Fernando's Knighting Scroll

Award: KSCA

Recipient: Sir Fernando de Valecia de la Rosa

Materials: watercolor gouache, various period pigments, pergamenata, gold leaf, ink

Total work time: 35 hours

Drafting: HL Gwenhwfyr ber Cain

Painting: HL Melangell merch Marriot

Calligraphy and Illumination: Maol Mide

The major illumination is based upon the early Spanish manuscript Beatus of San Millan, folio 92 "Adoration of the Lamb". The page is an illustration of John's vision of the Lord enthroned in the guise of a Lamb surrounded by the Gospelers and elders from chapter 4 of the Apocalypse. The central figure of the Lamb of God was removed and replaced by an illumination of a triumphant Christian warrior adapted from the Gerona Beatus of 975 folio 134 verso.

The figure of the warrior has been redressed in green, white and black which are the heraldic colors of the recipient. To add some symbols of knighthood, the innermost white circle has an added amulet of gold chain and the outermost white circle has been adapted into a white belt tipped with the recipient's heraldry.

The script is adapted from several examples of insular minuscule from the same period.

Argent Palm for Meara

Award: Argent Palm

Recipient: Meara

Size: 4in x 6in

Materials: watercolor gouache, bristol board, faux gold leaf, ink

Total work time: 6 hours

Last week I had the privledge of creating a scroll for my SCA niece, Meara. This young lady has a quick wit and a taste for gothy things. As this was her first SCA award, an Argent Palm, I wanted to make it special for her.

I created a page inspired by the Hours of Mary of Burgundy. This book of hours was created around 1475 for Mary, Duchess of Burgundy by an anonymous artisan known as the Master of Mary of Burgundy (active: 1469 - 1483 ). Mary of Burgandy was the only child of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and Isabelle de Bourbon and wed Maximilian, archduke of Austria, of the Habsburg (Hapsburg) family, who later became emperor Maximilian I. The book is richly decorated and contains a gorgeous opening illumination showing Mary of Burgundy in contemplation with a book of hours.

The page I created was inspired by a page with white acanthus leaves and flowers on a field of gold leaf. To suit the piece to the young lady, I exhanged one of the pea flowers from the original manuscript page with a skull from the Office of the Dead near the end of the manuscript.

Gallery of images here

Elspeth's Rose

A number of years ago Brigid Caileen and Mittion were the Crown of Trimaris and TRM Caileen had a very special project. Her friend, Duchess Elspeth, had been in the SCA quite a number of years and although she had received many accolades, she had not received many illuminated pieces to commemorate those awards. Caileen set up to have scribes create all of the pieces that Elspeth was missing.

Caileen asked me to take the commission for the Rose scroll and although I was swamped at the time I could not say no to her. Saying no to Caileen is like saying no to your sweet grandma wrapped in a hurricane because she is a darling and a force of nature in one.

I had been toying with the knot-worked calligraphy from the Mira Calligraphae Monumenta for some time and decided this would be a good piece. I selected three of Hoefnagel's roses pictured in separate parts of the book and paired them with the knot-worked calligraphy. In the calligraphy, the award text was not long enough to create the cross shape so I added in lines from a medieval poem that I cannot recall.

The calligraphy on the curves was not easy and I recall not being entirely happy with it but the illuminations helped me to feel better about the piece as a whole.

A Finished Icon

Here is the finished product of the Russian icon style Pelican created for Master Sasha.

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Award: Pelican

Recipient: Sasha

Materials: watercolor gouache, various period pigments, pergamenata, gold leaf, gold ink, ink

Face details on angels and central figure: Mistress Finneadan

Text Translation to Russian: Master Octavio de Flores

Calligraphy and Illumination: Maol Mide

The original icon upon which this is based was executed by Russion iconographer Andrei Rublev who lived from the 1360's until about 1427 in Moscow. The image is based upon the icon "Christ in Glory" which is a motif that Rublev replicated within his own works. The figure of Christ seated within a red diamond upon a blue oval bordered with a red curving-sided rectangle and gilding was painted several times by Rublev with variation in the details.

The halo of the central figure has been removed and the details in the four corners of the red have been adjusted to Pelicans. One of the angel faces has been replaced with Jack from Nightmare After Christmas. The text in the book was a last minute addition not pictured here but it was a Latin equivalent of ‘Give him the bird’, which is a joke we have used on several Pelican scrolls in the past.

An icon in progress

I am working on Sasha's Pelican scroll and decided to take some in-progress shots of the work as it continues. The original icon upon which this is based was executed by Russion iconographer Andrei Rublev who lived from the 1360's until about 1427 in Moscow.

The image is based upon the icon "Christ in Glory" which is a motif that Rublev replicated within his own works. The figure of Christ seated within a red diamond upon a blue oval bordered with a red curving-sided rectangle and gilding was painted several times by Rublev with varietion in the details. This is my own variation of his work.

This past weekend, HL Finneadan worked on the faces for the angles and the seated figure that is styled as Sasha rather than the savior. Her work is gorgeous and I will get details of the faces up soon.

The second photo shown is the progress made last night. I worked most of the night on the drapery of the clothing and think I am pretty much done with that section.

Daimhin's Pelican

Codex Aureus of Canturbury pages as a Pelican Scroll for Daimhin.

Many small details of the orginal were adapted in favor of personalization for the recipient. Photos of the original work can be viewed in this post. An angel in theoriginal work ws exchanged for a pelicn with similar wings and the pink background was changed to green to suit the recipient's personal colors. An addition of diaper work was added over the green background of a falling script in whispy white asian character looking letters as a nod to the Matrix.

The saints in the upright finials of the original were exchanged and now are representtive of two formative Peers of the recipient. One, Baron Taly, holds a scroll bearin he alpha and omega and the exploding singulaity behind him represents the big bang... which he may have been there to witness. The other, Baroness Bela, bears a wooden stick with a shiny nail through the end and the diaper ork behind her is a spray of white gouts, as found on her device.

Within the initial the original letters were adjusted and several of the xenomorph characters were adjusted to pelicans and dogs.

Piece executed in gouache on pergamenta taking far longer than it should of.