AoA Scroll Blank #1

Recently I have been working on my first scribal assignment; colouring an Award of Arms scroll blank.

The blank was designed by Master Richard de la Croix and is derived from a 1440 manuscript fragment. The blank shows a bastard Gothic hand which was very popular on the continent and in England in the fifteenth century.

I opted for classic red, blue and gold treatments. This excellent book given to me by my sister has been invaluable as a design reference, as it has many close-up pictures of extant manuscript pages in similar styles:

And here is my attempt. Unfortunately the colours really haven't shown up very well on the photos.

(Of course I can't show the name or device or it wouldn't be a surprise!)

Scribal Meeting

I have been thinking about getting involved in my local SCA scribal group for quite a long time. Recently, the meetings were moved closer to my house, and so yesterday I took the opportunity to go to my first meeting. It was very interesting and exciting. I think that calligraphy is a bit beyond my skills at this stage, but I am excited about trying the illumination. The process seems very similar to the design process for embroideries, which I really enjoy. It was a lot of fun to really look closely at the pictures of manuscripts and enjoy the imaginations of those old scribes. This one below really took my fancy:


It illustrates the old riddle about the man trying to get his turnips, his lamb and a wolf across a river in the boat without anyone getting eaten. This is from the thirteenth century- early fourteenth century Ormesby Psalter -
http://ductus.asu.edu/Files/ductus/scriptorium/plates/D-005.html