From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V2 #110 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Thursday, June 25 1998 Volume 02 : Number 110 In this issue: [scribes]: New member introduction Re: [scribes]: New member introduction nurturing new scribes (was: Re: [scribes]: Geographic Trends) Re: [scribes]: First Scroll [scribes]: FW: Medieval Latin listserv Re: [scribes]: nurturing new scribes Re: [scribes]: Geographic Trends [scribes]: nurturing new scribes RE: [scribes]: Fwd: Persian manuscripts questions ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 16:44:03 +0100 From: Christina Nevin Subject: [scribes]: New member introduction Greetings to you all, My name is Lucrezia-Isabella di Freccia, and I come from the Shire of Ildhafn in the Southern Reaches of Caid (mka Auckland, NZ). I am however currently resident in the incipient Shire of Thamesreach in the Isles of the Kingdom of Drachenwald (mka London, UK). My primary interest is illumination (but am an occasional, if somewhat dilatory calligrapher) in particular C15th Italian, although I have also tried my hand at some C12th English work. I look forward to reading the list and meeting you all. Yours in service to the Dream, Lucrezia ========================================================== Lady Lucrezia-Isabella di Freccia | mka Tina Nevin Thamesreach Shire, The Isles, Kingdom of Drachenwald www.geocities.com/~thorngrove | thorngrove@geocities.com "There is no doubt that great leaders prefer hard drinkers to good versifiers" - Aretino ========================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 04:07:24 -0400 From: Pete Steiner Subject: Re: [scribes]: New member introduction Welcome to the list Lucrezia! I'm sure we all have much to learn from you, as well as to teach you. That's the beauty of an artist's forum! In pursuit of forgotten things, I remain, Gwer Rychen von Bern - Lapidary & Scribe - -Pete Steiner- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 07:29:58 -0400 From: Donna Kenton Subject: nurturing new scribes (was: Re: [scribes]: Geographic Trends) >How have people found it best to nurture/build an ongoing group of scribes? I'd be particularly interested in any suggestions here. I have a couple of people in my group who have expressed interest, and someone else I *know* would love it, if she even gave it have a chance. We don't have any formal practices yet, though I think that may happen after the summer. I'm trying to put together a small scribal event (collegium? scriptorium?) for late in September, and hope that will also get the ball rolling for the local folk. We're fortunate to have a site where we can get together twice a week for whatever we want. Currently, that includes heavy weapons and fencing on Sundays and needlework and sewing on Wednesdays. I'm looking to add calligraphy to the bunch. I'm reluctant to put the calligraphy on Sunday after fighting, because I know I can't do any fine work after my hands have been doing larger motion things. However, Sundays are better attended than Wednesdays. Can't callig before fighting because of current scheduling. Rosalinde Rosalinde ____________________________________________________________________________ Lady Rosalinde De Witte/Donna Kenton * donna@dabbler.com * http://www.dabbler.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 07:36:29 -0400 (EDT) From: Susan Lynn Arthur Subject: Re: [scribes]: First Scroll At 11:12 PM 6/24/98 -0700, you wrote: >Huzzah for Lady Mylisant's first scroll! >I know there have been times when I keep going over to look at my >work table and I'm happy with what I've done (usually just before >doing something silly that I hate :) So be happy and celebrate and >look forward to the next one :) Congratulations! Lady Mylisant, I hope you're hooked like the rest of us... ;> And I know what Alsikye means. I was *so* proud of both the calligraphy and the little people I had painted dancing across the bottom of the scroll I was near to finishing. They looked SO good. Then I re-read the heraldry preparatory to painting it and realized that I had left out a word! Talk about stunned. After much help and reassurance from my scribal friends I added four little mice "stealing" the word. I'm at least back to being satisfied with the outcome.... in a couple of months I expect I'll be happy with it again. You have *so* much to look forward to! :> Lucia =========================== Lady Lucia Bellini Atlantian Scrivener Royal House Flamingbolt Elvegast, Windmasters' Hill ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 07:49:06 -0400 From: "Knott, Deanna" Subject: [scribes]: FW: Medieval Latin listserv Greetings! This is forwarded from SCA-East. There was no indication that it was strictly an Eastern List, so I assume it is open to all. Have fun! Yours, Avelina Keyes Du Pont Pursuivant Come see my sausage adventure and some works of Eastern scribes at... htp://www.geocities.com/athens/academy/9523 > ---------- > From: Tara Sersen[SMTP:tsersen@hotmail.com] > Sent: Wednesday,June 24,1998 9:53 PM > To: eisental@tulgey.browser.net; sca-east@indra.com > Subject: EK: Medieval Latin listserv > > -Poster: "Tara Sersen" > > New listserv! yay! > > There is a new listserv dedicated to the study of Medieval Latin within > our Society. We're hoping to attract discussion at different academic > levels on grammar and orthography, texts, and translation to and from > Latin for useage in our Current Middle Ages. If you're interested in > subscribing, send e-mail to > majordomo@tulgey.browser.net > with the message > subscribe medieval-latin > > In service, > Magdalena vander Brugghe > Shire of Eisental, East Kingdom. > Mountain Confederation. Fox Clan. > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > _________________________________________________________________ > To leave this mailing list, send mail to majordomo@indra.com > with the message UNSUBSCRIBE SCA-EAST > ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 08:22:33 -0400 From: "Dorinda E Courtine-White" Subject: Re: [scribes]: nurturing new scribes wrote: How have people found it best to nurture/build an ongoing group of scribes? [snip] Any suggestions how to overcome this apathy, or perhaps more accurately, how to keep people interested in a particular art form? Elenfea Several things come to mind (in a somewhat random order): 1. Make sure there are materials available and known sources for materials. People who have trouble getting the supplies seem to give up quickly. 