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mousegrrl: per pale sable and vert, a mouse sejant erect playing an Irish harp argent (Default)
Nadbroicc inigena Druisten, called Mouse

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Iron Scribe!

Dec. 10th, 2018 11:19 am
mousegrrl: what people think scribes do (scribe)
So a couple weekends ago I drove up to the Boston area to attend the Great Quintavian Iron Scribe Competition! A garb-optional event, it was really more like Great British Bake Off than anything; you entered into one of three categories, were given an exemplar to work from, and a time limit. Your piece was judged and you were awarded a prize! I had SO MUCH FUN. I entered in the Illumination category, cause I don't think my calligraphy is up to snuff, but I really should have done that too. XD

ANYWAY, I chose a bit of Italian white vine to do, just because I need work on that style. I placed third! ^__^ Here's what I did:



I'm going to finish it eventually and hand it in as a scroll blank. I hope there are more events like this in the East!
So some of you will have seen these before over on my personal journal, but I think it's been long enough that I can afford to show them again. Besides, this place is for documenting my progress, and if I'm not putting up everything I've done, I'm not documenting it properly, right? XD

ANYWAY. These four scrolls are blanks, meaning all that needs done on them is the calligraphy. Signet (the head scribe for the Kingdom) really likes blanks -- they can quickly fill a need for a surprise scroll going out at Court. All four of these are what are known as puzzle initials; the red and blue sections of the initial letter fit together like a puzzle piece. I love doing these, especially the pen flourishes. XD



The exemplars for these guys are as follows:
Blank A = 15th c. England, Arundel 11 f. 9, British Library
Blank B = Utrecht University Library
Blank F = 13th c. Italy or France, Arundel 287 f. 76, British Library
Blank G = 13th c. France, Arundel 134 f. 2, British Library

That last one, the A, was done in the hotel lobby at the Known World Heraldic and Scribal Symposium a couple years ago. XD The gold on it is actually metallic gold gouache. I'm especially pleased with that one. XD And the G was the first one I ever tried. Enjoy!

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