NOTES ON CALLIGRAPHY

By: Hon. Lord Jaymes Aikmon of Battle Abbey, CMC

    I.  When lettering, begin at the top of the page and do not go to the second line until all letters in the first line are complete, including all points, extra curls, and other details which are added in with a smaller nib.  To be extra sure not to mess up by getting your hand into the wet ink on the letters, you might go one step further and complete each word one at a time, from left to right (or right to left if you are left handed), adding all extra touches to each and every word before moving rightward to the next word.

    II.  There are at least 3 ways or methods to apply the ink for lettering, and each way has its own set of drawbacks or problems:

        (1.) FELT-TIP calligraphy pens: are often called beginner's or learner's pens, and for good enough reasons as they are truely limited in their practibility.  They usually cost about one dollar, each, and come in several colors of ink besides black (which is more of a dark gray than a true black).  They also come in about three different sizes of tips.  But they are not only not waterproof, they are also so smudgable that even placing your dry hand on them will leave speckled grey splotches on the paper.  If you must use these troublesome pens to do your work, best guard against this smudging as best you can by wearing a "letterer's glove" on your writing hand.  This is a cotton glove, usually white, which has had the tips of the thumb, pointer-finger, and middle finger cut off the better to grip the pen with.

Another problem with felt-tip calligraphy pens is the lightness of the kind of ink they hold, making them most practible for single stroke markings only.  They will leave noticeable dark marks anywhere that their strokes overlap, making them quite inferior for doing Old English style letters.  Try using Celtic letters which do not need as many strokes per letter to produce.

           

        (2.) CARTRIDGE-TYPE calligraphy pens: usually should smudge only if your hand is wet when it touches the letters.  (WARNING: when used on parchment paper, these inks can take up to about 15 minutes to soak in.  Look for shiny wet spots to forewarn you not to touch yet).  Although this ink also is definitely not waterproof, with careful handling this is the easiest way to do (good but not great)lettering.  The ink is available in colors (and can be later spray ed with mat-finish to greatly enhance waterproofing. But do not use spray-on mat finish after you have already used metallic inks or paints/leafs on your work's letters or borders; it will dull the sheen of your illuminations).

        (3.) India ink or Artist's ink: dipped from an inkwell with a brush, a metal-tipped calligrapher's nib or with a bamboo or feather quill. Known as "the old way", the "hard way" and the "slow way" of doing it, this method is at least waterproof when India ink is used (but not so with Art or Artist's ink.  Check the bottle's label to be sure what you're getting).  Used with more professional, detachable nibs, these inks can be used to produce the most clear and sharply defined letters of all, but this is much slower drying ink than that of felt-tip or even cartridge-type pens.  These inks that you have to dip into can take HOURS to completely dry when applied onto parchment paper.  And remember that even India ink is not water-proof until it has completely dried; beware of sticky letters and thick spots. (And don't waste your time waiting for shiny spots in this ink to go away from your letters.  It often shines even after its dry).  Use a blotter sheet, of the same kind of paper as the finished work will be on, and experiment to see how many times your nib must be dabbed onto the blotter to prevent globbing ink when trying to print the final letters.  Also, onto the blotter sheet first, do a few examples of letters and words to see just exactly how much ink your nib or brush holds.  This can save nerve- racking moments of trying to re-trace a letter which got only partially drawn before the ink ran out.

    III.  Not always synonymous with the amount of time available in which to complete your calligraphic project, nevertheless you must use patience and allow your inks and colors to dry before trying to add the next set of details to the work.  If you hurry and therefore cause a major screw-up, then you have got the unpleasant choices of either starting all over again or turning in a piece of lettering with a noticeable blurb in it.  Neither choice will seem worth it, upon reflection.  Correction fluid is a 3rd choice, but it will definitely show up when your work is viewed. (Correction fluid is best when used on original drafts which are to be photocopied before any color is applied).  There is also an ink-irraticator product on the market, but even this takes practice to be able to use well enough to possibly save an inking mistake.

