From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest)
To: scribes-digest@castle.org
Subject: scribes digest V1 #56
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scribes digest Thursday, February 12 1998 Volume 01 : Number 056
In this issue:
[scribes]: Antiphonal website
Re: [scribes]: signature
Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
[scribes]: RE: slippery rulers
Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
[scribes]: re: slippery acrylic rulers
Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures -Reply
[scribes]: quills instructions
Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
[scribes]: signatures
Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
[scribes]: Thanks
Re: [scribes]: Thanks
Re: [scribes]: RE: slippery rulers
Re[2]: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures -Reply
[scribes]: eggs n stuff (fwd)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 11:34:00 EST
From: WhyteBoar@aol.com
Subject: [scribes]: Antiphonal website
Greetings all,
I just found out about an url some of you might like to take a look at:
Treasures of the
State Library - The Antiphonal
(the url is: http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/treasures/antiphonal/ )
This is a site built for display of a 13th century Italian antiphonal with a
number of graphics, a history, translation and other neat bits of information.
Unfortunately there is not a great deal of detail visible in the graphics as
they are mostly whole pages, but for an overall study this is a well put
together site.
Garth, Barony of Andelcrag, Midrealm
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 11:52:03 -0500 (EST)
From: stacey jill wahrman
Subject: Re: [scribes]: signature
One of my greatest interests in C&I styles is Jewish illuminations, and
with acknowledged exceptions the tradition is always to sign your work,
but to hide that signature as well as possible (not quite on the level of
one of Hirschfield's "Ninas", but close). I think the reason for this is
that the words themselves are supposed to be vastly more important than
the scribes themselves, and writing in general is highly esteemed in
Judaic traditions.
Along with this, my modern training has always taught me to keep my
signature as unobtrusive as possible so as not to detract from the design,
so I always slip a tiny "Ari" into the illumination (actually, I just like
hiding things in illumination ;-) I have found numerous examples of
mediaval scribes putting small self-portraits in their work (a few modern
scholars have remarked that this is a practice peculiar to male scribes)
but I'm not comfortable putting so much of myself into a scroll that is
ostensibly meant to honor someone else.
Just my two cents (or is it pence?),
Arianwen
Ponte Alto/Storvik, Atlantia
- -=*=-=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-
Stacey Wahrman wahrman@wam.umd.edu
Why is it that as we grow older and stronger
The road signs point us adrift and make us afraid
Saying "You can never win," "Watch your back," "Where's your husband?"
Oh I don't like the signs that the signmakers made.
So I'm going to steal out with my paint and my brushes
I'll change the directions, I'll hit every street
It's the Tinseltown scandal, the Robin Hood vandal
She goes out and steals the King's English.
--Dar Williams
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 11:53:18 EST
From: Seton1355@aol.com
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
<< It was drummed into my head that you sign everything you create, with you
real
name. And I feel that it shouldn't be any different for SCA pieces. >>
I sign my pieces on the back (I sign my quilts on the back too.) It is a
piece of personal history that you are attaching your name to, and also, for
me, it is a source of pride that I made "such & such" a creation and am now
gifting this person with it.
Phillipa Seton
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 12:07:47 EST
From: Seton1355@aol.com
Subject: [scribes]: RE: slippery rulers
<< Are yours nonslippery somehow? >>
My C-thru rulers are not "non-slippery" but I do not have a problem with
them. If you do, you could try glueing very fine sand paper to the back and
PLACING the ruler on the paper as you make lines, NOT pushing or sliding the
ruler along. OR buy a package of "moleskin" from Dr. Scholl at the pharmacy
counter of the super market/Wal-mart near you. Moleskin comes in small
sheets
with a peel-off backing used mundanely to cover corns & callouses. You could
apply it to the back of your ruler to keep it from slipping.
