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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 8382780" data-attributes="member: 7026594"><p>I think it's a shame that Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer AKA Silver John isn't better known. He's certainly in Appendix N for a reason.</p><p></p><p>Other examples include the aforementioned Taliesen from the Welsh, Amergin from the Irish (Morgan Llywelyn did a fun book about him in '84, <em>Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish</em>), Poul Anderson's Cappen Varra, and for the "incompetent but good-hearted" trope, Fflewddur Fflam from Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain.</p><p></p><p>Here's a short Cappen Varra story from 1957. Though it reminds me that CV is possibly the original lothario bard (definitely better than the current stereotype, thankfully). <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite18" alt=":ROFLMAO:" title="ROFL :ROFLMAO:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":ROFLMAO:" /></p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29542/29542-h/29542-h.htm[/URL]</p><p></p><p>Here is a compilation of John the Balladeer stories, starting with an intro to the writer and the character. The first story is O Ugly Bird! (1951), and I recommend them all. They're quick reads, too. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]http://baencd.freedoors.org/Books/John%20the%20Balladeer/John_the_Balladeer.htm[/URL]</p><p></p><p>I like the contrast between Cappen and John, too. Cappen is almost the archetype of the D&D-style bard. Roguish, charming, carrying a light blade and decent with it, a romantic with a list of former loves as long as your arm. John's more humble and restrained; a touch devout, but still struck with wanderlust and curiosity, seeking out new songs and old legends and inevitably getting wrapped up in mysterious and magical events.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 8382780, member: 7026594"] I think it's a shame that Manly Wade Wellman's John the Balladeer AKA Silver John isn't better known. He's certainly in Appendix N for a reason. Other examples include the aforementioned Taliesen from the Welsh, Amergin from the Irish (Morgan Llywelyn did a fun book about him in '84, [I]Bard: The Odyssey of the Irish[/I]), Poul Anderson's Cappen Varra, and for the "incompetent but good-hearted" trope, Fflewddur Fflam from Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain. Here's a short Cappen Varra story from 1957. Though it reminds me that CV is possibly the original lothario bard (definitely better than the current stereotype, thankfully). :ROFLMAO: [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.gutenberg.org/files/29542/29542-h/29542-h.htm[/URL] Here is a compilation of John the Balladeer stories, starting with an intro to the writer and the character. The first story is O Ugly Bird! (1951), and I recommend them all. They're quick reads, too. :) [URL unfurl="true"]http://baencd.freedoors.org/Books/John%20the%20Balladeer/John_the_Balladeer.htm[/URL] I like the contrast between Cappen and John, too. Cappen is almost the archetype of the D&D-style bard. Roguish, charming, carrying a light blade and decent with it, a romantic with a list of former loves as long as your arm. John's more humble and restrained; a touch devout, but still struck with wanderlust and curiosity, seeking out new songs and old legends and inevitably getting wrapped up in mysterious and magical events. [/QUOTE]
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