Charter and Scroll Designs in the Kingdom of An Tir

This document was first created for Kingdom Heraldic and Scribal Symposium 2017 in An Tir. It covers the basics for how I create scrolls and charters, and is pretty much a basic rewriting of our Scribal Handbook. Now of course every Kingdom is going to be different, but I hope you get some use out of this!

Classes Jadwiga Can Teach (With Descriptions!) Updated for 2016

A While back I got on a conversation about what I could teach. I began to rattle a few things off, and that got me thinking 'you know, there is an awful lot I could teach...' I then decided to make a list of classes that I am either familiar enough with or have already compiled the notes/written the paper to teach.
Note: For those of You in An Tir, I am happy to teach any of these classes at an event or Ithra if I am going.

Please feel free to contact me at jadwiga.sca@gmail.com or on facebook at Jadwiga Radomyskowa

Scribal- Creation

These are classes focused on creating supplies used for Medieval Scribal Arts. 

Making earth pigments I This class focuses on the basics of Earth Pigment creation. Students can use prepared ingredients to make their own gouache paint. This class can be a lecture, demo or hands-on. There is the option for students to take home with them a small set of period paints.
Making earth pigments II In this class students will take raw materials and create their own pigments. We will cover what makes a good pigment, how to assess if something will work for a pigment. In this class we can also cover some of the more exotic ingredients such as bone and lead.  This class can be a lecture, demo or hands-on. There is the option for students to take home with them a small set of period paints.
Making Oak Gall Ink Learn to make Oak Gall ink! Students will watch as a batch of ink is made in class, and have an opportunity to work with it. I can teach this class as a lecture, demo, or again a hands-on class where students will take home supplies to make their own ink.
The Scribes Toolbox: An overview of the tools of the trade, a good resource on such things as the type of brushes to use, and which paints to get and avoid. Also a resource list on where to actually buy these things!

Scribal-Painting

These classes focus on painting and creation of charters for the SCA. 

Charter Painting 101-104: The basics of Charter Painting. Covers materials and how to use them. Techniques that make your charters look great! Covers base painting, shading, blending, highlighting and some freehand. Can be taught as a single class or spread out into two to four.
Whitework and Diapering basics: One of the best tools in any painters arsenal, whitework takes a charter from good looking to amazing. This class covers how to correctly do white work. Can be taught as a lecture, but is best presented as a hands on class where students take home two different white paints and a sheet of white work and diapering designs to reference later.
Color Theory for charting painting: In this class I teach basic color theory and how it applies to charter painting. Ever wonder why sometimes when you mix red and blue you don't get purple, but rather a nasty brownish color? Want to know how to make something "look medieval"? This is the class for you. Can be taught as a lecture with handouts, or as a hands-on class where students take home samples to reference later.
Charter Creation: Creating Charters for a royal reign is an amazing experience. This class covers how to find reference materials, how to adapt images for a charter, the DOs and DONTs, as well as a step-by-step example of an actual charter created and used.

Polish History

This set of classes covers my passion, Polish History. While definitely a specific and narrow focus, this is a part of the Known World that few know much about. 

Polish History 101 An overview of Polish History as it pertains to the SCA time line. Covers the different eras in history, and major movers and shakers, as well as how Poland interacts and relates with the more well known lands of the Middle Ages. Do you know the surprising reason Polish Knights wouldn't go on Crusade? How did Poland avoid the Black Death when the rest of Europe was falling to it? What was the specific rule pertaining to Ottoman tents on a War field? Find out this and much more!
Polish Hussar Wings My focus. My Passion. Learn about the most well-known item of Polish Military! Learn how they were made, what they were used for, and dispel some myths around the Winged hussar!
16th C Polish Women's Clothing Come learn about women's clothing in the 16th century. We will cover extant pieces, how to research it, and how it was similar and different to both Western European fashions as well as Slavic, Italian, and German styles.
The surprising religious views of 16c Poland: That's a pretty specific title for a class, right? Well, 16th Century Poland was doing some crazy things, well worth looking in to. Come explore why Poland was called "asilum haereticorum" or the heretics asylum! It is said that a Polish town could not be called a city unless it held both a Catholic and Protestant Church, a Synagogue and a Mosque! Join me as we explore some of the most fascinating things in this little covered part of the Known Worlde, and I'll tell you about the time 1200 Noblemen stormed a church trying to burn a cobbler at the stake for heresy! The middle ages as it should have been? Seems like some folks had it right all along...

Misc

The rest of the classes. They don't quite fit anywhere else...

