Arður, þurȝ Godes fultume King on Engleneloande, send igretinge to alle hise holde, ilærde and ileawede, on Oxenefordschire.
Þæt witen ȝe wel alle, þæt þe alde treow þe me clepeþ Henþrowe, biside Seinte Marie chirche, is ifeald bi nihte; and þæt hit is ure wille þæt me arere þe crie after Agnes Hen, half of aluen cunne, þe is iflowen ut of ure prisune.
Heo is lutel swa a dweorȝ. Hire hude is ruh swa beches rinde, hire her stont swa twigges, and hire earen beoð scharpe. Ah warnieð ow: heo con hire seolf unisene makien.
Hwa swa hire bringeþ to ure castle, he scal habben a marc of seolvre. And hwa swa hire hudeþ, he scal beon in ure merci.
Witnesse usseluen æt Oxeneford, in þe þridde ȝere of ure cruninge.
Arthur, through God’s help King in England, sends greeting to all his faithful, learned and lay, in Oxfordshire.
Know you well, all, that the old tree that men call Henthrow, beside St Mary’s church, is felled by night; and that it is our will that the cry be raised after Agnes Hen, half of elf-kin, who has fled out of our prison.
She is little as a dwarf. Her skin is rough as beech’s bark, her hair stands like twigs, and her ears are sharp. But beware: she can make herself unseen.
Whosoever brings her to our castle shall have a mark of silver. And whosoever hides her shall be in our mercy.
Witness ourself at Oxford, in the third year of our crowning.
In 1258, King Henry III issued a royal proclamation in English, the first such since the Conquest, at a time when royal business was done in Latin and French. In it he promised to follow the advice of the barons of Parliament. Seven years later he crushed them in battle, and issued a new proclamation, in which he promised to let the barons live. So all sides were satisfied.
Anyway. I’ve adapted Henry’s words to create a proclamation as King Arthur might have done for my new novel, The Silent Bell, set in an Arthurian Britain in 1250 AD. The greatest and oldest tree in England is felled, and Agnes, a half-fae girl apprenticed to Merlin, is blamed. Arthur’s knights hold her to await judgement, but she escapes, determined to prove her innocence.
But King Arthur is not the only one hunting Agnes Hen.
Silu mundhenda, ā thigen negarbatamand,
Omalāll ocumenda ōla tanfi,
Ag sasēne lothu, ag saellic,
Ag sasēnail yaru mitha, ag saarillsō,
Saomalēll rōbā um samases sasam.
Omalāll ocumenda ōla tanfi,
Silu mundhenda, ā thigen negarbatamand.
walk after=1PL.OBJ VOC child.LEN NEG-find=PASS-3SG.PROX.OBJ
sing with=1PL.OBJ all moment-PL
at DET-tree-PL green at DET-spring
at DET-great.tree golden many at DET-autumn
DET-song-PL sleep under DET-snow-PL winter
(lines 6 and 7 repeat 2 and 1)
Follow us, lost child,
Sing with us for all time,
Among the green trees, in the spring,
In the many golden great trees, in the autumn,
Rest-songs under the winter snows.
Sing with us for all time,
Follow us, lost child.
Āoslāmi is the language of the fae, the Ellyllon. They call to Agnes, trying to draw her out of the human towns into the otherworldly wilderness. This language (and its history, grammar, lexicon, etc.) was created just for this series, and I’m delighted with the look and sound of it. It has the feel of something ancient, but half-familiar, like a childhood rhyme long forgotten. (Members can learn more on here on Patreon.)
The Silent Bell is a cozy Arthurian mystery: Camelot transplanted to the streets of thirteenth-century Oxford, rich with real medieval words, an invented Elvish tongue, and a heroine who is small, stubborn, and nobody’s fool.
Find it on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Bell-Merlin-Murders-Book-ebook/dp/B0HM9MMYC8
Find it on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/260489818-the-silent-bell
Glossary, map, and more details: https://axonfirings.com/the-silent-bell/
Thanks to Kate, my dauntless advance reader, and to all those following along, alle mine holde, ilærde and ileawede, now and in the future, as the next books take shape on Patreon. Enjoy! And let me know what kind of mystery you’d like to see Agnes tackle next.
