SCRIBE NOTES

Volume 4, Number 6




Editorial

Unto the Scribes of the Principality of Lochac does Richard de la Croix send greetings

Good gentles, welcome to another if not slightly later edition of Scribe Notes. I shall try and keep it brief this time as not much has been happening lately.



Progress Report

I received a few completed AA and original scrolls at Politarchopolis Baronal Investiture and some more some time later through the post, but other than that things have been relatively quiet.

I think I may have concentrated too much in the past on reporting that we were making progress with the back log and not stressed sufficiently that we still have a long way to go. There are still literally hundreds of outstanding scrolls and it will take much more effort before these are reduced to a manageable level.

All of this aside however, the most important thing that you as scribes can do is to ensure that your assignments are turned over at a reasonable rate. If you have an assignment and are not likely to get around to completing it please send it back or ask for an extension so that at least the recipient is not disadvantaged. Areasonable completion rate is 3-6 months for an AA and 6-12 months for an original work.

Anyway, in these cold winter months nothing is more relaxing than sitting in front of a heater and scribing, so hopefully many of you will find time to sit down to that overdue project.



The Next Wave

I have had extreme difficulty finding a cheap source of sealing wax and as a result have not made progress on the next batch of scrolls that need to be handed out. If anyone can point me in the direction of a supplier of wax I would be very appreciative.

Bearing in mind the process uses around 1 stick of wax for 3-4 scrolls you will appreciate that the Herald's office can't afford the $2.00 per stick that is usually charged by calligraphy suppliers and art stores. I will also need to be able to buy it by the box so since I anticipate 20 sticks will be needed this time.

If you've got any suggestions or contacts that can help us out please let myself or Tancred know so we can start the process.



Congratulations

Congratulations must go out to several individuals for their work and achievements since last issue. The following people have recently completed the work necessary to become a Scribe within the College in Lochac. Thirty-six points (see SN 4 / Vol III) are required for this level within Lochac.

Lady Branwen of Werchesvorde (Dismal Fogs)

This must be a modern day record for reaching the level of Scribe within the College. After 7 months Branwen has produced some 3 original scrolls and 12 AA's to achieve this milestone. Congratlations on a job well done. In addition , the following people were moved to the rank of Journeyman having also recently acquired the required number of points in work of the necessary standard - ie twelve.

Lord Frae Fitzalleyne
Lord Claas Jongkrijger de Leeuw


I would like to express thanks on behalf of the office and the people of Lochac who depend on us all for their award scrolls.



Workshop Revisited

As most of your probably realise their was no Scribes' Workshop held in July. The reasons were numerous, not the least of which was a lack of vehicular transport in my case. However, in order to give you all heaps of time to prepare,

Scribes' Workshop II - Post Scriptorium

will be held on 21st October 1995. This is the weekend after my exam so I'll still be very much on a high and in the mood to get some serious work done. It seems I have allowed myself to be talked into doing 5 more original scrolls (not including

Marguerite's OL scroll which Alarice and I have had for absolutely aeons - at least the pencil draft is done and I now have the vellum) in the last 12 months so I really need to attack these .

As I said last time, I thought the venue was on the whole a success last time - excepting some space restrictions. With a bigger room available, this last problem should disappear. The same deal will apply as last time. If you turn up you will be treated to stimulating conversation amongst a great group of people. You'll also be fed at lunch time, and tea, coffee and biscuits will be supplied at other times. The door fee will also be covered for people turning up to scribe or help.

Feel free to let me know how to make these get togethers better if you have any suggestions. I'm particularly interested in comments from people who went last time and noticed any particular problems.



New AA Designs

I have received two new AA blank design, courtesy of Frae Fitzalleyne - both Burgundian/Franco-Flemish mid to late 15th century. They look great, and I'm sure you all can't wait to do a couple. I'll be printing off some copies of all four new designs I have received in the next month or so. In addition, if I receive any other designs before then I'll also print these at that time.

I still have time to include designs that people are currently working on provided they arrive within the next 2 months. I plan to do another Italian AA blank, and have done the illumination for one with a Flemish flavour - although I fear there may be too much illumination.

In addition to actually producing a design, the College is always open to suggestions for alternatives to those periods and regions for which we have blank scrolls. I have had one suggestion a while ago for something appropriate to an Eastern persona, and while this is a bit out of my league, some-one else out there may possess the necessary skill.



