Aryanhwy's Calligraphy and Illumination: aoa

Showing posts with label aoa. Show all posts

Thursday, December 5, 2019

AoA for John Yarrowe

Given the recipient's name, it was so obvious what I needed to do -- find a medieval MS with yarrow in it and make a page that looked like it could've come from a medicinal. I found a variety of MSs, but liked the best this De Materia Medica image of yarrow from a 10th C Turkish MS.

The text on the left reads:

Achilleos sive yarrow, alias dictam vulgariter gearwe, est herbiferum flos ad solantem spirituum et animorum.

Which translates to:

Achilleos or yarrow, otherwise commonly called gearwe [the Anglo-Saxon name of the plant] is an herbaceous flower for the soothing of spirits.

The right-hand side was intended to read as if it were a translation or gloss of the Latin, but without being a translation:

Yarrowe, otherwise commonly known as John, soothes the spirits of all and is now named a lord of our court.

I'm exceptionally pleased with the calligraphy which I did freehand without even drawing any lines. I feel like I've finally figured out how to write rather than the draw.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

AoA for Hiltrude von Trivium

Sepia ink on vellum with gouache and gold leaf. The text reads:

To all true and honourable people these present letters seeing or hearing greetings from Vitus and Isabel king and queen of Drachenwald. Inasmuch as we have both seen and heard of the works and skills of our trusty and well-beloved servant Hiltrude von Trivium we the above-named rulers affirm that henceforth and in perpetuity she shall be known in all places as a lady, and for the remembrance of this she now holds the sole and unique right to display the arms depicted above plainly.

Confirmed vii aug liv.

Always a pleasure to do an AoA when the recipient has registered arms!

Thursday, September 7, 2017

AoA for Ursula of Guildford

This is the source.

The text reads:

Ursula of Guildford has not only through common report and the testimony of many true and worthy nobles but also through the witness of our own eyes long distinguished herself and elevated herself above the ordinary rank so that it is fit that we recognize her as a lady of our court. Super Michaelmas lii.

AoA for Alexa Pologrinus

This is my source image.

The text reads:

Yannick and Alana prince and princess of Insulae Draconis by this our present charter do award unto Alexa Pologrinus the right to bear arms and be known to all as Lady Alexa. Dat. ix.ix.lii.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

AoA for Myfanwy Bullen

The exemplar is HMML Cod. S 1399, f.110r. The text reads:

To Myfanwy Bullen, right worthy and well-beloved, from Iannick and Alana, greetings. Know that many are the reports we have received of your gentility, your diligence in the arts, your skills with a bow, and your service to our subjects, our shires, and hence to ourselves your rightful princes: We in return reward you creating you a lady of our court: Datum i juli lij.

I again marked my progress in half hour increments on twitter:

Half hour update. Sketching always takes the longest. pic.twitter.com/WdxfeJm01F
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 20, 2017

1 hour in. It's always fun once the colors start coming. pic.twitter.com/P3UXddGQdn
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 20, 2017

1.5 hours, and all the base coats are done! Too tired to start with the gold size tonight, so: Gold size tomorrow, gilding Thursday. pic.twitter.com/mCcpNWSahz
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 20, 2017

3 hours -- 45 minutes to do most of the outlining. The rest will have to wait until after the gilding. pic.twitter.com/zACVQBIEDF
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 21, 2017

3.5 hours (total). Whitework is my FAVORITE stage. It's when everything pops and escapes the OMG THIS LOOKS AWFUL WILL NEVER WORK stage. pic.twitter.com/tmaOL9Y9nH
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 21, 2017

No, wait, I was wrong. Putting down the gold is my FAVORITE stage. (4 hours total). pic.twitter.com/FUT6GVzlJt
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 22, 2017

Another half an hour doing some touch-ups on the gilding and outlining. Last photo until the finish piece has been received. (4.5 hours) pic.twitter.com/I8y1Z3J13i
— Sara L. Uckelman (@SaraLUckelman) June 22, 2017

I then completely forgot to time how long the calligraphy took, but it was probably ~45 min.

