Aryanhwy's Calligraphy and Illumination: April 2014

Saturday, April 19, 2014

PCS for Shauna of Carrick Point

Shauna is a good friend, and when she confessed that she'd never received a scroll for her PCS, I volunteered to fix that. The text is adapted from the Letters Patents of King Henry the Seventh Granted unto Iohn Cabot and his Three Sonnes, Lewis, Sebastian and Sancius for the the Discouerie of New and Unknowen Lands and reads:

Ulric and Eleo nora, by strength of sword, Prince et Princess of Drachenwald, to all, Gree tings. Be it known that we have gi ven and granted, to our wellbeloved Shauna of Carrick Point full and free authority, to sail all parts, countries, and seas of the East, West, North, and South under the banner and ensignes of the Popular Com- pany of Sojourners, depicted plainly above, to seek out, discover, and find whatsoever isles, lands, or provinces of those benighted who do not know of Drachenwald to tell tales of our lands to all she may discover or find. In witness whereof we have caused these presents to be drawn up, signed ourselves the iii day of March, a.s. xxii.

The text was written on 9 Mar., and the exemplar, BL MS Harley 3841, fol. 1, was also chosen that day too. Next up was cutting down the perg and sketching out the margins and lines, etc. And that about used up my evening. 10 Mar. I sketched out the initial, painted it and the PCS badge, and all of the red penwork on the inside. It's so very satisfying. 12 Mar I did the rest of the penwork on the initial.

I calligraphed it on Apr. 19; I'm relatively happy with the script, but not with the sizing or spacing. This nib was too big; the next size down I have was way too small. Grrr. But I like the way the little yellow detailings on the capitals really tie things together!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Fox for Irminric æt Eoferwic

I picked out the exemplar on Mar. 25. It's BL MS Burney 216 f. 14, http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=3612, and I sketched the layout and initial on Apr. 10, and inked in the initial. Then I wrote the text, which reads:

Nasr et Eleanorae, prin cipium insulenses draconenses, haec verba sunt.

1. It is, in the laws of the is lands, that people go by rank, each according to his condi tion, Martlet, Ffraid, Fox.

2. And if there a scholar is, who through learning thrives, so that he has good education and art, then is he thence forth Martlet-right worthy.

3. And if a gentleman thrive, so that he serves the prince, then is he then ceforth Ffraid-right worthy.

4. And if there a fighter is, who through diligence thrives, so that he attains the acclaim of his fellows, then is he thenceforth Fox-right worthy.

5. And one such fighter is Irminric æt Eo forwic, and we the aforenamed princes enscribe him as a member of the order of the fox during the Oxford Roll Tournament, xxv aprilis anno societatis xlviii.

The text is based on extracts from early Anglo-Saxon laws concerning people's ranks.

While at the Scriptorium Nordmarkensis over the weekend, I was able to complete the painting of the initial, on Apr. 12. I also took "before white-work" and "after white-work" pictures, because it's always good to be reminded of just how awful the before versions are, and how much improved the after ones are:

I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but I cannot articulate why, which is part of why I am unsatisfied with it! I did the calligraphy the evening of Apr. 14, and overall, I'm actually rather pleased with the result, even given the misspelling and the misplacement of the "iv", and my reservations about the initial.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Blank M for Nordmark

This weekend I attended the Scriptorium Nordmarkensis, and during the "free scribe" period I wanted to prove to the people taking my puzzle initial class that yes, they really are that easy and did this one up in about half an hour. I then left it with Alfhild, the Nordmark signet, for future use. The exemplar is BL MS Burney 28 fol. 1.