Aryanhwy's Calligraphy and Illumination

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Panache for Yannick of Normandy

Ink, gold, and gouache on vellum. Based on a British Library MS.

The text reads:

Notum sit omnibus dilecti draconis patris filijs quod ego Vitus rex et regina mea Isabella having received many reports of our noble cousin viscount Yannick wish, will, and desire to advertise to all the skills he has displayed in the gentle arts by naming the said Yannick a companion of the order of Panache. Done at Raglan Fair and signed by the king below.

The Latin bit is translated into English as: "Let it be noted by all sons and daughters of our beloved dragon father Albion that I Vitus king and my queen Isabel..." It is adapted from one of the openings found in W. A. Hulton, editor, The Coucher Book, or Chartulary, of Whalley Abbey (Manchester: Printed for the Chetham Society, 1847-49): Notum sit omnibus sancte matris ecclesie filijs quod ego [name] et uxor mea [name] = Let it be noted by all sons of our holy mother church that I [name] and my wife [name].

Friday, July 26, 2019

Hild for Catherine Weaver

Done on vellum. The "C" is based on the Macclesfield alphabet; I'm quite happy with it so long as I don't compare it to the original.

The text reads:

Constanza princess and Duncan prince to our right worthy cousin lady Catherine Weaver. This present charter confirms you as a member of the Order of Hild, created at Raglan Fair in august in the first year of our reign anno societatis LIV and here witnessed.

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Silver Guard for Gilbert Blakthorn

My twin Mala had been doing a bunch of blanks from the Macclesfield alphabet and it made me want to revisit that source. I was super pleased to find -- when I couldn't find my facsimile edition in the post-move book mess -- that the entire MS is online! The Dragon T I picked is on folio 10r; it was a choice between that and the "I" two folios earlier, but G saw both and told me to do the dragon, so there it is.

The text reads:

To all seeing or these present letters hearing both now and to come greetings from Vitus and Isabel king and queen of Drachenwald. It is our will and command and solemn desire that from this day henceforth Gilbert Blakthorn be numbered and counted amongst the company of the Silver Guard.

The text should have read "To all seeing or hearing these present letters" BUT at least once I realised I'd skipped "hearing" I was able to reconstruct a grammatical sentence.

The scroll took me 1.5 episodes of Great British Bake-Off to complete, using vellum I'd already pre-cut.

Friday, June 7, 2019

Sigillum Coronae for Simon Talbot

I was given the privilege of doing one of the very personal end-of-reign scrolls for my dear husband, who dropped a lot of his own projects (including renovating our house) to make a new Order of Precedence database and interface. I had recently been gifted about a kilo of vellum scraps, so shortly after we moved house I sat down and went through all of them to find the biggest squares I could cut, and then picked the biggest one out of them. I wanted to do a diploma style writ, and my twin said if I finished it soon enough and sent it to her, she'd not only seal it with the kingdom seal, but also with her own personal seal as a witness. Seeing as Simon is a big fan of seals, I knew this was the route to go.

The basic format of the diploma was modeled after a 12th century papal letter.

The text was modelled after a couple of 12th C French documents from the abbey of Notre Dame in Paris. It reads, in Latin:

Willelmus rex et Isabetta regina drachenwaldenses notum fieri volumus universis tam presentibus quam futuris quod donamus Simoni Talbot, armigero, jus ostendere sigila nostris. Actum apud Polderslot, a. s. LIV. Ego Aria Bona scripsi.

Translation:

William king and Isabetta queen of Drachenwald will it be made known whether to present [people] or future that we give to Simon Talbot, armiger, the right to bear our sigils. Acted at Polderslot, in the year of the society fifty-four. I, Good Ary, enscribed [this].

I included as many abbreviations as I plausibly could.

I wasn't present at the court it was presented at (didn't get to site until a few hours after he did), but the first thing he did after I arrived and found him was squee about the seals. And he said the scroll made up for the fact that he'd spent the nights that I sat at my desk working on it (in his presence!) irritated that I was scribing instead of unpacking boxes.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Dragon's Jewel for Alexandra af Gotvik

The illumination, based on British Library MS Burney 74 fol. 3, was done by Her Majesty Queen Isabetta at Arts in April IV.

I did the calligraphy. The text reads:

Omnibus has literas visuris vel auditoris Willelmus et Isabetta rex et regina Drachenwaldenses salutem in salute. Such are the many courteous and noble deeds that have been rendered unto the subjects of the abovenamed king William and queen Isabetta of Drachenwald by Alexandra af Gotvik that we have received reports far and wide attesting to the brightness of her gentility. In recognition whereof we the said king and queen induct the said Alexandra into the Order of the Dragons Jewel in our court at Double Wars a.s. liv. In witness whereof we, Isabetta, have limned this charter writ by the hand of our clerk Aryanhwy Bona and signed by the king and queen below.

The Latin translates to: To all these letters seeing or hearing, William and Isabetta, king and queen of Drachenwald, greetings in good health.

Monday, May 6, 2019

Panache for Thorkill Goddredsson

The inspiration for this scroll was British Library MS Arundel 66 f. 267. The scroll itself was done on vellum with 23 karat gold, oak gall ink, and carmine, vermillion, ultramarine, white and black gouache. The line spacing is 1/16", with a 0.5mm nib.

The text reads:

Salutations, commendations, greetings, and good will to Thorkill Godredsson from William and Isabetta king and queen of Drachenwald. Many and numerous are the reports that we the abovenamed princes have received of the many and diverse talents and skills displayed by the said Thorkil, including, to wit: Item both fine and great woodworking, viz, instruments and furniture; item crossbows; item prints and playing cards; item the art of dancing with a sword. In accordance with ancient and honourable custom and tradition and by the power and authority invested in us as we sit upon the Dragon thrones we, William and Isabetta, advance the said Thorkill to the ranks of the Order of Panache with all the rights, responsibilities, and privileges appertaining thereto, including the right to bear the badge of the order: Issuant from a torteau charged with a bezant pierced sable three feathers gules, or, sable. Datum apud Dun in Mara super festum torneamentum stultorum a.s. liv per manum clerici Arinauia Bona.

Progress photos:

Saturday, April 27, 2019

PCS for Wilhelm von Scharfenstein

The morning of the event, Arts in April, the king and queen realised they needed an unplanned scroll, and wanted to have it made on the day. Luckily, the event was full of scribes! But the queen came to two in particular, one who was teaching a calligraphy class and one who was co-teaching an illumination class. So, this was a mother-daughter duo piece; Aryanhwy did the calligraphy, and Elsabelle did the illumination. The text reads:

William and Isabetta, king and queen of Drachenwald, to our right trusty and well-beloved cousin Herr Wilhelm von Scharfenstein, greetings and good will. By the report of many good, true, and trustworthy people we have been well-informed of all that you have done for our kingdom, and for that reason we confirm you as a member of the Popular Company of Sojourners. Actum xxvij apr liij.