Titus Hostilius Nero - Award of Arms

 Titus Hostilius Nero is a name that has reached Our ears. The cry we hear is that of a great discrepancy upon the field.  But having thrust himself upon our attention, this fencer shall foil Us no longer. Thus, let us come straight to the point:

Today, Titus shall receive his heretofore out of reach Award of Arms!  For we have seen his derring-do.  We shall not mask Our feelings, but instead  reveal to all that our Titus is well suited to carry this honor.

Lest anyone perceive these as cutting remarks, or hear an edge to our voice, we offer this riposte: that we do meet such doubts with a polite parry of recognition of our most worthy Titus Hostilius Nero.

Today’s match has been met at the Shire of Rusted Woodland’s  100 Minutes War.  November the 21st, Anno Societatis 50.

Calligraphy and Illumination by Triona MacCasky
Award of Arms for Titus Hostilius Nero

Given 11/21/2015 at 100 Minutes War

Erasmus Urswyc Grand Master Bowman

This was from back in 2009 and one of my first forays into wordsmithing. I was still unsure of myself and the reception my words would receive.

My mentor Khatife gave me this assignment. This particular award is one that is achieved by having a certain score in archery. It is not a prize for a competition, but personal achievement.
My first instinct was to go for the puns and for archery, there are a lot of them. I will admit that I became a little trepidatious about it. I began questioning myself and wondering if the recipient like the pun storm I was about to launch upon him. (I still can’t stop the puns from flying!)
So I made up 2 versions, one pun-full, and one more serious. I called upon my Pelican, Master Liam St Liam, for his opinion. He told me to go for broke and embrace the puns.
I was told that the herald reading the scroll in court had the entire hall in stitches, laughing at the puns. I am glad I made that call and went with the puns!

The Pun-full version which is on the scroll
The archers of the East have nocked upon Our doors and We have drawn upon their wisdom. Thus aimed in the correct direction do We, Konrad, Sharpest King and Brenwen, Cresting Queen, with feathered words do speak the name of Lord Erasmus Urswyc!
To the Point, he hit his mark on this past September 4th. We verily quiver with delight to acknowledge his wondrous accomplishment of Grand Master Bowman. Let fly all our praise on this day October 24th, anno Societatis XLIV at Ghosts, Ghouls and Goblins in our Barony of Carillion.

The non punny version, which I wrote, just in case.

This skills of Our Archers are paramount in the Knowne World. We, Konrad, Sharpest King and Brenwen, Cresting Queen laud those that Bend their bows to the Glory of the East.

There comes a time when the talent of one archer soar above and they climb the ranks and earn the exalted rank of Grand Master Bowman. One Erasmus Urswyc has become known to us as worthy of this status. It is to our honor We recognize him so. Done this day, October 24th, anno Societatis XLIV at Ghosts, Ghouls and Goblins in our Barony of Carillion. Illumination and Calligraphy by Khatife

Silver Crescent Finan MacBressail

As we King Omega of East
And Queen Etheldreda  attend
Of good Lord Finán mac Bressail
Who’s become known to royal ears.

That in this land this worthy man
became, a haven for those new.
Ah, Service is a noble thing!
Armor, weapons, made by his hands
Grace gentles and children alike.
Children, the heart's blood of the East,
Must be supported and taught.
He teaches, practices and leads
Our youth sparkle under his care

Some think service is marred by praise
Nay, say we! For all the silver
Shall be worn by thee on this day
In Crescent form with golden crown
For service is solace to all
Without which we could ne'er go on

The silver crescent We do give
On this day, July eleven
At the Great NorthEastern War in
Province of Malagentia

 

Words by Baroness Aislinn Chiabach
Calligraphy and Illumination by Katrusha the Skomorokh
East Kingdom Gazette - Unofficial Court Report for Great Northeastern War XXIX

Lord Finnan has a Scottish Persona, so I chose to emulate the octosyllabic poetry found in The Brus, written by the Scottish Poet John Barbour (.1320 – 1395).

Rosamund d'Alwareton Burdened Tyger Burdened Tyger

The dawn before Our Twelfth Night was crisp and clear in the Shire of Rusted Woodlands. The cooks peeled and chopped a mountain of vegetables, the staff packed and prepped, and the populace readied themselves for a wondrous time. The sun was high and clear, yet clouds gathered on the horizon.

A storm was brewing.

The air was thick with impending snow, winds threatened to rise, and temperatures began to drop. In fear of Mother Nature and her Winter Mantle did the site of our celebration close its doors, shutter its windows and prevent all entrance to the joys planned therein.

But hope was not lost! Straight away did our event steward, Lady Rosamund d'Alwareton, put out call after call, after call, after call. We were astounded; the event was moved to the next weekend and messages dispatched heralding the news to all and sundry.

We had our solution and Our Twelfth Night went on. And we laughed a little louder, danced with more fervor, ate with a fiercer joy and looked at the halls with brighter eyes, knowing that disaster had been averted.

Now, in celebration of the quick wits and ready tongue of our servant Lady Rosamund Do we Rapturous Darius and Blithesome Alethea, King and Queen of the East have the honor to induct her into Our Order of the Burdened Tyger.