2. Make sure there is something for them to do at their skill level. Scribes without assignments seem to wither. Depending on your Kingdom traditions, the skill of the new scribes and the temperament of the new scribes (some like deadlines, some don't) you could give them one of several assignments: - a specific prize scroll for an upcoming event - painting a preprint (omits the pressures of drawing) - a cover for your local newsletter (omits the pressures of painting) - a thank you (for SCAdians or modern folks) - a blank scroll for the Royalty - help them get a backlog assignment Something should come up at least twice a year where you really need their help. 3. Praise their work often. Publicly if possible. 4. Throw in something new at least two or three times a year to give people an inspirational jolt. - a class on a new topic (e.g. gold leafing or quill cutting or something neat.) - a field trip to a museum - a road trip to a scribal collegium - a special guest appearance by a distant laurel or your scribal signet officer 5. Consider starting a guild. We have a guild and collect nominal dues. The dues have been used both to create favors for the members and buy supplies. The favors are per pale, Or and azure, and illuminators get a paintbrush at the bottom of theirs on the blue side, calligraphers get a nib on the bottom of the yellow side. After they create three prize scrolls (or the equivalent), they get a red bead (for illumination) or a red painted metal feather (as close as we could get to a quill for the calligraphers) to sew on above the brush or nib (or both if they do both). Three AOA scrolls gets a green bead/feather, three Principality or Kingdom level awards get a blue bead/feather, three peerage/royal peerage/GOA level scrolls get a silver bead/feather and gold is reserved for the guild to present when someone has been truly spectacular after receiving the other tokens. (No one has this yet!) This system allows scribes to get recognition very early in the process when they need a boost. They also have the favor to wear to show that they are part of something special. (Almost everyone likes to be part of the group!) People who are not guild members but do scribal work are given a simple ribbon with a single bead no matter what they do. This encourages people to join the guild. The guild dues were also used to buy a book of gold leaf and some gum ammoniac so people who couldn't afford to buy a whole $40 book could buy it one sheet at a time. We hope to also do this with paper. 6. Make sure people are introduced to other scribes outside the local group. Then when they go to events they will see other scribes they know. 7. Invite them to your house to work on projects or look at books. Nothing is as good as personalized attention - especially for new people. This is all that comes to mind this morning! Good luck! Dorinda Courtenay Shire of Heronter, AEthelmearc ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 09:20:46 -0400 From: Heather Swann Subject: Re: [scribes]: Geographic Trends > I have a question that may come up from time to time in other places and directly relates to this discussion- > > How have people found it best to nurture/build an ongoing group of scribes? (snip) > Any suggestions how to overcome this apathy, or perhaps more accurately, how to keep people interested in a particular art form? > > Elenfea > My best suggestion is to make it a party. In Isenfir in Atlantia, we always held scribe parties where we all brought what we were working on and talked and worked and ate and worked and put on background videos and worked, etc.....get a stack of AoAs that need to be done and guide new folks through doing them- that way you have a new crop of scribes, some scrolls get done, and no one gets bored. Miri ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 08:41:30 -0500 From: Cindy Baker Subject: [scribes]: nurturing new scribes snip>How have people found it best to nurture/build an ongoing group of scribes? snip again >2. Make sure there is something for them to do at their skill level. >Scribes without assignments seem to wither. > - painting a preprint (omits the pressures of drawing) We have found a way in our shire to get new scribes started without using preprints -- Several of the more skilled/experienced scribes lay out the scroll design and outline the illumination with a fine crow-quill pen. Then a less-experienced scribe (often non-scribes will also participate, they will be assimilated later -- resistance is futile) can paint in the areas designated, rather like a coloring book. As their skills and confidence increase, they can move on to shading, gilding, white-work, etc. This has become a very popular activity at social gatherings as well. We put in a video tape and set up paints and 'blank' scrolls. We always tell our new people "don't worry if you mess up, we can always make more!" I don't think we have actually had to discard a scroll yet. Most mistakes can be fixed one way or another. Ellen of the Scholars Baile na Scolairi Middle Kingdom ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 10:45:07 -0400 (EDT) From: Kathleen Sperling Subject: RE: [scribes]: Fwd: Persian manuscripts questions >>Incidentally, though, there are some very fine anglicized Arabic hands out >>there (as well as some really awful ones, but hey). >A couple of years ago someone wrote an article for TI which was about a calligraphic hand that looked like it was written arabic. There is an example of a scroll done with this hand on my web site at: >http://www.geocities.com/athens/academy/9523/fountain.jpg Took a peek at it...I would consider this one of the poorer attempts at anglicizing Arabic. There are far better hands available, IMO. By "better", I mean hands which resemble the style, look and feel of Arabic; and the above example just doesn't. This is, of course, not to slight the skill of the calligrapher in any way...the calligraphy looks good, it just doesn't look Arabic :). Once I finish getting my life back together again (ie after moving and adjusting to the new job and recovering from Pennsic :), I *will* get my Signet to give me a copy of her collection of anglicized Arabic hands. There's one in particular that she uses which is very evocative of real Arabic script. Incidentally, there are some really interesting websites out there about Arabic writing, including lots and lots of examples (not necessarily period examples, but examples nonetheless). http://www.islamicart.com/pages/scripts/scriptdex.htm is one of them, for anyone who's interested or who hasn't seen Arabic writing in extensive quantities. Cheers, Zahra al-Ishbiiliyah Scribe of Ealdormere ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V2 #110 *****************************