[Ansteorra] Original Scrolls

[Jay Rudin]

What the Crown calls you up to give you is not a piece of artwork; it is an honor from the hand of the Crown.  The piece of paper they hand you is a legal document.  If you have received the right to be called "Lord" or "Lady" and a piece of paper saying so, you have been given all that should be expected.

I have a bunch of scrolls on the wall -- tourney wins, awards, etc.  It runs the gamut, from an original scroll that was the envy of the Known World's scribes when it was displayed at the SCA's Argent Celebration, to beautifully painted charters, to a poorly painted charter, to a purely computer-generated document, to a quickly scribbled note done by a poor calligrapher and the only "illumination" on it is a smudge from her infant son.  

I'm proud of all of them.  All of them.  Do you think I might be less proud of my Court Barony because the timing of it required a scribbled note?  Do you think it's the beautiful illumination that makes my Pelican valuable?  Do you think I'm not proud to be a Lion because I don't have a scroll for it?

Certainly original scrolls can be wonderful -- even spectatcular.  Years ago, Margaret Pearce, a young and naive scribe, heard somebody complaining about the quality of the scroll he had just received.  She said, "I don't understand.  If I got an AoA, I'd be so happy I wouldn't care if it were written on a banana."

In the fullness of time, she was recommended for a (very well-deserved) AoA.  When the big day arrived, Stephan of the Grove came up to us -- he had done a full AoA scroll, complete with illumination, on a banana.  We showed it to the Crown and told the story.  They signed the banana, and the herald read out the banana in court that night, creating Lady Margaret Pearce.  

[The joy of this story in today's discussion is that it has two morals -- don't sneer at simple scrolls, and original scrolls can be wonderful.]

If you want to get more original scrolls done, this e-list discussion is of no importance.  Do a scroll.  Do another.  Show them at events.  Talk about it with calligraphers.  Be excited about what you're doing.  But do it because it's worth doing, and because you love doing it, not because you think I don't value my current scrolls.  Start the process individually -- with your own hands.

As my Mom once said, you can complain about the housekeeping all you want from the right end of the mop.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin

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