple levels of royalty and\nnobility needing to be presented within a Mongol context. Calontir currently\nhas both a King and Queen and Prince and Princess, all of whom make sense to be\nrepresented in the context of an epic poem praising a legendary or mythological\nfigure. In addition, SCA Royal Peers make sense in both the context of extended\nkinsman of the Crown and as subinfeudated leaders themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n King Dongal is referred to as Khagan to indicate he is the\nhighest ranked royal or noble who will be mentioned, and that in the context of\nthe Calontir Ordu there is no one higher. Khagan was the title of the Khan of\nKhans, to whom all subordinate Khans reported[7]<\/a>.\nKhatan or Qatan are titles used both generally for the wife of a Khagan or\nKhan, and for a woman exercising royal authority in her own right[8]<\/a>.\nPrince Anton is listed as Khan, in context indicating that he is of royal rank\nand authority but subordinate to Dongal. Princess Yseult is titled as Khanum,\nwhich is an alternate title for Khatan and used fairly interchangeably[9]<\/a>;\nbut in context functions like Prince Anton\u2019s title, indicating royal rank but\ncurrent subordination.[10]<\/a>\nAshir himself is referred to as Taiji, which is his preferred title in the\nstyle of the Yuan Dynasty (the Sino-Mongolian dynasty in China founded by\nKublai Khan). Sechen is a title meaning \u2018the wise\u2019, which was used in Duchess\nAshland\u2019s Duchy scroll with permission by their successors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ashir\u2019s list of glorious names is an adaptation of the lists\nof praise found in the source material[11]<\/a>.\nThey reference aspects of his previous reigns and life. The Heart of the Oak\nreferences the Shire of Oakheart. Noble son of Bataciqan is part of his name:\nBataciqan-nu ko\u2019un Ashir is a patronymic name indicating that he is Ashir, son\nof Bataciqan. Guide of the Ordu references his status as the moral compass of\nCalontir[12]<\/a>.\nThe Swift Sword was a common title given him in the pre-print scroll texts for\nhis second and third reigns. Defender of the Bear references the provisions of\nhis Duchy, where he is given land and holdings to guard for the children of his\nkinsman \u2018the bear-blooded Taiji\u2019 Ostwald. Lord of the Blue Hand references one\nof the most well-known stories about Duke Ashir, and also is referenced in the\ntext and illumination of his Duchy scroll. Thrice Blooded Khan refers to his\nthree reigns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The references to magic are from the original. Han Hormasta,\nleader of the 55 Tenger of the Western Skies, lays a series of spells on his\nhorse: \u201cHe made a spell over the flanks against failing, He made a spell over\nthe shoulder for conquering.\u201d[13]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dongal, Catalina, and Ashir are all given divine lineages or\nblessing appropriate to an epic poem. Dongal is said to be descended from Bai\nUlgan, the Mongol name for the God also known as Ulgen, a creator and protector\nof mankind[14]<\/a>.\nCatalina is said to be the beloved of Umay, a Mongol\/Turkish goddess of\nfertility and protector of children[15]<\/a>.\nAshir is called beloved of Tenger, also known as Tengri, is the supreme God of\nthe native animist religion of Mongolia[16]<\/a>,\nwhich is known as Tengrism[17]<\/a>. [1]<\/a> Abai Geser<\/em>, available at http:\/\/intersci.ss.uci.edu\/wiki\/eBooks\/Asia\/BOOKS\/Abai%20Geser.pdf<\/a>.\nHereinafter \u2018Geser\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [2]<\/a> Encyclopedia\nBritannica, Buryat<\/em>, available at https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Buryat<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n [3]<\/a> Id<\/em>. (\u201cWithout mistake he left, like a\nmare stepping after its offspring, he stepped smoothly over the silvery\nthreshold without stumbling.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [4]<\/a>\nJack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the\nMaking of the Modern World<\/em>, Crown (March 16, 2004). Chapter 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [5]<\/a>\nLanguagehat.com, White and Black Bone<\/em>,\nquoting Nicholas P. Vakar\u2019s The Study of\nMeaning in Russian<\/em>, 1949.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [6]<\/a>\nEncyclopedia Britannica, Kolp\u2019um<\/em>,\navailable at https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/kolpum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [7]<\/a>\nEncylopedia Iranica, Khagan<\/em>,\navailable at http:\/\/www.iranicaonline.org\/articles\/khagan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [8]<\/a> See, e.g.