Award of arms, James Waltham

This award of arms writ is on parchment, written in oak gall ink I made myself (following excellent instructions by Lady Órlaith Caomhánach, Dame Melisende's 'prentice).

Initial is in gouache and commercial red ink.

The finished piece is 9x14cm. The borders are indented into the parchment - it needs trimming before framing.

Click to embiggen.

Text:

We, Alexandre and Eularia, mighty prince and gracious princess of Insulae Draconis, finding Ourselves in receipt of good reports on the work of Our noble servant  James Waltham
to wit his service at shire events, his work in our kitchens, and his commitment to the defense of our lands, do award him Arms, viz -
Gules, a ship Or issuant from a ford proper and in chief 3 mullets of 8 points Or.
In witness whereof We have set our hand this 28th day of May, AS LI , at the tourney of succession at Buckden Palace.

The exemplar is the Manesse Codex, from early 14th c.

Most people know of the wonderful heraldry-rich illumination from the Manesse, but inbetween every beautiful 'picture' page is a full page, sometimes two, of poetry in German, ornamented with puzzle caps and penwork.

The great part of using a German exemplar is that it has lots and lots of Ws to model on - something you have to hunt for in Latin manuscripts. Ws are important for DrachenWald.

Original is available from the facsimile site.