Adrienne d'Evreus (Maunche)

Order of the Maunche
Market Day at Birka (East Kingdom)
Awarded January 28, 2017 (AS LI)

Details:
Calligraphy & Illumination by Isabel Chamberlaine.

Paper: Goat parchment (double-side finish) from Pergamena.
Materials: Mitchel calligraphy nib with Oak Gall ink. Kolner Miniatum with 23k gold leaf. Various W&N gouache.

Words by Mistress Aneleda Falconbridge and heavily inspired by the The Statute of Laborers; 1351

Their Royal Majesties Brion and Anna, from whom all Eastern powers flow, direct to the assembled members of the Court greeting. Because a great part of the people, and especially the of noble servants represented by the Order of the Maunche, have so suggested and ordered the consideration of the one named Adrienne d'Evreus, We, considering it is our honor and duty to recognize those skilled in the arts, have held deliberation and treaty concerning this with the prelates and nobles and other learned people sitting by us; by whose consentient counsel we have seen fit to ordain: that said Adrienne d'Evreus, be joined into the Order of the Maunche, to be recognised as such by every man and woman of our kingdom of the East, and to those beyond our borders even into the heart of the Knowne World, of whatever condition, whether bond or free, elder or younger, servant or noble, as one who has been bound to serve that Art which has retained her service for so many years preceding.

Provided, that in thus retaining her service, that she may be given fair reign to work her alchemy for the good of the court and kingdom, to serve without hindrance or interference, and to be granted access to all natural goods that she may require, without prosecution for poaching in the Royal lands, including but not limited to, buckthorn and iris, elderberry and oyster, walnut and oak gall, and any other such provisions as the lands may provide. Further, she is given Our permit to trade without molestation or impediment such alchemical and exotic supplies as may come from the great Ports of the Knowne World, including but not limited to, lead, alum, ochre, saffron, woad, indigo, lye, bones, woods of all lands, feathers, quills, nibs, pens, and other items which she may receive. Furthermore, and no matter what odor her concoction hath wrought, she may grind and soak, wash and rinse, pluck and work, elutriate and levigate at her will and whim.

And if a reaper or mower, fencer or archer, herald or minstrel, piper or tinker, mason or troubadour, other workman or servant, of whatever standing or condition he be, who is retained in the service of any one, do depart her from her selected service, without her leave, permission, or reasonable cause, he shall undergo the penalty of imprisonment, and let no one, under the same penalty, presume to receive or retain such a one in his service.

Likewise saddlers, skinners, white-tawers, cordwainers, tailors, smiths, carpenters, masons, tilers, shipwrights, carters and all other artisans and labourers, must be set to support her, and so they may recognize her, we hereby Grant her Arms that she alone may use: Azure, a fleur-de-lys argent, a bordure gules.

And if the lords of the towns or manors presume of themselves or through their servants in any way to act contrary to this our present ordinance, then in the Counties, Baronies and Provinces suit shall be brought against them for the triple penalty which shall be to live bereft of vermillion, ochre, cochineal, lapis lazuli, vergaut, malachite, saffron, verdigris, turmeric, gypsum, lamp black, Tyrian purple, malachite and their books of hours shall be left ever empty.

By the Powers of the Crowns of the East and in the support of the Society, it is thus ordained on the Feast of Saint Odo of Beauvais at the Royal Court of King Brion and Queen Anna at the Marketplace at Birka in the Barony of Stonemarche on the 28th day of January in the Year of the Society LI.

Scroll ID: Isabel C 56
Time Invested: 16 Hours
Completed January 2017

Aildreda de Tamwurthe (Laurel)

Order of the Laurel
Dragonship Haven Investiture
Awarded February 21, 2015 (AS XLIX)

Front side of Dreda's Laurel piece.

Back side of Dreda's Laurel piece.

Details:
Calligraphy & Illumination by Isabel Chamberlaine. Over the course of correspondence with Maistre Lucien de Pontivy ( +Myra Hope Eskridge ) we came up with a plan for the type of thing that Dreda would like to receive. This piece is based on folio's and images found in The De Brailes Hours which I am told is one of her favourite manuscripts.

During the email correspondence I had with Lucien I remembered how I had enjoyed seeing the Hours of the Duc de Berry displayed unbound at The Met a number of years ago; I presented the idea of making this a double-sided piece so that it would look an feel as if it had been pulled from a binding for display. Lucien loved the idea.

My cheat-sheet for sizing.

The calligraphy blocks are true to the size of the original; 80 x 115mm. Although I also tried to match the number of lines, I ended up with two more; basically I should have moved up in nib size. For the actual page size I had to go with what I thought work visually and that would allow for framing; the original manuscript has at some point been drastically trimmed and the original size has been lost.

There are a number of marginal texts written in red ink. The idea for these came from Lucien who offered up the first one, I added in more which were adapted from those found in Marc Drogin's book Anathma! Off course I didn't write any of them down, hopefully Dreda is willing to let me know what I wrote so that I can add them to this post!

Now I'd like to tell you about my friend Dreda.

Dreda (and Lucien) were there at my very first event, War of the Roses; camping with the then Baron of Concordia of the Snows, Angus Kerr (now Pembridge). Our little blue ground-pimple was hidden out back so as not to ruin the aesthetic of the the canvas camp, but we were welcomed with open arms. This woman embraced us with her smile and helped to make us feel welcome.