    IV.  I really hate running out of space on the righthand side of the page when lettering, especially when I have already been forced to let the letters of the last few words get smaller and smaller yet still ran out of room..., then the curses and the wadded up pieces of parchment really fly!  You can avoid this problem by several methods: (a.) Pencil in the words, lightly, before inking them in.  The only problem here will be erasing the pencil marks afterwards.  Dirty erasers, wet ink or smudgable (felt-tip pen) ink can really stir up your stomach ulcers when the worst happens.  Also, some kinds of writing or drawing surfaces seem magically accursed with the ability to render pencil marks semi-permanent once they are applied; best to have two pieces of paper or parchment of the same exact kind and test everything (inks, pencils, colors, etc.) on the scratch-paper first. (b.) If you are only doing an original draft which is later to be photocopied, then you might consider using a "non-photo blue" pencil instead of a regular pencil before inking.  Non-photo blue pens are also available, but I prefer the special pencils because, with pressure control, I can make them write lighter than do the marks of the non-photo blue pens.  If you are going to be using watercolors or water based inks for shading over the blue marks, then you will want to use the pens, for the waxiness of the blue pencils might cause light marks showing through your shaded places.  If by chance the non-photo blue marks do happen to show up on your copy, just set the machine to copy lighter, or, at most, go to another kind of photocopying machine; another brand or model.  Use caution; non-photo blue pencil marks are almost impossible to erase once the marks are made, so do not try to use them when you would (or should) need to use a regular pencil; like on a finished piece of work which is to be the one and only one. (c.) Worried about smudging your finished letters if erasing is used?  Then try tracing.  Children in grammar school learn to trace by using a day-lit window as a light source.  If your paper is thin enough and your marks are dark enough, you might even be able to lay the two pages on the table and do the tracing.  (Working upright at the window can make your paper slip and cause you to mess up...., plus your neighbors might wonder at your goings-on at the window).  The more professional way to do your tracing job is to use (what I call) a shadow-box   This is a box with a light bulb inside and a glass top. (I made my own, using a cardboard box and a reading lamp).

    V. Remember that ink, even colored inks, does not have to be the only thing your letters could be done in.  If you draw some of the letters in outline instead of done solid, then you can fill them in with whatever colored medium you wish: watercolors (which are period if you always mix each color with white first ), colored felt-tip pens (good for smallish letters), acrylic paints, metallic markers or even model paints (such as Testor's brand).  Colored or crayon pencils might work, but often come out looking too "grainy".  Use colors to bring out the most important words.  And remember that folks just love to see at least a little metallic (especially gold) on a scroll.  I've gotten a lot of compliments on my use of Testor's brand metallic gold paint which, unfortunately, has to be reshaken in the capped bottle about every 90 seconds to put down a good, even luster.  Experiment with different brands/shades of metallic paints, or go all the way and get into gold leaf, silver or other leafs, or their fake equivalents.

    VI. BORDERS
    (1.) Sources:  For medieval and/or decorative (although perhaps non-period) designs: (l.) Go to your public library and begin looking through books on costumes and costume-design.  Also look for books on ancient, medieval, or Renaissance architecture.  Of course, books on the history of art will help, as will books on medieval manuscripts and illuminated manuscripts.  Remember to also go to the reference section of the public library, and check to see if they have a "special section" where the really unique books/maps/etc. are filed away.  There are numerous books on calligraphy. Look also under the subject-titles of design, lettering, embroidery, patchwork quilts, and other needlework.  Check under books on the engravings of wood, glass, metal, etc.  Many history books give examples of calligraphic capital letters and medieval manuscript illumination, as also do books on fairy tales and fantasy.  Remember, too, to check the children's section in the public library, where you'll find some of the very best examples of beautiful border illumination.  And once you have picked over the public library (all branches thereof), go to your nearest college or university library.  Even if you are not a student and therefore cannot leave with any books, check the same subject matters as I have listed above.  You can nevertheless make sketches or photocopies there in the building even if you cannot check a book out. Often, such school libraries will far surpass public ones in richness of good sources.
    (2.) If you are really interested and serious about finding good illustrations of period alphabets, calligraphy and borders, then you might want to spend the money to actual buy books on the subject.  Below are the addresses of some specialized catalogs available from Dover Books, being paperbacks and therefore much more affordable than big, hardback art books like you would find in a bookstore.  Write to:  Dover Publications, Inc. 11 East 2nd Street, Mineola, N.Y.  11501.  Give them:  quantity of books you are ordering, each book's code number, its author, title, and price.  Try these:

DOVER ART INSTRUCTION CATALOG, code no. 59076-3, FREE.

DOVER PICTORIAL ARCHIVE CATALOG, code no. 59062-3, FREE.

THE MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF MEDIEVAL PAINTING, Daniel V. Thompson, code no. 20327-1, price is $5.95.

HISTORIC ORNAMENT, C.B. Griesbach, no. 23215-8, $8.95.

