Mistress Clare de Crecy

Nonpareil

26 June A.S. LVI (56) 2021

Calligraphy & Illumination

Kolfinna ValravnRoxbury MillAtlantia

Text

AS. LVI (56)Within Our Court stands One without Compare:These Words are meant for Thee, dear Mistress Clare,
We Graces three observe thy gracious Works;I, patron of the feast, Euphrosyne ,With sisters, Generosity and Cheer, Charis and Thaleia respectively,Do tidings joyful bring to De Crecy,The maker of much good Festivity.Spiced wine or rich broth, both Ambrosia be:Divine, like Us, in service to true Love.Thy gift, sweet Hospitality, doth gleamMore brightly than what gold the temples store.Heady aromas fly to where We dance: Not soaring oaths, nor duels of moment’s passion,Nor piteous weeping ballads stir our StepsOr hearts, as they might woo our Lady, Venus:‘Tis Plenty, Mirth, and Giving freely doneWhich stirs us as the Spring awakes the world!In thee, Thaleia finds a brimming hearthWhich fills before the feast with roasting meatsAnd after with the glow of well-banked smilesWhich laughter sparks to reignite again,Thy constant off’ring to Euphrosyne. Our Sister Charis works in thee as well,For scholarship and artistry thou hast:But not like Faustus twisted for his greed,Nor proud Pygmalion’s vanity corrupt --Sweet Favour fuels thy splendid Works insteadThe Beauty which then spreads throughout the WorldTo all thy needle, ladle, loom doth touch. Thy Cornucopia has no resting place,But lives and breathes, expands the more it fills. Echoing in its depth, thy bounty singsThe rhythms of thy gentle heart-string’s song --‘Tis that soft Music, harmonized by eachWarm voice that thy dear Gifts uplift,Which grows in strength, and rises to Our ears,So to that chorus must Our minds be moved.Their lyric? That thou, Clare, are peerless proved.So as their ardor to crescendos swell,We join the throng, and name thee Non-Pareil.
Lord Ishmael Stedfast ReedRoxbury MillAtlantia

Materials

Laid PaperWinsor & Newton GouacheDr. Ph. Martin India InkFinetec Gold Gouache

Substrate Size

10 - 3.5" x 3.5"2 - 7".5 x 3.5" 1 - 7.5" x 11"

Script

Bastard Secretary

Source

Costumes for men and women in Augsburg and Nuremberg, Germany, Europe, the Orient and Africa - BSB Cod.icon. 341Augsburg, 4th quarter of the 16th centuryhttps://bildsuche.digitale-sammlungen.de/index.html?c=viewer&bandnummer=bsb00011752&pimage=00177&v=5p&nav=&l=en

Progress