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imab13
25 November 2009 @ 05:28 pm
"Je ne sais comment je dure"  
The first translation that I have decided to do is Christine de Pisan's "Je ne sais comment je dure." Some background on Christine de Pisan: She was born in Italy and moved to France with her family around 1370. She was married at the age of 14 and was very much in love with her husband. After his early death, she was left widowed at the age of 25 and never recovered from her grief. To cope, she turned to (frequently depressing!) poetry.

( Click for French poetry and translations )
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imab13
24 November 2009 @ 09:32 pm
Translations Project  
Since I am taking a "French Literature of the Middle Ages" class I have noticed that there is a distinct lack of English translations for some of the works that I have been assigned to read. So in order to help anyone who might struggling to understand one of these rather obscure pieces, or maybe someone who doesn't speak French but just enjoys poetry, I am going to start a project where I provide rough translations for these things. Cause I am nice like that :D

Anyhow I am probably going to put the first translation up tomorrow...
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imab13
08 May 2009 @ 11:29 am
Un Poème d'Amour: Stanza 1- The Muscian  
 
 





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imab13
06 May 2009 @ 05:47 pm
KOTI: Chapter 38- Ethel is Once More a Young Bride  
Chapter 38: Ethel is Once More a Young Bride
December 31, 1315
 




When Ethelyn awoke, she did not want to open her eyes. If she opened her eyes, she feared that the pleasant feelings she had would all disappear. It was as if one of her dreams had come true, as if the imaginations of her mind had been manifested into the physical world. She was lying in her own home, but Matthew was somehow there, stroking her thick hair as she lie with her head in his lap.
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imab13
17 September 2008 @ 10:30 pm
KOTI: Chapter 37- Matthew Stays Inside  
Chapter 37: Matthew Stays Inside
December 30, 1315

“Well hullo Ethel!” Matthew called warmly as he entered her snug cottage.  “Where is everyone?” he asked, looking around him at the empty house.

“Well the older boys are staying the weekend with their friends in the village so that they can go to the Winter Festival, Bertie and Effie are staying with their cousins for the week, and Bertram has gone off to the harbor tonight to see some of his friends who have come into town. And me?  Well I’m here alone,” she explained with a smile.

“I just came by to get a pattern from you for Mathilde,” he said.  “She would have come herself, but she’s feeling all out of sorts these days…”



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imab13
17 September 2008 @ 10:28 pm
KOTI: Chapter 36- Death in the Castle  
Chapter 36:  Death in the Castle
November 30, 1315



Blood pumped through Kaiser’s heart in a terrifying rhythm.  He shared one startled look with his wife before tearing out of the room.  His footsteps pounded on the stone floors in a deep and heavy rhythm, echoing out into the corridors like the beating of a demon drum.  He flew down the hall with all the speed that his athletic body could produce, and then pushed for more.

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imab13
17 September 2008 @ 10:27 pm
KOTI: Chapter 35- Kaiser Realizes  
Chapter 35:  Kaiser Realizes
November 30, 1315



King Kaiser walked into the bedroom where his wife stood, cuddling their newborn son.  She was still weak from giving birth earlier in the week so he wished that she would lie down on the bed and rest with the little fellow that had caused her so much trouble.  Kaiser smiled broadly at her “How are you feeling, my dear?” he asked her softly.

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imab13
07 September 2008 @ 10:28 pm
KOTI: Chapter 34- Dulnstead is Merry  
Chapter 34:  Dulnstead Is Merry
November 26, 1315



After she had finished crying, Dulnstead pulled his arms off of her.  “Sometimes I wonder,” he whispered, “why you are not able to have all of the children you want.  You always say that your body is too weak to give life, Aethelis, but sometimes… I think that perhaps there is nothing at all wrong with you, Aethelis, but with him…” he whispered.

He heard her gasp at the suggestion and a thrill ran through his body.  “Haven’t you ever wondered?” he continued cruelly.  “Why your children can’t survive long enough?  Maybe he is too weak to provide you with what you want more than anything.”

She backed away from him, her face contorted with shock at his audacity.  “How dare you?” she gasped.  “How dare you insult my husband, my loyal, faithful husband after all that you have put me through!”

He was pleased at her reaction, but he did not let his pleasure show.  “I only want you to be happy, Aethelis,” he said.  “And I don’t think that he can provide you with what you need.”
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imab13
06 September 2008 @ 12:44 am
KOTI: Chapter 33- Aethelis is Caught  
Chapter 33:  Aethelis Is Caught
November 25, 1315



“The Queen has given birth,” Aethelis said to Dulnstead, who lounged casually beside her in the grass.  “But I supposed that you’ve already heard.”

