Notes for Sir RanthulfR's KSCA Scroll

This piece is currently on my board with a hard deadline of Saturday February 14th, 2004 Last Updated Thursday October 06, 2005:

• RanthulfR's Midrealm Knight's Page

• The Fantastic Art of Randy Asplund

• Sir RanthulfR's Design Requests

  • Late 13th or early 14th c. French or English

  • Heraldic display

    • RanthulfR's Arms ("Per fess gules and sable, a fess argent between two griffins passant and an aspen leaf inverted Or").

    • Dulcinea's arms (on his website is an illustration of them inlaid on a waxed tablet in the article)

    • Sir Alric's arms ("Or, a panther passant bendwise azure".  A blue panther rampant with a forked tail that comes back together at the tip ending in a fleur de lis, on gold)

    • The badges of both house Argus, red with a semey of gold fur tails (three
      dots above a three pointed descender), and a white Austrian style eagle
      displayed, with a black two towered gatehouse on it's breast and my knight's house von Adlersberg ("Gules, ermined Or, an eagle displayed argent charged on the breast with a castle sable").

    • Middle Kingdom Arms.

  • Gold on Parchment  

  • Shooting star that flashed overhead as they waited to go in to Great Court for the ceremony

  • Images representing RanthulfR & Dulcinea, and the ceremony.

	Sweet Inspiration... The Tickhill Psalter: The Tickhill Psalter; Workshop Priory - a couple small images I took a trip to the Newberry library on 11/15/03 and was able to see a few more images from the Tickhill Psalter that had been published in the NY Library guide. Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 262.f71r - nice diapering, same period Miniature Inspirations Castle , Castle King
Detail from 'The Star' card from Caitlin & John Matthews The Arthurian Tarot would be a lovely incorporation.

Materials

• 9"x12.5" total parchment with a 6.5"x10" working area

1st Mock Up

• I began a mock up on paper of this piece and immediately didn't like the direction that it was going from my original idea.  That started the changes.

• I had to reduce the illumination size significantly for it all fit on the vellum.  The resulting piece is about 35% smaller than I thought it would be.  My original thought of three roundels inside of the "D" each holding it's own miniature made everything look crowded and busy, so I simplified. 

• The "D" now contains a single scene, that of a Knight and his party waiting outside the castle, with a shooting star that looks vaguely gryphon like streaking across the sky. The bandorel declares "With good omen comes the gryphon knight" and the retainers are pointing up towards the sky.

• Beneath the gilded text is King actually Knighting RanthulfR with her majesty sitting demurely behind him.  This bandorel reads from the Knights oath "To ever be a good knight and true reverent and generous". 

• On the right side a Gryphon rampant carries Sir RanthulfR's Shield within a gilding "W" and the scroll text follows.  The tiny size of the calligraphy will be a challenge for me.

• The MidRealm seal will be stylized to fit with the overall feel of the piece and painted in at the bottom with the Royal signatures on each side.  The final bandorel snakes up the right side border and reads "shield of the weak".

Progress 9/05

• This piece is back on my board and fully inked. The calligraphy is being laid today.  I'm looking forward to getting this and the gilding finished so it's at a point where I can start painting.  The text is being done smaller than I usually work with and the ink isn't doing quite what I want it to but I'm pressing on.  The doubts I have about it not being "perfect" are really holding me back.  Once I can paint I think I can breath again.  The Text reads as follows.

"WE Finn and Garlanda Regnum Meditarane in consideration of his skill both on and off the field of battle do of our especial grace and certain knowledge recognize RanthulfR AsparlundR as Knight of the Society for Creative Anacronisim to be in all places numbered a Peer of the Realm and a member of the Order of Chivalry with all right, privilege, insignia, precedence, and responsibilities there appertaining to.  Done this day the twentieth of August at the Great Pennsic War XXIII Anno Societatius XXVIIII While sitting on our thrones we have set forth this reaffirmation of his arms by Letters Patent Per fess gules and sable, a fess argent between two griffins passant and an aspen leaf inverted Or."