Did Laurelin mourn
The golden leaf, twisting on the wind,
Broken free,
Fallen?
Or did she rejoice
In its gift to the loam?
Did Eru mourn
The bright, tortured spirit,
Broken free,
Fallen?
Or did he rejoice
In its gift to the song?
As noted in the story notes, this poem was written and illuminated as a gift for Roisin this past summer. I chose the poem because it could apply to so many characters: the Fëanorians that I love and the Númenoreans that Roisin loved, among others.
The illumination is relatively simple since I tend to be a slow illuminator, and I wanted to be sure it was finished in time to send to her. The "paper" is vellum--yes, the real stuff! Not the phony stuff that art stores sell as "vellum." :) The gilding uses a raised gilding technique, my first attempt at this on an actual piece. It is done by building up the shape you want to illuminate with gesso, then applying gold leaf like usual. Because the illumination is three-dimensional, it catches the light better than gilding done flat or with shell gold. Actual medieval manuscripts done with raised gilding are breathtaking, but I am not that skilled and also do not have the money for that quality of gold! :) The script is Gothic Littera Bastarda--yes, Gothic Bastard Letters--a late-medieval script that developed as a cursive version of the familiar and highly formal Gothic scripts.
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