Category: Wordsmith (Page 2 of 2)

Writing these words was an honor as Antonio one of those people I’ve looked up to ever since I was more active in the SCA. He’s a was the first member of the order of Chivalry to be named as a Mod (as a one of the Premiers) and beyond that someone that give you the shirt off their back, so I’ve thrilled to help with this assignment.

The scribe had some requests based on the source material which I’m always happy to accommodate.

Restrictions 150 -180 words   Name and Tyger of the east in the first 30 words to match up with the nice goldwork at the start of the source.

Start with an F

Based on the source and the subject we were going for praise poem vibe. I turned to On the Making of a Man by St. Gregory of Nyssa for inspiration.

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Forever may the gracious, stalwart, and noble Antonio Patrasso stand proud as one of the Mighty, Ancient and Venerable Tygers of the East Kingdom.

 If We, We Indrakshi Rani, and Ryouko’jin Demon King of the Three Heavens, had to honor with rewards of money those who excel in virtue, the whole world of money, would seem but small to be made equal to Antonio’s virtue in the balance. Since, however, the debt of gratitude due to your Reverence is greater than can be valued in money, and the Eastern Lands demands the accustomed gift of love, we offer to your greatness of mind, O Antonio Patrasso a gift too small indeed to be worthy of presentation to you, yet not falling short of the extent of our power. The gift is a discourse, like a mean garment, woven not without toil from our poor wit, and the subject of the discourse, while it will perhaps be generally thought audacious, yet seemed not unfitting.

Done AS 57 in the Year of the Blue Tyger in our praiseworthy Barony of Settmour Swamp in the Presence of the Populace Assembled.

Words by Matthias Grunwald

Scroll by Thyra Eiriksdottir

Based on Making of a Man by St Gregory of Nyssa

This is another of my favorites, Katerina is a quite person that gets things done, but had been steadily increasing in prowess for several years until she got a chance to show it at Sovereign an Consorts rapier in 2022 doing very well and being named Consorts Champion. Later when she was inducted into the Order of the Golden Rapier, I was very happy to be given the chance to write words for her scroll.

For inspiration I looked some period fencing manuals which are a GREAT source of material as often the writers would have an introduction that details why their style is the one true style and everything else is crap.

I was also happy to work in references to a title she likes (scholar, and a fencing company she helped found, Scherma Nova Studiorum, This is what I came up with.

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Even as from our swathing bands carried with us an unbridled desire of knowledge: So afterwards, having attained to the perfection thereof, there grows in us a certain laudable and fervent affection to teach others: The which, if it were not so, the world happily should not be seen so replenished with Arts and Sciences.

For if scholars of the Scherma Nova Studiorum generally were not apt in the contemplation and searching out of things: Or if curiosity had not bestowed them the grace, to be able to lift their mind from the earth, and by searching to find out the causes thereof. It would come to pass, that the one part of women, as Nobles, should bear rule, and the other part as vile slaves, wrapped in perpetually darkness, should suffer, and lead a life unworthy.

Whereupon being forced, through a certain honest desire to help others, Lady Katerina Falconer de Lanark gave herself wholly to the contemplation thereof: to find out the true principles and grounds of the Art of Defense, and reduce the confused and infinite number of blows into a compendious sum and certain order: The principles being but few, and therefore easier to be known and borne away, without doubt, in small time, and little travail, will open a large entrance to the understanding of all that which is contained in this honorable , Illustrious and venerable  Art.

In our opinion it stands with great reason that a person teaches that unto others which she hath searched and found out by her great study & travails be honored.

Therefore, do We Brenhines Corotica and Sultan Mohammad see fit to induct the aforesaid Katerina into the Order of the Golden Rapier, with all rights, honors, and duties entailed within the august and venerable Order. Furthermore, so all may know the bearing, standing and worth of Scholar Katerina do we Grant her arms in the form:  Per chevron inverted gules and azure, on a chevron inverted Or another sable, in chief a compass star Or

Done this day, A.S. Fifty-Seven in our frosty Shire of Rusted Woodlands. 

Words by Matthias Grunwald

Scroll by Thyra Eiriksdottir

Based on Opera Nova by Anchille Marozzo and Degrassi his True art of defense

I’m looking over the list and I’m going to get some of my favorites up and then go back through all the work, for no other reason to make me happy.

These words were for a member of the SCA household i belong to — Darostur and a good friend Maike (who recently changed her SCA name from Marietta) on her elevation to the Order of the Pelican at the East Kingdom Rapier Championships hosted by Quintavia.

Marieta’s favorite source: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8541007m/f209.planchecontact

Source for Specific page(folio 115r): https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8541007m/f231.item

The requirements based on the exemplar was

Start with 3-4 words I can paint above the source, and then her name, which will be done in the red/blue on the side of the illumination. Ideally an I to begin would be awesome.