Good luck! Phillipa Seton
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 12:46:14 EST
From: castle.strongarm@juno.com (Terry & Andrea L Pruitt)
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
I usually sign my scrolls with a small Insular Majuscule "M" in a corner
on the front, and have signed the backs with a Micron Pigma 101 pen with
"Calligraphed and Illuminated by" my name, and my Barony. I much prefer
the Latin phrases I've discovered in this discussion. Thank you!
When I created AOAs, I always left a space for the pictoral
rendition of the person's device, and with the information listed on the
back, they could then contact me to put said device on their scroll when
it passed the College of Heralds.
In Service to the Dreame;
Lady Marsali Sorcha na Liosa Moire, OW mka Andrea Pruitt
Barony of Illiton Peoria, IL
_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 98 08:36:58 PDT
From: Holly_Sullivan@elric.maximumaccess.com (Holly Sullivan)
Subject: [scribes]: re: slippery acrylic rulers
> I like see-through rulers for some stuff (especially knotwork), but
> the ones I
> have are just plastic, and tend to slip if I'm not careful. Are
> yours nonslippery somehow?
Wal-Mart (and most quilt stores) sell sticky-back sandpaper dots made to go
on to the back of the ruler. Look in the fabric section, sub-section
quilting supplies. One little $4 package has something close to 20 dots in
it, more than enough. I've also seen sticky-back clear flat dots of
silicone sold for the same purpose. Didn't like those; they raised the
ruler too high for accurate cutting with a rotary cutter.
Hope it helps.
- -- Via DLG2000 v1.2.4
:)---Holly---<--<-@ * Barony of Calafia, CAID * San Diego, CA * (grin)
TechnoMages Guild BBS 619 549-0278 http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/4201
Quarterly barry wavy, argent and sable, and gules, a mermaid displayed
proper between in bend sinister two compass-stars sable, fimbriated argent.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 13:25:46 -0500
From: Michel Macdonald
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures -Reply
I too am most please with the caliber of responses to this question. The
Latin being one of my personal favs for the front of my scrolls. I would
tell you that on the back of my scrolls I put:
Calligraphy and Illumination by: (insert my SCA name here)
Words created by: (insert my husbands SCA name here)
Address: (My address here for questions or if they want me to paint the
arms when they pass)
Scroll based on: (manuscript / book / page here)
Frame size recommended: (size of a "best" standard frame here)
Mat size recommended: (size of a "best" standard mat here)
Thanks,
Lady Michel
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 18:15:04 +0000 (GMT)
From: Barbara Webb
Subject: [scribes]: quills instructions
Someone was asking about class handouts or the like, so I thought I
would contribute the following summary I wrote a while back - I hope
it is useful...
Some hints on cutting quills
I have been cutting and using quills for about five years now and I find
the vast superiority of the resulting calligraphy makes them well worth
the effort. I'm just about at the stage of being able to reliably cut
a nib in less than five minutes. This article gives a few hints that I
have picked up from experience which I hope might help others. I assume
that anyone attempting quill cutting already has some reference that gives
the basic shaping methods: this article is meant to supplement such a
description (see e.g. The Calligraphers Handbook, ed. Heather Child).
The key thing about getting good results from a quill (getting the
finest lines, having good control, and having a drop of ink last for
several lines before refilling) is to realise that the ink should be
flowing onto the page through capillary action. That is, the contact
of the pen with the paper forms a capillary which draws the ink along
the width of the nib from the central slit, which is similarly a
capillary drawing the ink from inside the pen. If the entire nib is
dipped in ink, you may still be able to spread that ink across the
page with the tip but the ink will probably last only a few letters
and it will be very easy to get splodges: and the slit will serve no
function at all. As there's plenty of evidence that quills were cut
with slits, and as I'm sure they wrote more than a few letters at a
time, I think it's unlikely that quills were used in the latter
manner.
To get the `capillary' method to work places particular requirements on
the central slit. The main problem I had was that putting pressure on the
pen for writing would make the two sections of the tip part slightly,
opening the slit which stops the flow of ink.
