Today we had one of our new Scribes attending the Northern Scribes Practice. Faelan is working on his exemplar and is really keen on early scripts (especially Icelandic)!
copy right Royal Observatory Greenwich
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Volume 11 Issue 2 March 2011
Greetings all and welcome extremely late February Ductus.
As you all know we have now finished the AA and scrolls that can be done with Blanks competition. Sorry for the bad name, it just sort of expanded because everyone did such a wonderful job of working through so many scrolls.
Last year we completed well over 100 scrolls. Of that number over 20 of the scrolls completed were original scrolls. This is an amazing effort and probably means more scrolls were completed last year than in any other single year in the history of the College of Scribes. So I would like to commend you all on the huge effort that you have all put in to completing these scrolls.
Competitions
It is now time to judge the competition from last year. Every person is allocated 10 points. Please go and look at the Flickr site https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox see what scrolls you like the most and then allocate your points. You can allocate them in any order and quantity you like but you may not allocate them to yourself.
So if you would like to allocate all your 10 points to one scroll please do so. If you would like to break your points down or allocate them one at a time that is also fine.
When you have decided how you are going to allocate your point please send me an e-mail at provost@lochac.sca.org I will need your name to make sure that no person accidentally doubles up on allocating their points but how you distribute your points will remain confidential.
Anyone who is a scribe is welcome to allocate points. So please if you have been working with a bunch of scribes that are not on the List but have contributed to the College of Scribes please pass on this information so that they can have their say.
If you notice that I have not put your scroll up on the Flickr site, or a scroll that you think should be up on the site please let me know. With so many scrolls being completed this year it would not be unheard of for me to have missed one. I would like all eligible scrolls to be counted in this years competition so if you think a scroll should be there and it is not let me know and I will fix that omission.
Pelican Scrolls
Many of the Pelican's have contacted me with preferences for their scrolls. I have already assigned lots of Pelican scrolls and have more to assign. If you would like a Pelican scroll please let me know I will be delighted to assign you a scroll.
If you are entering the Pelican scroll competition entries are welcome any time from the first day of Festival onwards. That will include any Pelican scrolls that have already been assigned. So all of the people who currently have Pelican scrolls are welcome to enter them in this years Pelican Scroll Competition so long as they arrive with me between the first day of Festival and the first day of the 2012 Canterbury Faire.
There are currently around 20 unassigned Pelican scrolls.
Other Scrolls
Please remember that while our competition is focused on Pelican scrolls this year we still have a lot of other scrolls that need to be completed. These include AA's, GA's and RP scrolls for those whose name and device registrations are still coming through. So if you feel that you are unable to do an original scroll but you would still like to contribute please feel free to ask me for other assignments. I have lots and will welcome all efforts to complete these.
Change in Wardens
With a heavy heart I am announcing the resignation of two Wardens Katherine Alicia of Sarum and Leonie de Grey. Both of these Wardens have held their position for a number of years and have contributed a lot of hard work to the College of Scribes. It is a sad thing to see them leaving as Wardens but I am pleased that this does not mean they are lost to the College.
In Katherine Alicia of Sarum's place will be Aeron Lasair. Aeron is currently one of the Vergers of the College of Scribes so it made sense to roll those two positions into one.
The position of Warden in Politarchopolis is currently vacant. I would like expressions of interest to be sent to me at provost@lochac.sca.org as I would like to make a decision about the new Warden and announce who they are at Festival if possible.
Deputies
All officers in Lochac are supposed to have a drop dead deputy. As the College of Scribe has grown bigger it has become more and more a formal office within the Kingdom of Lochac. For this reason I would like to request that all Wardens confirm that they have a drop dead deputy. I would like to know who the drop dead deputies will be for each Warden by the time your next reports are due.
Reporting
There has recently been some confusion about reporting. Reporting for the Provost of Scribes is set by the Kingdom. The Provost of Scribes must report to the Kingdom Seneschal by;
February 28th, May 31st, August 31st, and November 30th.
This means that I normally put out a request for reports from all Wardens to arrive to me two weeks before those dates. In other words I would like all Wardens to report to me by;
February 15th, May 15th, August 15th, and November 15th. Could all Wardens please put these dates into their diaries.