“Aye,” he muttered.  “The King has announced that he will be hosting a very large celebration.  Everyone is invited to the palace for the festivities.  That’s how I know, love.  I’d never ignore talk of free ale!”

Aethelis shrugged.  She had been seeing a lot of Dulnstead since their first run in at the market a few months ago.  Now, whenever they met in town, they took the time to go have a meal or a drink together.  Today, they sat simply having a conversation in the warm grass of the commons.  

She had done nothing wrong, but she still hadn’t mentioned to her husband that she had been seeing her old lover.  She knew that though Dinovynn was not a possessive or angry man, the idea of his wife cavorting around town with someone of Dulnstead’s reputation would not please him.

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imab13
06 September 2008 @ 12:41 am
KOTI: Chapter 32- Nicci Sees the Child  
Chapter 32:  Nicci Sees the Child
September 2, 1315



Limbs stuck uncomfortably into Nicci’s back as she snuck towards the building.  The night sky hung heavy overhead, thick and blue, stretching like a piece of deep blue velvet held taught between each horizon, with little tears letting in the light that was the stars.  She was neither warm nor cold as the September night was still clinging to the last shreds of warmth left over from the day.

She crept forward slowly, keeping her eyes before her.  She saw that the lights of the building were ablaze, lit from the fires the still blazed in all of its burning hearths.  The tall stained glass windows glimmering in the night made Nicci think of the multifaceted eyes of insects and the iridescent shimmer of their wings.  Nicci did not like insects and nor did she like cathedrals and the religion that came with them.  She hated the curse of Christianity, which had persecuted her mother and her mother’s mother and so on into a steadily disintegrating line deep into the dim recesses of the darkness that had occurred for them since the Christians had blighted the Isles back in those early years.  
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imab13
06 September 2008 @ 12:36 am
KOTI: Chapter 31- Perri Learns to Play Nice  
Chapter 31:  Perri Learns to Play Nice
August 22, 1315



 “Give me back my toy!” Perrigwen yelled at Ioreck, who had yanked her toy pony out of her hands.

He grinned at her.  “Ohhh does the little girl want her toy back?” he teased.

She glared at him.  Why in the world had her mother decided to let this awful boy come over to play with her?  She had thrown her best tantrum when it was suggested to her that they make nice.  She had tried to do what Ellyn said, and imagine him like a brave, but slightly mislead knight that she could redeem, but it was no use.  Ioreck was completely, unredeemably evil.  

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imab13
06 September 2008 @ 12:31 am
KOTI: Chapter 30- Aethelis Meets an Old Acquantance  
Chapter 30:  Aethelis Meets an Old Acquaintance
July 15, 1315



Tiny droplets of water prickled Aethelis’s forehead as a light summer shower fell down upon her.  Even through the clouds, the hot summer sun managed to blazed through the sky, causing the air to cling like sweat to her skin in the heat.  She absolutely hated going to the market in the summer, when the fierce sunlight could so easily piece her delicate and pale skin even through her clothes and a storm might roll through at any moment.  She trudged up the hill towards the commons, the wet and tickling grass clinging her ankles as she walked.

She was meaning to go to the apothecary to find something that might help Ellyn’s sore throat, but as she approached, she saw someone that she absolutely did not want to run into.  Dulnstead Millhead stood watching her, casually propped against the apothecary stairs.

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imab13
06 September 2008 @ 12:18 am
KOTI: Chapter 29- Albert Meets a Stranger  
Chapter 29: Albert Meets a Stranger
June 24, 1315



“Hullo, Rose,” Albert chirped as he scooted next to her on the couch.  “You’re up early this morning,” he said, noticing that the light was still blue and pale, and Rose did not usually awaken until several hours later.  “How are you feeling?”

Rose rubbed her huge stomach.  “Ready to pop.”

“You say that every morning,” he pointed out.

“Well, it’s always true,” she said.  “But I think today’s really the day.”

“What makes today different?” Albert laughed.

“The contractions,” Rose explained, very matter-of-factly.

