SCRIBE NOTES 8

August XXII




Unto all Lochac Scribes

From Mistress Rowan Perigrynne, Crux Australis Scribe

Greetings Gentlefolk:

Well, much has happened over the last several months, including a lack of scribenotes (as you would have surely noticed). There have been major problems with and changes to the College of Scribes in the West Kingdom, some major Kingdom and Principality decisions concerning scroll assignments, liaison with the College of Heralds, and so on.

As you are probably aware from having read previous scribenotes, Aricia has been Kingdom Scribe for Many years. She had some major troubles with her mundane life and so on, and there is now a new head scribe- Tatiana Nikolaevna. She discovered many problems with the College as she received it: lack of past records about who was doing what scrolls, lack of info from the heralds, a huge backlog, and so on. This has lead to many changes.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE COLLEGE.

Under the new system, the College of Heralds is arranged in a heirachy with the West Scribe at the top through down to apprentice scribes as shown below.

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At the Principality Level, the scribes have been renamed as their heraldic counterparts- hence I am now officially the Crux Australis Scribe.

SCRIBE STATUS

There is also a new system for evaluating the status of scribes, replacing the old warranting system. The new system reflects the skill and work scribes have contributed to the college. There are three basic levels: Apprentice, Journeyman and Scribe. Levels can be gained by doing helping at workshops for fill-in-the-blank-scrolls (see below), or aiding the clerical functioning of the college. The levels are explained below:

Apprentice:
A newcomer who has shown interest, not yet on the Roster. Must attend 3 AA workshops or produce 1 original scroll to become a Journeyman.

Journeyman:
Has completed one original scroll or participated in 3 AA workshops. Is listed on the College Roster and issued a warrant by the Principality Scribe. Must produce 3 or more original scrolls or be a Journeyman for two years to become a Scribe. Must continue to produce 1 -, or attend 3 AA Workshops a year to stay on the Roster.

Scribe:
Has been a Journeyman scribe for 2 years or has completed three original scrolls. Is listed on the College Roster and is issued a warrant. Must continue to produce 1 scroll a year or attend 3 workshops per year to stay on the Roster.

Royal Scribes:
Are selected from Scribes by appointment to Their Highness, the Prince and Princess of Lochac. Theirs is the task of filling in promissaries at the last moment etc. This position may be help by the Principality scribe.

Principality Scribe:
Chosen from rank of Scribe, they constitute the Chancellor s staff. Duties include assigning scrolls, creating promissaries, rosters, files on awards, recruiting and teaching, holding workshops and scriptoria, etc. Acts as principality College exchequer and Royal Scribe if needed.

Exchequer for the College:
(Kingdom levels handles funds for preprinted scrolls, keeps college accounts (position could be done at Principality level too- Lochac handles its own funds).

Chancellor of the College:
Responsible for running College, preferably an ex-Principality Scribe. Compiles Roster, overseas Principality scrolls, acts as Exchequer and Royal Scribe if needed.

There has been some discussion amongst the scribes here about status for scribes who do no calligraphy or illumination, but aid the functioning of the college. The term scribe could be a misnomer- possibly a qualifier could be added such as journeyman clerk - Comments?

Using this new system, we currently have the following people at the following levels:

West College
Chancellor of College
Tatiana Nikolaevna (West Kingdom)
Exchequer for the College
currently held by Tatiana

Lochac College
Principality Scribe
Rowan Perigrynne (Crux Australis Scribe)
Royal Scribes
Caitlin O'hlorreachtain, Richard de la Croix
Scribe
Marit the Wanderer
Journeyman
Thorfinn Hrolfsson, Bryony of the Bees, Cristoval Gitano, Frae Fitzalleyn
Apprentice
Turgar the Pathfinder, Phillipa de Lusignan, Frederick Ludovicus van der Meer, Haos Windchaser, Nygel y Baedd Gwylt, Griswald of Bucke, Eleanor Littlehayles, Lachlan Braddock McCarrum, Rhiannon of Starfire Retreat, Alison of Ironhill, Arian of Shadowvale, Leofric of Mona, Gwynfor LLwyd, Rhiannon Ny Diarmud, Peter de Guant Noir, Gwynyvyere Trelowarth, Aislinn de Valence, Peter the Just, Ulfstan Garwiga, (Catherine Curl), Edward of the Apple Tree, Kyriel du Papillion, Elspeth Penrheiner, Ysabeau Chanteuse, Kyla of Caladh, Eleanor of the Grieving Heart, Melgwyn ap Rhys, Benedetta de Spencer.