<\/em>, Guida M. Jackson, Women Rulers Through the Ages: An\nIllustrated Guide<\/em>, ABC-CLIO (September 23, 1999). (Discussing figures such\nas Borte, wife of Genghis Khan, and Ebuskun, regent of Turkestan and\ngranddaughter-in-law of Genghis Khan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [9]<\/a> The Illustrated Weekly of India<\/em>, Times\nof India Press (1969), vol. 90 p. 4. (\u201cIn the original meaning \u201cbegum\u201d and\n\u201ckhanum\u201d are the feminine equivalents or counterparts of \u201cbeg\u201d and \u201ckhan\u201d\u2014like\nthe English \u201clord\u201d and \u201clady\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [10]<\/a>\nThey are also traditionally ranks that indicate marriage, but unfortunately\nthere was not much that could be done in this context without either implying\nthat Her Highness is a subordinate wife under Duchess Isabeau, or getting even\nfurther away from history or reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [11]<\/a>\nGeser, supra<\/em> at 1. (\u201cFrom the age of\ntwo she would sing and dance, from the age of seven she could sing like a bird,\nfrom the age of eight she could dance gracefully\u2026\u201d and \u201cWith a round red face,\na square white forehead, deep black eyes, hair three ells long\u2026\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n [12]<\/a>\nAccording to the song, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [13]<\/a>\nGeser, supra<\/em> at 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [14]<\/a>\nEncyclopedia.com, \u00dclgen<\/em>, https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/environment\/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps\/ulgen<\/a>.\n(Quoting the Encyclopedia of Religion<\/em>,\n2005).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [15]<\/a> See, e.g.<\/em>, Esther Jacobson, The Deer Goddess of Ancient Siberia: A Study\nin the Ecology of Belief<\/em>, Brill (January 1, 1993).<\/p>\n\n\n\n [16]<\/a>\nNew World Encyclopedia, Tengri<\/em>, https:\/\/www.newworldencyclopedia.org\/entry\/Tengri<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n [17]<\/a>\nNew World Encyclopedia, Tengrism<\/em>, http:\/\/www.newworldencyclopedia.org\/entry\/Tengriism<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was honored to be asked by His Grace to create the scroll text for his Laurel scroll. Because it is for his Laurel, I decided that the research needed to be even more on point than normal to make sure that it’s worthy of the occasion. Normally I include a few lines explaining the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226,"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions\/226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dishonoronyourcow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Called to the Falcon Ordu with his brave red heart.
In reaching out his right arm he spoke beautiful words;
In reaching out his left arm he spoke the truth.
Called to him the beloved of Umay, Catalina Khatan,
Girt with steel, decorated with symbols of honor;
Who had ten kinds of magic in her palm,
Whose wisdom ensures not one lamb is lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Set with beautiful silver and covered in silk;
At the head of which, by their side, they would seat
The greatest of their white boned kin.
But knowing not, they asked the Ordu who it was,
Destined by the yellow book of fate,
To take such a place and bear such unmatched honor.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCall forth Ashir Taiji, Lord of the Blue Hand,
Brave as a falcon, with the power of the tornado.
He poisons the poisonous, and has revenge on evil.\u201d
Yseult Khanum, with clear bright mind, spoke as well.
\u201cBring forth the Defender of the Bear, Ashir Taiji,
Not for his armor of beaten iron, or his powerful tendons.
But for his secret wisdom, and the power of his mind.
Let him add to his names Laurel, and its symbol be set among his.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have seen him work with skins.
He made a spell over the laces against failing.
He made a spell over the soles for conquering.
And with them our Ordu is impervious to ice and gravel.\u201d
Catalina, like a star of the heavens, agreed.
\u201cHe has given us decorated quivers, peerless Gers,
And sheaths for our hard steel swords.
Let the noble son, beloved of Tenger, have his seat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Heart of the Oak;
Noble son of Bataciqan;
Guide of the Ordu;
The Swift Sword;
Defender of the Bear;
Lord of the Blue Hand;
The Thrice Blooded Khan.
With Ashland Sechen beside him,
And his banners born by his two strong sons,
And fair-haired daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khagan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Khatan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n