The solution to this problem was three-fold
1. The use of a stiffer quill which doesn't open under pressure
2. The use of a very fine blade to get a very fine and even slit
3. Cutting the slit shorter and the nib into a more square shape
than the shape of modern steel nibs, which also counteracts the tendency
of the sides to part.
I use goose, swan or turkey feathers, and I find only the larger ones are
stiff enough to be useful. Treat them by soaking in vinegar overnight
and then heating by putting them in hot sand (heated in the oven) -
this definitely helps by making them stiffer (a quick method that
gives reasonably results is to hold them carefully over a flame for a
few moments, but this sometime results in burnt feathers). Remove all
the feathers and cut off the closed end before soaking, pull out the
internal membrane before putting in the hot sand. When heated the
quill should go slightly translucent, but should not actually blister
or burn.
The basic shaping (cutting sides of the nib to determine its width) is
done first using a curved scalpel, then the slit is cut - it should
end up only a few millimetres long after the nib is trimmed. I use the
blade from a safety razor and gently push the end of the nib onto the
blade to get a short, fine slit. You could probably do this with a good
knife: a method I've seen mentioned is to start the slit and then use
pressure to open it like a crack up the nib - however I find it very
hard to do this in a controlled fashion. I use the scalpel blade to do
the essential final shaping - a diagonal shaving of the top of the tip
(gives incredibly fine lines) and a very straight cut across the
top. The latter is important because the edge of nib must lie
completely flat against the writing surface for the capillary action
(described above) to work. (This assumes you are using paper with a
smooth surface, which you should be if your trying to do decent
calligraphy - vellum is exceptionally smooth).
I've used several methods for laoding the ink. Initially I would use a
brush or dropper to put a drop of ink inside at the top of the slit
and let surface tension hold it there. This works okay if you write on
a sloped surface (so the pen is fairly horizontal). However it takes
practise to get the amount right: if there is too much it will run
down and cover the whole inside of the nib and the pen won't work -
you'll have to wash and dry the nib before trying again. Too little
ink and it won't flow at all. An alternative is to use a reservoir:
and one thing I've found to work is to take the curved chunk that
you first cut off the quill when forming the nib, bend it and push
it back inside the nib so the end touches the top of the slit. This
basically means you can have a larger drop of ink that stays in
place. This works as a dip pen although I still tend to use a dropper
to load it. The exact postion of the reservoir needs to be adjusted
to suit the pen, I find.
As a rough guide, you should be able to get at least 20-30 letters
without reloading the pen, sometimes quite a lot more (half a page),
and the pen should work with a minimal amount of pressure. I don't
usually find it necessary to trim a pen for a page or two, though some
seem to go faster than others. Trimming is usually repeating the final
diagonal shave and horizontal cut; after a few of those you need to
reshape the shoulders and lengthen the slit. Always rinse the pen well
when you finish using it.
The exact shape that works tends to depend on how the individual
scribe holds a pen, so you need to practice to find the best
combination of pen shape, slit length and finishing cuts for you. It
can be frustrating trying to get a quill trimmed so that it works well
but the results are WONDERFUL. And I would advise all calligraphers to
try it some time - there are calligraphic strokes in medieval scripts
that you just _can't do_ with a modern pen.
In service,
Caitlin de Courcy.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 12:36:58 -0600
From: Dennis and/or Dory Grace
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
>As I consider any award piece I do a piece of art, I sign it on the front,
>as delicately as possible, with the circle C, my name and the year. It was
>drummed into my head that you sign everything you create, with you real
>name. And I feel that it shouldn't be any different for SCA pieces.
>
>Are there any other scribes/artists who share this opinion?
>
>B'wana Christofano
I tend to do that as well.
Aquilanne
Dory Grace--The Inkwell
denouncer of Tytyvylus & warrior crone
amazing@mail.utexas.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 12:36:58 -0600
From: Dennis and/or Dory Grace
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
>As I consider any award piece I do a piece of art, I sign it on the front,
>as delicately as possible, with the circle C, my name and the year. It was
>drummed into my head that you sign everything you create, with you real
>name. And I feel that it shouldn't be any different for SCA pieces.
