Pelican scroll text

[lumineaux]

It was my extreme pleasure to write this one; it was also extremely frustrating. There's a dearth of good Spanish sources in translation. I have enough Spanish to communicate with the office building cleaning staff but not nearly enough to write a proper 16th cen. legal document. So, despite very much wanting this to be in 16th cen. Castillian Spanish, I could not find a source document to work from.

This is one of my few texts that lacks a specific source document. It is almost entirely my own original work, based on my not insubstantial knowledge from reviewing period legal documents. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, I suppose it is a good thing that I now can write original texts that sound convincingly period. On the other hand, I wonder if it's cheating not to adapt a real document.

Fortunately, Isabel's amazing C&I completely blew away any petty concerns about wording:

We, Gregor, by right of arms King of the East, and Kiena, his Queen, considering the great, long and earnest travails and labours sustained by Diego Miguel Munoz de Castilla in the service of the art of defence and the safe practices of same for some score of years and more, and after due consideration of the cause above-written and other good and thankful service done by the said Diego to our sister realms of Aethelmearc and Ansteorra, do therefore ordain, approve and confirm the elevation of the said Diego to the Order of the Pelican, and do convey therewith all liberties and privileges attendant thereupon. And we do further by these our present letters give, grant and convey to the said Diego the right to bear arms by letters patent in the following form: Argent, on a bend sable three escallops palewise argent. And we do further ratify and approve, for ourselves and our successors, that the gifts and grants made herein shall be in all time coming effectual, good, valid and sufficient perpetually in all and sundry points, and do hereby ordain the same to be put to due execution, and to have full force, strength and effect in all time coming. Given at Iron Bog upon 7 September in the forty-eight year of the Society.

Comments

[dreda.livejournal.com]

I wonder about that cheating question. I tend to think that it's the goal for a lot of things we do - to get so immersed in the originals that we can learn to create in that mode. If it is true in so many other media, why not the writing of these central texts?

[eldrichgaiman.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about it being cheating until we change the name to the Society for Rote Anachronism.