Outlands Scribes Handbook
What is a Scroll?
In the Outlands, a scroll is any certificate confirming an award within the Outlands regardless of its form or construction. Scrolls generally consist of an award text, illumination, and an armorial achievement or the badge of an order, although they can take many different forms. A serves as evidence of a Society award. A scroll does not, per se, confer an award. This is done by proclamation by the Crown or Their representatives. Although the Kingdom Scribe's Office will make every effort to ensure that a scroll is presented with every kingdom award, it must be understood that no award recipient has an explicit right to a custom made piece of original artwork. This is inherent in the voluntary nature of the making of scrolls. Scrolls are a gift from their creators and the Crown to the recipient. All time and materials are donated. If a problem should arise and the scroll is not presented, it will remain the property of the scribe.
Signature of Scrolls
Because scrolls serve as official documents within the Society, they must conform to certain rules if they are to be signed by the Royalty presenting the award, and by the White Stag Principal Herald. The following must be true of your scroll if it is to be signed and presented:
- The award name and date must be correct.
- The name(s) of the royalty giving the award must be correct.
- The text must be standard (or composed of standard parts (as listed in the Mix-and-Match section) or have been approved in advance by the Kingdom Scribe.
- The signature(s) must be those of the Royalty giving the award if at all possible. When this is not possible, please contact the Kingdom Scribe or the White Stag Principal Herald.
- The scroll must be reasonably neat (no blatant paint smears, large ink blots or handprints).
- The illumination must contain no restricted design elements (see chapter on Achievements)
- For scrolls which contain an achievement of arms:
- The blazon must be the wording approved and registered by the SCA College of Arms.
- The emblazon must match the blazon.
- The achievement of arms must be correct for the award being given and contain no reserved charges or combinations of charges. (See chapter on Achievements).
- There must be a signature space for the White Stag Principal Herald. If space does not allow for one of the longer confirmation of arms phrases, a space may be left for White Stag to sign. (i.e., ____________________, White Stag Principal Herald)
When you present the scroll to be signed, if you have any documentation of the correctness of the name and device, such as the acceptance letter from White Stag (check the White Stag letter in the Outlandish Herald), a copy of the Laurel Letter of Acceptance and Return, or a copy of the section of the Ordinary & Armorial listing the recipient's name and device, please present it to White Stag. Especially if the scroll is being signed on the spot, there is usually otherwise no way to check immediately if the name and arms are correct. Although it is not required in order to be signed, it is courteous of you as a scribe to try to use any alternate titles that the royalty giving the award may prefer, such as Righ and Bannrigh, or Rex and Regina. The Kingdom Scribe can inform you of any alternate titles favored by the Crown. Outlands Scribe's Handbook
Signatures for Back Scrolls
When doing a back scroll, obtaining the signatures of the King and Queen who gave the award can sometimes take a little time, but in most situations it presents no difficulty. You will have been provided with the names of the Crown who gave the award when you received the assignment. If you don't know where they live, or have difficulty reaching them, contact the Kingdom Scribe, or White Stag Herald, who will be able to help you. If for some reason it is not possible to obtain the signatures of the Crown who gave the award, generally the current Crown will sign the scroll in their place. Please contact the Kingdom Scribe if you find that it will not be possible to get the needed signatures. The Kingdom Scribe will then check with the current King and Queen and explain the situation to them to determine if they are willing to sign on the behalf of their predecessors. If this is the case, you will want to add a text that reads: [signing on the behalf of <Names of King and Queen who gave the award>, King and Queen of the Outlands] after the signatures of the current Crown. For back scrolls that contain the recipient's arms, and thus require the signature of the White Stag Principal Herald, always have the current White Stag sign, even if the award is an old one.
Scroll Format
Scroll size, format, level of sophistication in calligraphy and illumination, and style are left to the scribe. This is to say that there is no hierarchy of sizes of scrolls or of sophistication of calligraphy or illumination corresponding to the level of the award. Generally, the highest level awards require greater expertise but this certainly does not preclude such work on any other scroll. When possible the illumination and calligraphy should be consistent with each other and with the recipient's persona. The main constraints on the sizes of scrolls should be what the scribe is comfortable with, bearing in mind that very large scrolls are hard to transport and expensive to frame. If you want your scroll to be proudly displayed on a wall, you can help by making your scroll in one of the standard readily available frame sizes. This makes it far less expensive to have framed than if a custom frame were required. See the list in this chapter for standard frame sizes
Bare Minimums for a Good Scroll
A neat, well-planned and executed scroll is a positive reflection on the Crown, the Kingdom, and the recipient of the award, and, last but definitely not least, the scribe who did the scroll. There is no reason why the following five criteria cannot be met in the executing of a scroll, and a good scribe will keep them in mind during the entire scroll-making process.
