Novice Documenation Form

Kingdom of Trimaris

Novice Documentation Form

Static Entry

ID #: __________________________ Name:________________________________________

Category: _____________________________ Division: _________________________________

Title of Entry (What is the item?): __________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Country or region item is from in period: ____________________________________________

Time period of item (within 50 years): _______________________________________________

Intended setting of item (i.e., court, nobility, merchant class, peasant, farmer, sailor, etc):____________________________________________________________________________

Source of Inspiration (Describe source of inspiration here and attach a photocopy, photograph,

computer printout or other appropriate format to this page.): ________________

________________________________________________________________________________

List the materials or ingredients you used in the project: _______________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Briefly explain why you chose those materials or ingredients: ___________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

List the tools or equipment you used in creating this project: ____________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Describe how you created this item: _________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

List all the sources you consulted in creating this project (including books, journal or magazine

articles, class handouts, web sites, photographs, etc): __________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Do you have any questions about this project or future, similar, projects that you would like the

panel of judges to answer for you? _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTIONS

For

Novice Documentation Form – Static Entry

**NOTE – if you run out of space for any answers on the Documentation Form you can continue the answer

on the back of the page or on an attached page. Be sure that you staple all your pages together when you are

finished so that none of your pages get lost!

ID #: This is the same ID # you use on your registration form.

Category & Division: Look through the list of Categories and Divisions. Divisions are the sub-groups within

a Category. Pick the closest appropriate Division for your entry. For example, a woman’s dress from the year

1150 CE falls in “Costuming: 1000 – 1300 CE”, so that is the Division. All of the Costuming Divisions fall

under the Category “Textile Arts”, so that is the Category. If you aren’t sure where to place your item, take your

best guess.

If you still aren’t sure, or there isn’t a Division that seems appropriate, contact the Kingdom Minister of

Arts and Sciences. S/he will either find the appropriate Division and Category for you, or a Division will be

created for you. The current list of Categories and Divisions isn’t meant to restrict the kinds of items that are

made and entered into Art/Sci. The current Categories and Divisions simply reflect the kinds of items entered in

the past, not what you are “allowed” to enter into Art/Sci.

Entries are assigned to Categories and Divisions in order to schedule judging times and to help ensure that

all entries have the panel of judges who are best qualified to evaluate the project.

Title of Entry: The purpose of the title is to guide your panel of judges as they prepare to evaluate your work.

The title doesn’t need to be anything fancy; just describe what your item is. For example: “Award of Arms

Scroll based on the Book of Kells”, “SCA legal heavy weapons helm based on a 6^th century spangenhelm”, “Early

16^th century noblewoman’s gown”, or “Period Gingerbread from a 15^th century German recipe”.

If you’ve made a close copy of something based on a period example, the title would be: “Reproduction

of (state period example)”. If your item is made from period instructions or a modern adaptation of period

instructions, your title would be: “(Item) from (source)”. If your item is based on a period example, several period

examples, but is not actually a copy, the title would be either: “(Item) in the style of (period example/examples)” or

“Time period and/or country/culture) (item)”.

If your item has been adapted for use in the SCA, state that in the title. There are a lot of adaptations that

we make for things we use in the SCA. Armor and weapons (for heavy weapons, light weapons, equestrian activities,

etc), for example, have to meet SCA safety rules. “SCA legal (sport) (item) based on (period style or example)” is a

good title for an SCA sport related entry.

Calligraphy & Illumination are also items that are frequently adapted for SCA use. Scrolls of the type given

out for SCA awards don’t seem to have been given out in the Middle Ages and renaissance, but it is very common to

enter award or prize scrolls in Art/Sci. Try using this formula for the item title: “SCA award/prize scroll based on

(period example)“ or “SCA award/prize scroll in the style of

(artistic style, period, country/region and/or calligraphic hand)”.

Other SCA adaptations may be less obvious. Costumes that were made in period out of many layers of heavy

fabrics can be adapted for wearing in Trimaris’ heat. We often refer to adapted garments as “Tourney Garb” because

when you wear something to a tournament you are outside in the sun, rain, wind, heat and dirt! So a title for a piece of

garb that has been adapted for Trimaris might be: “Tourney adaptation of a 14^th century nobleman’s outfit”. Another

kind of SCA adaptation is the embroidered favor many ladies make for their consorts. Favors of the kind most often

made and worn in the SCA don’t seem to have existed in the middle ages and renaissance, but are common in the SCA.

