Blog Archives

What is Oak Apple Day?

5/29/2016

King Charles II

Today is May 29th and as I have
recently learned that means today is
Oak Apple Day. This celebration is
little known today but in the 1600s it
was a big deal.

In 1660 the English monarchy was
restored with the return of King
Charles II. The English Parliament
declared that "to be for ever kept as a
day of thanksgiving for our
redemption from tyranny and the
King's return to his Government, he
entering London that day."

Oak Apple Day was celebrated as an official holiday until 1859
when the British Parliament abolished the celebration. I have
not been able to find the reason why they did so.

Image Credit: Philip Halling

The name of the day refers to the
oak tree Charles hid in while
evading capture by the
Roundheads. 'Oak Apples' are a
form of plant gall and it was
common practice to wear a sprig
of them for the occasion. The
holiday is still celebrated
sporadically in parts of England.

It is a pity that Oak Apple Day is no longer celebrated in an
official capacity. Redemption from the tyranny of a republic
is certainly something worth celebrating.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Royal Anthems: Het Wilhelmus

5/28/2016

Het Wilhelmus (The William) is the royal anthem of the
Netherlands. It is also one of two pieces of music used for
formal events.

The song has an interesting history. The song details the
struggle of William the Silent to free the Netherlands from
Spanish rule. However, for many years after the Netherlands
gained their independence the song was strongly associated
with supporters of the House of Orange-Nassau which was, at
the time, only one political faction among many. For this
reason the song fell out of favour when the Kingdom of the
Netherlands was founded due to it having partisan
connotations. However, the song remained popular and it was
reinstated as the national anthem in 1932.

The song itself is fairly long for an anthem and takes fifteen
minutes to sing from beginning to end.

Dutch Lyrics

Wilhelmus van Nassouwe
ben ik, van Duitsen bloed,
den vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den dood.
Een Prinse van Oranje
ben ik, vrij, onverveerd,
den Koning van Hispanje
heb ik altijd geëerd.

In Godes vrees te leven
heb ik altijd betracht,
daarom ben ik verdreven,
om land, om luid gebracht.
Maar God zal mij regeren
als een goed instrument,
dat ik zal wederkeren
in mijnen regiment.

Lijdt u, mijn onderzaten
die oprecht zijt van aard,
God zal u niet verlaten,
al zijt gij nu bezwaard.
Die vroom begeert te leven,
bidt God nacht ende dag,
dat Hij mij kracht zal geven,
dat ik u helpen mag.

Lijf en goed al te samen
heb ik u niet verschoond,
mijn broeders hoog van nam
en hebben 't u ook vertoond:
Graaf Adolf is gebleven
in Friesland in de slag,
zijn ziel in 't eeuwig leven
verwacht de jongste dag.

Edel en hooggeboren,
van keizerlijke stam,
een vorst des rijks verkoren,
als een vroom christenman,
voor Godes woord geprezen,
heb ik, vrij onversaagd,
als een held zonder vreze
mijn edel bloed gewaagd.

Mijn schild ende betrouwen
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer,
op U zo wil ik bouwen,
Verlaat mij nimmermeer.
Dat ik doch vroom mag
blijven,
uw dienaar t'aller stond,
de tirannie verdrijven
die mij mijn hart doorwondt.

Van al die mij bezwaren
en mijn vervolgers zijn,
mijn God, wil doch bewaren
de trouwe dienaar dijn,
dat zij mij niet verrassen
in hunne boze moed,
hun handen niet en wassen
in mijn onschuldig bloed.

Als David moeste vluchten
voor Sauel de tiran,
zo heb ik moeten zuchten
als menig edelman.
Maar God heeft hem
verheven,
verlost uit alle nood,
een koninkrijk gegeven
in Israël zeer groot.

Na 't zuur zal ik ontvangen
van God mijn Heer het zoet,
daarnaar zo doet verlangen
mijn vorstelijk gemoed:
dat is, dat ik mag sterven
met ere in dat veld,
een eeuwig rijk verwerven
als een getrouwe held.

Niets doet mij meer
erbarmen
in mijne wederspoed
dan dat men ziet verarmen
des Konings landen goed.
Dat u de Spanjaards
krenken,
o edel Neerland zoet,
als ik daaraan gedenke,
mijn edel hart dat bloedt.

