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From the Middle Kingdom:
I started into the scribal arts because the local shire wanted someone who could act as the local scribe and herald. Since I had learned some heraldry in a previous kingdom I volunteered. Now I love doing scrolls and may never quit.
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A reply from Atenveldt:
I don't know what other peoples reasonings were I only know my own. Which is: My Father is a Master Scribe, and at nine yrs of age when he introduced me to Illumination & Calligraphy, I fell in love!
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Robert the Unready (West Kingdom)
For me it's the pure enjoyment of the handwritten word. It's something that touches your mind and your soul. Your mind reads the words and receives the information, while your soul sees the illumination and the beautifully crafted letters. This is what drew me to this art. Phillipa Seton (AEthelmearc):
I am interested in the scribal arts because I have always been interesed in letters their form and there shape. In the past I have done Hebrew calligraphy and when I joined the SCA I saw a chance to learn English calligraphy. What fun!! I've stuck with it because of the encouragement I've received from my Laurel and the good gentles on the scribal list.
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Felicity Blindshooter (East Kingdom):
Have you ever tried to offer some service to your Kingdom at a remove of a thousand miles? This is something that those of us way out in the sticks can "give back" to the group as a whole, outside our own cantons and shires. Some of my students tried it simply because that was the topic of two of the local Canton's day-long scholae....some of these folks were certain that they couldn't possibly do this, but all have completed at least one scroll. Others have taken it up because their personae were literate. I suspect that for many of us, it is not so much a case of doing scribe things "instead of" other arts as it is "in addition to" them. At any rate, that seems to be how it is here in Mycghalh.
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Eldred AElfwald (Atlantia): Becoming a scribe was a natural outgrowth of my artistic skills as a painter and an illustrator. I took many an art class in college-even through graduate school, and working as a scribe and illuminator helps me "keep my hand in," as it were. As far as choosing this artform, it was the easiest to get started in at the time--not a choice of "one or another." I most certainly have branched out into other arts: stained glass, brewing, heraldry (does that really count?), minting, a bit of costuming, etc. I am planning to work on portable buildings next....
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