Diagram from the German Arundel 501 f. 26v to determine feast days and the moon’s age. Tonight there is a full moon. But if you, as your persona, lived after 1100 you probably considered the moon to be a planet. If you thought about its movements at all you thought it revolved around the Earth in a perfect circle. Just like Mercury,…
Gifts featured at Kris Kinder. With Thanksgiving over it’s time you turn to preparing for the coming winter holidays’ gift-giving. Here’s a few shopping tips and budget friendly ideas. You could put together a scribal gift-pack like the one I described in my post Holiday Scribal Gift Ideas. It’s easy to make yourself and a great gift for…
Two grotesques from the Vaux Psalter, Lambeth Palace Library MS 233 f.15r. Glad you are back for another perplexing manuscript picture. It’s hard to believe these two grotesques are from the lovely Vaux Psalter. Just look at the left grotesque’s fearful dirty look. Dramatically amazing. But what is it? And why? Michael Camille in his book Image On…
I detest winter. Not just the cold, but also the dark. I live like a mole until March. But with 24-hour supermarkets and drive through fast-food I survive until the sun returns. Do you have the same aversion? With all the modern conveniences it’s easy to forget the once great effort it took to survive winter. Preserving…
I learned scribal illumination long before I pursued calligraphy. I tried calligraphy, but I wouldn’t do it on a scroll. My problem was I detested drawing the guidelines. I still do. You have to be so accurate for the page to look its best. But I’m not the only one like that. Do you like…
Morgan M.456 Avis aus roys Folio 34v, 1340-1360 A.D., Paris, France Manuscript Miniatures is not exactly what you think it is from its name. It is a medieval armor research source with insight through illuminated manuscripts. The website’s intent is to make it easier to hunt for online digitized images from numerous manuscripts. A way to…
Calontir’s Queens Prize just happened a month ago, September 15th. You may have seen pictures on FaceBook about it. Sadly I wasn’t able to go, but I had many friends that attended. Some were novices who didn’t enter. Why? Many people make authentic medieval items but lament writing documentation. Are you like them? You make…
True ease in writing comes from Art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learned to dance. — Sound and Sense by Alexander Pope. I came across this aphorism in a book I picked up down the street at the Half-Price Books Store. The quote describes the way good writing appears. It’s a bold claim that a good…