| Scroll | Exemplar |
|---|---|
 |  |
The exemplar is British Library MS Egerton 2432, fol. 34v, from S. Germany or Switzerland. Hardtwald is in the southwestern part of Germany, so I tried to find a suitable exemplar as close as possible to there.
The scroll was produced over the course of four days; on July 3, I chose the design, drew out layout, painted all background colors, and started but did not complete the red outlining. On July 4, I completed the rest of the illumination except for the detail work on miniature. July 7 I did the outlining in brown and started the calligraphy, and I finished it on July 8.
The text reads:
Leif by favor of arms of drachenwald king and Morrigan by favor of beauty and inspiration of the same realm queen to our right trusty and wellbeloved lord Alexander von Hardtwald. Whereas by the advice and assent of our peers for certain arduous and urgent and serious affairs concerning Us and the defence of our kingdom we are minded to surround ourselves with such barons as shall give us council in these affairs we strictly enjoining command you upon the allegiance by which you are bound to Us that you (waiving all excuses) place personally yourself before us so that we may make you a baron of our court in recognition of your service to Knights Crossing and so that with the said prelates, great men and peers you treat and give your counsel upon the affairs aforesaid. And this as you regard Us and Our honour and the safety and defence of the realm in nowise do you omit yourself from our counsel, and in commemoration of this newly acquired honor we hereby grant unto you the sole and unique right to bear the arms blazoned as follows, that is to say: per chevron or and sable, a sun and in canton a mullet counterchanged, depicted more plainly above. This we do on the 16th day of July, in the year of the society xlvi.
It is based on the summons to parliament used by Queen Elizabeth II, which so far as I can tell is little changed from the period summons.
© 2011, Sara L. Uckelman.
