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.

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



1223

The First Crusade's Aftermath

What happened

The aftermath of the First Crusade continued to shape the political and cultural landscape of the Holy Land in 1223. The establishment of Crusader states in the Levant led to ongoing conflicts and cultural exchanges between Christians and Muslims. This period saw the rise of new literary forms that reflected the complexities of identity, faith, and conflict, as poets began to explore these themes in their works.

Literary impact

Poets like William of Tyre and later, medieval troubadours, drew inspiration from the events of the Crusades, reflecting on themes of chivalry, faith, and the clash of cultures. The literary output from this period often grappled with the moral implications of war and the search for identity in a rapidly changing world. This blending of cultures enriched the poetic tradition and influenced the development of European literature.

Source: Wikipedia

Poets alive in 1223

1 poet

More events in 1223

Skip to main content