Friday, August 5, 2016

AoA for Thomas Bainbridge of Manchester

The exemplar for this piece was Codex Claustroneoburgensis 389 f.74r, a 15th C German manuscript. I just love this particular pattern and combination of colors -- it's so weirdly modern. I've wanted to do it for ages, so was very happy to have the opportunity to use it here!

The text reads:

Pol and Caitriona, prince and prince of Insulae Draconis, to our servant Thomas Bainbridge of Manchester, salutations and greetings. Insofar as by the ordination of the right of arms we have ascended the thrones of princely might, it is right that in our deeds we altogether reward those by whose gifts and services we are exalted. There fore we, desiring that ancient custom as well as solemn laws to remain in vigour and prosperity, and en deavouring to recognise and elevate such persons as have con tributed richly to our realm, the likes of the above-named Tom of Manche- ster who has served us most especially through labouring as our Gauntlet Pur- suivant, maintaining and recording all manner of worthy challenges, skirmishes, and duels throughout our lands, do by our princely authority proclaim and affirm that the aforenamed Thomas is to be recognised as a lord, with all the rights, responsibilities, and privileges attendant thereto, and for the recognition of which we charge the said lord Thomas to consult with our heralds and to devise suitable and unique arms. Datum apud Castellum de Raglan, super Festo de Raglan, a.s. lj.

This was originally given out at Raglan, but the recipient sadly couldn't make it then, so it was held in secret and re-given at October crown.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

AoA for Marx Rosenberg

Combat scroll for Marx Rosenberg. With the advent of a new Prince and Princess of ID, there were a few awards that needed scrolls on the day. I volunteered to help out Ari Mala, and she brought her big folder of blanks around for me to dig through. Lo and behold, what did I find? One I'd done myself. I figured it was appropriate to end up doing the calligraphy on it!

It's been nearly a year since I've done any scribing, which means I didn't get quite the right combination of nib size and line size, meaning I had much less space for writing than expected. I would've loved to have put the full blazon in, since Marx had arms registered already, but instead decided to paint in his arms and then refer to them. Drawing the arms was a bit of a revelation, in that I did it entirely freehand (albeit with the image up on my phone so I had something to look at while drawing.) Years ago, I would never have believed anyone who told me someday I'd be able to draw freehand. I'm quite happy with how the arms came out.

The text reads:

We, Alexandre and Eularia, prince and princess of Insula Draconis, to our right-trusty and well-beloved servant Marx Rosenberg, greetings. Know that in consequence of the many good reports we have received, we by our royal right do award you full rights to the arms depicted plainly below. Dat. viij aug. a.s. xxxxx.

Friday, November 21, 2014

AoA for Thora Greylock

I chose the initial, Codex Gottwicensis 30 (2), f. 206v, on Nov. 1. The design was influenced by other folios in the same codex, specifically f. 204v, f. 235v, and f. 85v. I started sketching things out the same day, and finished the lining on the next.

I waited awhile uncertain what color to do the silver/grey bits in -- silver leaf? (don't have any.) cerulean? (don't have any; and what I found on line just didn't look right). ultramarine? (it would work as a color combo with gold and vermillion, but wouldn't really match the exemplar). And then Nov. 4 I found this grey/blue that I'd mixed for another scroll, and decided it was a good choice, and painted in the "N". After finding my gold size (hurrah!) on Nov. 8, I put down the first layer on Nov. 9. The next few days were busy with birthday celebrations for one important now-3-year-old, but on Nov. 12 I got out the gold. Shiny! Even more shinier Nov. 13, after I cleaned up the gilding and painted in the red. Nov. 20 I did the calligraphy. I think I picked the wrong nib. There was not enoug white space.

The text was composed while writing, and reads:

Nasr and Eleanor prince and princess of insula draconis to all those seeing, reading, or hearing these words shall likewise know our will. Thora greylock has, for all her contributions as archer, scientist, and artisan, for all her enthusiasm and inspiration, made our lands better. We for our part better her by awarding her all rights to her arms. Witness ourselves at coronet tournament xxix november xlix.