Medieval Pets: Owning pets is not a new or modern invention. This class covers pet ownership in the Middle Ages. Learn about not only cats and dogs that were kept, but squirrels, monkeys and even a pair of royal badgers! We will cover rules and laws around pets, the difference between an animal as a pet and one as a tool. Students can take home a handout with period pet names, as well as a collection of eulogies for a 14 century Italian dog.
Bayeux Tapestry Stitch: One of the most famous pieces of embroidery in the world, the Bayeux Tapestry is an impressive thing. Learn a little bit about this famous textile, and then learn the stitches used to create it, and how it can be used to create your own items. Students should bring a hoop. Needles, thread, and fabric with a design on it will be supplied.
The Medieval Horse: Learn about the use of the horse in the middle ages. We will cover different breeds and riding styles, go over the various types of tack used, as well as images and writings of the horse in the medieval era.
Largess 101: What is largess? Who is allowed to make it? What sort of things make good largess? What sorts of things make bad largess? What should never be largess? Learn the answers to all these questions in this class. As well, there will be a small hands-on largess project to make as we cover the ins and outs of Largess.
Manesse Codex: There are good odds that you have seen images from this 14c German songbook even if you don't know what it is. Here we will discuss what the Manesse codex is, who it was made for, and what its use was. We will cover some of the most famous images out of it, and talk about some of the stories attached to this book. Students will have an opportunity to take home black and white image from the book to color or use as inspiration as they would like.
The Book of Kells: This class will cover what is arguably the most famous book from medieval Ireland. We will discuss its construction, the various authors and illustrators as well as its tragic history. We will also look into some of the most interesting images to be found on it's pages. For instance, did you know that hidden in the Book are sharing the Holy Sacrament with cats?
Persona 101: This class will cover the basics of developing a persona for the SCA. How to figure out who you might want to be. Where to research for more information about your persona. What it means to have a persona and what you can do with it.
Persona 102: In this second persona class we focus on how to be in Persona once you have found one. We will talk about ways to be in persona even with the modern world around you. How to incorporate events from your mundane life into your persona. At the end of this class there is an opportunity to have an in-persona conversation or tea.
Social Media Webministration in the SCA: This class covers the practical aspects of Social Media and Webministration for your local SCA group. We will cover the rules that have been set down by society, but the main focus will be on what makes a good Web Presence for a group, and how to attract people to your site/page. It should be advised that this class is for people familiar with the internet.

A Knighting Name

My husband Mikolaj will be Knighted this January, woo hoo.

There is a lot I'm working on, and so I apologize as my focus on this researching blog for the next month will all be themed around his elevation.

My first project is his Knighting Name. Mikolaj's lineage has every squire taking his Knight's name upon elevation. Now, this isn't too hard with the vikings and the Normans in the clan...Ulfgarson, fitzHrothgar, and so on...but being Poles...well...this put us in a more interesting position.

Here are my notes thus far:

Patronymics:

-wic, -wicz (effectively son of)
ik,yk is a diminutive suffix, used with men's names.

Tom/Thomas in Polish

Tomasz, Tomek  “Toe-Maczh”,

To wit:

Tomazwic
Tomazwicz
Tomekwic
Tomekwicz
Tomazik
Tomazyk
Tomekik
Tomekyk

However...
Thorkel is Thor's Cauldron.

Cauldron:
Kocioł “Cho-shol”
Kociolwicz
Kociołyk

Hmmm....

Wax Carving: Part 1

I don't know what I'm doing.

No really.

I have no idea what I am doing at all.

Okay, let me start over.

At May Crown my husbands Knight Sir Thorkil introduced me to Sir Torfin, who is both a Knight and a Laurel (*swoon*). Sir Torfin and I got chatting about his art (casting) and he told me that if I were to carve something out of wax, he would give me some pointers and if possible, eventually cast it.

I was really, really gun-ho about this idea as I had done lost-wax casting in high school, and was excited to revisit it. So I bought the wax he suggested, and the tool, and got to work.

Or, rather, I tried.

Holy crap, this is hard, hard wax, and going to be a lot slower going than I first expected! Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the challenge, but man, I was over estimated my abilities! Go figure!

My plan is by September Crown to have three pieces to present to him: A Pendant, a 3d figure and...something else, I haven't' decided on the third. However at this point, I think I'll be happy if I get one done!

Post under the tag of Wax Casting will document this project.

Without further ado, here is part one of this project:

Step One: Carve a thin slice of wax. This was done with a coping saw.

Step Two: Cut the slice to something closer to the right size:

Step Three: Rough Shape the wax into the pendant shape, in this case, a shield. 

Step Four: Scratch out the design you want to carve, and get to work. 

Thanks for reading! More updates as I get progress! 

Boars hunt 2015 Best Hunter and Best Dog

Video Taken by Talia Sorinson

A Video of me at Boars Hunt 2015.
This is at the end of the day, and me and Jason being my "dog" are exhausted, but you can still get an idea of what we are having fun doing.

At the end of this event I was awarded "Best Hunter", and Jason was awarded "Best Hound."

Pretty(ish) Letters

I have been avoiding Calligraphy since I got into the SCA.

It's true. I'm not ashamed of it (much), but it is what it is.

I have never felt I had the patience to actually make the letters work, as I am much better at free-form art rather than structured styles.

I couldn't avoid it forever. As an illuminator, it was important for me to understand what I was asking of my "Pocket Scribes" (I love you Yzabels and Helen!), moreover well, anything I was avoiding I needed to face head-on and get over. So I have begun to try and learn the ways of the Calligrapher.

This process has begun with Uncial hand and a very patient best friend. The choice for uncial was that what I would learn from it would eventually transfer to other hands, should I decide to do them (I will). Yzabels was very patient with me, bribing me with Cherry Shasta and Cutthroat Kitchen should I finish a full page.

There we go. This dear readers is my first attempt at calligraphy. 

It was really, really hard, and there are about 6 letters in total that I don't totally hate. But hey, I did it, and I'm one step closer to my goal...

Coronation 2015 - Squires

Jadwiga and Mikołaj at Squires 2015

Squires at Coronation 2015 was a big day for us! 

I got to show off my new fighting Zupan! (Seen above, its the orange and black cloth layer). 

Mikołaj on the other hand had a great day! After a grueling squires (seriously, we were standing there saying how An Tir West War was easier than this), he was the Knights Choice for a 1-on-1 for the Tourney win. 

However, the Knights had chosen two people, and the squires had chosen one.

Egads.
So Miko had to fight the other Squire chosen by the knights, and then do it again. 

I am pleased to say he won! 

This is his first Squires Win. 

I am quite, quite excited! 

Huzzah Hubby!