All right Maestra Livia (Britni) it's on :-)! Scribes of Atlantia let's show her what amazing artisans y'all are. Since it's a short month, but we aren't looking at hard deadlines, I'm going to pick a manuscript I love working from. Gründtliche Beschreibung der Kunst des Fechtens, in English The Art of Combat: A German Martial Arts Treatise of 1570.

This manuscript is ideal for many reasons. Though many find it can be used for the martialed awards throughout the rapier community, its also fantastic used for Sea Stag awards. Things I look for in this style are clean lines if done in pen and ink style of the second edition and and if painted as the first edition, a wash similar in style and colors of the original. The calligraphy hand is a gothic black letter style and there are many examples of the alphabet to create a ductus. This manuscript is also great for personalization in that you can alter the main individual to look like the recipient.

First Edition

Second Edition

You keep your silly German stuff! I present - Italian splendor! The flowers! The colors! The flexibility of borders and initials!

My manuscript for #laurelwars2020 January! is

https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Urb.lat.1

Working 1476 for the win!

Nyah nyah!

Alright Livia,

Pick on my “Silly German” see if I care. Harumph!!! This manuscript is near and dear to my heart, it's the first one I actually worked completely in period and had the pleasure of doing so at the Walter's Art Gallery! For February, when it comes to essential manuscripts for scribes, the Hours of Catherine of Cleves is a must!

https://www.themorgan.org/collection/Hours-of-Catherine-of-Cleves/thumbs?fbclid=IwAR0m-Ts44TODnWyFWx2yldxL8gW5SfGxRFXK5VI2UipIK-jCPcaJk55im3Q

• https://www.themorgan.org/collection/hours-of-catherine-of-cleves/95

• https://www.themorgan.org/collection/hours-of-catherine-of-cleves/134

• https://www.themorgan.org/collection/hours-of-catherine-of-cleves/259

• https://www.themorgan.org/collection/hours-of-catherine-of-cleves/311

• https://www.themorgan.org/collection/hours-of-catherine-of-cleves/315

• https://www.themorgan.org/collection/hours-of-catherine-of-cleves/316

My February choice for #LaurelWars2020 is a collection of the works of Christine de Pisan.

http://www.bl.uk/catalog…/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp…

Not only a noted writer and scribe herself, satirist, poet, and court favorite, Christine de Pisan's works, written by herself, and illuminated by the Master of the Duke of Bedford, are a treasure trove of images displaying the fifteenth century French aesthetic to full advantage.

I SEE YOUR CATHERINE, AND I RAISE YOU A CHRISTINE, Danielle Scott! HA!

*P.S. Apologies for the belated post. One of our own has entered hospice, and I was a bit preoccupied.

P.P.S. - Look. A nice guy has written out a list of complaints to tell his lady love why she's wrong.

https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/hm50tr726?locale=en

It's March 1st and I can't think of a better manuscript to use for #laurelwars2020 than the Book of Kells! We have a bunch of celtic personas in the sca and there are many possibilities for scrolls. I have to admit until the book was put online, I hated Celtic. I mean with a purple passion hatred of the blandness of what I saw in books. I didn't realize just how vibrant the pieces truly are and the details in the patterns. I highly recommend it for someone that likes color and patterns.

#LaurelWars2020 - My March manuscript is my absolute favorite manuscript. - And, because it's my birthday, scribblepeeps, I am linking you to the Met where you can get it AS A FREE DOWNLOAD PDF, WHAAAAAAT, YAS I ROCK I KNOW IT. (Pbbt to Danielle Scott! )

The one thing, the SINGLE THING, that makes this manuscript my favorite, is that it shows just how well calligraphy and illumination can be married, by separate artists. The calligraphy was one by one man, and later, the illuminations were added by another artist, years later. The fact that they are so perfectly married to each other, is to me, the most amazing thing about this manuscript, as is the fact that the calligraphy shows such amazing variety of originality and versatility of pen tricks. THIS IS MY BIRTHDAY MONTH AND I DECLARE THIS MANUSCRIPT SUPREME!

https://mymodernmet.com/mira-calligraphiae-monumenta/?fbclid=IwAR00OdygvsdisP9k0dHFzWsPvgKMWsOhAVV5vKErpI1nD33wGT80AxFPRW8

#laurelwars2020 Okay Since my first choice for April was beaten to, I've decided with some prompting from Mistress Livi to choose one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE manuscripts, The Jewel Book of the Duchess Anna of Bavaria. This manuscript is near and dear to me for many reasons. I love the jewels that are depicted on it and it has so many elements to play with!!! I was lucky enough that Livi requested to do my elevation scroll and created my scroll based on this beautiful masterpiece just so I could have faeries on my scroll based! In place of the cherubs she did Duke Ragnarr and Duchess Lynette (Jynette) as Blue Monarch Faeries. For this months challenge you can work with any of the elements and if it looks like it could have been a page out of the book I'll be thrilled. I've included side by side pictures of the scroll done for me and the page that inspired it to give you an idea on just how versatile it is. Another great thing about this manuscript is you can download the PDF!!!! https://www.wdl.org/en/item/4104/

#LaurelWars2020 - My April choice of manuscripts is another favorite of mine for the fantastic calligraphy -

This one is a favorite for SCA scribes everywhere, because the marginalia covers a great many occupations with charming beasties and detailed tool / weapon use that has provided researchers in the SCA with lots of fantastic information on medieval construction and aesthetic.

