My first scroll request

 In my SCA "career" I had only produced three scrolls, but all had been signed by (or in the case of one backlog scroll, passed through the hands of) Queen Isabel.  Having seen my work, she asked me to do the scroll for her forthcoming elevation to Countess (in the SCA, a queen who has served her first "reign" becomes a Countess at the end of it).  This was quite an honour for newcomer.  She specified that the would like it to be in a 13th century style.  By now I was starting to build up a bit of a library of books on mediaeval manuscripts, and in one (a catalogue of an exhibition "Royal Manuscripts, the Genius of Illumination) I found inspiration.  The page in question is from the Alphonso Psalter (c 1284) and I took it much as it was, just adapting those parts that needed to be adapted.  This, therefore, was the first of my scrolls to be a more-or-less direct copy of an exemplar, adapted as necessary.  I would, however, recommend this approach to new scribes.  Learn by copying... only once you have acquired more experience do you have the "feel" necessary to apply a knowledge of historic styles more creatively.  This was the original page...



... and this was my take on it:


The scroll was personalised by changing the heraldry (incorrectly, as I subsequently learned!), substituting her husband King Vitus for Goliath, and substituting Isabel herself for David in the initial.  Real gold leaf was used.



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