Is there any chance she has a motto, or we could come up with something in latin that would be amusing for that center block?

I needed the motto for another piece of her Elevation regalia anyways so started with that. Anyone who knows Maike knows she is the best sort of project enabler so came up with “But what if we could?” Latin Translation by Tullia Tranquilla “Sed nonne possumus”.

Source was based riffing on  transcriptions of the proclamations of the Council of Trent. This is what I came up with.

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Infinite labors demand Marieta Charay be duly recognized. 

Mohammad, and Corotica, Monarchs of these Eastern lands, to all good, noble, and highly esteemed subjects, greetings.  Wherefore, upon the 18^th day of February, in the fifty-seven year of the Society, at our Rapier Championships hosted by our Mighty Shire of Quintavia, it seems to us felicitous, opportune and propitious to convey unto you our most sincere gratitude for those extraordinary and diverse labors that you have undertaken on behalf of the Kingdom of the East, not least of which being your travails in the scribal arts,  the work on our ethereal courts, and running of  many events;  and wherefore it lies within our singular royal authority to bestow such honors, accolades, and benefits as been proscribed by law, custom, and traditions, since the time of  our  forebearers, Finnvarr and Caellyn,  We do therefore, after mature deliberation, our own certain knowledge, and the advice of the Peers of the Realm,  appoint, resolve, and assign that you shall, ought to be, and will hereafter be named among the companions of the Order of the Pelican with all rights, duties and privileges associated with the venerable order.  Furthermore, so all many know your worth, do we convey onto you Arms by Letters Patent in the form, manner and display Azure, a leaf Or and in base two mice sejant erect respectant argent, a bordure Or,  

Let no one, therefore, infringe this our will, mandate, and decree, or with rash daring go contrary thereunto; if anyone shall presume to attempt this, let him know that they will incur our royal indignation, displeasure, and wrath.  And so willing do we add our Ensigns Manual.

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The scroll was done by the wonderful Toscano sisters, and came out spectacular

Calligraphy by Tola Knytir

Illumination by Leonete D’Angely

Words by Mathias Grunwald

This was my fifth scroll, and had a 1 day turn around due to tight timelines.

Due to the small space for the text in the exemplar it was requested around 50 words. Doing so and adding personalization would be tough but I’m up for the challenge.

I found a nice line that I pulled from John Alfrey, 1459/60 [4] patent of arms and got to work. Since I didn’t know what would work, I played with how small I could go.

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80 words

Wilhelm König, Vienna Königin to all our faithful greetings.

We bring word of Alan of Wytleesie, whose works in feastocratting, hosting shoots, and fixing all things has been made manifest to us.

Equity requires and reason ordains that men virtuous and of noble bearing be rewarded for their merits by renown, as such we bestow upon the said Alan the Order of the Silver Wheel, and award him arms.

Done upon Nov 3rd, AS 53 in the Barony of Endewearde

77 words, some shorter words

Wilhelm König, Vienna Königin to all our faithful greetings.

We bring word of Alan of Wytleesie, whose works in feastocratting, hosting shoots, and fixing all things have come to our attention.

Equity requires & reason ordains that men virtuous & of noble bearing be rewarded for their merits by renown, as such we bestow upon him the Order of the Silver Wheel, and award him arms.

Done upon Nov 3rd, AS 53 in the Barony of Endewearde

59 words

Wilhelm König, Vienna Königin to all our faithful greetings.

We bring word of Alan of Wytleesie, whose works in feastocratting, hosting shoots, and fixing all things have come to our attention and as such we bestow upon him the Order of the Silver Wheel, and award him arms.

Done upon Nov 3rd, AS 53 in the Barony of Endewearde

52 words

Wilhelm König, Vienna Königin to all our faithful greetings.

We bring word of Alan of Wytleesie, whose  good works have come to our attention and as such we bestow upon him the Order of the Silver Wheel, and award him arms.

Done upon Nov 3rd, AS 53 in the Barony of Endewearde

47 words

Wilhelm König, Vienna Königin to all our faithful greetings.

We bring word of Alan of Wytleesie, whose  good works have come to our attention and as such we bestow upon him the Order of the Silver Wheel, and award him arms.

Done upon Nov 3rd, AS 53

43 words

Wilhelm König, Vienna Königin, greetings.

We bring word of Alan of Wytleesie, whose  good works have come to our attention and as such we bestow upon him the Order of the Silver Wheel, and award him arms.

Done upon Nov 3rd, AS 53

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One thing I need to be better at tracking down is the final scroll but Feilinn was the scribe for this one so there is easy access to the lovely work. The 77 words option with some slight tweaks was used.

