A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter B

bezant

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A gold coin originally minted in Byzantium; used in medieval literature and heraldry as a symbol of wealth or decorative roundel.

Detailed Definition
"Bezant" refers to gold coins minted in Byzantine Constantinople, which circulated throughout medieval Europe and became synonymous with wealth, exotic origins, and crusader spoils. In heraldry, bezants appeared as golden roundels on shields and banners, making them visual symbols of prosperity and Eastern connections. Medieval poets referenced bezants when describing treasure, payment, or rich decoration, their exotic name evoking both commercial and romantic associations with distant lands. The term carried connotations of Crusades, pilgrimage, and East-West trade, making it valuable for establishing settings involving travel, wealth, or cultural exchange. Its specific historicity made it useful for creating authentic medieval atmosphere, while its golden associations suited descriptions of treasure and luxury in romance and adventure narratives.
Example
Example in poetry:
The merchant paid in bezants of Byzantine gold; Crusaders brought bezants back from the Holy Land; "Bezants three upon a field of blue" describes heraldry; Ancient bezants bore the emperor's image; The treasure chest held bezants and precious gems; Byzantine bezants were prized throughout medieval Europe
Additional Notes
Bezant appears primarily in medieval romance, crusade literature, and heraldic descriptions, representing Byzantine wealth and eastern exoticism. In heraldry, bezants (gold roundels) symbolize generosity and monetary reward. The term evokes cultural contact between Christian Europe and Byzantine Empire, carrying connotations of luxury and foreign sophistication. Chaucer and medieval poets use it as shorthand for wealth. Related to "Byzantine" etymologically. Essential for analyzing economic imagery, crusade literature, and medieval concepts of value and exchange. The term's specificity (versus generic "gold coin") signals the author's desire for historical or exotic coloring. Useful for discussing medieval monetary systems and how literature represents wealth, particularly eastern or ancient riches distinct from contemporary European coinage.
Also Known As
gold coin solidus ducat florin
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