Als een prins opgezeten
met mijner heireskracht,
van de tiran vermeten
heb ik de slag verwacht,
die, bij Maastricht begraven,
bevreesden mijn geweld;
mijn ruiters zag men draven
zeer moedig door dat veld.

Zo het de wil des Heren
op die tijd was geweest,
had ik geern willen keren
van u dit zwaar tempeest.
Maar de Heer van hierboven,
die alle ding regeert,
die men altijd moet loven,
Hij heeft het niet begeerd.

Zeer christlijk was gedreven
mijn prinselijk gemoed,
standvastig is gebleven
mijn hart in tegenspoed.
De Heer heb ik gebeden
uit mijnes harten grond,
dat Hij mijn zaak wil redden,
mijn onschuld maken kond.

Oorlof, mijn arme schapen
die zijt in grote nood,
uw herder zal niet slapen,
al zijt gij nu verstrooid.
Tot God wilt u begeven,
zijn heilzaam woord neemt
aan,
als vrome christen leven,-
't zal hier haast zijn gedaan.

Voor God wil ik belijden
en zijne grote macht,
dat ik tot gene tijden
de Koning heb veracht,
dan dat ik God de Here,
de hoogste Majesteit,
heb moeten obediëren
in de gerechtigheid.

William the Silent

English Lyrics

William of Nassau, scion
Of a Dutch and ancient line,
I dedicate undying
Faith to this land of mine.
A prince am I undaunted,
Of Orange, ever free,
To the king of Spain
I've granted
A lifelong loyalty.

I've ever tried to live in
The fear of God's command
And therefore I've been
driven,
From people, home,
and land,
But God, I trust, will rate me
His willing instrument
And one day reinstate me
Into my government.

Let no despair betray you,
My subjects true and good.
The Lord will surely stay you
Though now you are
pursued.
He who would live devoutly
Must pray God day and night
To throw His power
about me
As champion of your right.

Life and my all for others
I sacrificed, for you!
And my illustrious brothers
Proved their devotion too.
Count Adolf, more's the pity,
Fell in the Frisian fray,
And in the eternal city
Awaits the judgement day.

I, nobly born, descended
From an imperial stock.
An empire's prince, defended
(Braving the battle's shock
Heroically and fearless
As pious Christian ought)
With my life's blood the
peerless
Gospel of God our Lord.

A shield and my reliance,
O God, Thou ever wert.
I'll trust unto Thy guidance.
O leave me not ungirt.
That I may stay a pious
Servant of Thine for aye
And drive the plagues
that try us
And tyranny away.

My God, I pray thee, save me
From all who do pursue
And threaten to enslave me,
Thy trusted servant true.
O Father, do not sanction
Their wicked, foul design,
Don't let them wash
their hands in
This guiltless blood of mine.

O David, thou soughtest
shelter
From King Saul's tyranny.
Even so I fled this welter
And many a lord with me.
But God the Lord
did save him
From exile and its hell
And, in His mercy, gave him
A realm in Israel.

Fear not 't will rain sans
ceasing
The clouds are bound to
part.
I bide that sight so pleasing
Unto my princely heart,
Which is that I with honor
Encounter death in war,
And meet in heaven my
Donor,
His faithful warrior.

Nothing so moves my pity
As seeing through
these lands,
Field, village, town and city
Pillaged by roving hands.
O that the Spaniards
rape thee,
My Netherlands so sweet,
The thought of that
does grip me
Causing my heart to bleed.

Astride on steed of mettle
I've waited with my host
The tyrant's call to battle,
Who durst not do his boast.
For, near Maastricht
ensconced,
He feared the force I wield.
My horsemen saw one
bounce it
Bravely across the field.

Surely, if God had willed it,
When that fierce
tempest blew,
My power would have
stilled it,
Or turned its blast from you
But He who dwells in
heaven,
Whence all our blessings
flow,
For which aye praise be
given,
Did not desire it so.

Steadfast my heart
remaineth
In my adversity
My princely courage
straineth
All nerves to live and be.
I've prayed the Lord
my Master
With fervid heart and tense
To save me from disaster
And prove my innocence.