>
>Are there any other scribes/artists who share this opinion?
>
>B'wana Christofano
I tend to do that as well.
Aquilanne
Dory Grace--The Inkwell
denouncer of Tytyvylus & warrior crone
amazing@mail.utexas.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 13:13:06 -0600
From: Cindy Baker
Subject: [scribes]: signatures
I usually sign the scrolls I make with some period version of "made by
Ellen" on the front (faciebat is my favorite as I usually both illuminate
and callig the scroll myself). I try to keep it small, inconspicuous and in
period when possible. The people that I have made scrolls for who know me
usually approve of (and sometimes request) a signature on the front of the
scroll. I always sign lightly in pencil on the back and include information
about the scroll, my name and local group so that the recipient can contact
me (for instance to add a device when it is registered).
I have heard a complaint from someone who received a scroll that was NOT
signed. They did not know who had done the scroll and wanted to thank them.
Perhaps some of this has to do with the previous discussion on how scribes
are perceived and encouraged in different kingdoms. It is quite common for
their Majesties (Middle Kingdom) to hold up a scroll during court to be
admired by the audience. Often 'blank' scrolls are solicited from the
general populace by their Majesties for use during a given reign.
Personally, I feel that the more the recipient knows about how the scroll
was created and by whom, the greater value the scroll will have for that
individual. I do'nt include self portraits or my arms in the scroll
(although the scribal swan described earlier is a very interesting idea!)
but I have often included elements from the Middle Kingdom device or their
Majesties' personal arms when appropriate to the period and persona of the
recipient.
(Sorry, that turned into a bit of a ramble:-)
Ellen
Baile na Scolairi
Cindy
Bloomington, IL
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 14:18:17 -0500
From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith)
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures
>>
>>I find that I am reluctant to sign the front of my work in any way which
>>will draw attention from the art itself.
>>
>>
>> Sister Guineth the White
>> Dragons Mist, An Tir
>> guineth@juno.com
>
>As I consider any award piece I do a piece of art, I sign it on the front,
>as delicately as possible, with the circle C, my name and the year. It was
>drummed into my head that you sign everything you create, with you real
>name. And I feel that it shouldn't be any different for SCA pieces.
>
>Are there any other scribes/artists who share this opinion?
>
>B'wana Christofano
As a professional artist I have also had the mundane legal
copyright neccessity of placing a sigature on the artwork drilled into me.
Nevertheless, I've still had my art used in bad ways and even been stollen
by clients! The reality of the copyright side is that if you aren't
mentally and financially prepared to go to court over infringement, it
isn't worth the ink it is written with. A signeature and copyright notice
gets degraded to a polite request to honest people to respect your
intentions to not have other people reproduce your work. I have learned my
lessons and am now prepared to "get tough" when I need too.
As far as signing the art for just getting credit on a scroll, I do
not feel that a cleverly written signature is necessarily going to detract
from the art. I've seen really obvious marginal self portraits with pinxit
or scripsit and a name actyually ADD to the enjoyment of the page! As a
Master, one of the standing rules in our household: The Workshop of the
Gilded Gryphon is that every piece of art has written on the back the
mundane AND SCA names of who calligraphed and painted it, their address,
"Workshop of the Gilded Gryphon", and the medium used to paint it.
On the back it is no compromise to artistic integrity. It also
allows for the recipient to know who to thank! (even though they rarely
think to do so, sigh). If the scroll ever gets damaged and needs repair,
and the recipient can't find the origial artist, they can at least provide
important materials information to whoever they ask to fix it.
My two pennies worth,
Ranthulfr Asparlundr
Randy Asplund-Faith
2101 S. Circle Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI. 48103
http://www.provide.net/~randyaf
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 14:25:49 -0500
From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith)
Subject: [scribes]: Thanks
To Caitlin de Courcy,
Just in case nobody else gets around to it, on behalf of everyone
who benefited from your quill article, thank you very much for your time
and wisdom!
