British Library Buzz
The British Library is your best online SCA scribal friend. But why?
Old School v. New School
Thoughts on how we look at information today and how we research it. Knowing how to seek information with old school and new school methods broadens your possibility to recreate what you want.
The Wikipedia Conundrum
You’ve probably noticed how often the links in my posts are to a Wikipedia article. It’s like when you google and the search engine puts Wikipedia’s information in a fact box, or Apple’s Siri replies with it to answer your question. They’re an easy link to include to give you more information. I know it’s not the highest scholarly source. Some articles don’t even cite quality references for you to verify. Yet there is no other free resource like it. There are things you should know about Wikipedia itself if you don’t already. Wikipedia’s noble goal is to eventually cover every knowledgeable topic in the world. This impossible mission has made it a top ten most searched website in the world. But did you know Wikipedia was not the first online encyclopedia? Seven others attempted it first. And Wikipedia began as part of one of them, Nupedia. Also, Wikipedia’s operation is unique. It works through a volunteer gaggle and without traditional advisory boards or editors. A contributors’ pool that is prompt, authoritative and effective. But this force is shrinking while Wikipedia’s needs have increased. Its articles have grown in length. Plus it must also defend against the worlds vandals and manipulators. To revitalize it Wikipedia’s owner developed legal and technical ways to adapt its website and software to handle this. It created new editing tools and vetting procedures. And their automatic programs now reverse incorrect format changes and warn probable vandals they’re caught. These stiffer quality control measures reduce shams and hoaxes making things better for you and me, […]
SCA Curiosity And The Internet Medieval Sourcebook
I’ve been hunting down my favorite online medieval sources. Some time since I composed my last text the Internet Medieval Sourcebook received a new look. In fact the whole Internet History Sourcebooks Project (IHSP) has been updated. It’s new and improved. As someone in the SCA, if you haven’t found the IHSP yet you are missing out on heaven. The IHSP is a website with troves of ancient, medieval and modern primary source documents. It also has links to maps, secondary sources, bibliographies, images, and music. It was created in 1996 as a textbook alternative. The IHSP is located at the Fordham University History Department and Center for Medieval Studies. Its editor is Paul Halsall, and Jerome S. Arkenberg is the contributing editor. The IHSP is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented without advertising. The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is a humongous collection requiring constant updating. In addition to the large individual collections of the Medieval, Ancient, and Modern Sourcebooks, the IHSP also includes separate Sourcebooks on African, Byzantine, East Asian, Global cultural interaction, Indian, Islamic, Jewish, LGBT, Science, and Women’s History. While many sources would help if you were doing persona research I particularly like ancient or medieval legal sources for writing scroll text. The great thing about the revised format is the search box found in the upper right corner. Through it, I found specific useful search entries: charters, patents, Burgundy, scribe. Additionally, the IHSP include a Brief Citation Guide. This is a great help if you plan to enter a […]
Another Scribe Online: The Verdant Quill
Before I started blogging I searched the Internet for any blog I could find about manuscript illumination. I found many on calligraphy or fancy cursive. I found academic blogs on medieval illuminated manuscripts. But I found few that related to the illumination craft. Brother Thomas Profile Logo I have listed related blogs and a few other Calontir sources you might enjoy to the side. There is another source I want to note. It’s actually a source collection by Brother Thomas the Green. He has a Facebook page, an Etsy shop for his books, bookbinding and weaving crafts, and a blog by that name with his published tutorials. I stumbled on Brother Thomas’ work in an odd way. His class handouts popped up unbidden on my Google Docs page. They were intriguing, so I went looking for the source. His teaching and blogging approaches are interesting. He uses vector graphics, of which I’m clueless. Brother Thomas’ philosophy is different from mine, perhaps because he comes from the Kingdom of the Midrealm. Have a look at his “Scroll Levels” and “Starting a Model Book” guides. His Facebook page includes some videos he’s made. Brother Thomas multiple online sites show he’s busy teaching and sharing scribal and weaving crafts. Please have a look at them.
Posting Scroll Work-In-Process Pictures Online
I‘ve shared my creation process online after finishing a scroll. And many seamsters show their work-in-process as it progresses, from early stages to detailed completion. But is it a good idea to post unfinished scroll images online? There are both plusses and minuses to this. Plus Interested people see my work as I progress. Scribal students may learn from the […]
Incredible Wealth Of Free Artist e-Books
I’ve been searching and collecting information for my Scribal Resources page. Recently I came across this large free book collection by David Myers. Rather than pillage his items individually, please, check The Art is Creation, Free* Artist Reference e-Books page yourself. The web page is a scribe and art history geek’s on-line library in one place. The books contain a humongous free information trove. Most available in Kindle format. No longer do you have to pay hard earned money for books or spend days at local college libraries gleaning information. (I described the research transition from library to online in a prior post.) Today, your access is easier. Take advantage of it.
An Itinerant Scribe 