Nov. 21 was finish-up day: I did the red punctuation and the two smaller initials.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

AoA for Alays de Lunel

The exemplar is Codex Plagensis 127 (454 b. 49), f. 47v, and I picked it Nov. 1. Not having the right paints to work on Thora's, I spent the evening of Nov. 3 sketching out the initial, and painting in crimson in the initial. Nov. 4, I painted the seafoam; it wasn't quite as green as I would've liked, but I had this paint already mixed and I wasn't confident I could mix the shade I wanted. Nov. 6 I mixed up some ultramarine + white to get that bright popping blue, and painted in the rest of the letter. Nov. 8 I found my gold size (yay!), so Nov. 9 I painted in the white dots and put down the size for the gilding. Nov. 12 I had a brief panic where I couldn't find my gold, but it was short-lived, and I was able to do all the gilding that evening (minus the cleaning up bits...that's for another night.) On Nov. 13 I cleaned everything up, and then realized I'd forgotten to pencil in the lines, so that was next. Nov. 19 I inked in the lines and all the detials on the initial. Really pleased with how this turned out!

The text was calligraphed the same night and reads:

All gentles seeing, hearing, reading these words shall hereby likewise know the will of the right radiant princes of Insula Draconis Nasr and Eleanor who by common report and the testimony of many trusted nobles are truly advertised and informed of the deeds and doings of our subject Alays de Lunel who by these words is proclaimed a lady of our court. xxix nov xlix.

I should've used a smaller nib. There isn't enough white space.

Monday, October 21, 2013

AoA for Cristina Erici

I received the assignment on 9 Oct., and given the recipient's name I decided to do a Latin scroll text. I've got only one stock one for AoAs, and it begins with "A", so the next thing to do was choose the A. My list of "A's I want to do someday" is LONG, and there are so many amazing pretty options to choose from. I was able to narrow it down to 7 pretty quickly, but then I had to let them sit and simmer. With the help of Constanza, I decided on Codex San-Florianensis III, 5, fol. 93v. That night I sketched out the initial and the lines, and inked in the initial, and began painting the base coats (orange). I was away for the next few days, and returned to the painting on 15 Oct., completing the painting on the initial. I'm so pleased with how the grotesques turned out!

The next night (16 Oct.) was devoted to calligraphy. I started with my basic Latin text with a bit of an extra, which reads:

Audite verbis Sue- nonis Iohanneque regis regineque Drachenwalden- ses. Magnas et multas attestati- onis actionum subjecti nostrorum Cristina Erici audivimus, et placet nos. Scite quod his present- ibus agnoscimus virtutem dignitatemque supradicte Cristine. Altamus et assignamus ei ord- onis domine et jus tali armis prout de- feret cum Collegio Armorum. Posthac habebit ium solum proprium que prae se ferre illi insigne in hac nos trum Societatis. Fit manibus nostris in xxvi die Octobris anno societatis xlviii, apud Gotvik. Testare cujus nos hic nostrum manum ponimus sub hic.

About half-way through, I realized I needed about 6 more lines of text than I had, so I went to Caid's site and cribbed from their Latin AoA text. That still didn't make it long enough, so the next day I searched for more images from the same MS to see if I could find some flourishes to add to decorate the text, and found this I, which could be turned into horizontal sidebars.

I completed the calligraphy the night of 17 Oct. The text reads in translation:

Pay heed to the words of Sven and Siobhan, King and Queen of Drachenwald. Great and numerous attestations of the actions of our subject Cristina Erici have we heard, and it pleases us. Know that by these presents we recognize the worth and dignity of the aforesaid Cristina. We raise her to the rank of lady and award to her all rights to such arms as she shall register with the college of arms. She shall henceforth have the sole and exclusive right to bear these arms in this our Society. Done by our hands on the 26 day of October, in the year of the society 48. In witness whereof, we here set our hand below.

