What is "rondel"

Rondel \Ron"del\, n. [Cf. Rondeau, Roundel.]

1. (Fort.) A small round tower erected at the foot of a bastion. [Obs.]

2. [F.]

   1. Same as Rondeau.

   2. Specifically, a particular form of rondeau containing fourteen lines in two rhymes, the refrain being a repetition of the first and second lines as the seventh and eighth, and again as the thirteenth and fourteenth.
      --E. W. Gosse.

late 14c. as a type of verse, from Old French rondel "short poem," literally "small circle" (13c.), diminutive of roont (fem. roonde) "circular" (see round (adj.)). Metrical form of 14 lines with only two rhymes. So called because the initial couplet is repeated at the end.

n. 1 A metric form of verse using two rhymes, usually fourteen 8- to 10-syllable lines in three stanzas, with the first lines of the first stanza returning as refrain of the next two. 2 A poem in the above form. 3 The verse form rondeau. 4 A poem in the above rondeau form. 5 A rondelle, (small) circular object. 6 A long thin medieval dagger with a circular guard and a circular pommel (hence the name). 7 A small round tower erected at the foot of a bastion.

n. a French verse form of 10 or 13 lines running on two rhymes; the opening phrase is repeated as the refrain of the second and third stanzas [syn: rondeau]

Rondel (from Old French, the diminutive of roont "round", meaning "small circle") may refer to:

• Rondel (dagger) or roundel, type of medieval dagger
• Rondel (armour), a circular piece of steel, as part of an armour harness, that normally protects a vulnerable point
• Rondel (gaming)
• Rondel (poem), short poem of 14 lines
• Rondel enclosure, type of prehistoric enclosure found in Continental Europe
• Rondel Racing, a British racing team that competed in the Formula 2 series between 1971 and 1973

A rondel is a verse form originating in French lyrical poetry of the 14th century. It was later used in the verse of other languages as well, such as English and Romanian. It is a variation of the rondeau consisting of two quatrains followed by a quintet (13 lines total) or a sestet (14 lines total). This form is arguably better suited to the French language than to English. It is not to be confused with the roundel, a similar verse form with repeating refrain.

The first two lines of the first stanza are refrains, repeating as the last two lines of the second stanza and the third stanza. (Alternately, only the first line is repeated at the end of the final stanza). For instance, if A and B are the refrains, a rondel will have a rhyme scheme of ABba abAB abbaA(B)

The meter is open, but typically has eight syllables.

There are several variations of the rondel, and some inconsistencies. For example, sometimes only the first line of the poem is repeated at the end, or the second refrain may return at the end of the last stanza. Henry Austin Dobson provides the following example of a rondel:

Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,
The old, old Love that we knew of yore!
We see him stand by the open door,
With his great eyes sad, and his bosom swelling.

He makes as though in our arms repelling
He fain would lie as he lay before;
Love comes back to his vacant dwelling,
The old, old Love that we knew of yore!

Ah ! who shall help us from over-spelling
That sweet, forgotten, forbidden lore?
E'en as we doubt, in our hearts once more,
With a rush of tears to our eyelids welling,
Love comes back to his vacant dwelling.

A rondel is a circular piece of metal used for protection, as part of a harness of plate armour, or attached to a helmet, breastplate, couter or on a gauntlet.

Rondels most commonly hang off breastplates and cover the armpit, which is a vulnerable point. In this instance they are commonly known as besagews. They also appear on the back of a type of late medieval helmet known as the armet. Their purpose for this is unknown, though it has been surmised that they may protect strapping, or just be some sort of added protection. Rondels also appear uncommonly on the metacarpal part of some historical gauntlet designs, and appear in some period illustrations protecting the side of the head, and the point of the elbow (where a fan may normally be).

”Rondel” is a song written by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1894 as his Op.16, No.3. The words are by Longfellow, a translation of a Rondel by Froissart. The manuscript is dated 4 January 1894.

The song was first performed by Charles Phillips in St. James's Hall on 7 December 1897.

The song was first published in 1896, by Ascherberg. It was re-published in 1907 as one of the Seven Lieder of Edward Elgar, with English and German words.

A rondel is a wheel-shaped game mechanism with a number of different options. A rondel game is one where a player's choice of actions is limited by their ability to move around the rondel and so are restricted from taking the same action repeatedly. A player is usually able to move farther around the rondel by paying a cost.