If I do not receive a report or if I feel that a report does not give me enough detail I will request additional reports. Continual failure to adequately report is grounds for the Provost of Scribes to remove that Warden from office.
Scroll Timings
When scrolls are assigned they are not assigned indefinitely. AA and GA scrolls must be completed within six months. Original Scrolls for Peerages must be completed within 1 year. If a scroll goes over this time an extension must be negotiated with the Provost of Scribes. This extension is not automatic and if the Provost of Scribes does not feel that it is warranted it will not be given.
Currently there are a number of outstanding scrolls that have gone over this time. Those scrolls will be removed from the people who are doing them unless they have already contacted me to request an extension or unless they do contact me and ask for an extension.
It does not matter how far through a scroll a scribe is, if an extension is not granted their scroll will not be accepted by the College of Scribes. All reasonable requests for an extension are granted but continual requests by the same scribe may result in all assignments being removed from that scribe.
Doing an original AA or GA does not automatically mean that the time you are allocated for doing that scroll is extended to 1 year as it would be for other original scrolls. It is expected that you will be able to complete an AA scroll in 6 months. If you decide to do an original AA scroll you will need to complete it within that 6 months.
Newly Warranted Scribes
As we move into the beginning of even season for the new year lots of new people are starting to show an interest in scribal activities. So far this year we have had a bunch of new scribes joining our ranks from Newcomers events and from various Collegia new scribes include;
express an interest in becoming scribes and have started work on their first piece.
Have returned to us after a long absences and will be working with us to complete blanks and originals this year.
Bestiary
I was incredibly impressed with the number of entries that went into the Lochac Arts and Sciences competition for 12th Night.
While completing the most amazing number of scrolls for the College of Scribes this year many of you have still managed to produce an entry for the Lochac Arts and Sciences competition. The entries were of very high quality and took myself and Mistress Muirghein ni Ghrainne a whole day to go through and to judge. We were very impressed with the quality of the work and the excellence of the overall entries.
Winners will be announced at Festival so please keep an eye out for that announcement. Congratulations to all those who entered. I believe a few of those entries will now become Baronial property for some groups and will be continued as the group expands and as more scribes enter the group. I would love to see those same Bestiaries in a number of years to see how they have grown in that time.
Redoing Scrolls
As many of you know earlier this year Lochac was inundated by a number of natural disasters. This has resulted in the lose of houses and property by some of out members. So far I have been approached on behalf of at least three of those members to let me know that they no longer have their scrolls. Each of them were heartbroken that the efforts of our scribes had been lost and that they no longer had the beautiful pieces of work that had once graced their walls.
I would like to be able to reassign those scrolls. So if anyone is interested in doing scrolls for those who have lost their scrolls currently we are looking for people to do scrolls for;
Alexandra de Santiago has lost a Caid promissory and is waiting for her name and device to be registered when we will negotiate with Caid to take over the production of her scroll.
I believe that at least one family lost their house in Victoria over the Christmas holidays as well. If anyone has details of this family and any lost scrolls that they may have please contact me so that I can put them back on our list of scrolls to be completed.
We have now reached the end of a very long Ductus. Once again thank you to all the scribes that have contributed so much of their time over the last year. You have done an amazing job and the Kingdom recognises the contribution you have put forward.
If anyone feels that some of the scribes in their area deserve specific recognition for the work they have done please let me know. I think it is important that scribes are mentioned for the work they have done and given awards where appropriate.
In this particular issue I would like to thank Branwen of Werchesvorde and Muirghein ni Ghrainne for the continuing amazing amounts of work that they put into the College of Scribes particular through their teaching.
Caristiona nic Beathain
Provost of Scribes
The Heart Book. Denmark 1550’s.
Thott 1510 4º
The Heart Book is regarded as the oldest Danish ballad manuscript. It is a collection of 83 love ballads compiled in the beginning of the 1550’s in the circle of the Court of King Christian III. Shown above is the beginning of ballad no. 43, Store længsel, du går mig nær (Great Yearning, thou touches me). A later reader – the otherwise unknown Christen Masse – has added some notes, i.a. this pious hope: “gvd ende oc vinde alle mit er lende til en god oc gledelig ende amen” (may god end and turn my misery into a good and happy ending amen).
