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 T

tabard

Apparel
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 short, sleeveless, tunic-like garment worn over armor or as a heraldic coat, often bearing a coat of arms, a staple of medieval chivalric and tournament poetry.

Detailed Definition
The tabard is a garment of pageantry and war, its open sides and heraldic display making it a canvas for identity and allegiance. In Arthurian romance and epic poetry, the tabard is worn by knights and heralds, its colors and devices instantly recognized on the battlefield or at the joust. Poets describe its embroidered lions, eagles, and fleur-de-lis, each charge telling a story of lineage and deed. The tabard's function of displaying arms over armor makes it a secondary layer, a sign of the knight's public persona. In love poetry, a lady might embroider a tabard for her champion. Its practical use in tournaments also makes it a garment of spectacle, and its removal after a match can signal a shift from public prowess to private vulnerability.
Example
Example in poetry:
"His tabard of blue and gold displayed the lion of his house"; "The tabard's heraldry was a history she could read at a glance"; "She sewed his tabard for the tournament, a flag of her favor"; "The tabard, open at the sides, was a garment of motion"; "He wore his tabard to the joust, a knight of the old code"; "The tabard's colors had faded, but his name had not"
Additional Notes
The tabard is a garment of pageantry and war, its open sides and heraldic display making it a canvas for identity and allegiance. In Arthurian romance and epic poetry, the tabard is worn by knights and heralds, its colors and devices instantly recognized on the battlefield or at the joust. Poets describe its embroidered lions, eagles, and fleur-de-lis, each charge telling a story of lineage and deed. The tabard's function of displaying arms over armor makes it a secondary layer, a sign of the knight's public persona. In love poetry, a lady might embroider a tabard for her champion. Its practical use in tournaments also makes it a garment of spectacle. Related terms include surcoat, coat of arms, and heraldic vest. Students should note the tabard's heraldic function and its role in signaling chivalric identity and public performance.
Also Known As
heraldic coat emblazoned tunic knightly surcoat
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