Alas! my flock. To sever
Is hard on us. Farewell.
Your Shepherd wakes,
wherever
Dispersed you may dwell,
Pray God that He may
ease you.
His Gospel be your cure.
Walk in the steps of Jesus
This life will not endure.

Unto the Lord His power
I do confession make
That ne'er at any hour
Ill of the King I spake.
But unto God, the greatest
Of Majesties I owe
Obedience first and latest,
For Justice wills it so.

A variation of Het Wilhelmus is also used as the grand ducal
anthem of Luxembourg. This variation is known as De
Wilhelmus.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Celebrating Victoria Day

5/23/2016

Happy Victoria Day!

This Victoria Day is special in that
it is also marks the official 90th
birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of
Canada.

The Monarchist League of Canada
has encouraged its members to
film themselves singing Happy
Birthday to Her Majesty to mark
the occasion. The Governor
General even joined in recently.

Victoria Day is a uniquely Canadian celebration. No other
member of the Commonwealth celebrates it. The date used to
move around a little bit since it was Queen Victoria's actual
birthday. It was eventually decided to fix the date to the
Monday before the 24th of May (the Queen's actual birth
date).

Canadians celebrate Victoria Day in a few different ways.
Some don't mark the occasion in any special way (although
even this can be an appropriate way of marking the
occasion). Firework displays have long been a part of Victoria
Day celebrations and continue to be a part of celebrations
in Canada today. As for myself...

...I treated my coworkers to birthday cake.

The month of May also marks this website's second birthday.
When I started I was unsure about how long it would last. I
wasn't even sure if I had the dedication to keep it regularly
updated. But two years in I am pleased with how things are
going.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

5/16/2016

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
-J.R.R Tolkien

The above poem comes from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It
is repeated twice in The Fellowship of the Ring and refers to
Aragorn, the rightful king of Gondor. While it is fairly certain
that Tolkien didn't intend for the poem to be an allegory for
anything (since he famously hated allegory), it is fun to play
with the poem's applicability as I will do here. I'm certainly
not the first to do this. It is a generous gift from Tolkien that
he rejected allegory in favour of applicability. The latter
invites the reader to use their own head just as much as the
former shackles the reader to the authors intent.

But enough of that. What do I want to do with this poem?
Well, the poem is already meant to allude to the return of
Gondor's king. Why not expand the words to apply to the
many monarchist movements of our world?

All that is gold does not glitter

To me this phrase can describe
the idea of monarchy itself. It is
an odd phrase in that it makes
little immediate sense. Gold
glitters. Gold that does not glitter
seems strange. But gold can be
made to lose its glitter. If it is
shrouded in darkness, or covered
in dirt, or alloyed with dull base
materials.

In much the same way monarchy (the gold) can be forced to
lose its appeal (glitter). This can be done through ignorance
of a country's history or the monarchy's place within society.
The eyes of the people become clouded and dim, forgetting
the value of their monarchy. Likewise, monarchy can be
marred by malignant attacks by republicans. Lies repeated
ad nauseam can take on the appearance of truth and the
monarchy is slowly buried in the mud (or dirt). These lies told
by republicans take on a special danger when they attempt to
associate monarchy with ideas that have nothing to do with
it. Republicans try to associate monarchy with fascism,
racism, immaturity, and anachronism (base materials)
because by associating monarchy with them they may attack
the base materials in order to hide the gold.

At the same time republicans attempt to 'outshine' monarchy
by holding up republics as an ideal. Even going so far as to
hold republics 'more advanced' than monarchy. This stanza
reminds us that monarchy is golden even when republicans
desperately try to hide it. And gold's glitter can be hidden but
it cannot be eliminated.

Not all those who wander are lost

Michael I & Anne on a Romanian Stamp

This phrase fits the scattered
royal claimants of the world quite
well. While some claimants (the
wanderers) have given up on ever
being sovereign of their countries
again (they have become lost in
the sense of not knowing where
they are supposed to go), other
claimants continue to fight for
their thrones (they are not lost in
the sense of being unrecoverable
even though they no longer
reign).