But for me, it's the beautiful textura quadrata that made me fall in love with this manuscript. The spacing between the lines is larger than usual which allows for the textural perfection to shine, the absolute squareness of the letters and lines indicate such a steady, skilled hand, that it makes me jelly.

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-luttrell-psalter?fbclid=IwAR1h4wecXP28TYhD2EvYtFPQnziLrF01WrvpmLUlyyqGqaukYtl3T-vlgq8

Ack!!! I'm a bad Laurel! I never uploaded the manuscript for May #laurelwars2020. (Good thing we aren't doing a timed competition.) My selection for this month is a French Book of Hours attributed to a Master François. One of the reasons I love this manuscript is its simplicity and beautiful lettering. Another fantastic reason is because it shows a little bit of the process of creating this manuscript. You can find some pages fully illuminated, others with just the capitals illuminated and some that were in the process of being illuminated but never completed.

https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/medieval-renaissance-manuscripts/catalog/34-990093368520203941?fbclid=IwAR33vucRNeNhyV6TUGDMY0oPDhcodE1mBwgHgEfCb9B7wQAEcOM-7R1BP9g

#LaurelWars2020 - (Yes, yes last day of the month. Mea culpa, but I've been down the last three weeks with brutal pressure headaches from the funky weather.)

Danielle Scott has already posted her choice for May (pfeh.)

My choice for May - The Codex Aureus !!

The Codex Aureus is one of the most beautiful and luxurious manuscripts still in existence today. Dating back to 700 A.D. or so, the Codex includes dyed 'purpureus' pages with gold and silver ink, as well as undyed pages featuring some of the best examples of zoomorphs in the Celtic tradition.

The entire manuscript has been digitized, here - http://libris.kb.se/bib/17848380 - but as of five minutes ago it wasn't working. Hopefully it'll catch up soon, because this manuscript is GORRRRRGEOUS.

For June’s entry into the wonderful world of manuscript research and #laurelwars2020 I highly recommend the Hausbuecher der Nurnberger. This online manuscript originally done around 1511 in Germany covers many trades and skills. I do recommend that once on the page you right click and translate to English to make the study much more enjoyable. The hand I would suggest is a German Blackletter or Gothic hand. This style manuscript lends itself nicely to either a side-by-side landscape layout or an inset portrait and gives you an opportunity to work within a recipients style of art if they are later period.

https://hausbuecher.nuernberg.de/75-Amb-2-279-0a-r/data?fbclid=IwAR3aUp8bexTAcgv0mgmhcAyRu2cSo-WlW2Dd05FIw5Yt5mDjp4TAs5c6St4

For my June manuscript, I'm going to pick one of my favorite teeny manuscripts -

The Hours of Jeanne D'Evreaux, made by Jean Pucelle, one of the most influential illuminators within our period. He brings the Flemish taste for realistic imagery into a perfect combination with the French tastes for simple but bold color palettes. The marginalia are also exceptionally adorable, and are terrific sources for scribal study of small figures.

This manuscript, with its careful balance of grisaille realism with the occasional touches of color is really a masterpiece. And it's small. Each PAGE is 3 5/8" x 2 7/16" in size, and this tiny book has a lot more interesting features worth reading up upon including some of the first realistic depictions of African people (Sadly in the position of villains, but still demonstrative of the Europeans knowledge and familiarity with the African people.)

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/470309?fbclid=IwAR10SpNOOOrZCVcey4RvNbQWMIozJ8FcLmi6RDwk3VoUcJ1KCVmWOYUlTM8

The Tudor Pattern Book. c. 1520-1530

Bodleian Library MS Ashmole 1504

A manuscript near and dear to my heart because I created a pattern book of my own based on it. This book is for all of you illuminators!!! There’s some calligraphy but it's 99% illumination. There are many reasons to love this book. It is an herbal, a bestiary, and includes some illuminated capitals, heraldry and calligraphy hands all rolled into one. Pattern books were carried by illuminators and added to over time through their travels. There is some evidence that these designs may have been shared with cartoonists that created the designs used by embroiderers.

https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/385c0fdd-03ce-42c7-b43f-369003bee8f3/

The Rule of Benedict, dated between 975-1025, from Canterbury, England, is a great manuscript for all of its illuminated initial letters and beautifully done insular hand. Perfect for your early-period buddies! :)

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=7321&CollID=8&NStart=5431

Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu

Savoy (France) c. 1460

How about a manuscript you can see and possibly hear. This lovely heart shaped hymnal was created for the French court. As someone that has sewn a heart shaped book it is a fun and unique way to create a scroll for someone. Not only am I attaching the link to the manuscript online but also a link for you to be able to hear the beautiful music written within.

