Drake Oranwood's Troubadour Scroll

Given the opportunity to do Drake's troubadour scroll meant finally getting work from an illumination that I have fancied for a long time: The Sforza Hours.

The Sforza Hours (1490) often have a very particular way in which the borders are set with blues and reds and planters and vases lining the sides. The one that I loved, though, also had an angel at the bottom beside an open book and a cup. A cup that would be perfect for a troubadour. And it was perfect for Drake: something bright and colorful like the ribbons on the mugs he sings about.

For the words, I decided to tap someone I hadn't tapped yet before: Lady Olivia Baker. She was much more versed in the kind of poetic manner in which Drake seemed to enjoy than I was, and she was happy to oblige. The wording ended up as such, written fully in iambic pentameter (information on the words and how they were created):

"Ryght true it is and said full yore ago,

“Take hede of him that rounde thy fire dothe presenteth”;

Thys Goldsmithes worke and goodley song dothe gro

Both voyce and visage for all deliteth.

Full many a wondrus tale he recounts

Woven stronge wyth thredes of thyne and Owre owne

Memoryes. Lo! Have We cause goode to dance,

Syng and rejoyse in tyme-cloth he hath sowne.

For as wyth cause We, Brennan and Caoilfhionn,

Nobyll King and true Quene of the Eastern

Landes do inducte to the Order herein

Of the Troubadour, Drake Oranwood done

On thys third day of October, A.

S. L, Owre joyus

Coronation in the northerne Baro-

Ny of Owre Concordia of the Snows."

And here is the finished scroll:

And a quick shot just to see the shine of the gold. Oh it was so pretty held up and shining!

Olivia Baker's Order of the Pine

I have been suffering with a lot of medical aliments recently, the most recent of which being a broken arm. It put a halt on nearly all of my creating which threw me into a sadness of epic proportions. That is until I got a request to do a scroll for the neighboring Barony, Concordia of the Snows. It wasn't just that it was a request, but it was a scroll request for someone I dearly adore and I just couldn't say no. I was going to pour my heart into this scroll just in case the rest of my body wasn't up to it.

I requested words from Mistress Ysemay Sterlyng, who is also a good friend of Olivia, knowing that she would enjoy helping out here. The words she wrote were as follows:

"With a song on her lips and generosity in her heart, does Lady Olivia Baker serve Our Barony of Concordia of the Snows. Whatever she does, whether organizing events, fulfilling the duties of exchequer, or encouraging and inspiring others, Lady Olivia toils with style and grace. Thus do We, Baron Jean-Paul and Baroness Lylie, induct her into the Order of the Pine, so that all may know her as a valued asset to Concordia. Done this day September 12th, at the Arts and Sciences Salon, A.S. X."

For inspiration, I turned to one of my favorite pieces: The Hours of Engelbert of Nassau, circa 1470-1480. It is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever run across, using trompeloi in the borders to beautiful effect.

Here is the original inspiration:

This ended up being the finished product:

Edit: I am not perfect. No scribe is. There are plenty of imperfections and misspellings, etc, even in period. Yes. I wrote the wrong AS year. I was never taught roman numerals and wasn't really thinking. I apologize. I assure you it is year 50, though. I wish I could write the actual date instead. I apologize for the error.

Finán mac Bressail's Silver Crescent Scroll

I was given an assignment for a Silver Crescent scroll for someone I did not know well and knew of another Silver Crescent who missed doing scrolls due to a variety of reasons. But Aislinn loves the research as much as I do, so together we worked together to make a wonderfully researched scroll for Lord Finán mac Bressail.

The words were created by Baroness Aislinn Chiabach, heavily inspired by The Brus by John Barbour. She wrote it in a particular style to medieval Scottish poetry, called "octosyllabic".

"As we King Omega of East

And Queen Etheldreda  attend

Of good Lord Finán mac Bressail

Who’s become known to royal ears.

That in this land this worthy man

became, a haven for those new.

Ah, Service is a noble thing!