I also had time to sketch out and paint my space filler. The grotesque there turned out quite nicely too! Both of them seem happier than the ones I copied. The next evening, 18 Oct., Joel gave Gwen an early bath, which gave me the time to get the gold size down on the filler, and I completed the rest early enough to let it set long enough before starting the gilding, which unfortunately did not go well, and when I asked on FB, no one really seemed to know why:

Oct. 21 I tried putting down more size, rehydrating more, and putting gold down again, and whatever I ended up with would have to do, since the scroll has to go out in the next day's mail. Luckily, the re-gilding cleaned up most things, and re-outlining things helped with the ragged edges, and the end result is something very shiny, which is definitely the work of a beginner, but is also work I'm not ashamed of.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

AoA for Haesel Berneslai

I received the assignment 08 Sep., and started thinking about designs. I like starting texts with the names of the granting nobles, which in this case would be either "D" or "E", and in my list of D's to use I found this one: Egerton 3271 f. 144v, which certainly has WOW factor. Being not entirely sure that I could do the inner border, I decided to omit it but retain the outer border. I sketched the layout and started painting the border on 13 Sep., and the since I had my paints out to do Beroharti's AoA, I painted some more on 18 Sep. The text reads:

Duncanus et Evelina, principes Insulenses, ad Hasela de Bernes lai, salutatem et gratiam. Inas much as by the ordination of the right of arms we have as cended the thrones of prince ly might, it is right that in our works we altogether rew ard those by whose gifts and deeds we are exalted. There fore we, desiring that ancient custom as well as solemn laws to remain in vigour, and endeavouring to recognise and elevate such persons as have contributed richly to our realm, as archer, as chan cellor of the exchequer, do wish to preserve to all persons what ever their rights, and do by our princely authority proclaim and affirm that the aforenamed Haesel is to be recognised as a lady, with all the rights, responsibilities, and privileges atten dant thereto, this act to be observed throughout all parts of our principality without let or hindrance from anyone, and for the recognition of which we charge the said lady Haesel to consult with our heralds and to devise suitable and unique arms. Datum apud Castellum de Caerphili, v Octoberis anno societatis xlviij.

The text was written 29 Sept., and based loosely on the opening paragraph of the Peace of the Land Established by Frederick Barbarossa Between 1152 and 1157 A.D. 30 Sept., I began by drawing out the lines (always my least favorite), and then did the calligraphy, liberally adding phrases as I went in order to get the text sufficiently long. I then got out the paints and did a bunch more of the red detailing. 1 Oct., after supper Joel played with Gwen (thank you, Joel!) allowing me to get started on the last of the painting right away. Took about 3.5 hours to complete -- only to find out at the very end that my planned method of conveyance of the scroll to the event won't work, because Thursday is a holiday here. Grrr! I ended up finding someone in England I could mail it to, at exorbitant cost. And then the recipient wasn't at the event and it wasn't given out until four months later. :(

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

AoA for Beroharti der Rinderschink

I got my choice of initials down to 2 on Sep. 16: MS Barth. 115 (Ausst. 27) f. 1r and BL MS Harley 3971 f. 1. On Sept. 17, I opted for the latter, and started sketching the outline and the lines. I completed the lining on Sept. 18, and started in on the painting; I did all of the initial, and the first pass of the red border lines around the outside. I rather like the little spindle thingies. On Sept. 19 we had C&I night at our place, and in the first hour or so I finished the illumination, and then wrote the text, which reads:

