Pelican Scroll for Hagar the Black
Words by Machteld Cleine
Scroll by Cyneswith the Quiet
Completed February 2022
Materials: Lambskin vellum, silk thread, iron gall ink, glair paint with ultramarine and madder pigments, pine frame, Calli ink for red letters.
With Master Hagar’s interest in period music and poetry, as well as Biblical texts, I wanted the emphasis to be on the words rather than ornamentation. The Fruits of the Spirit was the first thing that came to mind, and Machteld’s text captured that beautifully.
Master Hagar’s persona was under some alteration when this scroll was produced, so I wanted to make something that applied across a wide range of cultures and time periods. The primary inspiration, though, was Vat.lat.4776, with multiple folios referred to, as a source I had previously talked to Hagar about for a word-centric scroll.
Master Hagar’s Laurel is in embroidery, and I wanted to include some degree of reference to this, without cluttering the scroll with illumination. The substrate is imperfect lambskin, with holes that could be fixed via the period method of embroidery. Engleberg Library’s Cod 37 is one of the primary examples of this method in use, and had clear examples of the cretan stitch, while other holes are repaired with connected hanging loops. I used the period threads I had on hand, in black and green. One hole is finished with the cretan stitch, and the other with connected hanging loops to depict the recipient’s 8 pointed star. In subsequent scrolls using this method, I will find thicker options for the thread.
The limited paint work is drawn from multiple documents that used similar paragraph headers to delineate Machteld’s verses. (Ms L 34 is a good example of the paragraph headers used along with repaired parchment.) The attempted splash/wave and moon at the bottom is a reference to the final verse of Belle Qui Tiens Ma Vie, a song with personal meaning to the recipient. The sum of the final verse is “my love will never decrease”, which pairs nicely with Machteld’s line of “love will just increase.”
The paint is made with egg white glair from my Dorking chickens, commercially made ultramarine pigment, and home-processed madder pigment. The madder is soaked and strained madder root liquid, dried in the oven, and ground. Subsequent madder pigment will include a white pigment (I had no period white on hand) and more thorough processing. The red ink is Calli ink, as I have had significant problems making my red paints consistent enough for pen use.
The frame is pine, finished with pecan stain. There were technical difficulties in the end stages of production. Glass was provided by Lady Merewyn Scharp.