I saw a lot of her (them) that first year, becoming more and more mesmerized by this couple that were always kind, that took the time to welcome me without being overwhelming, and showed me the beauty of their respective period arts. I watched from an ever shortening distance and learned the pride that could be taken in even the smallest of things and that dedicated period research is a thing of true beauty.

Most of my formative and transportive moments involve my voyeurism of this beautiful woman. I would not be where I am today without those early experiences and these days she is one of the first people I look to when doing my own research. It was my absolute pleasure to be involved in her elevation to the Order of the Laurel.

Surface: Goat parchment (double-side finish) from Pergamena.
Materials: Mitchel #4 nib for the calligraphy and a crow-quill nib for line work; Oak Gall Ink, Ruby Red Writing Ink from "Arte of the Booke" and Higgins (Blue) Pigmented Drawing Ink. Jerry Tressers Gesso overlaid with 23k gold leaf. Period pigments used - lapis lazuli, vermilion, lead white

Words by Maistre Lucien de Pontivy and Master Peregrine the Illuminator.

Main text:
O how fortunate are they, the succulents and blossoms on the farthest branches of the tree of knowledge, which are fed the strength of the green wood from the very roots. 

For lo: Aildreda de Tamworthe is the soul of memory and the society, the deepest roots and the greenest boughs, whose gifts of language, song, and learning fuel our growing spirits and inspire us to better ourselves for the good of all, and of the Society. She inspires us, with song and graceful eloquence and a rich store of language, to gentle our restless minds and to stir our sleepy souls. She guides us, in meet space and moment, to embark on voyages of discovery and learning. She leads us, by research and by learnéd example, to seek and strive to be exemplars of our own chosen times and places. 

Aildreda de Tamworthe willingly and freely, directly and casually, with attention to detail and fine subtleties, supplies her fellow scholars, artisans, and scientists with research material concerning any historical matter, from clothes to food to domestic life to music to habits of mind and speech, as naturally as if they were her very own, and with surpassing generosity of spirit. 

These are the green boughs which curl into the wreath of Laurel. 

For these and for her service to the Kingdom Arts and Sciences, and to the Society, Edward King and Thyra Queen do award Mistress Aildreda de Tamworthe Arms by Letters Patent and welcome her into our own Order of the Laurel. Done by our hand on February 21 A.S. 49 at the Baronial Investiture in Dragonship Haven.

Marginal texts:

• Dreda she is called, this Lady of Tamworthe, Aildreda by name after Aetheldreda her forbear.

Scroll ID: Isabel C 51
Time Invested: 26 hours
Completed February 20, 2015

Cited works:
DROGIN, Marc. Anathema! Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses. Totowa NJ: Allanheld, Osmun & Co. Publishers Inc., 1983. Print. ISBN 0-8390-0301-3

Pierre de Tours (Court Barony)

Court Baron
Bjorn’s Ceilidh and Baronial Investiture, Barony of Concordia of the Snows
Awarded November 8, 2014 A.S. 49 (XLIX)

Magnús hvalmagi (Maunche)

Order of the Maunche
Northern Region War Camp
Awarded July 6, AS 48 (XLVIII)

Alexandre Lerot d'Avignon (Tyger of the East)

Tyger of the East
Mudthaw and Baronial Investiture, Barony of Settmour Swamp
Awarded March 23, AS 47 (XLVII)

The Nature of Inks

Fig. 1 - Ink that bled due to capillary action.

During a collaborative scribal project we made the unfortunate discovery that not all writing inks are created equal. Why this had never occurred to me before is something of a mystery, especially since I had bought, experimented and discarded a number of modern inks before finding my preferred iron-gall ink. Thankfully our mini-disaster turned into a great learning experience.

Writing ink is essentially a coloured water which incorporates a glue so that it sticks to the page. Traditionally these inks were made from either a carbon-black pigment or from iron salts (ferrous sulfate) mixed with the tannin from gall nuts. The binder (glue) was usually gum arabic which also acted as a thickener. Most modern  inks are created to effortlessly flow through a pen which requires them to be much "thinner" in nature. Therein lies the problem.

Just as inks are different, so to are writing surfaces and they also need to be taken into consideration when paired with a writing ink. Parchment is not paper and vice-versa. Even among papers, some are more absorbent than others.

In our seed example (fig.1) we experienced the perfect meeting of an ink that is too thin being used on a ground, in this case goat parchment. You can see in the image how all of the letters are "fuzzy" when they should be crisp and clean, this is due to capillary action dragging the thin ink along the hairs of the parchment. Had the ink been more viscous it would have sat on top of the fibers and created the crisp sharp lines we expect.

As an on-going experiment I will be testing different inks with the various grounds I use during my scribal work. I intend to try thickening and thinning the various inks to see how this affects their behavior on the different grounds. I will update this post with my findings.

Sources:
"Ink." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, n.d. Web. Oct 5, 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ink>

Eleri of Nefyn (Augmentation of Arms)

Augmentation of Arms
Coronation, Last Court of Kenric and Avelina
Awarded October 13, 2012 AS XLVII (47)

Bruni (Writ for Pelican)

Writ for Elevation to the Order of the Pelican
First Court of Edward and Thyra, Coronation
Awarded October 13, AS XLVII (47)

Ferall von Halstern (Kings Cypher)

Kings Cypher
Bergental Baronial Investiture
Awarded September 15, 2012 AS XLVII (47)