From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V1 #29 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Monday, February 2 1998 Volume 01 : Number 029 In this issue: Re: [scribes]: looking for Brause nibs [scribes]: line spacing and cutting quills Re: [scribes]: Free Heraldry [scribes]: Itinerant Writing Masters [scribes]: Re: Heraldry [scribes]: introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 00:17:17 -0800 From: sophia king Subject: Re: [scribes]: looking for Brause nibs DLDorsey@aol.com wrote: > > I do not as yet do calligraphy ( my poor excuse is the left handed struggle) I would like to ask if you have tried the upside-down method for calligraphy. Being left-handed myself, I have had problems with offset nibs. I am currently using straight nibs and have experienced very few problems. It's a little awkward at first, but you get much better results.Also less chance of the dreaded left-hander's smudges. Hope that helps a little.:) Sylvia Dragomani Starkhafn, Caid ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 07:52:05 -0500 From: ab873@jepms4.jep.cummins.com Subject: [scribes]: line spacing and cutting quills I have two questions for the calligraphers out there: 1) I have been doing a little research into line spacing in Medieval texts, and I was curious about something. When I do calligraphy, I am most comfortable with a pencil line marking the bottom of the body of my letters as well as the top. I had heard that Medieval scribes often just marked the bottom and let their eye keep the top even, but the pieces I have seen with the guidelines left intact seem to have the letters "floating" in between. They must have let their eye mark both the bottom and the top. Were there other lines that I couldn't see or were they just REALLY good after years of practice? 2) I had the opportunity to take a turkey feather and turn it into a useful writing device. However, after several minutes of flying shards of dried feather, I had a pen of a size a bit larger than I had planned. If one is writing an entire book of hours, sitting there with quill in one hand and knife in the other (as the Medieval scribes are depicted), how does one keep a pen of uniform size for a whole book? How often does one need to sharpen the pen, and does this change the size? I haven't really noticed much variation of letter thickness in pieces, but I can't imagine actually cutting two pens the same size. Is this another case of practice makes perfect? If I cut 1000 of them, will I get the hang of making the size I want? Thanks! Dorinda Courtenay (Dorinda Courtine-White) Shire of Heronter, AEthelmearc (Jamestown, NY) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 08:06:44 EST From: Amberglyph@aol.com Subject: Re: [scribes]: Free Heraldry I have been active in the Herald's College for 8 years and I agree with most of your observations. However, the system has been streamlined somewhat and now only requires 2 differences from registered armory. They also have drastically limited the mundane arms we check against. When we joined we were told to not even try to register arms with a dragon, a lion, or a unicorn on them, well, our son has a lion, our daughter has a unicorn, and our household badge is a dragon. It can be done. Most people who can't get their arms registered aren't willing to make any changes to conform to the rules of heraldry. I don't know what to do about 'defuct' arms, those held by dead or inactive members. The college has taken the stand that registered arms are forever, just like in the Middle Ages. I think anything else would be an administrative nightmare. HL Oriana Corbizzi Per pale nebuly, a vol within a double tressure sable ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 08:21:13 -0500 From: "L.A. Christie" Subject: [scribes]: Itinerant Writing Masters Hey, all. Every time I pick up Marc Drogin's calligraphy book, I wind up opened to those few paragraphs where he talks about the itinerant writing master of late period - lay scribes who made up some sort of "sampler" of their work & showed it around to get work. I'm very interested in making one of these "samplers", & am wondering if anyone has more information/sources about these writing masters & the sheets they did up. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, EWA * * * * * * Visit The Polish Peasant Home Page at http://www.datasys.net/polish Lady Ewa Grzybowska, Shire of Dragonfly Marsh I survived January. * * * * * * ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 08:28:35 -0500 From: ab873@jepms4.jep.cummins.com Subject: [scribes]: Re: Heraldry %"Amberglyph@aol.com wrote: I don't know what to do about 'defuct' arms, those held by dead or inactive members. The college has taken the stand that registered arms are forever, just like in the Middle Ages. I think anything else would be an administrative nightmare. ************************************************************************* I agree - especially with inactive people. If someone were to drop out for a while and then return, they would certainly expect to have the same name and arms as when they left. Even someone who claimed they were never coming back could change their mind . . . Dorinda Courtenay ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 22:50:38 +0900 From: Swanson Subject: [scribes]: introduction Greetings, AS requested by the listowner I am sending an introduction. I am Lady Aodhnait inghean mhic Carthaigh of the Stronghold of Warriors Gate, Barony of the Far West in the Kingdom of the West. Drachenwald was my first Kingdom in the SCA. Before I was able to make my presence known to the scribes of Drachenwald we moved to an even more remote location. At the last 12th night in the West Kingdom I had the pleasure of meeting the Chancellor of Scribes Aldith Angharad St. George. At that time I volunteered as a scribe to start when I finished my own backlog of scrolls that I still had to complete from my time as Palatine Baroness of the Far West. (I am almost done.) My scribal efforts are new both in calligraphy and illumination, mostly working with celtic design, some early British and some 14th century French illumination. I am Judy L. Swanson. I've a BFA degree with a double major in pottery and oil painting. Minors in watercolor, pen and ink, pencil and art history. (I know, an over kill) I have taught art on and off for the past 15 years. Currently residing in Taegu, Korea, a long way from anyone. Just finished writing a fantasy novel and embarking on the new career of query letters. Found the Celtic Red dot information interesting (I used a tooth-pick, BTW). Aodhnait Hope this was not to long. - -- ************************************************************ Home Pages: http://www.sff.net/people/judy/ http://members.wbs.net/homepages/j/u/d/judyswan.html News Group: news://news.sff.net/sff.people.judy ************************************************************ ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V1 #29 ****************************