Guardian of the Golden Flame
The Guardian of the Golden Flame is the Dragonsspine Baronial equivalent of the Outlands' Walker of the Way award; it is the highest achievement within the Barony. Coincidentally, on the day this award was presented, I was to become apprentice to Mistress Tatiana (although I didn't know this when the scroll assignment was accepted many months earlier). Because of the special nature of the award, and the special nature of the recipient, I treated this project more like a peerage award than a normal scroll. I expect it to remain as my best work for some time.
Design
10th–11th century England (Romanesque). This scroll was done on period calfskin vellum. Calligraphy and all line work done with metal-nib dip pens. Illumination done with Schmincke gouache and brush. Gold leaf applied with period techniques using modern acrylic size to handle the low humidity of Colorado. The initial 'B' is taken from the Ramsey Psalter (BL Harley MS 2904, fol. 4 — Psalm 1). The other miniatures, showing Mistress Tatiana as a Herald, Cook, and Scribe, are original works done in the Romanesque style. The four corners contain her arms, and the badge of the award is displayed in the lower center. No tracing was used; all elements are drawn freehand. This scroll placed second in the Visual Arts category of the Outlands Kingdom A&S competition (A.S. 37).
Hand
English Carolingian, taken directly from the Ramsey Psalter (fol. 36).
Related References
- Ramsey Psalter — Wikipedia — Article on the late-10th-c. Anglo-Saxon Psalter of Oswald (BL Harley MS 2904), Winchester production with the famous Beatus initial at Psalm 1 and the Crucifixion miniature.
- The Ramsey Psalter — Patricia Lovett — Calligrapher Patricia Lovett's scholarly write-up of the manuscript's English Caroline minuscule, useful as a paleographic reference for the hand Marko used.