The Text Must Be Correct
If any part of the scroll's text is wrong, miscopied, or omitted, then the scroll cannot be used, and all your work is wasted. If words within the scroll are misspelled, or the grammar is incorrect, it ends up being a poor reflection on the scribe (whether or not they composed the text). The Kingdom Scribe is responsible for the correct grammar and spelling of the standard scroll texts, and will be making a valiant effort in that area. Nonetheless, if there is something in the spelling or grammar that you, the scribe, have a question about, don't hesitate to double-check it.
All Names Must Be Spelled Correctly
Misspelling someone's name, especially on an award scroll, is a terrible discourtesy, and there is seldom a good excuse for it. The best source for the spelling of anyone's registered name is the Kingdom Herald --Don't be afraid to call and check (the kingdom officers are there to serve the kingdom, and that includes you). If the recipient's name is not registered, then try to con him or her into writing it down for you (for some devious reason far removed from the real one) at some point before you do the scroll (if the person lives elsewhere, this can be difficult --try to get someone in the recipient's shire/barony to do it for you, for the same devious reason. Never spread the word that someone's getting an award!). Populace lists (i.e. lists of officers printed in a local newsletter) are not reliable spelling sources.
The Work Must Be Neat
You, the scrollmaker are the best judge of what to do to achieve this. If your Gothic text is erratic and crooked, but your Celtic Insular Majuscule is near-perfect, then do Celtic scrolls until you've perfected your Gothic. Likewise, a simple repeating illumination pattern, done crisply and evenly, is more beautiful than a complex network of vine-leaves done sloppily. Re-outlining everything in ink after you are done painting gives your scroll a neat, finished appearance. Use a cover sheet under your hand when writing and painting to minimize handprints and smudging. Use a T-square or L-shaped ruler (or even a piece of cardboard from the back of a notepad!) to ensure that your guidelines and cut edges are square and even.
There Must Be Sufficient Margins Around All Illumination
A distinct, undecorated margin not only enhances the decorated part of the scroll, but it makes the scroll easier to mat and frame. If you run your illumination all the way out to the edge of the paper, then don't be surprised or upset when you find out that the scroll you put so many hours of work into is rolled up and gathering dust in a closet because the recipient, unable to display it neatly, didn't know what to do with it. One to two inches is suggested for margins. For very large scrolls, three inch margins, or even larger, may be more appropriate.
The Scroll Must Not Use Any Restricted Design Elements
What are restricted elements? It depends on the recipient. Peers are allowed to use supporters as part of the heraldic achievement (see chapter on Achievements) but non-peers are not. White stags and does may be used in the illumination, but may not be used as a supporter except for Royal peers. Badges for awards that the recipient does not have are not allowed to be used. It is very important to note that the full arms of the Kingdom of the Outlands may not be used on scrolls, as they are also the arms of the King, and may be used only by him. If you wish to have something in your illumination that shows allegiance to the Outlands, use instead the ensign of the Kingdom, which may be used by anyone in the Outlands. The ensign consists of the white stag within the embattled bordure (no crown or laurel wreath). It may be displayed on a shield, roundel or rectangle. The arms of the baronies and shires should likewise not be included on scrolls.
Use Quality Materials
At this writing, the Society is approaching its thirty-ninth year, and shows no sign of waning. The scrolls which are presented with awards are part of its physical history. It is unfortunate that all too many scrolls from the early days of the Society are deteriorating, with their colors greatly faded from their original splendor. While there is no way to guarantee that our scrolls will last as long as medieval manuscripts have, proper choice of materials will greatly increase the likelihood of your work looking as good in fifty years as it did when you originally made it.
It is therefore the request of the Kingdom Scribe's Office that all final award scrolls be produced using permanent or archival materials, e.g.: acid-free, 100% rag, buffered, or pH neutral papers, and permanent colors and inks. Permanent colors are those with a good light-fastness rating. This information is available on the product data sheet provided by the manufacturer of the paints. If this sheet is not on display in your art store, ask the clerk if he has one; often they are kept behind the counter. Watercolor gouache, or dry pigments mixed with your own binder are generally the best paints to use, but do check the permanency ratings as not all gouache or dry pigments are lightfast. It is helpful if the scribe lists all materials used on a scroll on its reverse side so that the recipient may take steps to slow the effects of aging due to materials should he so desire. Scribes spend long hours producing these pieces; it is only proper that these documents should last for as many years as the recipient wishes to keep them.