An embroidery entry could be titled: “Embroidered SCA favor using (stitch/stitches)”.

Country or region item is from in period: Where in the world is your item from? What culture is it from? People

weren’t as well traveled in the middle ages and renaissance as they are now. Very few things from SCA period can

really be described accurately as “European”, “Asian” or “Middle Eastern”. Styles of dress, pottery, poetry, music,

food and even armor differed from one country or culture to another. A poem written in 10^th century style could be

Norse, Anglo-Saxon, French, Persian, Chinese or any of a hundred or more cultural or regional styles. Sometimes you’ll

even find people in one country or culture making imitations of styles from other countries or cultures.

For example, we know that 16^th century women in England sometimes made and wore dresses in “the Spanish

style”, “the French style” and “the Italian style”. Be as specific as you are able to be.

Quite often in the SCA we make things that are modeled on a lot of different examples that might not all be from

the same place. Again, be as specific as you are able to be. If you used Italian, French and Spanish examples to make a

pottery mug you can say “examples from Italy, France & Spain”. If you used examples from all over Western Europe,

you could list where all your examples came from or you could simply say “examples from across Western Europe”.

Time period of item (within 50 years): When is your item from? If you’ve based your entry on a specific period

example, give the date attributed to that example (for example, 1492 CE). If you’ve based your entry on several period

examples or a particular period style you can give a more general range (for example, 1430-1450 CE or late 13^th century).

When referring to centuries, the years of the century are referred to by the following number. This is commonly

misunderstood. The years from the death of Christ (the year 0) to the year 100 are called the 1^st century. The start date

for the SCA is the year 600 AD (also called CE, or Common Era), so the century from 600-700 is the 7^th century. The

years from 900-1000 CE are called the 10^th Century. The years from 1500-1600 are called the 16^th century.

“Early” generally means the first 50 years of a century, so “early 16^th century” means 1501-1550. “Late” generally

means the last 50 years of a century, so “late 16^th century” means 1551-1600. You can be more specific by referring to

quarters: “first quarter of the 14^th century” means 1300-1325 CE, “second quarter of the 14^th century” means

1325-1350 CE, “third quarter of the 14^th century” means 1350-1375 CE, and “fourth quarter of the 14^th century” means

1375-1400 CE.

Sometimes you will also find a reference to the first or last decade of a century. A “decade” is 10 years, so “the

first decade of the 14^th century” is 1300-1310 CE and “the last decade of the 14^th century” is 1390-1400 CE.

Intended setting of item (i.e., court, nobility, merchant class, peasant, farmer, sailor, etc): Who would (or will

be) using the item you made? Did you make something for the Queen? Did you make something for your child? Is it for

yourself? Who used the period examples your item is based on? In what context was it or will it be used/worn/eaten? Is

this garb to wear to court, on the tournament field or while cooking in the kitchen? Is this the armor of a duke, a knight, a

squire or a common soldier? Is this the bread served to the nobles at high table, the bread served to the monks in a

monastery or the bread served in a merchant’s home?

Source of Inspiration (Describe source of inspiration and attach a photocopy, photograph, computer printout

or other appropriate format to this page): What inspired you to create this item? There is no right or wrong answer

for this question. Knowing what inspired you helps your panel of judges know what you were aiming for with your project.

It also helps them figure out what kind of information will be most useful to you for future projects. If at all possible, provide

a COLOR copy or photo of the original item that inspired you and any other sources of inspiration you used. All illustrations

of period examples should have show the date of the item. If you print out an enlarged photo from a website that does not

include the date, also print out the main page with the date of the item. Some examples of possible answers are below:

Example #1: “I was inspired by a photograph I found of a 14^th century embroidered pouch that is in the Victoria

& Albert Museum in London. I thought the scene of a man and woman would make a nice favor for my lord husband. I

changed the colors of the garb and hair to make it look more like us.” [w/ color computer print out of the pouch attached]

Example #2: “I was inspired by dress worn by the Princess in the movie Braveheart. I wanted a dress like this so

I looked in several costuming books and found a similar example that is from the Luttrell Psalter. I wanted my own heraldry

on the dress, so I made an adaptation of that dress.” [w/ a still photo from the movie showing the original dress (if possible),

the illustration of the dress from the Lutrell Psalter, and maybe also a copy of your arms.]

