30-day challenge, day 19 - for Coronation ETA link to text

[abendgules]

Sigillum rex, for Matthewe Baker: text by Robert de Canterbury, calligraphy and gilding by Genevieve. Goat(?) parchment, logwood black ink with a quill, Miniatum size and transfer gold, outlined with a crow pen.

I haven't used a quill in some months, but I really wanted these pieces to be as completely medieval-made as possible (didn't quite make it, the size and transfer gold are modern, though the gold is real). The results weren't as smooth as they could have been with a metal nib, but frankly I was pleasantly surprised they were as good as this.

One silly mistake: I use my slope almost all the time for scribing, and I forgot you need a flat surface to lay the size on the parchment, otherwise it pools at the lowest point. So I can see a pool of size in the foot of the P, where it gathered overnight.



One very cool aspect: Robert made me an inscrbing tool for making lines in parchment.

Somewhere, I've read, that the lines you see in manuscripts aren't pencil - they're silverpoint. The scribes used a silver-tipped 'pencil' to indent the lines in the parchment. What you now see is the effect of tarnished silver embedded in the parchment, which has turned dark with years. But initially, you would not have seen it.

So Robert took a piece of broken arrow (lots of them in this house) and inserted a nail in one end, to create a slightly blunted point. It's sharp enough to make a line, but not so sharp that it breaks the surface of the parchment.

You can just see the shade of these lines on the pic.

There's a large space at the bottom, so that it could be folded and sealed, as well as signed. I'll have to ask Matthewe to bring it to an event, to ensure this happens, because I know I didn't manage to convey that before it was given out.

ETA: link to the full text on Robert's wiki

Comments

[merlyn-gabriel.livejournal.com]

just lovely!

[badgersandjam.livejournal.com]

I've never had pooling problems with size, but then I do put the slope down to 30 degrees rather than the 60 I write at, which may make a difference. Also, I don't leave it overnight--I gild as soon as the sheen goes off it (anywhere from 5-35 minutes, depending on temp, humidity, etc.)

Lovely hands!

[ethnowoman.livejournal.com]

Very, very cool!!

lines and letters.

[wyntersea.livejournal.com]

I was wondering where the lones were in this one (was going to ask about this and the following document). several different techniques were used sometimes just rulling with a sharp edge (backside of a scribes knife, sometimes a silver point as you mentioned other times "crayons" which I want to try creating I have all the ingredients now I think - I think it is gum tragnacth(sp?) and brazilwood or madder made into a crayon type writing instrument - I've seen several manuscripts where the lining was done with something that was either red or sometimes purple, I think I've even seen a very light blue and was trying to figure out how they could have inked such straight and consistent lines until I saw an article by I think Master Ranthfur(sp again:-x). For a quill your writing is amazing consistent:-} I have a tendancy for some lighter letters along with the standard density of ink that I am trying ot overcome.

It would be great to have the texts printed out of both documents with a source if Robert used a specific one:-]

Re: lines and letters.

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

I've added the link to the text for this one. The county text has not yet been added to Robert's wiki.

[aryanhwy.livejournal.com]

Both pieces were amazing, I got to spend some time looking at them up close. Wow.