We do not know who compiled the ballads and instigated the writing of the Heart Book. All ballads except one – no. 66 – have probably been written by the same hand.
19.5 x 15 cm.
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Volume 11 Issue 1 November 2010
Greetings all and welcome to the November issue of Ductus.
Congratulations to everyone. I know that this time of year gets slow and full of other commitments but I have been hugely impressed with the amount of effort everyone has put into completing the scrolls assigned to them this year.
We currently have 1 AA on my database to be assigned and we have been making heavy inroads into Grants and Grant related awards and into the Royal Peerage scrolls. We still have about 10 GA scrolls to be assigned this year but the number is going down and a remarkable effort has seen these scrolls substantially reduce in number.
We ended up having 6 GA blanks which provided a reasonably wide range of choice for those doing GA scrolls. We also have two RP blanks for those who wish to use them for RP scrolls.
In addition to all of this exciting news we have also started with the new process of having the RP scroll for those outgoing Royalty, who have their name and device registered, presented when they receive their RP. I look forward to seeing Lenore's scroll being handed out at 12th Night in January 2011.
Competitions
Our competition ends at Canterbury Faire, on the 29th of January and we still have close to 40 scrolls to come in. Please try and get these scrolls to me as soon as possible. I would like to see as many of these scrolls completed as possible before the cut off date of 29th of January.
We also have approximately 20 more scrolls still to assign mostly GA's and RP's at this stage. We do have one more AA that needs to be assigned. So if anyone is going well and wants to take on extra assignments please let me know. I am always after helpful scribes.
Once the AoA scroll competition is completed we will be starting the Pelican Scroll drive. This will officially take off as of Festival 2011 but I would like to encourage people to get a head start. This time I will take Pelican scrolls that are completed later than Festival, but they do not need to be started later than Festival to be part of the competition.
I would like to remind everyone that you do not need to do a whole scroll yourself. Please find people who you want to collaborate with if you feel you can only do either calligraphy or illumination. I am also happy for you to use things like the Atlantian blank templates if you do not feel confident in designing a scroll yourself. There are lots of templates in the zip file that can be used just add calligraphy and colour. If you are unable to find these templates or would like me to send you the zip file please let me know.
Other suggestions for designing scrolls include tracing work from Books of Hours or doing a full design combing elements from different scrolls in a similar time period and of a similar style.
If you are unable to find someone to work with but you feel you are only able to do either the calligraphy or the illumination for a scroll please let me know. I will either do the element you are unable to do myself or find someone else who you can work with.
Pelican Scrolls
As you all know our next target for next year is to complete all the outstanding Pelican scrolls.
There will of course still be GA and AA scrolls that keep coming in during next year so for those scribes who really feel uncomfortable working on original scrolls I will make every effort to keep you working on the GA's, RP's and AA's that come in over the course of the next year.
In the mean time I have asked for the Pelican's to be contacted to see if any of them have particular preferences. Currently the unassigned Pelican scrolls that I have on my backlog that I would like to see completed next year are for;
Please contact me if you have a particular desire to do a scroll for one of the above people. I will give preference to older scrolls first and then I will move onto assigning newer scrolls. So please try and request people that you know and that have had their Pelican for a long time before you request people who have only just received their Pelican in the last year or so.
With Pelican scrolls I do recommend that you talk to the recipient to see if they have any preferences. If you are unable to accommodate those preferences let me know I am always happy to reassign scrolls if what the recipient wants is not something you feel comfortable doing.
In the mean time I have asked any Pelicans who have distinct preferences to contact me so that I can discuss this with anyone taking on an assignment before the assignment is given out where possible.
Newly Warranted Scribes
There have not been as many newly warranted scribes this quarter as in the previous quarter but I would like to welcome
Tamsyn Northover- illumination only as a new scribe and
Riona of Caerleon- illumination only as a scribe from the past who has come back to help out with our AA and GA backlog.
Both of these scribes have already completed the illumination for their first scrolls and it is wonderful to see this increase in scribes.
Once again congratulations to you all you have done a wonderful job this year. For those scribes I do not have more contact with between now and Christmas;
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Caristiona nic Beathain
Provost of Scribes
