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Cassandra's Manuscript
This page is quite graphically intense but I believe well
worth the wait. Please be patient while the images of Lady
Cassandra Elenora di Milano's Order of the Silver Oak book are
loading. Cassandra was granted her entrance to the Order for
her skills in Book binding and her willingness to share the art
with all. To honor her I decided to do her scroll in the form
of a manuscript.
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The book begins with Cassandra's
Arms being supported by a Silver Oak Tree done in
the style of the Order's badge. This illumination
is of a later period than the rest of them in the
book, but I liked it, so it's there. :-) I used
Windsor and Newton Designer's Gouache for all the
illumination. |
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The manuscript was written on a
beautiful French laid paper by Canson. The Canson
paper mill has been in operation since the 15th
Century. I love working on this paper as it holds
both paint and ink without feathering or the page
buckling. For the text I used Blott's iron gall
ink, with a size 5 Mitchell nib. This is
highlighted occasionally by a modern red ink, and a
modern India blue ink. The pages are 3" x 4". |
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Opposite the text announcing the
great skills of Lady Cassandra is a miniature of her
standing with a book in hand on a diapered
background. The dress she wears is in her heraldic
colors. I was particularly happy with the shaded
draping of her gown in this picture. |
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Along with the three miniatures,
Cassandra's book also is host to an array of versals
decorated with fine filigree pen work. Set into the
delicate swirls of ink you'll find several floral
motifs, including flowers leaves and tiny insects
wandering the pages. A detail shot of the above "C"
can be found at the bottom of this page. |
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Since the event that the award was
given at would be the Coronation of Pieter and Nan
Astrid, I commemorated the event with this miniature
of a man being crowned. In the upper right hand
corner you can see the MidRealm Arms. Continuing
with the garden themed filigree, the "G" is filled
with flowers and tiny spiders crawling on their
webs. |
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Room was left on these pages for
the Royal signatures and seal. |
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After the royal signatures and
seal the book continues with a warning and curse to
any who may try and claim the book other than the
Lady Cassandra. Then the text goes on with my
signature and a date that I completed the book. |
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I left blank "spades" within the
filigree of this versal as a nod to Cassandra's
Arms. |
detail |
detail |
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The signature was sewn to thin
sisal rope in a period manner by my husband Brother
Conchobar mac Gabhann while he was working a demo
and earned him about a second of fame on the 7
o'clock news. Conchobar is also a member of the
order of the Silver Oak for his book binding. |
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| As emergencies popped up at home, I had to
figure out on my own how to attach the book block to
the cover boards. Paste board was common in period,
but to save time I used modern davey board. |
Luckily I had paid attention to my husband while
he was working on his last project and had no
problems drilling the holes for the sisal and
threading it through the board. |
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| Next I covered the boards with a red marbled
paper, and finished the spine with a splash of black
leather. As another personal touch after these
pictures were taken, bright yellow endpapers were
added to give the project a more finished look,
completing the heraldic overtones for Cassandra in
red, yellow and Black. |
The finished manuscript. |
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