The Sun Rose on the Morning of My Years

Servir le Lys (To Serve the Lily)

Am C

The sun rose on the morning of my years

Dm E

And Fortune offered me a noble goal:

Am C

To stand as first of France’s cavaliers

Dm E

To fight with pride, and live by my parole,

F G

With Charles the Dauphin lettered, schooled, and squired

F E

And trained to do whatever was required

To serve the lily.

Too early called to duty and display

A dozen years, and then a throne and crown

Yet known as “well-beloved”, le bien aimé,

My king was destined ever for renown

But madness took the scepter from his hand

Yet still I journeyed forth at his command

To serve the lily.

In tournament I sought for no reward

But glory for the lily on my shield

In Genoa, made governor and lord

In far Constantinople, forced to yield

But ransom paid, I journeyed forth once more

To answer duty’s call and ride to war

And serve the lily.

At Azincourt I joined my friend d’Albret

Our forces massed, our strategy agreed,

But princes will not follow and obey

Nor suffer common men to plan and lead

Before day’s end, I knew our cause was lost

But still I fought on, heedless of the cost,

To serve the lily.

I fell a captive, taken as a prize,

And knelt to English Henry in my shame

I saw a soldier’s soldier in his eyes

And in his word and deed no hint of blame

He marries royal Catherine, heir of France;

May God provide them sons, and grant their chance

To serve the lily.

At sunset now my evensong I sing

And pray before I close my eyes to sleep

I dream that I am riding with my king,

A world to win, and honor still to keep;

With Henry will my faith at last abide

As we ride out together, side by side,

To serve the lily.

Et nous montons ensemble,

côte á côte,

Servir le lys.

Words by Lisa Theriot

Music by Ken Theriot

Servir le Lys (To Serve the Lily)

Documentation:

Story

The lyrics are original. The story is that of Jean le Maingre dit Boucicaut, marshal of France, one of the principal figures in the French force at the battle of Agincourt. Boucicaut had a long and honorable career serving the crown of France, but was taken prisoner at Agincourt and died unransomed in England [1].

Meter and Structure

The meter is iambic pentameter, with the stanzas rhymed according to the pattern ababcc; this particular stanza came to be known as the “Venus and Adonis stanza” after a work published by Shakespeare in 1593 [2]:

'Over my altars hath he hung his lance,
His batter'd shield, his uncontrolled crest,
And for my sake hath learn'd to sport and dance,
To toy, to wanton, dally, smile and jest,
Scorning his churlish drum and ensign red,
Making my arms his field, his tent my bed.

I followed each stanza with the antiphon “To serve the lily”. Thematic antiphons are common in period works, arising from the example of repeated antiphons in the Catholic mass. The “Agincourt Carol” ends each verse with the antiphon “Deo gratias Anglia redde pro Victoria” (England, give thanks to God for victory) [3]. As the title suggests, I intended the antiphon to be the French “Servir le Lys” but it is more understandable to an English-speaking audience as translated.

Melody

The melody is original. It is written in the Aeolian mode, first codified in 1547 in the treatise “Dodekachordon” (“Twelve Strings”, “The Twelve-Stringed Lyre”) published by Swiss theoritician Heinrich Glareanus [4]. Glareanus attempted to close the gap between the officially recognized church modes and the way people were actually writing music. He recognized two modes not already described by the church: Ionian and Aeolian. (Not a moment too soon: the famous medieval hit “Sumer Is Icumen In”, written in the late 13th or early 14th century, is in Ionian mode. As usual, theory was lagging well behind practice.)

By 1600, British popular music was dominated by the four modes nearest to our modern ideas of “major” and “minor”: Ionian, Dorian, Mixolydian and Aeolian [5]. Though accidentals, or variations from the pure mode, had started to creep in to composed music, traditional music remained almost purely modal [6].

[1] Lalande, Denis, ed., Le Livre des faits du bon messire Jehan le Maingre, dit Bouciquaut, mareschal de France et gouverneur de Jennes. Ed. Denis Lalande. Textes Littéraires Français no. 331. Genève: Droz, 1985. The original medieval biography was written between 1406 and 1409 and does not therefore include the events or the aftermath of the battle of Agincourt.

[2] Shakespeare, William, “Venus and Adonis”

http://www.shakespeare-w.com/english/shakespeare/w_venus.html

[3] Bodleian Library MSS. Selden, B 26, “The Song of Agincourt”, 15th c.

[4] Glareanus, Henricus Loritus. Dodekachordon, published 1547 in Basel.

[5] Chappell, William. _Old English Popular Music_ (a new edition, with a preface and notes and the earlier examples entirely revised by H. Ellis Wooldridge), New York, 1961 [originally published 1838].

[6] Bronson, Bertrand Harris. The Singing Tradition of Child’s Popular Ballads, paperback, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976.