Skip to content

Cluain Oir Scribal Day

SCA Galway hosts a special Day for Scribal activities!

27th January
10:00am - 4:00pm

The SCA Galway group - Cluain Oir, is hosting a special Day of Scribal-focussed activities and classes

There will be classes on various subjects including Calligraphy, ink-making, quill-cutting, Medieval pigments and more!  If you have a scribal project you're working on, bring it on down! There will be plenty of tables and space for you to use.

If you have any other type of project that you would like to work on in company, then bring that along too.  Fencing will also happen as usual.

Bring your own snacks and lunch, but there will be hot drinks and biscuits available.  There are shops nearby where you can stock up on your preferred lunch!

Please note that in order to attend you have to pre-book using the button below.  Booking will close on the Wednesday before, in order to get the information to the insurance company.

Location:

St. Nicholas Parochial School
Waterside, Galway
H91 W2V0

Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Date: 27th January 2024

Contact: etiennesca@gmail.com

Scribal Classes

We will have four classes on scribal arts on the day and in tandem with those, the usual Fencing Practice will continue.

10:15am - Beginning Calligraphy
with Etienne

A hands-on class teaching the basics of beautiful writing in historical styles. The fundamentals are the same for Celtic styles of writing like those found in the Book of Kells and the Book of Lindisfarne right through to later Gothic Blackletter and Renaissance styles. This class will teach you how to develop your skills in your chosen calligraphic style. Materials will be provided. Max of 12 participants
11:30am - An Introduction to Period Ink making
with Orlaith
This class will show you the materials that were used in period to make oak gall black and brazilwood red ink. There will be a slightly accelerated workshop to work through the process for both (a little bit hands on, depending on numbers) so you can experience how they were made and the stages in the processes to watch out for. What do I mean by accelerated? The not very exciting pre-soaking stages needed will be done ahead of time, meaning you get to experience the magic parts where the brown sludge magically turns black with a couple of swirls, or the red become more brilliant and glossy. You do not need to bring anything to the class. As there is a direct heat source involved, children must be over 8 and supervised.

1:30pm - Making period egg tempera paint
with Adele

We will be looking at how artists made egg tempera paint in period. Many medieval artists, such as Botticelli, used egg tempera in large wall paintings. It was used in illumination to make bright, long lasting paint. We will explore making this paint from scratch from materials such as stone, soot and copper. You don't need to bring any materials.

2:45pm - Using and Applying gold leaf
with Melisende

The 'illuminated' part of manuscripts generally refers to the gold leaf glued to the page, which would catch the light when the page was opened.  We look at the different Medieval ways gold was used and applied to the page as decoration.  We will also look at modern equivalents that won't break the bank and how they should be used.  All materials will be supplied, you will get to make a small sampler of the various different methods, to take home with you.

This weekend also sees the European SCA's largest online teaching event occurring. Sadly much as we tried, we couldn't get another weekend to run our Cluain Oir day (this was our 3rd choice date...) so we will have laptops available for anyone wishing to catch a class on there that might clash.
Check out the schedule for those classes here: https://ku-online.drachenwald.sca.org/
It runs from Friday through Sunday so there is a lot to see.