Library

This list is not even close to complete. Most of these entries come from the Scribe's Handbook maintained by the Atlantian Clerk of the Signet. We've added some of our favorites. If there are books or resources that you would like to share, write to me and I'll add them.

SCA Publications

Amberdrake, Eowyn. "Tournaments Illuminated #83" SCA Stock Clerk.
A series of good "how-to" articles on the construction of zoomorphs as per the early insular gospels.
 
Corbie, William de. "A Primer in Calligraphy and Illumination." Complete Anachronist #47. SCA Stock Clerk.
Good basic information on tools, techniques and styles.
 
Rive, Megan ni Laine de Belle. "A Pallete of Period Pigments" Complete Anachronist #43. SCA Stock Clerk.
Good information on making and using period pigments.
 
Shebring, Melinda. "An Encheiridion - The Education of a Scribe." Complete Anachronist #61. SCA Stock Clerk.
Good basic primer on scroll layout and SCA heraldry for the illuminator.
 

Calligraphy Books

Drogin, Marc. "Medieval Calligraphy; Its History and Technique." Dover, NY; 1980.
Excellent examples of a variety of period hands. Principal calligraphic style source.
 
Harris, David. "The Art of Calligraphy, a practical guide to the skills and technique." Dorling Kindersley, London; 1995.
Full color throughout. The author covers more hands than Drogin, including Roman Square Capitals and three national variations of Bastard Secretary. This is a really good book.
 
Lancaster, John. "Writing Medieval Scripts." Dryad Press, London; 1988.
Good general "how-to" on calligraphic tools and technique. Several alphabets are presented the best of which are Carolingian and Gothic.
 
Solo, Dan X. "Gothic and Old English Alphabets." Dover, NY; 1984.
This is primarily a collection of modern treatments of period calligraphic alphabets. There are, however, some good examples of Germanic sets.
 

Illumination Books

Avril, Francois. "Manuscript Painting at the Court of France: The Fourteenth Century" George Braziller, NY,NY, 1978. Paperback.
A very helpful book on a very specific style. Includes at least one instance there are early and late versions of the same drawing in different books of hours. Plenty of color illustrations, with analytical commentary.
 
Backhouse, Janet. "The Lindisfarne Gospels." Phaidon, London; 1993.
Excellent source of information on the construction and style of this early work (-7th Century). Fine color reproductions and good information as to the techniques used by the illuminators who produced this work.
 
Backhouse, Janet. "The Luttrell Psalter." New Amsterdam Books, NY; 1989.
Excellent source for early 14th Century style. Especially strong in showing and evaluating the miniatures found in the work. Both color and B&W illustrations.
 
Bain, George. "Celtic Art; The Methods of Construction." Dover, NY; 1973.
Good "how-to" material on the construction of early period illumination (spirals, knotwork, zoomorphs). Many clear examples. If you do Celtic work you need this book.
 
Bain, Iain. "Celtic Knotwork." Sterling Publishing, NY; 1992.
The author is George Bain's son. His method is much easier to use than his father's, the knots come out more regular and can be adjusted to fit any shape. His examples are from Kells, Durrow and Lindisfarne.
 
Bologna, Giulia, "Illuminated Manuscripts: The Book Before Gutenberg" ISBN 0-517-12083-6 Published by Crescent Books, Distributed by Random House.
This book includes a list of "Great Libraries and Their Manuscript Treasures" and a list of illuminators with a brief history about each. It also includes a chapter on "The Book as Codex." Best of all, of course, is the color section titled "One Thousand Years of Manuscripts." Information about each plate includes not only dates and location, but its actual size and the calligraphy hand that was used.
 
De Hamil, Christopher. "A History of Illuminated Manuscripts." Phaidon Press, London; 1994.
MANY outstanding examples of a wide variety of period styles. Excellent accompanying text and explanations. GET THIS BOOK!
 
Harthan, John. "An Introduction to Illuminated Manuscripts." Victoria & Albert, London; 1983.
A good general introduction on the hows and whys of various documents. A number of good clear examples. The emphasis here is on a wide variety of styles.
 
Hait, Rabbi Phillip (ed). "A Visual Testimony: Judaica from the Vatican Library." Union of American Hebrew Congregations, NY; 1987.
An outstanding collection of excerpts from Hebrew manuscripts.
 
Lynskey, Marie. "Illumination for Calligraphers." Thorsons, London;1990.
Excellent source of both basic and advanced information. Strong on initials and illuminated capitals. A very definitive section on gilding. This is a very good book.
 
Meehan, Aidan. "Celtic Design: Illuminated Letters." Thames & Hudson, NY; 1994.
Part of a series, very pretty books, every page is lettered by the author. This one has lots of letters and a whole chapter on ampersands (&). There are animal alphabets, angular alphabets and more, good for tracing or construction.
 
Meehan, Aidan. "Celtic Design: Spiral Patterns." Thames & Hudson, NY; 1995.
Part of a series, very pretty books, every page is lettered by the author. This one goes into good detail of compass construction of spirals. Time period covered from 5000 BC (really) thru 850 CE.
 
Nordenfalk, Carl. "Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting." Braziller, NY; 1977.
Many excellent examples from the period 600-800. Wide coverage of the major Anglo-Saxon works of this period.
 
Nordenfalk, Carl. "Early Medieval Book Illumination." Rizzoli, NY; 1988.
Many examples (B&W and color) taken from works produced by a variety of cultures from pre-Carolingian onward. Good text covering history, theory and style.
 
Parker, Muriel. "Drollery Designs in Illuminated Manuscripts." Stemmer House, Owings Mills, Maryland; 1990.
A superb source for those of you who enjoy adding those late period beasties to the margins of your work.
 
Popova, Olga. "Russian Illuminated Manuscripts." Thames & Hudson, NY; 1984.
Many examples of period Russian Illumination. Good quality color prints covering a wide historic period. A very good book for this area of interest.
 
Sullivan, Sir Edward. "The Book of Kells" Studio Editions Ltd., London; 1986.
Excellent background on this early work. The color plates of full pages are small but fairly clear. A fine overview of the styles and compositions used. This book really shines in it's treatment of smaller elements found on selected pages (e. g. compound letters and zoomorphs).
 

Heraldry Books

Fox-Davies, Arthur C. "A Complete Guide to Heraldry." Bonanza Books, NY; 1978.
Several different editions of this work are available. Pretty much the principal source on heraldic matters.

Page created and maintained by Linda Pancrazio.
Last updated 3/28/98 Return to Windmaster's Scriptorium