Accounts

I have recently completed the Financial Statement for the Lochac College of Scribes' Office for the 1994/95 Financial Year. I have included an abridged version with this issue of SN for those that may be interested.

The College of Heralds has been remiss in recent years in distributing the Scribes Tax collected with new name and device submissions. As you all should be aware, $2.50 of every new submission is supposed to be paid to the Scribes Office for the maintenance of award scroll production and other related items. I have recently totalled the amounts due since the tax was introduced in October 1987 (obtained from every issue of the Camel since that date) and compared this with amounts actually received with some disturbing results. It appears that to 30th June 1994 the College of Scribes is owed some $300 in back taxes.

Without a doubt the largest expense of the College is the generation of pre-printed AA's. While there was no expenditure in 1994/95 on printing this will change next financial year, when I anticipate around $200-$300 will need to be spent. Given the funds currently held and the amount in tax still owed there seems to be adequate funding for the office in the foreseeable future.

Income and Expense Report
1/7/94 through 30/6/95


Revenue

Donations* $181.10 Herald Submission Levies $45.00 Interest $3.25

Total Revenue $229.35

Expenditure

Bank Charges $0.35 Postage* $161.20 Stationery* $19.90

Total Expenditure $181.45

Net Income $47.90

* Expenses for Postage and Stationery were paid by the Provost of Scribes

Net Current Assets
as at 30/6/95

Current Assets

Cash on Hand $0.00 Debtors (College of Heralds)# $302.50 Cheque A/C $438.33

Sub-Total $740.83

Current Liabilities

Creditors (Joann Colyer) $42.00 O/S Cheques $0.00

Sub-Total $42.00

Net Current Assets $698.83

# Estimate to 30/6/94. Further amounts due on submissions in 1994/95 have not been included.



World Wide Web

The scribes web page has been expanded since last issue to include a variety of additional items that may be of interest. Of particular note is the availability of Scribe Notes on-line (including back issues). Current information includes: The address of the URL for the Lochac page is

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~richie but you can get to the Scribes page directly through

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~richie/scribes

A lot more is planned in the next few months, including mondo articles and reference pages. Anyone that wants to publish anything on the net (or in Scribe Notes) can submit it to me and I'm more than happy to include it. My aim is to have one of the best on-line reference source for Scribes anywhere in the world within the next 12 months but I need some help.

Mailbox

Mail that is sent to the College of Scribes will be answered either here, or in a personal letter. Generally though, if an issue of Scribe Notes is close to being sent out you will probably find quick replies ending up here. If by some chance you would rather a private reply, just indicate so in your correspondence and the Provost of Scribes will happily oblige.

Branwen of Werchesvorde

Thank you for the completed Laurel scroll, and the detailed description of your sources. By all means if you want to attempt an AA blank be my guest. I'm sure it will be excellent as always.

Thorfinn

Thanks for the latest lot of AA's and the OLM scroll. I notice there were scribes involved in some of the scrolls other than Claas. In future, can you have them sign their SCA names in pencil on the back of the work so I can give them proper credit.

In addition, if any of the individuals concerned would like to receive Scribe Notes I'm more than happy to accommodate. On a related note, I hope Claas feels well enough to attempt some more illumination in the future as his work is excellent and will be missed. Finally, I'm still on to the other matter of the name spelling as we have recently discussed. Hope to have something for you shortly.

Yseult de Lacy

My lady, the emblazons you requested should accompany this mailing. Sorry about the e-mail situation. Actually, it may have been a problem at my end since Lady Lenie de Grey also had some trouble getting through, although it was just recently and I was actually aware that something had

gone

[As an aside, 90% of the time you should receive e-mail replies within 48 hrs of sending me the message - generally 24 hrs. If this doesn't happen, chances are its gone astray or something's not quite right. To be safe you should forward me the original message to ensure speedy response. This goes for other mail as well, but as you may appreciate Australia Post is a little more unreliable and re-sending postal mail is more complicated than point and click.]

Feature Article

This issue's Feature Article comes from Master Thorfinn Hrolfssen (OP) extracted from his recently revised booklet titled "Calligraphy - The Art of Beautiful Writing". It is a useful collection of thoughts and points concerning the layout and production of original work. This is not meant to be a hint at all, although I certainly won't object if you all suddenly feel the desire to put what you have read into practise.

Good Scribing,

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Written by my hand this 10th August in the year nineteen hundred and ninety-five of the Common Era