People who have known me for a long time know that I fancy myself an educated but amateur writer. I have written poetry since I was a kid, and wrote lots and lots while in school. I love writing, I love researching, I love the craft of writing. Well, finally after sitting on an idea I had for a while, I offered to do some scroll texts. This excited the calligraphers and illuminators here in Malagentia to say the least.
So here are some blurbs about the first three scrolls that were read in court. They were all presented at Panteria this past weekend – A Tyger’s Cub for one of the youth of the Province, Gracin of House Fulton; A Silver Brooch for Embla Knútrdottir; and a Burdened Tyger for the Mistress of my Haus, Fia Kareman.
On the texts that I have worked on so far, I try to model them on the persona of the person that I am writing for. For Gracin, this proved a challenge because I didn’t get many details. What struck me most about the petition for the award was the mention of service to his family encampment and that he had completed the Kids Service Challenge twice!
The structure of the text became a 12 line poem extolling the virtues of service, and specifically youth service to the society. Here’s the finished product, by Lady Aaradyn Ghyoot.
The text for Mistress Fia shared a lot of common elements with the one above. It was in verse, built largely on the content of the recommendation, and talked about how service really is the backbone of our society. Shocking, I know, for a Burdened Tyger for Mistress Fia, Order of the Pelican. I think, personally, that the poem is “better”, or at least has more money lines such as “They [those who serve] never sit, so we might stand.” Embla designed the scroll, and it’s the first scroll she’s had presented!
Are the leaders of our band
To wear that mantle steels the nerve
They never sit so we might standAnd yet there are those whose skill
Transcends the bounds of the routine
In Mistress Fia this is instilled
As Birka’s burdens crossed the mesne
Undaunted though, she took to steed
As challenges continued to appear
Throughout the halls, all thought indeed
“Thank the gods that Fia was here”
Honig and Ioannes, not seeking to cadger,
Recognize your negotiating aplomb
We name you, Fia, Burdened Tyger
As thanks from a grateful Kingdom.
Last, but certainly not least, the Sliver Brooch for the same Embla that did the scroll above. I will say that provided the perfect cover because I could ask her questions from a place of curiosity about that scroll while gathering intel for this one. I’m sneaky like that. I was very excited to do this scroll!
This one was originally going to be verse (Edda form) but I found the prose fit better. And I love that Christiana worked the elements of the text into the scroll! Instead of talking specifically about the candidate in literal terms, I went to Viking mythology, and the origins of her name/persona. Embla is the Norse equivalent of Eve in Christian lore. There ares a ton of mentions in the Prose Edda, so that’s where I started.
Early versions of the text looked a lot like page 21 of the Gylfaginning *, and there are certainly some elements which remained even after polishing it up. I really loved the feel of the illusory text, and the way that the natural was expressed as a function of the supernatural. This piece in particular took shape when I saw that these three sons of Borr (Odin, Vili and Vé) gave the mythical Embla three gifts to support her humanity. Honestly, this was one of the texts that once I got the idea, the writing was very easy.
I was really excited about it, and Embla LOVED it, which really made me feel like the decisions I made were the right ones. I felt like there was a nice combination of personal touches (including a reference to goats, for example; they are Embla’s favorite animal) and “eddic feel”. One of my favorite here was “the many-colored tears of Svolnir” as a fancy way of saying “ink and paint”. Here’s is Christiana’s beautiful scroll.
This is a gift to you, from your exalted lords Honig and Ioannes in the Fifty-Second year of our Society. Let cry the wolves in sacred song that you shall be known by the arms, and let the others of this order call you Sister.
The success of this text – and there were many kind words said to me about it, which were so wonderful to hear – has me thinking about this approach to texts. The reason that I started writing texts in poetic verse was to offer an alternative. I love the richly detailed texts of wordsmiths like Alice Mackintosh or Mistress Anastasia Guta, but I wanted to do something different. Not just to distinguish myself from such great artists, but to offer a variety for the scribes. Anyway, one thing that struck me was that they may not fit a heraldic announcement. There were a lot of factors to consider on that level, and the structure of the text is one of them. That might be the topic for another post, probably after the next batch of texts go out at GNEW.
But at the end of the day, the point was that this whole process was a RIDICULOUS amount of fun. I loved working with the scribes, I loved the faces of the people getting scrolls, I loved sort of working through the “Best way” to recognize them. The scroll process is something that is so integral to our game, and it was such a delight to be part of it, even in this little way!
* “IX. Then said Gangleri: “Much indeed they had accomplished then, methinks, when earth and heaven were made, and the sun and the constellations of heaven were fixed, and division was made of days; now whence come the men that people the world?” And Hárr answered: ‘When the sons of Borr were walking along the sea-strand, they found two trees, and took up the trees and shaped men of them: the first gave them spirit and life; the second, wit and feeling; the third, form, speech, hearing, and sight. They gave them clothing and names: the male was called Askr, and the female Embla, and of them was mankind begotten, which received a dwelling-place under Midgard. Next they made for themselves in the middle of the world a city which is called Ásgard;'”