HANDBOOK OF RENAISSANCE ORNAMENT, Albert F. Butsch, no. 21998-4, $9.95.

ALPHABETS AND ORNAMENTS, Ernst Lehner, no. 21905-4, $7.95.

GOTHIC AND OLD ENGLISHALPHABETS: 100 COMPLETE FONTS, Dan X. Solo, no. 24695-7, $4.50.

CELTIC AND EARLY MEDIEVAL DESIGNS FROM BRITAIN FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE, Eva Wilson, no. 25340-6, $5.95.

READY-TO-USE BANNERS, edited by Theodore Menten, no. 23899-7, $3.50.

COMPLETE DOVER CATALOG, no. 59069-0, FREE.

  And many more, too numerous for me to attempt to list here.  Just add 85 cents if ordering one item, or $l.50 if ordering 2 or more items ($1.50 is the maximum needed for postage).
    (3.) Look up back issue (and scan current issues) of S.C.A. publications such as Tournaments Illuminated and those other works listed on the publications page of T.I.  Check all the kingdom newsletters you can get your hands on, including those from kingdoms outside your own.
    (4.) The Arts' Encomium, edited by the author of this article, has long strived to give just such examples of fancy calligraphic capitals and border designs. Trace or photocopy them as they are, or use them to inspire your own creations and variants.

    (B.) Documentality vrs. Artistic License:  "There are two roads you may go by", (as go the words to the old Led Zeppelin song):  you can combine and change freely, using your own imagination to create what will most please the eye of the average person/beholder..., or (as will be very necessary to get anywhere in S.C.A. kingdom-type Arts competitions) you can sternly seek to reproduce a particular style of calligraphy and (coinciding) illumination as it was used during a particular part of the medieval timeperiod.  The difference is that the first road says "Anything goes,just as long as it resembles medieval work and is pleasing to the eye.", while the second way must be fully documentable as being exactly the way it was done in the Middle Ages.  The two roads may seem to intersect at some points, but when departure again occurs, documentality will always suffer.  In kingdom-type Arts and Sciences competition, remember to keep your choice and use of calligraphy (the letters)and any border designs and illuminations from the same timeperiod (century) and from the same locality (nation and culture).  This will influence the judges, and your score.

    It is much easier to get "ooohs" and "aaahs" from mundanes and from the general S.C.A. populace than it is to satisfy contest judges.  Anyone (except a contest judge in the line of judging) can see the increase beauty of a scroll which includes intermixed forms of calligraphy and artwork.  Remember that not all colors that watercolors come in are truely period, it depends on what they contain to get their particular colors.  And if you mix egg yolk with your watercolors (a period practice, the egg yolk fixative turning the paint into "tempra"), it can turn rancid on you later.  Also, if there is even a single roach in your abode and it finds your work of watercolor, it will eat the color right off the page, worse yet, breaking the bond of the paper so that you cannot simply go back and recolor the spot because it will then blotch.  Many medieval paints were often difficult and/or actually dangerous to work with, containing raw lead, mercury and other heavy metals, and would oftimes lose or even change color with the passage of time (blue skies turning green, for instance).  Modern fixatives (which are waterproofers for watercolors and are available in artstores) could be used in place of egg yolks or (just as non-period) you might try acrylic paints which very closely resemble in looks the period (tempra, gouche) watercolors when dry.

    The S.C.A. artist of these Current Middle Ages may also choose to use modern metallic inks and paints in lieu of expensive gold or silver leaf.  And other thoroughly modern paints and colors will nevertheless dazzle the populace.  Try Testor brand enamels for unique, glossy colors which can be opaque or, using the "candy" colors, transparent.  Search through the many brand names and kinds of modern watercolors for those perfectly breathtaking hues, and remember that some off-brand to Playtime watercolors can prove just as beautiful as Japanese-made or even more expensive watercolors that come in tubes.  Felt-tip markers come in many brands and in an array of colors, (but beware of how they can leave darker streaks wherever the tips marks overlap during use).  Even those wood-and-crayon pencils, whether the cheap ones in little cardboard boxes or the art-store variety which must be bought individually, can give good results if used in smallish areas such as to fill in outlined letters.  Try colored inks, oil paints (you can buy quick-drying ascents to add to oil paints if you hate the wait), leather dyes, anything with color to add to the beauty of your work---- but don't expect to become the Kingdom's Champion of Arts at the next official kingdom Arts and Sciences contest by entering such a pretty but undocumentable work...., you'll probably have to settle for just being very popular.