Ranthulfr
Randy Asplund-Faith
2101 S. Circle Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI. 48103
http://www.provide.net/~randyaf
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 15:06:00 +0000
From: "Jessica Wilbur"
Subject: Re: [scribes]: Thanks
> To Caitlin de Courcy,
>
> Just in case nobody else gets around to it, on behalf of everyone
> who benefited from your quill article, thank you very much for your time
> and wisdom!
>
> Ranthulfr
Most heartily seconded! I've just started practicing cutting quills, and your
advice was most helpful. Now I know what to do about a couple of
problems I have been contemplating. I'm going to print out your article
and keep it close to hand. Thanks!
- --Muireann ni Riordain
Ponte Alto, Atlantia
(Jessica Wilbur
Centreville, VA, USA)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 16:29:48 -0500
From: "June Lathrop"
Subject: Re: [scribes]: RE: slippery rulers
You can also find self adhesive cork dots in the hardware section of most
stores... they're usually where you find replacement wheels and casters to
put under the legs of furniture set on carpets or the stick on felt to put
on the underside of lamps and such so as not to scratch the furniture. Just
peel of a couple dots and appy to the back of the ruler. They're cheap
too...:)
Juliana
Rusted Woodlands, East
- -----Original Message-----
From: Seton1355@aol.com
To: scribes@castle.org
Date: Thursday, February 12, 1998 12:18 PM
Subject: [scribes]: RE: slippery rulers
><< Are yours nonslippery somehow? >>
> My C-thru rulers are not "non-slippery" but I do not have a problem with
> them. If you do, you could try glueing very fine sand paper to the back
and
> PLACING the ruler on the paper as you make lines, NOT pushing or sliding
the
> ruler along. OR buy a package of "moleskin" from Dr. Scholl at the
pharmacy
> counter of the super market/Wal-mart near you. Moleskin comes in small
>sheets
> with a peel-off backing used mundanely to cover corns & callouses. You
could
> apply it to the back of your ruler to keep it from slipping.
>
> Good luck! Phillipa Seton
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 98 13:52:05 PST
From: kwilliam@savi.com
Subject: Re[2]: [scribes]: Scribal Signatures -Reply
My favorite "signature" is to put "Branwen me fecit" (Branwen made me)
in tiny letters at the bottom.
Branwen ferch Emrys
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 12:09:42 -1000
From: Jan McEwen
Subject: [scribes]: eggs n stuff (fwd)
Some comments from Mistress Miriel regarding a batch of posts that I sent
her.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan McEwen, University of Hawaii - Lyon Arboretum, Micropropagation Lab
SCA: Catriona Stewart of the Glens, Barony of the Western Seas, Caid
Internet: jmcewen@hawaii.edu
- ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Cat,
Responses to the plethora of stuff you sent:
I agree with Sir Ranthulfr, titanium white is the best. Heaven knows what they
bind those bleed-proof whites with; I have an excellent one from Pelikan but
it smells like nothing on earth. Still, it's pretty old.
And speaking of stink, I think fresher eggs make a difference. I go so far as
to use only Island eggs for painting. Mainland eggs are too old! Of course,
that's not a problem for them.
I didn't know that burnishing over paint caused such problems. Good to know.
Anybody who wants to gild on parchment/paper with period gesso should get a
hold of Jerry Tresser's book. He clears up a BIG misconception about binders.
Mistress Raven sent me a copy of this book and I found it very useful. I can
get you more info on that if you want. If Sir Ranthulfr has proportions, both
for his hide glue and his gesso, I would love to know what they are. I would
also love to know how he makes it up fresh. Everybody tells you to make it and
dry it and rehydrate it. Fresh would be useful when one is pressed for time.
Now I have got to go get that copy of the Visconti Hours out of Hamilton and
look at the glazed borders.....
Miriel
------------------------------
End of scribes digest V1 #56
****************************