Universis presentes litteras inspecturis, Sueno et Sivana, reges de Drachenwald, salutem in Domino. Since human memory is short and does not suffice for a crowd of things, the authority of those who preceded our age, the divine emperors and kings, has decreed that those things were to be written down which the progress of fleeting time generally removes from the knowledge of men. Wherefore let the generality of the present as well as the future subjects of our kingdom know, that Beroharti Rinderschink for the reason that he has gravely comported himself in all his doings, as tavern keeper, as archer, as servant to the realm, bringing good hypocras and good cheer wherever he goes, --on account of the urgent recommendations of very many nobles, we, therefore, after deliberating with many and by their common counsel, have hereby confirmed unto the said Beroharti all rights to such arms as he shall register with the College of Arms. And wishing this to remain valid for all posterity, we forbid by royal edict that any one, with rash daring, infringe our will or in any way attempt to violate it; and we further validly corroborate this our decree by the present letter drawn up by one of our loyal clerks, signed by us the abovenamed king and queen below and given on þe xxviii day of September in the year of the society xlviii. Quod fecimus hodie, homo non neget.

It's based very loosely on the Gelnhausen Charter of 1180. I completed about half of calligraphy on that night before needing to head to bed. I completed the second half of the calligraphy, adding a bit more to the text to make it as long as I needed, on 24 Sep.

Friday, August 2, 2013

AoAs for Agnes La Verte and Aodh Ó Siadhail

I'd been wanting to do some initials from Codex Admontensis 297 for some time now, so when I was given a matched set of AoAs for Raglan, I figured this was a good time. I picked an A from f.81v for Agnes's, and a V from f.85r for Aodh's, and drew out the layout and lining for both on Jul. 18. On Jul. 29, I sketched out the initials, and on Jul. 30, I painted the base colors of the initial and did the gilding. Matching the shade of green for Agnes's A I thought would be tricky, but I managed to guess the proportions and colors on the first try; it was roughly 3 parts white to 2 parts turquoise blue (both talens gouache) and 1/2 part yellow ochre (reeves gouache). Jul. 31 I did the white and gold work; the light blue; fixed up the gilding, a bit; wrote Aodh's text and calligraphed part of it.

The text for Aodh's reads:

Vitus and Isabel, prince and princess of Insula Draconis, lord and lady of Klakavirki and Thamesreach, marquises of the lands from Harple- stane in the north to the southern reaches of West Dragoningshire, together in accord with our very dear and beloved heirs, whereas our loyal subject Aodh Ó Siadhail has acted virtuously and under his own power in offices within our principality and in his homelands of Dun in Mara exercised with good skill and cheer such that we should sanction, confirm, swear to, and approve the admittance of the said Aodh into the ranks of lords of the land: we, wishing to fulfil all that is attendant upon advancement to such rank have ordered the present instrument to be brought before us that we might see and examine it, and the said charter having been examined and understood by us and by our heirs, we approve, commend, confirm, execute, and ratify it. In attestation and corrobor ation whereof, we the said princes sign our names to this our instrument given in the castle of Raglan, on the xv day of August, in the year of the society lxviii.

It is based on the Treaty between Spain and Portugal concluded at Tordesillas; June 7, 1494. Blodgy ink and a typo caused me to quit for the night after only a few lines. I finished the calligraph for Aodh's on Aug. 1, though I continued to have problems and am not very happy with it.

Aug. 2, I composed the text and calligraphed for Agnes's, which reads:

Audite et adspicite verba Viti et Isabelle, principium Insulenses, etc.: Inasmuch as, among other things in the laws and cus toms of this land regarding the preferment of vir- tuous and loyal subjects of the realm to the rank, status, and estate of lord and lady, we are bound and charged by our princely authority and power to advance those amongst us of gentle breeding, good activity, and so lemn character to the said rank, we, the abovenamed princes, wishing to discharge our said duty concerning one gentlewoman, Agnes La Verte by name, hereby on our princely faith and word fulfil and observe all of the foregoing, without artifice, deceit, or pretense set down in this our present instrument full affirmation that the said Agnes is now recognized, made and ratified as a lady. And in confirmation of this, letters which we have caused to be drawn up and signed below we give the xv day of august, anno societatis xlviii.

It was basically made up in its entirety.