BADGE OF THE COLLEGE inc regalia

The badge of the College has been a complex one (azure, a swans head couped maintaining a feather in it s beak proper, a bordure indented argent- for you heraldic types) and Tatiana has submitted a new badge for registration- sable, an ink flask or. Amongst her ideas for using the badge are to have enamel pins made, for scribes to wear. She is also suggesting that baldrics and tabards could be worn by scribes on duty and in court. TRH are not so keen on this (me neither) but it would be good to have some way of recognising scribes. Any suggestions? If we could get hold of real ink flasks, that might be practical as well- anyone know of a supply of small stoppered bottles (ceramic by preference) which could be suspended somehow, say from the belt? The device is shown below:

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SCROLL ASSIGNMENTS

I have received many calls from some of you asking for scroll assignments. The enthusiasm is most heartening, but I haven't been able to use it. You may have been been getting frustrated with the lack of action from my desk on this matter. The situation is thus:

We have been working of several sets of assignments made by the West over the past few years. These have mostly been Western assignments, with a few Lochac ones, as initially, there were few Lochac awards to people with passed devices. We have been steadily working away at these, sending completed scrolls overseas. Some of you still have these assignments.

This situation has changed of course over the last few years. Lochac now has over 80 passed devices and hundreds of awards made. We need to be at work on our own scrolls. So what's the problem and why don't we get to work?

We have several sorts of work we would like to be doing:
*Complete the already assigned Western scrolls
*Start work on the fill-in-the-blank-scrolls (see below).
  1. Western Scrolls:
  2. Because of the problems in the College, Tatiana has put a hold on all scroll work in the West. In Lochac the situation is this.
  3. *If you are working on the scroll- complete it
  4. *If you have not yet begun and its an AA, return it
  5. *If its another type of scroll- its on hold.
  6. If you are unsure about any of this- call me. I have enclosed the list of the assignments I THINK you have. If this list is not correct - please let me know.

  7. Lochac Scrolls
  8. In the past, ALL Western scrolls (including Lochac scrolls) went to the west College. They were then assigned out to the different areas. As mentioned above,the paperwork at the West College has been in a mess. There is no clear record of which scrolls have been assigned (either here or in the US) . Until we get the list of Lochac scrolls already assigned elsewhere, we cannot forge ahead- We have already had Madeleine receive two Laurel scrolls- I don't want any more doubling up!
  9. In the future it appears that, each Principality will be responsible its for our own scrolls, but until we get the list, we cannot begin. The exceptions are that Tatiana has said we do have the following Lochac assignments cleared:
  10. James the Sinister (Baron); Olwyn yr Gogh (Baroness); Rowan Perigrynne (Laurel).

  11. Fill-in-the-blank-scrolls
  12. We can't start filling these in until they are
  13. a) designed and
  14. b) printed.
  15. If you would like to help with a), see the separate sheet on blanks to be done. I have been waiting to see what the West ones look like, but I think we don't have time.b) is dependent on a) and also on money to print with. This might come from the West, or Lochac initially.
  16. Eventually it will be paid for by the heraldic submissions as described below.
  17. In case you have missed the rumours, and are asking what this is all about, read on...



PROBLEMS AND PROMMISSARIES

Once upon a time, it was decided that it would be nice to have award scrolls to go with the awards being handed out by the Royalty of the land. The College of scribes was created to cope with this desire. So, Royalty handed out awards, the heralds kept track of devices and awards, and the college made scrolls.

Of course, awards were handed out at a faster rate than scrolls could be produced, so promissaries were developed and the backlog began...

By this year, the backlog was reaching 1,500 scrolls- some over ten years old! It wasn't too bad originally. The West had about 150 scribes. But then the Principality of An Tir became a Kingdom, and almost all the scribes lived in An Tir. Things got worse. In the West, there have been some 30 scribes. At one scroll assignment per scribe per year (minimum to stay on roster), that means reducing the backlog by 30 scrolls per year. At the same time, awards are being handed out at 100s per year- so we keep going backwards.

Tatiana looked at this situation and came up with about 15 options, from keeping things going as they were (realising that we were promising scrolls that would never arrive~, to cancelling everything before a given date, to forgetting the whole idea and closing the college.

The final decision has been the following compromise:
  1. As AA scrolls represent the bulk of outstanding assignments and new awards, Pre-printed blanks will be made, which will have the names, blazons and signatures etc filled in for all outstanding and future AAs. In the West these will be black and white. In Lochac these will be printed, but both filled in and coloured (shields and Capital). We will have a range of about six designs to cater for differing personas. They will also be printed on the same quality paper now being used for scroll assignments, so they will be worth getting.
  2. Leaves are on hold until a decision is made about them- probably wait and see how quickly we can get up to date with the AAs and peerages, then do as simple originals.

  3. Grants, Peerages, etc. These will remain as original (after all, we need something to be creative with).
  4. In addition, in Lochac

  5. Principality awards will be fill-in-the-blanks with some small fill in illumination.
The hope is that we will not only be able to catch up the backlog of AAs and other scrolls, but ultimately be in the position of being able to hand out completed A As and Lochac scrolls at the time the award is presented!

