The Journey of an Itinerant Scribe
When people hear the words “Itinerant Scribe”, they picture me on the road with quills in hand. They also imagine me with scrolls. For years, that was true. I traveled across the kingdom, scroll case in tow, creating art that tied our community together. But “itinerant” means more than miles. It means moving through time, through ideas, and through the crafts that shape my life.
I began in the SCA as Siobhan le Blake, a 14th-century Irishwoman. In 2019, I shifted to Jehanne Bening, a 15th-century scribe from Bruges. That change sparked a whole new chapter of research and imagination. My persona evolved. My arts evolved too. They evolved from embroidery to calligraphy and illumination. They also evolved from basketry to something entirely different: the flowing movements of Qigong and Tai Chi.
This November, I begin training to teach Tai Chi, a practice I’ve followed for more than seven years. This feels like a natural continuation of my journey. It is another kind of scribing. This time with breath and motion instead of ink and pigment.
The Itinerant Scribe name still fits. My scrolls have given way to woven reeds. They have now transformed into flowing movements. I still travel — not always across highways or kingdoms, but across centuries, personas, and passions.
By next Lilies War, I hope to be sharing Qigong classes with my fellow SCAdians. Together, we can find steadiness, balance, and calm before stepping back into the pageantry of the Middle Ages.
In her book “Tai Chi for the Everyday Person, Dianne Bailey writes:
“Traditionally, instructors for Tai Chi had to follow a lineage from the original masters in the style. This limited the number of instructors because one would have to find a master, be accepted, and probably have to travel extensively”
My path is different now, but the spirit remains. I am an itinerant scribe, always moving and always learning. I am always ready to share the next discovery along the way.