Done this day the 11th of April, Anno Societatis XLIII at Coronation of Andreas and Gabriella in Our Shire of Nordenhal.

Rosamund Burdened Tyger.

Illumination and Calligraphy by Heather Rose Mac Gordan

Finnguala Burdened Tyger

An event such as the Wars of the Roses,  is immersed with the twofold weight of the  history of the Plantagenets  and the 36 years of the Society.  As steward, one  find oneself steering the unwieldy course of a juggernaut and hoping everything lands in place at the correct moment.  To rein in  such a beast is a task sought out by masters.

Yet with unfallowed verve, Finnguala ingen Neill meic Chuircc did secure those venerable reins.  She faced the fierce winds head on and even the heavens did  agree that the path chosen was the precise one to take.  
She tamed the beast and made it purr.  For that do We, ardent King Omega and audacious Queen Etheldreda are moved to admit Finnguala into Our Order of the Burdened Tyger!
Given by our hand, this July, the fourth at Our Shire of Glenn Linn at Northern Region War Camp, AS XL.

Olivia Baker Burdened Tyger

To the grand multitude of this Eastern Kingdom/
Right honourable, with our most humble and dutiful thanks for Lady Olivia Baker’s  bountiful goodness towards us at this year’s past Wars of the Roses as Steward, do we King Darius and Queen Etheldreda have made bold to present our virtuous  Olivia with such a poor and homely thing for a simple gift of adjoining her with Our Order of the Burdened Tyger/  

As the people can afford, beseeching that according to Our Lady Olivia’s accustomed goodness, you will vouchsafe this burden in good part; and we shall say most earnestly to all assembled here before us to give our sincere and earnest Lady Olivia many happy healthfu days and any and all such furthur endeavours as stewarding such a  tremendous enterprise as that the Wars of the Roses can be.
From our lands in the Shire of Glen Linn this iv of July, Anno Societatus xl at Northern Region War Camp

-based on an Elizabethan letter from a son to a mother

Wordcount 158

(The lower case Roman numerals and the / instead of a . are on purpose.  It aligns up with the Elizabethan writing style.) Image of scroll is unavailable

Writ from the Incipient Shire of Midland Vale

By our steadfast heart, skills of hand, and strength of arm we, þe incipient shire of Midland Vale, pledge our service, our artistry, and our prowess to þe Known Worlde, to the Kingdom of the East and to þe Throne þat shines upon us all.
To þe sovereign Omega and glorious Etheldreda do we, your subjects, humbly bid you welcome to our inaugural Tourney of þe Daffodils.  We ask þat you receive þese gifts, representing our clout, vigor, and fealty.
Done þis day, April 25th. Anno Societatis XLIX

Wordcount 88

Words and Illumination by me

Calligraphy by Æsa Sturludottr

Spring is here A-suh-puh-ring is here Life is skittles and life is BLOG

This was the first scroll I had attempted since my health crisis and time in the hospital.  The Seneschal of Midland Vale was preparing a gift for the King and Queen to be presented at our first event and I thought that a writ would be a nice accompaniment.  

Since the stroke and heart transplant, I have found that writing and drawing became exponentially difficult.  As such this was a large undertaking for myself on many different levels.
The first thing I did was to enlist the help of Æsa Sturludottr.  I knew that calligraphy was beyond the current skills of my hands.  Calligraphy has always been difficult for me.  I don’t write so much as I draw my letters.  So I can make beautiful letters and any size as needed, but to sit there with a quill in hand and make letters come out seems beyond my skill.
After the stroke, writing in general became extremely difficult.  Calligraphy was impossible.   I wasn’t even going to attempt it.  Æsa kindly agreed to do the calligraphy for the scroll for me.

Based on Les Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne  by Jean Bourdichon between 1503 and 1508 As my inspiration piece.

Horae ad usum Romanum, dites Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne Bourdichon, Jean (1457 ?-1521)

We were doing the Tourney of the Daffodils, after all.

I feel that I captured the feel of the piece if not the clean lines that it had.  I also omitted the animals.  I wanted to focus on the daffodils.

During the creating process I remembered about a dozen helpful hints and tricks that many artists use, of course after I could have used the tricks.  For example a good way to get a straight edge when working in such a manner is to lay down masking tape directly onto the paper, paint over it and then pull up the tape.  This, hypothetically, should leave one with a clean, crisp line.  And I was about halfway done before I remembered the trick.

I handed it to Æsa,  who not only did a magnificent job on the calligraphy, she cleaned up some of the edges that I could not.  I had given her permission to actually change the images and I am very glad that she did.  She ended up cleaning up some of the spots that most upset me when I was working on it.

This is not my best piece by far, but for what it represents it will always be important to me.  It was about getting myself back into the game of illuminating. I was also glad to be presenting it to Omega and Etheldreida.  These rulers in particular are special to me for a variety of reasons, first and foremost being that they gave me my Award of Arms.

Presented to TRM at the First Tourney of the Daffodils East Kingdom Gazette: Unofficial Court Report The Tourney of Daffodils

(Does not appear in the Gazette)