7/1/1989

Award of Arms(East)

Crusade for the Bright Rose

Morguhn III and Maurya

This was my 4rth scroll text, working on a long-standing backlog. starting with the assignment

Good morning Matthias,

Here is your wording assignment:

My AOA was service to the barony of Bhakail and the Kingdom as Chatelaine, Archer Marshall and Middle Eastern Dance mistress

Words must start with an “O”, and should be between 110-130 words (or negotiable by the calligrapher who is cc’d here but this is a good starting point).

Please have the wording completed and sent to the calligrapher within 2 weeks if possible.

Thank you!

-Feilinn

Having a deadline is great, I know I have a tendency to let things sit if it due sometime in the distance future, so I appreciated this touch, rest of the requirements came from the blank/exemplar used.

With a tight deadline, I looked to keep it simpler and in this one I mainly reviewed what goes into a medieval sounding award text from the one of the people I’ve learned the most from is the wonderful Alys Mackyntoich

In particular from that post award texts have the following major points

• The Who = which Crown or Coronet is bestowing the award, and to whom?
• The What = what award is being given;
• The Why = why is the award being given; and
• The Act = an SCA “scroll” serves as validation and confirmation that the award was given.

For the insperation I found what will soon be one of my favorite sources, the (The (Gelnhausen Charter; April 13, 1180). Putting it together this is what I came up with.

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Of all the kind, just and noteworthy deeds,  none rises so high in our eyes as those that pass on knowledge to others.  One who practices these deeds is our fair Genievieve de’ Charbonneau whose immense, considerable and timely works as a Middle Eastern Dance mistress, Archery marshal and Chatelaine have moved many in our populace to proclaim her name to our ears.

Therefore, do we Morguhn Just King, and Maurya Dread Queen with these present letters award her Arms in a form meet, just and fitting for one of her worth:

Per bend sinister rayonny Or and pean, in dexter chief an opinicus segreant to sinister sable

Since human memory is short and does not suffice for a crowd of things, the authority of those who preceded our age, the divine emperors and kings, has decreed that those things were to be written down which the progress of fleeting time generally removes from the knowledge of men and as such we has set our signs manual on this present charter

Done this day, the 1st of July, at the Crusade of the Bright Rose A.S. 24

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Calligraphy by Thyra Eiriksdottir

Illumination by Lisabetta Medaglia

Words by Mathias Grunwald

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The backlog deputy was happy 🙂

Amazing.  Thank you so much!

-Feilinn

And for the curious I squeaked it in just under the two-week deadline.

This was my 3rd scroll and the first where I could be expansive as I wanted to be. Among the many, many things Arlyana has done is traveling the kingdom recording and then posting court content so the memories can be preserved.

One of the things I try to do with scrolls is tie them to the persona getting them, whether this is through their persona, works, in jokes or a combination of any of them. In this case I did want to play with the court recording. Researching sources I stumbled upon this gem, “The Letters Patents of King Henry the Seventh Granted unto Iohn Cabot and his Three Sonnes, Lewis, Sebastian and Sancius for the the Discouerie of New and Unknowen Lands.”

This lead me to the theme of granting lands and tolls to Arlyana so she could continue traveling and recording courts. This is what I came up with:

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Edward wise king and Thyra fearsome queen, to the barons, constables, bailiffs,  reeves, officers, liege-men and friends, all in the present and future to whom these letters shall come, greetings.

Be it knowen that we haue giuen and granted, and by these presents do giue and grant for vs and our heiress to our welbeloued Arlyana van Wyck citizen of the Canton of the Towers,  in the Barony of Carolingia , and to the heires and euery of our aforesayd Arlayna, full and free authority, leaue, and power to travel to all parts, countreys, and seas of the East, vnder our banners and ensignes, vpon their owne proper costs and charges, to seeke out, discouer, and finde whatsoever awards, gifts, or exploits of the our fair subjects in what part of the world soeuer they be, which before this time haue bene vnknowen to all the land: we haue granted to her and also to the heires, and her deputies, and haue giuen them licence to set vp our banners and ensignes in euery village, towns, castle, isle, or maine land for such time as needed to capture said deeds.

And’that the aforesayd Arlayna  may inscribe, transcribe, and permute all such awards, getting vnto vs the rule, title, and jurisdiction of the same awards so found so that such works are forever memorialized to the whole of the realm.  Yet so that the aforesayd Arlyana, be holden and bounder of all the fruits, profits, gaines, and commodities growing out of such work, for euery voyage, as often as she shall arrine at our canton of the Towers (at the which port she shall be bound and holden onely to arrine) all maner of necessary costs and charges by her made, being deducted, to pay vnto vs in wares or money the lift part of the capital gaine so gotten. We giue and granting vnto Arlayna and to her heires and deputies, that they shall be free from all paying of customes of all and singular works they shall bring with them from those places so newlie found.

