One of the many hobbies I do within the SCA is illumination. I love painting a scroll. I get to pain pretty things and be creative. Like most artists, I’m never truly happy with my finished product and I grumble a great deal through the process. This particular piece was more difficult than average and last minute issues stressed me out to no end.
Inspiration
So this particular piece was for a landed baron stepping down from his post. His persona within the SCA is a German lord from the Strasbourg area from the 1100’s. Usually, when I am given a scroll assignment, I try to find an inspiration piece from the same time period. Unfortunately, this time, I was unable to find an existing piece from that region that matched his time period. What I did find is a page from late period (around 1500, pictured left) that I really fell in love with. Out of the several that I found this one was the one that stood out the most. It also seemed suitably “baron thank you-ish,” if that makes any sense. The text is inspired by a letter from Conrad III to Wibald, Abbot of Corvxy, in 1148.
It is a bit of a mis-match, I’ll admit. Since I wasn’t able to find an illumination that fit what I was going for, I was determined to at least find inspiration for the text. The original text is a letter written by Conrad to the Abbot of Corvxy to share with the people of Germany. While it’s purpose is to set the disastrous events of the German part of the Second Crusade in a good light to the people, there were elements that I could use. I searched the usual sources for appropriate wordings but only found texts for awards, not thanks you’s. I stumbled across this on a random google search and finding it was a definite win.
Conrad, by the grace of God, august king of the Romans, to venerable Wibald, abbot of Corvey, his most kind greeting.
Because we know that you especially desire to hear from us and to learn the state of our prosperity, we think it fitting first to tell you of this. By God’s mercy we are in good health and we have embarked in our ships to return on the festival of the blessed Virgin in September, after having accomplished in these lands all that God willed and the people of the country permitted.
Let us now speak of our troops. When following the advice of the common council we had gone to Damascus and after a great deal of trouble had pitched our camps before the gate of the city, it was certainly near being taken. But certain ones, whom we least suspected, treasonably asserted that the city was impregnable on that side and hastily led us to another position where no water could be supplied for the troops and where access was impossible to any one. And thus all, equally indignant grieved, returned, leaving the undertaking uncompleted. Nevertheless, they all promised unanimously that they would make an expedition against Ascalon, and they set the place and time. Having arrived there according to agreement, we found scarcely anyone. In vain we waited eight days for the troops. Deceived a second time, we turned to our own affairs.
In brief therefore, God willing, we shall return to you. We render to you the gratitude which you deserve for your care of our son and for the very great fidelity which you have shown to us, And with the full intention of worthily rewarding your services;, we ask you to continue the same.¹
– Conrad to Wibald, Abbot of Corvxy 1148
Bouquet: Recueil, xv, p 534. Latin.
Trouble in Paradise
Shakespeare wrote that the course of true love never did run smooth. Apparently the life of scrolls never runs smooth either. For those that aren’t aware I’ll provide a bit of backstory. The life a scroll, where scribes and illuminators are concerned, starts with a piece of paper… well an email, really. I’ve posted the one I received for this scroll below:
Notes:
The royals would prefer König and Königin for Their Titles, (though They are fine with regional alternates for scrolls specific to a recipient’s persona).
Inquiries about Royal court may be directed to the Eastern Crown Herald (Royal Herald) for TRM Wilhelm and Vienna: Baroness Theodora Bryennissa, called Treannah at email redacted for privacy.
Scrolls that are protected against bending can be shipped to Their Majesties at: Address redacted for privacy.
——————————
—————————— —————————— ————— Recipient: Ulric von der Insel
Award: Thank you scroll
Date: March 23, LIII (53)
Event: Black Rose Ball/Investiture
Royalty: Wilhelm and Vienna
SOSN: WV18-140
Assigned to: Perronnelle de Croy
Blazen: Not armigerousThank you for being Baron of Bridge
This particular email was one of the least descriptive but then it didn’t need much. This was a “thank you for your service” scroll, not an award. It has all the pertinent details -the who, what, where, why, and when. It also includes the royals preferred titles, mailing addresses, and the Royal Herald contact information. The section at the bottom after all of that would be the recommendation, persona details, preferred scroll style, etc.
