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.

Frostulfr's AoA

I was gifted with the assignment of a new scroll in techniques I haven't done before. Frostulfr the Swordman was receiving his AoA and it was requested to be done in Old Norse.

This was a difficult scroll for me because:

A) I don't know Old Norse.

B) I don't know Viking runes.

C) There really isn't much in the way of Viking manuscripts, and what there is shows little to no illumination.

But! There were also some incredibly exciting parts of this project for me:

A) Getting to work with someone else on the project.

B) Getting to write out something in another language in IPA

C) Getting to make my first scroll based not on a manuscript but other inspirations.

In the end, I found inspiration for various different carvings and jewelry that I could find, and the first letter styled after the Beowulf manuscript.

There were phrases coming from me that I don't think were ever heard in my house before. Things like 'is that an I with a moustache?' and 'what are these bow tie thingies?' and 'I don't even think I know what is going on with that symbol....' But, more exciting was listening to the reading of the scroll over and over so I could write out the IPA transcription. I can't even recall the amount of times my nearly five year old would parrot, in perfect Norse, "Come on, mom! He said 'Hann var sverðtakari mikill ok drengjaval.' Come on!" Oi. What an exciting scroll, filled with a lot of new things for me. I hope it goes over well.

Here is the actual scroll:

 

 

The amazing part for me, of course, was getting to create the IPA transcription in hopes of making it easier for a herald to read. So, here following is the translation in Norse, English, and IPA. Words written by Goði Fridrikr Tomasson, as well as the transcription created from a reading by the same.

 

 

Norse translation

 

Á Steinmark staði var eitt ungmenni, het Frostulfr inn sverðmaðr. Hann var sverðtakari mikill ok drengjaval. Hann vann reiðu at allum mannum. Hann hefði veggberg margt. Hann vanði orrostumenn harða. Hann barði vapnum á hósluvóll með drengskap mikill. Hann gef vórð móti kona goðar. Hann læði ok var maðr allglaðr.

 

Edward, austankonung, ok Þyrra, kenna hans, kolluðu Frostulf til dómhrings þeirra ok hann heitin þingmaðr austanrikis. Þessi inn sextandi dag Gormundar, inn þrítugundi ok sétti dag einvalds Edward ok Þyrra, vetra stofnans fertugundi ok níundi, at Blásin Sandstað, á Burtreið Krunu.

 

 

English Translation

 

In Stonemarche stead was a young man, called Frostulf the Swordsman. He was a mighty sword taker and a courageous man. He did service to all men. He lifted many burdens. He trained brave warriors. He fought in every hazel yard with great courage. He protected his Baroness. He laughed and was a joyful man.

 

Edward, King of the East, and Thyrra, his queen, called Frostulf to their doomring and named him a "thingman" of the East. This on the 16th day of Gormund, the thirty sixth day of the reign of Edward and Thyrra, in the forty-ninth winter of the founding, in Barren Sands stead, at Crown Tourney.

 

 

International Phonetic Alphabet transcription

a as in father          s as in say              z as in zoo

i as in bee               t as in talk             d as in dark

u as in boo              n as in name         m as in mix

ɛ as in bet               l as in laugh           h as in help

ɔ as in saw              r as in read             j as in yes

ɪ as in in                 k as in kiss             g as in great

æ as in cat             ð as in that              θ as in three

o as in oats            v as in clever           f as in fox

p as in plant           b as in boy

 

a stainmark staði var aɪt unɡmɛni, hɛt frɔstulf ɪn sfɛrθmaθ. han va sfɛrθtakadi miko ok drɛŋjaval. han van rɛθu it alu manum. han hɛfði vɛɡbɛr markt. han vandi ɔrustumɛn harθa. han barθi vapnum a hɔsluvol mɛθ drɛŋskap mikl. han ɡɛf vorθ moti kona ɡoθr. han læθi ok var maθr al ɡlad.

ɛdvard, austənkonuŋ, ok θirə, kɛna hans, koluθu frɔstulf tə dɔmrɪŋz θɛra ok han haitɛn θɪŋmaθ austanrikis. θɛsi ɪn sɛkstandi da ɡormundar, ɪn θrituɡundi ok sɛti daɡ ainvalz ɛdvard ok θira, vɛtra stofnanz fɛrtoɡundi ok niundi æt blɛisən sanstaθ a bortriθ krunu.

Queen's Cypher

I was offered the joy of making a Queen's Cypher (an award I don't know much about) for a lovely woman who sounds like she was a joy during the previous reign.

I went to my traditional source, not knowing what needs to be said in something of this manner, and Alys quickly whipped up some words for me (quick compared to my days of deliberation).

"Caoilfhionn Augusta et Nobilissima, Empress of the Eternal East, to all who see or hear these words, greetings and every good thing.   Whereas it is right, just, necessary and proper that those who have labored in good faith and diligence to the glory of our Imperial selves be rewarded for their faithfulness; and whereas Marguerite De Sainte Nazaire has found great favor in our eyes as our chief retainer; therefore, in acknowledgement and recognition of her travails on our behalf and for the love we bear her, we do hereby by these present letters invest and endow the said Marguerite with our Cypher, the said emblem and signacle of our favor to be borne about her person at all times to come and in perpetuity; And so that this our gift may continue firm and unimpaired in future times, we have reinforced it with the protection of our seal and sign manual and caused it to be read before witnesses.  Done upon 27 September in the forty-ninth year of the Society."

At that point it was just deciding on a 14th Century French manuscript to take inspiration from (one of my favorite time periods of manuscripts!!). Based on Les Petites Heures du Duc Jean de Berry, circa 1372-1390.

This was my first time working a portraiture as well as doing gold leafing. The gold leafing is amazing. I really enjoyed working with it, even though I had to remind myself not to breathe while doing so.

My tiniest writing yet.

Look how it shines and shimmers! The cypher is the first letter of the scroll. I've seen a lot of people do it that way before.