Example #3: “I was inspired by a wooden cart that I saw at Gulf Wars. I found the website put up by the guy who

made the cart. He has some period examples there and some instructions on building your own cart.” [w/ a photo of the cart

at war, if possible, and a printout of the website.]

List the materials or ingredients you used in the project: What is the entry made out of? For armor the answer might

be 14 gauge stainless steal, snap rivets, brass trim pieces purchased from a particular merchant. For a recipe the answer is all

the ingredients you used to make the food or beverage. For pottery the answer is the kind of clay you used and the kind of

glaze you used, if any. For a costume the answer is the kind(s) of fabric you used, the kind(s) of trim you used and any other

notions you used.

Briefly explain why you chose those materials or ingredients: Did you choose cotton fabric because wool is too hot

and too expensive? Did you choose to make your item blue instead of red like the period example because you like blue

better? Did you choose to use stainless steel because we live in a very humid climate and you didn’t want your chainmail to

rust? Did you make use a modern white gauche because real white lead is poisonous? Did you use brass instead of real

gold because of the price? Did you use materials you had on hand because you didn’t want to spend a small fortune on an

entry until you are better at your art or craft? Everyone makes decisions on what materials to use in their project – just tell

your panel of judges what choices you made and why? By telling your judges why you chose the materials you did you let

them know what was important to you when you made your material choices. They may know about other options that could

be useful to you in future projects.

List the tools or equipment you used in creating this project: Did you use a dremel tool to do your carving? Did you do

any of it with chisels and files? Did you use your modern (electric or gas) oven to cook your food? Did you use a blender or

did you grind your ingredients with a mortar and pestle? Did you use a sewing machine? Did you do any hand-sewing? Did

you make or buy a period needle and use that? By telling your panel of judges what tools you used you allow them to offer tips

on developing your skill with those tools. Your judges can also suggest tools or equipment that you don’t have but would be

useful to you and to recommend period alternatives to modern tools that you might be interested in obtaining and/or learning to use.

Describe how you created this item: What did you do? List all the steps you went through. For example, if you made a

pewter pendant you might say: “First I found several examples of cast pewter pendants and chose one I liked. Then I

sketched the pendant on my piece of cuttlebone and carved the mold. Once the mold was finished I melted down the pewter

over a butane burner and dipped the liquid pewter into the mold with an old steel spoon. When it was cool I broke the mold

apart to get the pendant out and filed off the funky bits to clean it up. Then I strung it on a silk cord.“ Telling the panel of

judges how you made your entry allows them to see what steps you might have missed that would improve your project, what

steps or methods didn’t work well, and how you got your finished result. This means that they can suggest steps and/or methods

that might work better, or give you tips on how to make some steps easier or more accurate.

List all the sources you consulted in creating this project (including books, journal or magazine articles, class

handouts, web sites, photographs, etc): Where did you get your information for this project? If some of your information

came from talking to someone you consider knowledgeable you should list them (i.e., “conversations with Master So-and-so”).

If some of your information came from emails exchanged with someone you consider knowledgeable you should list those as

well (i.e., “emails exchanged with Mistress Whosit”). List all the sources you consulted for inspiration or for information or

advice on making the item. This allows your panel of judges to know what sources you have seen and what sources you haven’t

seen. It’s very likely that there are a lot of very good sources available that you haven’t found yet. It’s possible that some of the

sources you looked at aren’t considered “good” sources – your panel of judges can tell you which sources aren’t “good” and why,

as well as which ones are “good”. If there’s an expert in your art or craft in the kingdom that you haven’t talked to your judges

can get you into contact with them.

Do you have any questions about this project or future, similar, projects that you would like the panel of judges to

answer for you?: This is your opportunity to ask specific questions and make sure those questions are answered. Even if you

are present for the judging of your item, it’s not uncommon for entrants in Art/Sci to get nervous or caught up in moment and

forget to ask the questions that they really wanted to have answered. The judges may answer your questions in the process of

evaluating your item, but they might not. Writing down your questions ensures that your Art/Sci experience is as informative and

useful as it can be.

You may have noticed that all of the questions on the Documentation Form help guide your panel of judges to give you

the best feedback that they can. You aren’t asked to provide these answers in your documentation because the judges

are nosy, or because they are looking for reasons to criticize you or your work. Good documentation, at every level of

entry, lets the judges know what you know about your art or craft, what you do well, and what help and advice might be

most useful to you.