I have had the unique opportunity to create all of HRM Elizabeth’s Æthelwulf’s Queens Graces for all three reigns.  She considers me her “stunt” scribe and often asks me to create “one-off” scrolls, calig something or picks from my now meager stock pile of prepared scrolls.  I have volunteered to do these scrolls, not only as my way of helping my friend during her and my Knights reigns but also because it allows me to flex my scribal and illumination skills.

Her third reign has been no different and I continue to make her Graces…but now I have teamed up with 3 other people, incorporating their skills to make truly unique and memorable Queens Graces.    Her Ladyship Sigríðr Úlfsdóttir de Lacy and her husband Lord Collin de Lacy have provided the book binding and putting everything together (although she says she doesn’t need any credit since she says “I mostly supervise and nag him”) and my lovely wife, Baroness Mistress Tetinka who has provided the cast key.

I have always wanted to do a Book of Hours like scroll and it was on my list of things to do but, as indicated in an earlier post, the past year has not been kind to me and I have been insanely busy.  HRM Elizabeth saw something similar on the SCA Facebook page and asked if I could do something like that for her Queens Graces.  I gladly accepted the challenge and was even planning on doing my own book binding until I found out that Sigridr and her husband did book binding.  That saved me so many hours and it is fun to do a group project and see it all come together.

I have been tasked to make a total of 5 books, 4 regular Queens Graces and 1 Command of the Queens Grace.  2 have gone out already…which I present to you below.  The first book went out to someone very special to HRM Elizabeth, Roxanne de Audley (aka Æsa).  It was her first prepared scroll (her kingdom, CAID, does not hand out prepared scrolls…it is up to the recipient to decide if they want an actual scroll and who will make it for them).  She recently passed away due to cancer so I was glad that my artwork added something extra to her final days.

I give you HRM Elizabeth’s Queens Grace (the side bar will contain more pictures of the assembly process)…

I never got around to updating this and now almost an entire year has passed.  Work got a little overwhelming and with the threat of layoffs I went to another job only to encounter one of the WORST co-workers I have ever dealt with.  Leaving there, I went to another company only to find out that I was lied to in several ways and was fired (essentially I was hired on as holiday help so the regular workers could use up their vacation before losing it).  So…now that I have time on my hands, lets get my blog site updated!

At the last Estrella War (2018…when I originally started this post), I found myself sitting at the Hrafenheim households mead circle.  There are few things that are comparable to be sitting with friends at a fire drinking various flavors of warm mead.  Several cups later, I found myself discussing the application of gilding…both flat and raised with Mistress Ari and Mistress Ian’ka Ivanovna zhena Petrovitsa.  I was lamenting the fact that none of my gilding was working correctly and I typically had to redo sections of gilding…and that I was beginning to suspect that the lack of humidity, here in Arizona, had something to do with it as well as my paper.  They both commented that humidity had everything to do with it and they only worked on gilding during the monsoon season.  It was good to confirm my suspicions but it still did not dampen my desire to do gilding “out of season”.

I run a popular Pinterest page for Medieval Dragons.  I try to keep it updated with whatever I find during my almost daily searches.  One thing I have noticed is that there are a few creatures that are close to dragons but are not.  Call me picky but if I am going to classify something as a dragon, then it had better be a dragon.  The other creatures that appear similar to dragons are asps, serpents, and a few others depending on how the scribe drew them such as cockatrice, basilisk and griffins.  I am concerned today with asps since they appear to be the closest in design to that of dragons.

Which one is a dragon?

The dragon is the one that is in the shield.  The other two look like dragons but they are asps.  How then do you determine what is a dragon and what is an asp?

To quote directly from Medieval Bestiary:  “The asp is a serpent that avoids the enchantment of music by pressing one ear against the ground and plugging the other ear with its tail. In some versions the asp guards a tree that drips balm; to get the balm men must first put the asp to sleep by playing or singing to it. Another version holds that the asp has a precious stone called a carbuncle in its head, and the enchanter must say certain words to the asp to obtain the stone.”  It can also be known as a Prester…something I have seen before during my readings of medieval scrolls.

I have also read that Asps plug their ears in order to avoid hearing bible verses being read to it.

Here is another Asp…just to make sure you got it:

 

Sources used:

Medieval Bestiary – http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast268.htm

Asp3 – http://www.kb.dk/permalink/2006/manus/225/eng/39/

Asp1 and Asp2 came from Pinterest and I cannot currently reference their source

Ever notice the repetitive background visual designs on medieval scrolls, buildings, and paintings?  They employ the use of “diapering”.  According to the online dictionary:  “decorate (a surface) with a repeating geometric or floral pattern.”  In heraldry diapering can be applied to a coat of arms without if affecting or being considered part of the blazon (provided it is not to heavy or obtrusive).  In medieval scroll design, diapering can be light to heavy.  I have included several references below for further study.

Clockwise, starting at the top-left: An onocentaur (half man, half ass) with a bow looks at a siren. (J. Paul Getty Museum, MS. Ludwig XV 3, Folio 78r); Master of the Vitae Imperatorum (Illumination from Suetonius, Life of Caesar, 1433, Princeton University Library MS Kane 44); a French soldier (Manuscript Morgan M.63 Book of Hours Folio 068v Dating 1440 From Angers, France Holding Institution Morgan Library).

Below is a reference from others who have studied diapering and have provided some insight (I had a few more but when I went to add them, I found that their links were dead.  I will add more here when I find more).  Also check Pinterest for more diapering examples.

http://gutenbergscribes.chivalrysports.com/lesson2-diaperwork.shtml

Here is my latest scroll (still a work in progress but nearly complete).  I have used the French Solider listed above and once complete, will go into my listing of scrolls.