And moreover, we haue giuen and Granted unto Arylana  Arms, and evelate the said Arylana to the esete of a Baroness of our Court, that all the firme lands, isles, villages, townes, castles and places whatsoever she shall chance to finde, may not of any other of our subjects be permuted without the licence of the foresayd Arylana.  Willing, and most straightly commanding all and singular our subjects as well on land as on sea, appointed officers, to giue good assistance to the aforesaid Arylana, and that as well in arming and furnishing of vessels, as in provision of quietnesse, and in buying of victuals for their money, and all other things by them to be provided necessary for the sayd works, they do gine them all their helpe and fanour. In witnesse whereof we haue caused to be made these our ensignes manual. Witnesse our selfe at our Coronation in the Barony of Bergental, the 27th day of September, In the first yeere of our reigne.

I’m going to be making an effort to get more of my scroll words up and then organizing them adding.

This was the 2nd words I did, in this case helping out my friend Cezilia 

I always like starting with the award recommendation, which in this case was pretty good in giving items things to work with.

Giuseppe Pallido became involved with the SCA here in the Barony of Carolingia three or four years ago. He took up fencing, and has become a member of the Carolingian Calivers. He is an excellent cook, and has begun experimenting with making medieval foods. He took up sewing to begin making his own garb – and take some of the strain off his lady wife! He has dived deep into research, as well, to really flesh out his late Italian persona. His wife is involved in the Middle Eastern community, and so he has begun drumming to take part in that too. You might say he’s a bit of a Renaissance Man! He’s a wonderful addition to our Society, and I think it’s a better place for having him in it.

I always like interesting names and gravitated towards Giuseppe last name,

Pallido is an Italian word found in Florio’s 1611 Italian Dictionary with the meaning “pale, wanne-colored, fallow, bleak. ” That can be worked with 🙂

After a bit of back and forth this is what I came up with:

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Caoilfhionn Autokratera and Brennan  Autokrator, to all our faithful in the present and the future, greetings.   Having heard of these rare events, concerning the good and worthy deeds of our pale and languid subject Giuseppe Pallido, not the least of which being the preparations of those foods worthy to grace our halls, and practice of the arts of defense within our Company of  Carolingian Calivers, We do now by the present letters order and charge that the said pallid Giuseppe be awarded Arms, and further command him to consult with our  heralds forthwith.  So that he may bear these arms from this day forward unhindered and inviolate, we have signed this charter with the subscription by our own hands. Done upon 15th September, at the Falling Leaves Baronial investiture in our Barony of Carolingia.

As is right, proper and tradition in the scribal community I started out my first assignment with a backlog scroll.

The write up was ‘sparse’.

Need AoA text for what looks like an Irish persona (undetermined time period).  No EK wiki page or local group information.  Recipient's name is  Aiofe bean Conall meic Bradaigh (assuming recipient is female based on the name).

Always up for a challenge I started to see if I could find the person online. After not finding any likely links on social media, the name in the EK OP records or the SCA heralds arms and names registration database(OandA) I expected the person likely changed their name or wasn’t that active.

Stepping back I took at looked at what I knew, and that was the interesting name that holds a lot meaning. Starting with Aiofe

https://www.libraryireland.com/Names.php#girls

I can work with that. Turning towards the next part of the name “bean Conall” bean could have meant wife but also in some cases lady of for example. Going with that I went with lady (or scion) of Conall. Turning to the last part of the name “meic Bradaigh” This is certainly seems like a patronymic (I.e. derived from a person’s father’s first name). Meic from my research was often son of so likely this would have been suggested as Mhic (daughter of) if the name is registered. But no matter, still is a nice form for daughter of Braidaigh(Brady).

I often try to personalize scroll texts to the recipient, while keeping withing style, so someone who is pleasent and the scion of a Irish king (Conall) would certainly help people. Looking at earlier period Irish stories I stumbled on the lovely “Uath Beinne Etair” Hiding of the Hill of Howth and especially the stanza’s the old woman sings agreeing to lure Diarmaid to Finn. This is what I came up with.

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Cold, cold! Cold to-night is broad Moylurg, higher the snow than the mountain-range,

The deer cannot get at their food. Cold till Doom! The storm has spread over all:

Horses cannot get over the ford of Ross, no more can two feet get there.

Not a town there is in the land, not a bell is heard, no crane talks.

The wolves of Cuan-wood get neither rest nor sleep in their lair.

Into this plight comes one who opens hearth and home to all, Aiofe bean Conall meic Bradaigh.

Konrad and Brenwen, Fair King and Queen, having seen the works of this scion of Conall in feeding and clothing the populace see fit to make her a Lady of the court and award her arms.   

Done this day, September 20^th 2008, in the Barony of Carillion.

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