Mere-torr (A Tower Built by the Sea)

Built to guide ships, I shall guide none,
The Armada is sunk and gone,
And all the golds and all the reds in all my rooms
Fade still pristine, never ever lost or won.

⁂

Faite pour guider des nefs, je n'en guiderai point,
L'Armada a sombré au loin,
Et tous les ors et tous les rouges de toutes mes chambres
Disparaissent vierges encore, et ni pertes ni gains.

They sweep past me, the valiant sails,
And their lookouts to no avail
Watch for the gleam of new lands, quarries to build empires,
And sneer at the sea, and the stones, and the hail.

⁂

Elles passent et tourbillonnent, voiles vaillantes
Futilement leurs vigies mal-voyantes
Cherchent l'éclat de terres nouvelles, des carrières d'où tirer des empires,
Et méprisent la mer, et les pierres, et la grêle sifflante.

We three thus sit always alone,
All three gilded, all three wind-blown,
Come forlorn on a ship wrought only of your own dreams
If you wish to claim the star-gazing throne.

⁂

Tous trois nous siégeons retirés,
Tous trois dorés, par l'air jetés,
Venez perdus sur un navire fait de vos seuls rêves
Si vous prétendez au trône éthéré.

Click me to read spoilers

The Seastorm by Pieter Bruegel (the Elder), c. 1568.

Fjallskerðandi fjallskarð (Beguiling Gap in the Mountains)

A host marches north and through the Gap
And conquers and dominates and wanes
A troop fares south and through the Pass
And vanquishes and celebrates and passes
Empires of sun, empires of snow, empires of sand and of sea all -
All but trickles of water, flowing away, drying away,
Through the Gap.
And kneels and kneels again the tame, flat plain
Yet the Pass belongs to none
But those who pass, their eyes not set on what's beyond.

Une armée marche vers le nord à travers la Trouée
Et conquiert, et domine, et disparaît
Une troupe avance vers le sud à travers la Passe
Et vainc, et triomphe, et passe
Empires faits de soleil, ou de neige ou de sable, empires de mer tous -
Tous ne sont que filets d'eau, qui s'écoulent, qui s'épuisent,
À travers la Trouée.
Et la plate plaine servile s'agenouille encore et encore
Pourtant la Passe n'appartient
Qu'à ceux qui passent, sans regarder ce qui est au-delà.

Click me to read spoilers

Blick in das Tal von Kreuth by Wilhelm Alexander Wolfgang von Kobell.

Some Escapist Partialism again (you'll notice how Escapist Partialism tends to be used with 19th century art - this one is from 1810). There seems to be no "main subject" here, but I wonder... what's this grey shape at the front ? It really looks like a giant man with a top hat. Perhaps it was intended.

It would call for a form of Frontground Wonderworking...

Steinlyptingar (Forecastles of stone)

To each hilltop its castle, and to each man his own.
Wars are long gone, now remains a labyrinth
Of ridges, of vales, of a sea of woodlands,
Of mountains undisturbed, and precious rare stonewalls.
No more kingdom in Arnor but for striders,
No more duchies in the Vosges but in dreams.

* * *

À chaque sommet son château, et à chacun le sien.
Les guerres sont depuis longtemps disparues, demeure un labyrinthe
De crêtes, de vaux, d'une mer de forêts,
De montagnes impassibles, et de rares, précieux murs.
Plus de royaume en Arnor sinon pour les rôdeurs,
Plus de duchés dans les Vosges sinon en rêve.

Click me to read spoilers

Albrecht Altdorfer again. But this time, the style is different, closer to medieval-style miniatures. As you can see, the picture (a "Triumph of emperor Maximilian during the Swiss war") has three "planes", and of course, only the smallest, furthest away one interests us minute wonderworkers.

Below is a wider gaze at the sea of hills and trees in which these steinlyptingar sail.



(Again, really unsubtle retouching, but the only goal is to avoid having things so ugly they distract the viewer.)

Fjalarnir ok sjárinn (the Mountains and the Sea)

Beneath jagged mountains, cities sit...
Sous des montagnes dentelées, des villes s'étendent...

...towers rise, ships sail... A black tower looms in the East...
...des tours s'élèvent, des navires passent... Une tour noire menace à l'Est...

...an endless sea beyond...
...une mer sans fin au-delà...

Is it my hometown of Konungahella, in the fjords of Norway, in the past days of Sigurth Jerusalemfarer ?

Is it the havens of Gondor, sprawling in the bay of Belfalas, whence the sails of the Ship-Kings depart to explore and conquer ?

Est-ce ma ville natale de Konungahella, dans les fjords de Norvège, aux jours anciens de Sigurth qui Alla à Jérusalem ?

Sont-ce les ports du Gondor, s'ouvrant sur la Baie de Belfalas, d'où les voiles des Rois-Navigateurs partent pour explorer et conquérir ?

Click me to read spoilers

It is in fact part of the background of "The Battle of Alexander at Issus" by Albrecht Altdorfer. It is the subject of today's featured article on Wikipedia (thanks again, WP !). The article will tell you what sea this is, and what each features are. It's less wildly imaginative... but very interesting. Guess what the Black Tower in the East is supposed to be ?