Albert’s eyes went wide.  “Are you being serious with me, Rose?” he asked, not knowing whether it was truly safe to believe her.  She was known, after all, for her lighthearted nature and constant joking.
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imab13
06 September 2008 @ 12:15 am
KOTI: Chapter 28- Kaiser Learns One Secret and Ponders Another  
Chapter 28:  Kaiser Learns One Secret and Ponders Another
May 23, 1315



Kaiser knew that there was something on his wife’s mind and that it had been there for quite some time.  For several weeks, she had been distracted and quiet.  Sometimes, she drew in a hesitant breath, as if to tell him something, only to let it back out again, omitting the words she had in her mind.  Granted, he had not known the woman for any great length of time, but he thought he knew enough about her to tell that something was going on.  Moreover, he was no fool.  He thought that he already knew her secret.  

It was therefore no surprise to him when he encountered the familiar hesitancy in her breath as she nervously settled herself into a chair beside him.  Since no explanation seemed to be forthcoming, he decided his patience had been thoroughly outworn, and it was time to get an answer out of her.

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imab13
05 September 2008 @ 08:40 pm
KOTI: Chapter 27: Brigita and Beatrix Melt a Heart  
Chapter 27: Brigita and Beatrix Melt a Heart
May, 1, 1315



Matthew rose from his chair as his oldest daughter, Clothide, opened the door to let in Ethel and her family.  He smiled shyly at Ethel and went over to meet her and her husband, Bertram, with whom he was also friends, while Clothide took Bertie and Effie, Ethel's youngest children, into the other room to play.
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imab13
05 September 2008 @ 08:37 pm
KOTI: Chapter 26- Ethelyn Can't Say No  
Chapter 26: Ethelyn Can’t Say No 
May 1, 1315



“Ethel!” his voice rang out, clear across the grounds, washing into her ears like a silken wave of water.  Clear and cool, it washed over her, enveloping her heart and soul.  She could not help but to turn around as her heart hammered wildly.  She had avoided him for so long!  It had been almost two months since the birth of his daughters and the last time that she had seen him.

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imab13
05 September 2008 @ 08:35 pm
KOTI: Chapter 25- Aethelis is Empty  
Chapter 25: Aethelis Is Empty
April 15, 1315



As she slowly woke, Aethelis instinctively knew that something horrible had happened.  Her heart ached with a fierce intensity, each dull beat of it carving more of a hollow into her heavy chest.  Her face was stiff with the feeling of tears that had dried without being wiped away.  The salt of them still clung to the corners of her mouth.  And though she couldn’t remember why, her eyes once again brimmed, burning with the saline liquid of tears that had already seared at her burning skin.
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imab13
05 September 2008 @ 08:26 pm
KOTI: Chapter 24- Alverstine is Overjoyed  
Chapter 24:  Alverstine is Overjoyed
April 1, 1315



“I’m ready to retire, Kaiser,” Alverstine said quietly to her king.  He only grunted at her and then turned back to his conversation.  

She didn't know why she had expected more of a reply.  Of course he didn’t pay any attention to her!  He was busy talking to that ever-present redheaded vixen, Elissa.  She was always, always present at the castle, and always flirting with Alverstine’s new husband.  Kaiser said that she was “only his cousin,” but Alverstine was no fool.  No one spent that much time with another person out of sheer family duty.

She glared at him, but he didn’t notice that, either.  She turned to Rose.  “I would like to retire now.”  

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imab13
05 September 2008 @ 08:23 pm
KOTI: Chapter 23- Ethelyn is Overcome  
Chapter 23: Ethelyn is Overcome  
March 7, 1315

It had ended before Ethelyn could even begin to think about what had happened.  Matthew looked at her, obviously embarrassed.  “I’m so sorry, Ethel,” he said, his voice soft and deep, sliding through the space between them.  His voice felt like cool water on her skin, washing away the heat of the blush that had stolen over her features.  “I’m just so happy!” he grinned, no longer looking apologetic.  “May I see her now?”



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imab13
05 September 2008 @ 08:22 pm
KOTI: Chapter 22- Matthew is Overcome  
Chapter 22:  Matthew is Overcome
March 7, 1315

The sun was hanging low in the sky, letting blood red light spill in through the windows.  Matthew sat, face buried in his calloused hands.  He couldn’t think straight.  It had been hours and hours since Ethelyn had arrived. As soon as she’d taken a look at Mathilde, she had sent him immediately off to fetch some more ladies to help.  They wouldn’t let him into the room where she lie on the bed, drowning in pain and blood.  He knew no more about what was happening in that room than her screams could tell him.  


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