Illumination: SCA AWARD SCROLL

Back in the summer of 2018, my family and I joined the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval reenactment group. In the SCA, members can choose to pursue many of the arts and sciences of the middle chooses. I decided to try my hand at illumination, which really wasn't all that much of a stretch from how I personally like to work. One of the things that illuminators in the SCA do is to create art for the various scrolls that are awarded to members for a wide range of things. I was asked to create this particular scroll that was being awarded to a friend of mine. She was being granted the Order of the Green Lantern in acknowledgement of her skill, sharing and teaching of medieval dance, embroidery and games. My only requirement was to include the heraldic device of the Order, which happens to be a silver lantern set on a background of a green star. Later, I passed the scroll on to another person for the calligraphy to be added.

I decided to incorporate images showing all of the activities she had taught to others. She is primarily known for her skill and love of dance, so the main image at the top shows a group of medieval dancers. Since medieval dances in art often look like a bunch of people just standing around, they need to show two musicians to convey that this is dancing, and not just people standing around. The illuminated letter B shows my friend in the middle of embroidering something (I referred to a photograph for that!), and the marginalia at the bottom is supposed to be the award recipient and her husband playing a game of Nine Man Morris.

I had to do a lot of image research to pull this off. Following are several images that I referred to in the process of sketching out this scroll.  The below image is the one I referred to for the basic layout of the page.

From the Romance of Alexander, MS Bodleian 264, France c. 1338-44

For the main image, I referred to this group of dancer from the Roman de la Rose. Notice how the dancers all look like a bunch of people just standing around holding hands? Thank goodness the shawm player and bagpiper are there to clarify things.

"Mirth and Gladness" from the Roman de la Rose, Yates Thompson 21, f. 8v, France c. 1380

The marginalia of many medieval manuscripts contain all kinds of images from everyday life and the Romance of Alexander is no exception. There, I found many instances of couples playing medieval board games, so I was able to find reference for the Nine Man Morris playing couple figured at the bottom of the scroll.

From the Romance of Alexander, MS Bodleian 264, France c. 1338-44