I wasn't able to get a good scan or photo of the whole scroll that showed off the details on Agnes's initial, so here is a close-up of that:

Sunday, July 14, 2013

AoA for Anjuli Longship

Ari had lots of assignments for Raglan, and I just received some beautiful blanks from Saraswati, so I said I could take on a fourth scroll for the event. The blank is from an MS from Paris, 1480, so I found another 15th C Parisian MS, BL Egerton 619 f.3, on which to base my hand. I drew the lines for the text, and composed the text, on 12 Jul. Since the illumination and the calligraphy are from the 15th C, I adapted a 15th C text, The Letters Patents of King Henry the Seventh Granted unto Iohn Cabot and his Three Sonnes. The text reads:

Vitus and Isabel, princes of Insula Draconis, lords of all the lands from Klakavirki to Harpelstane and the southern channel, to all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting. Be it knowen that for her many years' comportment with all the dispositions and accoutrements of a gentilwoman, we haue giuen and awarded to our welbeloued Anjuli Longship full and free authority, power, and leaue to style herself as a lady in all parts, countreys, and seas of the east, the west, the north, the south: and likewise we haue giuen her licence to set vp banners and ensignes decorated with such arms as she shall register with the College of Arms in euery village, towns, castle, isle, or maine land whereuer she shall trauel. In witnesse whereof we haue wit- nessed this our charter giuen at Raglan, þe x day of þe vii month of our reigne.

I did about 2/3 of the calligraphy the same night; the hand doesn't look much at all like the exemplar (not surprising since it was my first attempt), but is at least internally consistent so it doesn't look too bad. I finished up the calligraphy, having had to trunctate the text some, on July 14. For the decorative capitals in the text, I remembered that Saraswati had actually done another piece in a similar style, and wrote about it in her blog, so I found the exemplar she used, and extrapolated from there.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

A blank used.

Back in February I did three blanks for ID based on Manesse Codex pages. Ari recently calligraphed one of them for Klakavirki's "Revel in the Midnight Sun":

Always nice to see a blank completed.

Friday, March 29, 2013

AoA for Aaron von Turmstadt

The text was written Mar. 20, and on Mar. 21, I settled on using Codex Claustroneoburgensis 7 as my inspiration (the first initial A; the initial D; the second initial A; the beastie at the end). Unfortunately, it had no T's, so I had to rejigger the text a bit.

The text reads:

Alle true and noble people thise pre sent lettres seing or hering know the will of Tofa and Thorvaldr quene and kinge of alle the land of Drachenwald. It is soo that many persons been moeved of noble and gentile courage to exercise virtuous condiciones by the whiche they shall come to the perfeccion of grete honour and be rewarded for their merits by renown and that they may be in all places of great honour perpetually shinyng before others by certeyn signes and shows of honour and gentility. That is to say of blazon, helmet and crest in order that by their ensaumple others may the more endea- vor perseveringly to spend their days in feats of arms and other uirtuous deeds so as to attain renown of auncient gentility in their name, line and posteri- ty. Of which persones oone in espe- cial whos name is Aaron, of the Canton of Turmstadt, who has long borne himself valiantly in all his af fairs and conducted himself honourably so that he has deserved well and is well worthy that henceforth perpetually and for ever more he and his post- erity may be in all places honour- ably admitted, renowned, counted, numbered and received among the number and in the company of other and diverse ancient gentle and noble lords. And for the remembrance of this his gentility we hereby charge the said Aaron to devise suit- able and unique signs and markings, that is to say blazon helmet and crest, the blazon of which he is to register with the College of Arms to have and to hold alone and solely hence- forth and forevermore. In witness whereof we the abovenamed quene and kyng have caused the present charter to be drawn up which we haue signed be- low with owre owne hands, and geven in the said Canton of Turmstadt, on the xx day of Aprille in the year of the society xlvij, more commonly reckoned as mmxiij.

This is basically the same text I used here.