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b525044884/f1.vertical

For your listening pleasure.

http://papalin.yas.mu/W327/

The Murthly Hours, dated 1280, were created in Paris, likely for an English woman to use. This manuscript has been extensively studied, and I strongly recommend going through the other pages of the story and the history of this manuscript because it provides a background context for the illuminations, which were done by three different artists, (likely by a well-known Parisian group of illuminators called the Cholet-Group.)

https://digital.nls.uk/murthlyhours/

The Macclesfield Alphabet Book.

1475-1525

One of the reasons I really like this book is for those just starting out, there are examples of different calligraphy hands, illuminated capitals and page layouts within the pages that can be used for your own scrolls.

http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=add_ms_88887_fs001r#

This is a festival prayer book, created in 1322, for Shauvot and Sukkot, including biblical readings from Ecclesiastes and the Book of Ruth. What interests me is the author’s commentary, along the margins, done in shapes that are decorative. In one of the pages, the text is done in connected shield shapes! You’ll notice there are three links. That’s because this particular manuscript was divided into three pieces, and has ended up in three different collections! The figures are marvelously imaginative, with lots of grotesqueries to giggle over.

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=19240&CollID=27&NStart=22413

https://cja.huji.ac.il/browser.php?mode=set&id=723

https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/9e481d9a-06e6-41e8-ae36-a58d445a1ffa/

“Lace” Manuscripts

If you’re looking for a challenge this manuscript is for you. What makes it so exciting is that the borders are not drawn but the cut. This is one of the oldest examples of papercutting in Western Europe. Paper cutting goes back even further in Asian cultures but the intricately cut pages in this book have a lacey feel and effect.

Lace Book of Marie de Medici

https://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W494/description.html

If you’re interested in seeing another manuscript of this style that is much simpler it is the De Bar Hours, unfortunately because there is going to be a program with the Walters On-line 2/17/21 to learn more check out:

https://thewalters.org/event/lace/

This is a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy, written somewhere between 1290 and 1365, and what I love the most about this manuscript is the beautiful calligraphy. Of particular interest to me are how there are little blocks of calligraphy spaced beautifully around a central block, and how the illuminations are also spaced away from the calligraphy. If you know anyone who needs a scroll from the ninth circle of hell, I’ve got you covered.

P.S. MORE ITALIAN AWESOMENESS, DANIELLE.

https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.lat.4776

How is it that we haven’t done a Black Hours yet??? Well now is as good a time as any. There are at least three black hours books out there but the three most popular are The Horae beatae marie secundum usum curie romane (Black Book of Hours) from Spain done completely in gold and silver. There is the Black Hours of Galeazzo Maria Sforza Black Hours an Italian manuscript and the book referred to as just the Black Hours created in Bruges c. 1470

https://www.themorgan.org/collection/Black-Hours

Haven’t done anything Persian yet, so here is one of my favorite Persian manuscripts. Some of the pages are in rough shape, but the illuminations that can be seen are just too awesome to ignore. Like this grumpy elephant-angel. I love her. I wish I could read Persian just so I could know why she’s so mad. Also of interest is how the text is fitted around the illumination blocks, which aren’t always squares, but are made into shapes that will turn the text into perfect blocks.

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8422994d/f43.item

The Crusader Bible

This book is known by many names: The Crusader Bible, the Maciejowski Bible, the Morgan Picture Bible and the Shah Abbas Bible. I just call it a fun and unique layout. The illumination takes the stage in this book but what makes it interesting to me is the text is placed around the borders and in multiple languages! I’ve used this as half page illuminations with text underneath or above the illumination as well as created a full page of illumination with the text around the border. Another thing I like is that this manuscript lends itself to personalization nicely whether through the images of the people or the heraldry and barding of the horses. It’s a great go to piece.

https://www.themorgan.org/collection/Crusader-Bible

For the musicians and spanking afficianados in your life, I present, the 1542 Bruges songbook, “The Songbook of Zeghere von Male.” Lots of fun cadels, neumes (Who doesn’t love neumes!), and delicate penwork illustrations in the bas de relief scenes. Fair warning, there are some NSFW images including naked people, butts, people pooping, kids getting spanked, etc. BUT, there are a lot more of normal life - spinning, kids playing, and people dancing, that make this manuscript well worth the study.

https://bvmm.irht.cnrs.fr/consult/consult.php?mode=ecran&panier=false&reproductionId=9971&VUE_ID=1288225&carouselThere=false&nbVignettes=tout&page=1&angle=0&zoom=petit&tailleReelle=