Armor, weapons, made by his hands
Grace gentles and children alike.

Children, the heart's blood of the East,

Must be supported and taught.
He teaches, practices and leads
Our youth sparkle under his care

Some think service is marred by praise

Nay, say we! For all the silver

Shall be worn by thee on this day

In Crescent form with golden crown

For service is solace to all

Without which we could ne'er go on

The silver crescent We do give
On this day, July eleven
At the Great NorthEastern War in

Province of Malagentia." The illumination and calligraphy style was based on the Winchester Bible, dated 1160-1175.

Invitation to Roses for their new Highnesses

With the fight for the new Prince and Princess finished, the last invitation scroll had to be made. The words were changed slightly, but more or less still written by Ysemay Sterlyng. Calligraphy and illumination by myself based on the Gospels of Otto III, shortly after 997.

"Unto their most illustrious Highnesses, Brennan and Caoilfhionn, from Your most faithful Barony Concordia of the Snows, greetings. All too soon as spring brought warmth and the heat of war will enter our realm. Thus, by the grace of Jean Paul and Lylie, Baron and Baroness of Concordia, do we extend our invitation to attend the annual War of the Roses from the 22nd to the 25th days of May, A.S. L. We patiently await your reply in hopes you, brave Brennan and wise Caoilfhionn, will grace our fields and inspire Your people to greatness."

Sapphire scroll for Lady Jaquelinne Sauvageon

This one has been a very long time in coming as this was at the beginning of my scribing career and so:

A) I took no notes.
B) I took no photos.

This all, of course, makes me very sad. But! I do remember the main source for the scroll and the words were written by Baron Pierre de Tours. Knowing the recipient, I was able to get the pictures from the scroll. So here is Lady Jaquelinne Sauvageon's Sapphire scroll for the Barony of Concordia of the Snows based on the Chronicle of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, circa 1455.

"Time passes us all and in so doing does leave marks of many sorts. When one uses the passage of time to learn and to grow then time’s passage becomes an investment which diminishes ignorance. When the skills and abilities are enthusiastically shared with others not only are skills and an ability passed on the enthusiasm is passed on as well. Lady Jaquelinne Sauvageon has used her time instead of allowing time to use her. Not only has her skill in music and dance impressed Us and others, her willingness to teach the art of dance and its enthusiasm has enriched Our populace, the Barony and the Kingdom. Were these her only accomplishments We would be, as we are, most impressed. Lady Jaquelinne has also used her time to investigate, study, and learn medical practices as used in Period and travels with her medical kit and supplies, going so far as to incorporate that knowledge into her registered device. And since it is unseeming that one Gentle be given the same recognition twice no matter how well deserved, it is to Our mind just and proper, right and due, that either skill earn her entrance into Our Order of the Sapphire in decision of which We set our hand at the occasion of Our War of the Roses which is done this day of May 25 in the year of Our Society, AS XLIX."

Lady Jenevieve's Silver Rapier Scroll

I was given the task of making a Silver Rapier scroll for a lady I did not know, but the story given about one of her most excellent deeds made me excited to work on the scroll.

For this scroll I chose a letter from Adelaide, circa 1262, for the wording inspiration. The original letter is here. My words are shown as follows:

"Edward Rex and Thyra Regina, defenders of the East, to all who see these present letters greetings in truth and honor.

Let it be known that Our faithful advisors confessed that a year ago, in the time of lord Florence of good memory, the good Lady Jenevieve Fiana Spillane made a certain inquiry on a certain controversy in a certain land which is called Æthelmearc, an inquiry in which she completed by diligently lifting her blade to teach the truth of things through the testimony of skill and endurance.

The judges of the controversy found Lady Jenevieve was in no way obligated, nor had she done injury to them or furnish matter of complaint in anything, but rather sought in her favor and friendship.

Hearing tell of the deeds of Our skilled ambassador of the East, We do therefore, under advisement of Our council, induct said Jenevieve into Our Order of the Silver Rapier with all rights and honors attendant thereon.