This was my first baronial thank you so I was a little intimidated at first, to be honest. I wanted to make sure that it was appropriate. Fortunately Baron Ulric has an East Kingdom Wiki page. From there I learned that he has a German persona, approximate year, and location. Armed with that information I was able to narrow my search for a scroll style and appropriate wording.
This particular scroll I decided to use pergmanata (a vegetable vellum) instead of my usual Strathmore Bristol paper. I also ended up altering the layout a bit and did a 3/4 border, leaving out the bottom edge. I did this to allow more space for the necessary signatures from the King and Queen. Everything went swimmingly….the first time around.
Accidents Happen
I handed off the scroll on a Friday, a good two and a half weeks before the due date, to a calligrapher I had paired with. Overall, I was happy with the work but was dumb and only realized after that I hadn’t taken any pictures. Oh well. I could get pictures at the event with the calligraphy on it. Even better, right?
Monday, early afternoon, I got a message saying that there had been an accident. The scribe spilled ink on the scroll and there was no way to save it. I’m not going to lie, I panicked. I was leaving that Thursday for a trip and would be coming back on Sunday evening. It finished the scroll in roughly two weeks due to my carpel tunnel and arthritis acting up, how could I get it done in time? It felt important, you know? I’ve never had a scroll not be finished on time. I’m proud of that. I wasn’t going to let this one go without at least giving it a try. I contacted a local calligrapher in hopes of being able to get that aspect sorted. We arranged to meet the following Tuesday to hand off the scroll.
A section of base layers of paint.
Process
This time I would take pictures. I ended up penciling the design on Monday night and started laying down paint on Tuesday. This is where I ran into my issue my perg ended up having a waxy residue in some areas. Several scribes warned me about using lotion on my hands and using a paper towel or bridge to rest my hand on while painting. I had avoided lotions and everything so this was something that was on the perg when I purchased it. It caused my paint to puddle like rain on a Rain-X treated windhield. I had never run into this before.
My solution was to thicken up my paint to get it to stay. I ran into an even trickier version of the issue with my gold work. The gold would bubble. I had to scrape and reapply the gold in sections several time to solve the issue. I’ve since learned that using pounce or even a superfine grit of sandpaper can be a solution to deal with this. Needless to say, it wasn’t amusing to me in the least.
Wednesday I was able to finish the base layer of paints but didn’t get much further due to real life commitments. I was frustrated, I’m not going to lie. My arthritis and carpel tunnel were aggravated and I was pushing it. I had to paint in about twenty minute sections then take a break of twenty or thirty minutes to stretch out my hand and arm. Progress was far slower the second time around.
Thursday I left on a family trip and came home Sunday night. Sunday night was shot as we got home too late and once we got home it was all about getting the kids to bed, unpacking, and getting everyone ready for Monday. I was thankful that Monday everyone was out of the house. Three days of rest for my hand and arm meant that I could do longer stretches. I was happy that I was able to get about three-quarters of the shading, highlights, and details in. The scroll finished up on Tuesday morning and was able to get it dry and handed off to my calligrapher. I don’t think I’ve ever been so relieved.
Completed Scroll
Results
The scroll made it to the event and to court on time. Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out…kind of. I still think that the first one was better since I had more time to work on it. There were a few things that I would change in the future though. On the facsimile the highlight color on the green vines looked white to me. I got a suggestion that it could have been a pale yellow, and often was. Due to fading over time the pale yellow can look white especially when scanned by or photographed. It’s definitely something I’ll remember next time.
In retrospect, looking at the photo, I think I also would have liked to improve my shading. There are some areas where I feel like it the shading could have been more prominent. The gold work also looks likes it could be improved. The bubbling was a major issue in at least four spots in the gold work. It looks a little bumpy and not as smooth as I would have liked. I’ll have to work on that some more I guess. There’s always room for improvement.
¹Dana C. Munro, “Letters of the Crusaders”, Translations and Reprints from the Original Sources of European History, Vol 1:4, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1896), 12-14