The old that is strong does not wither

I feel this is an apt description of tradition, and more
specifically, monarchism. While the modern world gnaws at
the traditions of the past there remains those faithful to those
traditions. That monarchism has not died away and, in fact,
grows stronger in some areas must perplex republicans.
Because despite their best efforts...

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

Traditions run deep. As I stated up in the first section,
republicans will do what they can to hide monarchy's value
from the people because they cannot destroy that value.
But even if they attack the people's belief in monarchy they
are ultimately doomed to fail. Monarchy is too embedded in
the fabric of human history and culture. Republicans cannot
reach its roots.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken

This line (and the rest of the poem) shows the hope of
monarchists. Hopes rekindled from the lifeless ashes of
republicanism.

But it also connects with the first line rather well. Fire dispels
darkness, it burns away detritus, and it purifies metal. So
aside from hope you could view the fire here as representing the fight to restore monarchy.

A light from the shadows shall spring

Referring again to the claimants in their wanderings. Each
willing to help their country in whatever way they can. Each
willing to return and help their countries in times of dire
need.

Renewed shall be blade that was broken

Blades can represent various things. To me the blade here best describes the country itself. Or more specifically a
country's present reconnecting with its past. A connection
that republics often try to break to secure their rule. This is
important because just as you cannot fight a battle without a
weapon, a country cannot safely enter the future without an
understanding and appreciation of its past. And the best way
for a country to maintain an understanding and appreciation
of the past is to carry it with themselves.

The crownless again shall be king

Indeed. All hail the return of the king!

Tolkien

Well, this has been a fun exercise.
Tolkien's works lend themselves to
monarchical interpretation partly due to
Tolkien's own monarchism. And this
poem especially stirs something in me.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Invictus Games

5/2/2016

Prince Harry

Prince Harry was in Toronto today to
launch the 2017 Invictus Games which
will be held in Canada. The Invictus
Games is a multi-sport event for sick,
wounded, and disabled soldiers and
veterans. It was created by Prince Harry
as a way to "demonstrate the power of
sport to inspire recovery, support
rehabilitation and demonstrate life
beyond disability". 'Invictus' is the Latin
for 'unconquered' or 'undefeated'.

Prince Harry was inspired by the Warrior Games, a similar
event in the United States. However, the young prince had a
more personal reason for wanting to set up the Invictus
Games. After the media leaked Prince Harry's deployment he
was recalled.

“The guilt at having to leave my guys behind was something I would have to
swallow”

Prince Harry shared the return trip with the coffin containing
the body of a Danish soldier and three soldiers in induced
comas. “It struck me that this flight was one of many where
lives had been changed forever . . . and put me on the path to
the Invictus games”.

Runners at the 2014 Invictus Games

The inaugural games were held in 2014. Building on the
success of the first Invictus Games the second and third
Games have been arranged for 2016 and 2017.

Countries participating in the 2014 Invictus Games:
Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France,
Georgia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Britain,
and the United States.

Countries Invited to the 2016 Invictus Games:
Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France,
Georgia, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Netherlands, New
Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Since Prince Harry's time in
active service he has been
consistent in advocating for
former soldiers. He is a
patron of the Invictus Games
as well as Walking with
the Wounded.

The Prince's efforts to help
military servicemen and
veterans is a much-needed
endeavor. Veterans in
Canada and Britain can rest
assured that their Prince will
not forget them.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

What is Oak Apple Day?

Royal Anthems: Het Wilhelmus

Celebrating Victoria Day

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

All that is gold does not glitter

Not all those who wander are lost

The old that is strong does not wither

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

From the ashes a fire shall be woken

A light from the shadows shall spring

Renewed shall be blade that was broken

The crownless again shall be king

The Invictus Games

About

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Categories

What is Oak Apple Day?

Royal Anthems: Het Wilhelmus

Celebrating Victoria Day

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

​All that is gold does not glitter

Not all those who wander are lost

The old that is strong does not wither

Deep roots are not reached by the frost

From the ashes a fire shall be woken

A light from the shadows shall spring

Renewed shall be blade that was broken

The crownless again shall be king

The Invictus Games

About

Archives

Categories

All that is gold does not glitter