Lest by death or forgetting of Our said faithful advisors it should happen that knowledge of said gift disappears, We have ordered it to be consigned to writing and fortified by the protection of Our signs manual.

Dated in AS XLIX on March 28 on the event of Mudthaw in Our Barony of Settmour Swamp."

 

The inspiration for the calligraphy and illumination was taken from the Lambeth Apocalypse, circa 1260-1270.

 

 

 

 

Invitation to Roses

I was requested to make an invitation to War of the Roses in Concordia for their Highnesses. The words were by Mistress Ysemay Sterlynge. Calligraphy and illumination based on gothica bastarda and, of course, cadels.

Words by Mistress Ysemay:

"Unto their most illustrious Highnesses, Darius and Etheldreda, from your most faithful Barony, Concordia of the Snows, greetings.
Although the bitter winds of Winter do blow and chill us to the marrow, all too soon will Spring bring warmth and the heat of War will enter our Realm. Thus, by the Grace of Jean Paul and Lylie, Baron and Baroness of Concordia, do we extend our heartfelt invitation to attend the annual War of the Roses. From the 22nd to the 25th days of May, A.S. XLIXI, our Barony will once again engage in battles both gentle and martial to hone our skills and elevate the prowess of your Eastern subjects. It is our sincere hope that You, Brave Darius and Wise Etheldreda will grace our fields and inspire Your people to greatness.
We patiently await your reply."

I had been waiting to post this one for awhile. Based on a variety of examples of pieces where faces and animals were depicted in the cadel design from the 1600's.

Examples:

Les premieres Euvres de JACQUES DEVAULX , pillote en la marine (1583)

Calligraphic Alphabet (1592)

Carl's AoA

I was given a pretty long lead in time for this particular piece for a 14th Century German who went by the name of Uther of Anglespur. I had to make sure I knew the person since I wanted to personalize one of the figures, but the important thing was that I was super excited to be doing a German piece. So, I searched through manuscripts and finally decided on one of my favorites: World Chronicle Charlemagne. It is a manuscript from the 14th century, around 1300 exactly, in the German language that hails from the Upper Rhine region. There was a illumination in particular that really captured my attention, so I ended up choosing it to be the main focus of the scroll. This mean, though, that I was going to need to keep my wording short to keep it as true to the manuscript as I could.

The words I ended up writing were inspired, as well, by a 14th century document known as The Foundation of the University of Heidelberg AD 1386, also German.

The words I ended up with were as follows:

"We, Edward Rex and Thyra Regina, by the grace of the East Kingdom, for the comfort and honor of Our people, send greetings. The outstanding praise of chivalric skill and knowledge of Our subject Uther of Anglespur, which watchful fame spreads abraod on flying wings, has reached Our ears. We have heard of his great prowess, as well as his fine teachings and labors with a calm enthusiasm. Lest We seem to forget the privilege conceded to Us by Our Kingdom, and lest, for this reason, We should merit to be deprived of the privilege granted - do decree with provident counsel, which decree us to be observed there unto all time, that Uther shall be awarded, presented, and endowed with arms. Given under Our decree, signed by Us at Our Market Day at Birka in Our Barony of Stonemarche, on the 24th of January, AS XLIX."

For me, this is pretty short and sweet and to the point.

I then got out my sumi ink to get the calligraphy done in a littera bastarda font style, just like the original manuscript, and my gauche paints and walnut ink for the illumination.

This is the original manuscript I was trying to recreate in design:

 

And here is the final result of the scroll, including transforming the very middle figure into what the awardee looks like in his armor:

 



It was then, after I just finished putting the final details on, 4 days before the event... that I was informed that he changed his name from Uther to Carl. And I freaked out. I had no idea what to do. I was scared and nervous and didn't want to start over and especially did not want to accidentally ruin the scroll through some kind of scraping or worse.

So I did nothing. And just hoped that he would accept my apologies.

And that was the thrilling joy of Uther/Carl's AoA scroll.