The Redwulf Songbook

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The Foreword of the Songbook

History

The first Redwulf Songbook was put together as hand-bound hardback books for Christmas gifts for House Merlion in the Shire of Mooneschadowe in A.S. XXIX (1994). It included 65 pages of rounds, ballads, period, filk, and SCA/historical songs.

After realizing that it could be more useful as a fireside sing-a-long book, if it was produced in a less expensive/time-intensive format, Rhiannon Redwulf created a version that could be copied and comb-bound. The current black cover is to protect the paper from dampness, when people leave them out under pavilions overnight. (The clear plastic covers worked as water collectors.)

The current songbook runs 136 pages and includes most of the original material. Song lyric and documentation additions (and the occasional deletion) were made in: 1994 (hardback), 1995 (comb-bound), 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2022.

Purpose

As expressed in the current foreword:

"This is a book which is meant for merriment. I have asked myself the following questions about each song; If the good gentles of Mooneschadowe were sitting around a fire, and perchance, someone had this book, could the song be sung? And if it can be sung, would it be a help to our good cheer?

Hence, have I given preference to songs which are well known, songs with choruses, songs of seasonable length, and rounds.

I hope we may all spend hours in each other's good company, singing merrily to the night sky.
-Mistress Rhiannon Redwulf"

Availability

For a PDF of the songbook, some tune recordings, & sundries go to: http://www.redwulf.info/songbook.html.

Utilization

The song lyrics appear in alphabetical order, so once someone calls out the name of a song, the lyrics can be found, even if you are using an older edition (whose page numbers are different).

The index lists both the song titles as well as the first lines. So if you are having trouble remembering a title (such as "Karelia’s Song”), you can look it up by its first line (Oh, the baron of Eastmarch’s fair sorcerous daughter).

The text size for each lyric is as large as possible, so that two or three people can cluster about one book by firelight.

Editing

HL Estrill Swete is the most diligent of songbook supporters, suggesting material and proofreading the songbook since 1995. Mistress Elsa Schemmer von Snackenburg has helped with proofreading and decimation of the songbook from 2005 onward.