I finally
created an entire scroll including the Calligraphy. It was with a little trepidation that I
submitted my name to the list of volunteers to create Kingdom award
scrolls. I was given the chance to
create two scrolls for the court this past weekend. This meant that I would have to write the
text, do the calligraphy and the illumination.
I must admit that I was more than a little worried about the
assignment. I had never met either of
the two individuals who would be receiving my work and I wasn’t sure exactly
how to go about things.
This was the
scroll assignment that I received:
Court of Their Majesties Savaric and Julianna
Constellation Academy of Defense V
May 12th , 2012 A.S. 47
Shire of Mynydd Seren
1) Arlecchino (Randy Winderlich) Constellation/Mynydd
Seren - AoA
Assisted in procuring new members via numerous
demonstrations, dancing,
faithful reconstruction of the Commedia Dell'arte
character Arlecchino
2) Chernislava Alekseeva (Lisa Coss) Constellation/Mynydd
Seren - Dragon's Barb
Exemplary skill with a bow and devotion to the teaching
of
archery, assisted in the running of the line and in
preparation for event,
and helped train novice archers in both basic and
advanced techniques.
Given that I
had never done this before I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when receiving
an assignment. Silly old me thought that
the text would be prepared for me. I
thought that perhaps the Crown would be interested in approving the text prior
to signing a scroll. I went through the
scribal handbook and drafted the following text for the scrolls:
Proclaim to all unto whom these presents come that we,
Savaric and Julianna, King and Queen of the Middle Kingdom have heard of the
many good works and labors, especially in the aid of procuring new members via
numerous demonstrations, dancing, and faithful reconstruction of the Commedia
Dell'arte character Arlecchino. We are
therefore minded to bestow upon Arlecchino of Mynydd Seren the right to bear
arms as registered within the society without let or hindrance from any person,
and the rights and responsibilities conveyed by his elevation to this rank from
this day onward.
Done by our hands this 12th day of May, 2012, Anno
Societatis 47.
Pray let all know that we, Savaric and Julianna, King and
Queen of the Middle Kingdom have heard much good of Lady Chernislava
Alekseeva. She has demonstrated
exemplary skill with a bow, a devotion towards archery instruction, a willingness
to serve at events and eagerness to train novice archers in both basic and
advanced techniques. We are therefore
minded to create her a Companion of the Order of the Dragon’s Barb. We bestow upon her all rights and
responsibilities attendant upon this rank, and the right to bear the badge of
the order without let or hindrance from any person.
Done by our hands this 12th day of May, 2012, Anno
Societatis 47.
I then tried
to do a little research online to see WHO these people actually were. I was able to find some information about Lady
Chernislava Alekseeva, but little about Arlecchino.
Lady
Chernislava Alekseeva – Dragon’s Barb
The
information I found about Lady Chernislava Alekseeva seemed to indicate that
she had a Russian persona. As is common
in the SCA it seemed that her persona didn’t necessarily hold true to a certain
location or time period. I found
pictures of her in various forms of garb, including Japanese while doing
drumming. Rather than try an emulate a
Russian manuscript I simply chose to do something based on a page from a book
of that time period where the illumination would match the award being
given. As she was very active in archery
and was receiving the Dragon’s Barb, I hoped that she would appreciate a period
painting based on the a page from a book owned by Catherine of Cleaves. I altered the illumination slightly to allow
for the badged at the top. I also chose
to use the recipients heraldic colors as my main color scheme.
As this was
my first attempt at calligraphy I found that I had to do this portion 4 times
before I ended up with a product I was satisfied with illumination.
Here is an
image of the calligraphy.
I then
sketched the illumination using a mechanical pencil. When I was satisfied with the layout I inked
the design in with a metal nibbed quill pen using India ink.
Here is an
image of the fully inked scroll ready to receive paint.
The
remainder of the scroll was done using gouache paint applied with a brush.
Here are
some close-ups and the overall completed scroll.
Arlecchino
– AoA
I couldn’t
find much in the way of information via the internet for Randy Winderlich. I was able to find many images of the various
portrayals of the Commedia Dell'arte character Arlecchino. I chose to simply to a late period vine work
edge with a caricature of Arlecchino and the mask worn by the character. Here are some images I found which inspired
the final design.
This was
only my second attempt at calligraphy I found that I had to do this portion 3
times before I ended up with a product I was satisfied with illumination. Turns out that I spelled the recipients name
wrong and had to start over. I then used
my prior copy as the basis of my text and therefore ended up spelling it wrong
again. Ughh!
Here is an
image of the calligraphy which I ended up using.
I then
sketched the illumination using a mechanical pencil. When I was satisfied with the layout I inked
the design in with a metal nibbed quill pen using India ink. I know that this isn’t a period design, but
for this recipient I hoped that the free hand caricature of his inspiration
would be appreciated.
Here is an
image of the fully inked scroll ready to receive paint.
The
remainder of the scroll was done using gouache paint applied with a brush.
Here are
some close-ups and the overall completed scroll.
