A 15th century kidney pouch

With my newfound goal of improving my kit, I decided it was time to upgrade my kidney pouch to a fancier and more period correct version. I was largely inspired by my friend Gregor von Medehem, who jumped right into leatherworking in the SCA and has made a few very nice pouches.

Since I recommend the "what, when, where, who, & how" approach for starting A&S documentation, I'll use it here to help summarize.

• What did I make? A leather belt pouch.
• What's it used for? Carrying stuff! For me, it's to carry my phone, money/checkbook, car keys, tokens, & business cards. Anything longer than a checkbook won't fit into the main pouch.
• When & where was it used in history? Western Europe, 14th to 16th centuries.
• Who would have had one in period? This style of pouch was only used by men. It shows up in lots of contemporary art and archaeological finds, so its use seems widespread. Due to the fittings and level of workmanship, this particular pouch would have been worn by someone who is fairly well off.
• What sources did I use? "Purses in Pieces" by Olaf Goubitz, & Gregor von Medehem's expertise and pattern.
• What was my process? Read on...

Apprenticeship Indenture for Adrienne d'Evreus to Isabel Chamberlain

Project:	Apprenticeship Indenture for Adrienne & Isabel
Words:	Mistress Alys Mackyntoich & Mistress Isabel Chamberlain
Calligraphy:	Lord Alexandre Saint Pierre
Paper:	9" x 12" Parchment by David de Rosier-Blanc
Script:	My own Secretary Hand
Pens:	Mitchell #6 and #4
Inks:	Ian the Green's Iron Gall Ink
Inspiration:	Multiple, see below

Bureaucracy, red-tape and forms filled out in triplicate: not things most people think of when they think of beautiful documents. But in reality, almost as soon as humans invented writing, we started using it to record legal agreements between people. Medieval contracts are just as verbose as our modern day legalese. But in those days before carbon paper and ball point pens, they had a much more artistic way of handling the need for each party to a contract walking away with a copy: the Indentured Chirograph.

Period Ink Guidelines - What were they drawn with?

Recently I've been thinking about period calligraphy guidelines. Not so much as to how they are used, but how they were made. Specifically, I want to know what tool was used to draw the ink lines?

This post details my findings so far. Read on if you are into geeky investigation.