Haycartes For a Rainy Day · 9:14pm Aug 27th, 2023
Well, with thundershowers rolling overhead, maybe it's time to dive into some family history?
Great Great Great Aunt Twilight Shadow was the first Countess of Maresea. She's famous for getting her horn stuck in the awning of her dais canopy... seven times!
She also specialized in the medical malady magic of Earth Ponies, though her work fell into disrepute in the early 10th century.
Before TheJediMasterEd asks, this is from l'Histoire de Fauvain, a medieval French satirical story cycle about a horse named Fauvel (sometimes Fauvain) who becomes emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. It's a hoot. It's also where we get the expression "to curry favor." To curry (groom) Fauvel was to attempt to please him into granting some favor or other. The name and the goal became conflated, it seems.
We should have had this along side Le Malade Imaginaire in French class!
She got her horn caught in the awning 7 times? Wow.
Dear God what? Everybody knows about Reynaurd but not this? Amazing find!
P.S. Is this a way for the French to say that a horse's ass sits on the German throne?
P.S.: some commentary on the manuscript's place in history:
http://drawingandillusion.blogspot.com/2013/12/2014-year-of-horse.html?m=1
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I know, right? The big manuscript (The one with Twi) even has songs (with music!) in it! I'm trying to find a complete facsimile and translation from Middle French, but only bits and pieces so far. I suspect that it may be mostly entertaining in one of those you-had-to-be-there ways,* whereas Reynard is universally appreciated. Of course, Reynard is a Bad Boy who gets away with a lot of stuff, and Fauvel is a silly pony who goes to hell, so it may just be a case of the more entertaining story prevailing.
That link has a lot of information I didn't know, thanks!
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* Like Saki's Westminster Alice.
That's delightful
Did she arrive on the Ferry 'Cross the Maresea?
...yeah, I'll get my coat.
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Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that Blueblood is somewhere on the far side of Twilight Shadow's family tree?
Reminds me of my CK2 character making her horse immortal.
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cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/T2wPjrMVW002D59vW7mjIz5QEb8=/244x0:1864x1215/1200x675/filters:focal(244x0:1864x1215)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47003764/bojac_ps2_019_h.0.0.jpg
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Okay, that's entertaining enough! And, to be fair, Applejack's been to a colder version, too!
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Nobility... They're all cousins if you go back far enough.
Charlemagne got around!