On Mar. 21 I also screwed up my courage and did something I have never done before: gilded! The result is very shiny, and this far outweighs any infelicities in technique. Shiny, shiny, shiny.... I started the calligraphy next, and of course Titivillus struck with a really egregious word omission. I hope I can fix the formatting in the second column to accommodate. Mar. 23 I did more calligraphy. Mar. 24 I did more calligraphy. There's lots of calligraphy. I took break after awhile, and painted in the majiscules on the first column, and some of the base coats of the first capital. And then I did more calligraphy. Then Gwen woke up. Mar. 25 I did...more calligraphy! I finished it, and then treated myself to painting in the rest of the majiscules. Mar. 26 I got to gild some more! I sketched in the second two initials and the grotesque, painted in the base colors, and then gilded. (Unlike Ari, I didn't have any problem with the gold sticking to the paint.) I had to take a break for a few days to do a new assignment for Crown, but was able to finish it up on Mar. 29.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

AoA for Rayne Archer of Annan

The scroll was done over the course of a week. On Mar. 5, I chose the exemplar, Codex Admontensis 58, fol. 87, and made all the changes to the Latin that I needed to personalize this for the submitter. I'm getting pretty good at Latin blazons, thanks to Introductio Ad Latinam Blasoniam, which Ursula pointed me to last week. I also sketched out the layout and the lines. On Mar. 6, I painted the initial. I knew there was no way I could recreate that pale yellow, so I decided not to try and substituted a pale green instead. I think the result still works. On Mar. 7, I started the calligraphy, getting through the end of the second sentence; unfortunately, I'd planned to curve the text around the D as it was in the exemplar, but since I didn't draw my lines that way, I forgot when I started the calligraphy, so they lines line up straight. It's time consuming having to look up the abbreviations to confirm my memory, but the result just looks so much better. Unabbreviated Latin just looks wrong. After I completed that day's calligraphy, I realized I had way more text than space, and so decided to fix this by putting the arms front and center, maybe adding another initial, and putting a gloss of the Latin text in in English. So Mar. 8, I sketched in the blank shield as a space saver, and then completed the Latin calligraphy (with impeccable line filling, if I say so myself). Since I then needed a second "D" from the same MS, I picked this one from fol. 6r, and then calligraphed the English. Mar. 10, I painted the arms, the crown, the final initial, and put dots around the capitals to match parts of the MS, and the results I'm quite happy with. I had expected this one to be rather plain, per my initial conception, but instead it's got lots of neat little bits.

The text is the standard Latin AoA scroll text for Caid, modified to correct the grammar ("Societas" is not a 1st declension feminine, people!) and reads:

Declara omnibus generosibus et nobilibus: Nos Sueno et Kolfinna, Rex et Regina Caidis salutamus. Optime placebamur per officia quae nostra civis nominatur Regina Sagittaria de Annan praestabat nostro regno donamus ei donum insignium armigerorum. Posthac habebit ium solum propriumque prae se ferre super scutum argentum, ii sagittae virides inversae in saltatario, inter iiij guttams azureas, in hac nostra Societate. Pro symbolo hujusque doni potest exhibare coronam auri cum spiculis iiij super scuto, ad diem xvii januarii Anno Domini ccix qui est xliii Anno Societatis Testare cujus Nos hic nostrum manum et signum ponimus.

I used abbreviations every single place I could, taking them primarily from Cappelli, though I paid no attention whatsoever to temporal consistency and blithely mixed centuries.

And here's the English gloss:

Declare to all nobles: We, Sven and Kolfinna, King and Queen of Caid, give you gree ting. Well pleased by the ser vice that Our subject, Rayne Archer of Annan by name, hath rendered unto Our Realm, We bestow upon her an Award of Arms. She shall henceforth have the sole right to bear the arms depicted above in this Our Society. As token of this award, she may display a gold crown above her shield, as of this xviii day of January, a.s. xlii.

Monday, March 4, 2013

AoA for Ysabel d'Outre-mer

I learned recently that Caid has a huge scroll back-log, so I volunteered to help out. Unlike when I was working on the Drachenwald backlog, though, I'm going to limit my angst about re-using text, and instead focus on simple, elegant designs with a practiced text that I know roughly how much space it takes. No one will hold it against me if I repeat my wordings.