Calligraphy
Before making scrolls, one's calligraphy needs to be neat and consistent. Messy handwriting is period, but it also makes awful looking scrolls. The key is practice. Copy the letters you are trying to learn until you are as familiar with them as you are with your own handwriting. Make sure your pen width : letter-height ratio is the same as on the letters you are copying. If a certain letter is just not turning out like the example, study the ductus (the "map" of how to construct the letter -- i.e., which strokes to do first, and in what direction the pen goes.) If you're still not getting it, put a piece of tracing paper over the letter in the book and trace over it to get the feel of the letter's shape.
It isn't only the shape of letters that is important to calligraphy, but also the spacing between words, and between lines of text. For most hands, use the space it takes to write a lowercase "O" as a guide to how much space to leave between words. When determining the spacing between lines, consider the size of your ascenders and descenders (the parts of the letter that stick up above, or hang down below, the main text line). Looking at period examples is always the best guide to how far apart to space the lines, some allow the long ascenders and descenders to overlap each other, others have large spaces between the lines.
Consistency is what you are looking for in your calligraphy. A trick that many scribes use to check the consistency of their lettering is to hold the completed piece (or a test piece) upside down, and look at it in a mirror. This makes it extremely difficult to read it, so that your eye can see the overall pattern formed by the letters without trying to interpret the words. Look for areas that are too "bunched up" or loosely spaced. This detracts from the overall symmetry of the piece, and therefore doesn't look as nice. Keep these areas in mind, and try to be more consistent in your lettering on your next piece.
Because re-creating the look of the Middle Ages is an important part of making a scroll, do not be tempted to use modern calligraphic hands, or a hand based on a cool computer font. These calligraphic hands may look nice, but they do not look medieval. There are many examples of period calligraphy which you can use. See the sources section for some recommended books on calligraphy.
Don't despair if you can't make your Uncial (or other) hand look exactly like your example says it should. In the Middle Ages, every scribe's handwriting was different, and letter-shapes varied constantly, often in the same manuscript. Study and learn the things about the letters that make them look so medieval, and find the forms that are most comfortable for you to write. Then, just be consistent. After all, you want your writing to have those little characteristics that are uniquely yours.
Illumination
As scribes we often use books containing beautiful pictures of pages of illuminated manuscripts. These are our exemplars. We use them for layout and illumination ideas. Remember that most of the manuscripts pictured are parts of books of hours, bibles and psalters, but not official documents. Legal documents in period contained little or no illumination. Our scrolls are therefore documents that we surround with manuscript illuminations.
You may be as elaborate in your scroll work as you are comfortable working. Make sure that you have a good example of the kind of illuminations you want to do. Although most books on the illuminated manuscript show the most complex, most mind-boggling masterpieces of illuminations, there are lots of less-complex pages and artists who didn't have as much time (or weren't getting paid as much!) as the ones turning out the complicated stuff. Even if all you have as examples are the really elaborate illuminations, just take one or two of the simpler portions of a border, and concentrate on those. Keep in mind that, as in all time-consuming crafts, if you are just starting out, start simple so you won't get discouraged right away.
When choosing an illumination design, please use period examples. There are thousands of manuscript illuminations available both in books, and through the internet. Look at the manuscripts to see common style elements from a given time and region. By using the correct style of illuminated capital, border or miniature, you can design your own original artwork and still have it look medieval. It is also important to match the style of illumination with the calligraphic hand that you will be using. If you don't like doing knotwork, spirals, and zoomorphic designs, then don't use insular majuscule calligraphy, or else find someone else to illuminate your scroll. After all, there are many different styles of illumination that were used during our period of interest, so you have lots to choose from.
Please avoid using visibly modern materials on your scroll such as variegated metal leaf (it has swirled multi-colored patterns on it), pearlescent inks, day-go colored paints or inks, or bright colors of ink for the entire body text of the scroll. Re-creating the look of a document that could have been made during the middle ages is an important part of what we do as artisans within the Society. These materials would be appropriate for a piece to be entered in a modern art show, or your personal thank-you notes, but they should not be used on official documents in the Outlands.