Money
If we are going to have fill-in-the-blank-scrolls, they will have to be printed- hundreds of them. This will cost money. It has been decided that throughout the Kingdom, a $2 levy will apply to new device registrations. This money will help cover the cost of scrolls produced by the College. This system has begun and I have received the first cheque from the Heralds. But to set up, we will need more money. Tatiana has said that the Kingdom will produce these funds if need be.

But what if you have a friend for whom you really want to do an original AA? It will still be possible...
a) the person will get their printed one anyway
b) if you are 1) A member of the college of scribes and 2) have done your requisite College scroll or workshops in the last year, you can then do the AA for your friend. It will be arranged through the College however, as for any other scroll, so that the Heralds will seal it and TRM will sign it.

In order to do all of this, blanks are needed for the following: Any help with getting the blanks for these done would be greatly appreciated. I am also in need of West Kingdom promissaries (or photocopies), for OLM, ORL, Grant and Baron awards, to extract the promissary texts. Can you help?

WORKSHOPS AND COLLEGIA

You might have noticed above that one way to raise levels in the College was to attend workshops. We will be having two types of workshops as follows:
  1. AA Workshops
  2. These will be days or weekends when a number of scribes will get together and do as many fill-in-the-blank scrolls as possible to reduce our backlog- real production days. There will be at least two and hopefully four of these a year once we get the blanks done. Possibly they will coincide with Principality events, as there will be many scribes in the one place. Scroll workshops could also be done on a local level, but we d have to sort out details in order that they might count for levels in the College.

  3. Collegia
  4. These are designed to impart and share skills- with talks on how to, techniques, history, etc possibly with some work on original scrolls at the same time (or at the same event). I'd like to have at least one per year- two would be better.
  5. I am willing to travel to any other group (funds allowing) who will organise such a weekend. This was what I'd hoped do earlier this year, but very few people turned up. And again, much of this is on hold until we get the assignment situation cleared.



HANDBOOK FOR THE COLLEGE

I have in my possession several different College handbooks from the West and other Kingdoms. All of them contain great information and ideas, but none are really a complete explanation of who we are what we do and how we do it. I have therefore begun a new Lochac Handbook which I hope will save me writing the same things over and over again to new scribes- and will use all of the useful bits in the other guides.

At the moment, the idea is as follows:

Purpose:
Basic instruction and introduction to scribing
Distribution:
Members of the College and anyone interested in joining college (free if can obtain some funding).
Chapter guide:
Foreword
Background
Scribes in history
Scribing in the SCA
The College
Aims and Objectives
Activities and Events
Structure
Becoming a College Scribe
Set Up
Work Area
Materials
Resources
Basic Skills
Calligraphy
Illumination
Coping with Mistakes
Special Techniques
About scrolls
Layout and Design
Production Steps
Signatures, Seals and Such
Heraldry for Scribes
Scroll Texts
Types and Options
Current Texts
Non-English Texts
Afterword
Any comments, suggestions to the above would be welcomed.

MAILBOX

Thankyou to all those people who have written to me. Mostly I have written back or phoned, but in case I haven't...

Alarice Beatrix von Thal:
Thank you very much for the donation of the calligraphy set! It will be available for loan to a scribe who is as yet unable to afford their own set (contact me) and/or at Collegia for general use.

Rhiannon ny Diarmud:
Thankyou for your letter- sorry Lord Kane did not pick up the package.. I'll post it to Aneala for you. Thanks for encouraging your scribes to send exemplars. I'll try and remember to put Illuminate in this one. You keep a smooth finish on your paint by diluting it to the consistency of cream before application, making two layers if need be. Once we get the new system underway, you won't have time t authorisation scrolls for your fighters- I'm glad you anxious for work!

Ysabeau Chanteuse:
As soon as the final wording is agreed to on the Entertainer s Guild scroll, I will be glad to place a high priority on its completion by the guild. (Any offers? There is also the Gild der Soldner to do when complete).

Rhyllian of Starfire Retreat:
Thankyou for your beautifully calligraphed letter- the hand is really well done.. and the mystery of the unknown scribe has been now solved. Your new descenders are just fine! From your samples you should have no problems with illumination at all.

Benedetta de Spencer:
I received your Borgia Feast flyer in the mail and thought I could warrant you on it. If you don't want to be part of the College, just let me know. Otherwise you are now an apprentice!

I have so much more to say and discuss, but this is long enough as is, and I'd rather send it to you than keep it to add more. The award blanks are TOP PRIORITY- please help!

Yours in service to the dream,

3ead327.jpg 

Rowan Perigrynne

encl:
summary of info on each scribe for correction
info on blanks needed

cc:
A&S ministers in groups without scribes
West Scribe
TRH Reynardine and Eleanor

NB
Rowan Perigrynne has moved. I now live at the following address:
Robyn Whitewood
64 Union St
Dulwich Hill 2203 NSW
Malcolm Ward (Lord Wolfsige Clovenhaft) and Ann Greener (not SCA) also live at this address.

The telephone number is: (02) 569 3613
My work number remains the same: (02) 816 1611
W