The exemplar is Codex Mellicensis 353 (977), fol. 339. The text reads:

Gerhardt and Una, King and Queen of Caid, to the dukes, counts, earls, barons, and nobles of the realm: Greetings. By these presents let all know that following the will of our people and by our own wish and desire, and further more in recognition of the deeds she has done and the service she has rendered unto us, we are minded to elevate Ysabel d'Outre-mer to the rank of lady and award to her the sole and unique right to bear the arms Or, a cross fleury gules and on a chief vert, a crescent argent, which is depicted more plainly below, for her and her alone to bear in perpetuity. Done the xxv day of May, anno societatis xxxviii. in witness whereof we have signed our names below.

On the first day, Mar 2, I composed the text, chose the exemplar, sketched it out, lined the scroll, and sketched the arms. On the second day, Mar 3, I painted the base colors on the initial and the arms, and did the gold and white work on the initial. While I was mixing the brown for the initial, I complained to Ari about how difficult mixing brown is, and she pointed out that the original was probably entirely gold, and the dots tooling. Oh. In that case, I won't worry so much about mixing the brown to match the shade exactly. Oh well! I still think this looks cool as orange-blue-brown, though I'm sure orange-blue-gold would've been sharp. I did the calligraphy on Mar 4. Unfortunately, as I sat down to get started, I found that my favorite nib had bent, so I had to use a different one, and I struggled to get even flow the entire text. And then I smudged the gold paint on the crown, grrr. But then: then I did the detail work on the orange part of the G, and I am so, so happy with it. If you had told me three years ago, even a year or two ago, that I'd be able to paint something that has this leafy, three-D, shaded effect, I wouldn't have believed you. I'm still not sure I believe me. Go and check the exemplar and compare! So in the end, I'm pretty happy with this one!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

AoA for Lorcan Rochefford

The illumination was done by Amal binti Hamid. The text, written Dec 1. and calligraphed Dec. 1 and 2, reads:

Audite et aspicite verba Pauli et Arianue regum drachenwaldenses. [Hear and see the words of Paul and Aryanhwy Drachenwaldish kings.]

Be it known to all that we king and queen of drachenwald, suzeraines of Nordmark and Insula draconis, emperors of frankmark, and margraves of the southern towers, considering the noble estate of a gentleman from Griffins Tor by the name of Lorcan Rochford and for as much as we the said King and Queen having to us full authority to all things concerning rank, nobility, and status within these our lands, we according to our said office and authority witness, ratify and attest that the said Lorcan is lineally descended of noble blood and by his actions has confirmed and affirmed that he is of high rank and station whereby it is our wish to exalt and prefer him by naming him Lord Lorcan and assigning and awarding to him all rights to such arms as he shall register with the College of Arms which are to be depicted more plainly below and forthwith charge him to consult with our heralds so as to devise suitable and unique arms for him to have and hold without let or hindrance from any man for any reason from this day henceforth in sign and token of nobleness and virtue for evermore and in perpetuity. In witness whereof we have had these presents drawn up, signed and given by the queen at Adamestor the viiith day of Decembris in the year of the society xlvii.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

AoA for Wolfgang vom Walde

Done on blank by Saraswati. The text reads:

Each and every one of our subjects bring us joy, but one especially shines forth as an example of all that is good and noble. Wolfgang vom Walde has pleased us greatly with his endeavors and attempts to promote the arts and sciences of war within Ad Flumen Caerulum, training and teaching, so that others may increase in favor and deed.

For all these merits and many more which are held by the same Wolfgang we, Paul and Aryanhwy, king and queen of Drachenwald, right mindful of the duties and powers with which we are lawfully encumbered, do hereby recognize the said Wolfganges exemplary service and conduct and for his benefit and advancement we create him a lord and award unto him all rights to such arms as he shall register with the College of Arms. This we do on xxiv day of november a.s. xlvii, witnessed by the said king Paul, whose name is signed below in testament.