Master Scribe Requirements

You’ve made it to the final stretch of the Scribe's Guild. Congratulations! On this thread, I’ll explain general and specific Requirements necessary to be awarded the Master Scribe designation in our Order. Currently, there are not many requirements, but they will require some time spent in experimental research and reading. Put your best foot forward and on behalf of the guild, good luck!


General Requirements:
- Must be a Knight or Higher within the Order
- Must have completed the Apprentice Lessons
- Must have completed the required Journeyman Lessons

Specific Requirements:
- Must create an original work of calligraphy in a script of your choice.
- Must create an original work of illumination.
- Must complete community service in any aspect related to scribes.
- Must develop three lessons related to your topic for up and coming apprentices and journeyman.
- Must serve as a mentor in the guild from initiation through the journeyman level.

I’ll explain each of these requirements in greater detail in the following posts.

Journeyman must develop an original work of calligraphy in a script of his or her choice. Given the wide variety of presentation styles, there will be no specified content required, allowing for as much creativity as one can come up with. Share an image of your original work in your journal.

Journeyman must develop an original work of illumination in a subject of his or her choice. Given the wide variety of presentation styles, there will be no specified content required, allowing for as much creativity as one can come up with. It is recommended that a wide variety of color should be used in a manner that demonstrates mastery of technique. Share an image of your original work in your journal.

The community service portion is a fundamental requirement for everything we do here at Mook. We always return to service within our communities and for our fellow men. Because of this, everyone is required to develop a community service project designed to promote calligraphy or illumination. While we do not decide this for you we offer the following suggestions:


- Hold a class at a local library on calligraphy or illumination: If there is something interesting or notable, or you have specific tips related to technique, share with the community.

- Design and provide a class for children on calligraphy or illumination.

- Volunteer to design an image for someone using illumination or calligraphy.

These are just a few suggestions, but feel free to get creative in your approach to this. We’re only limited by what we think we can or can’t do. Just make sure that your project pertains to Calligraphy or Illumination and after that, the sky’s the limit.

By now, you have spent quite a bit of time working on calligraphy and illumination. Now it’s time to pass on what you learn! The Journeyman must create one lesson each for calligraphy and illumination. More lessons are always welcome, but one each is the minimum. The lesson should be designed to pass on specific points of knowledge that you think are important to understanding calligraphy or illumination, or highlight a unique technique that you are familiar with. Each lesson should include follow up questions that allow the guild member to think critically about the topic as well as to practice what they have learned.

This is the final requirement to be a Master in the Scribes Guild. One must mentor an initiate through the journeyman level. By mentorship I mean you help the initiate through the process of working through the guild by answering questions that they may have and providing feedback on their assignments. If questions should arise in the course of their research, the mentor should be able to help the individual through these as well. There are a couple of objectives that we are looking for in this process:


-The mentor helps the guild member develop their calligraphic technique by providing feed back to their practice and determining when they have developed enough skill to move on from initiate to the apprentice level.

-The mentor will provide feedback on their illumination techniques and give direction for improvement.

-The mentor gives the final recommendation that a Journeyman is ready to begin the requirements for Master.


It is preferable that the individual is one that you have sponsored as a Page or taken on as a Squire so the relationship of trust has been established. Also, while we are in a guidance role as Mentors, we are also looking to develop the best for the role of Master. This may not be something that everyone can accomplish. A certain amount of discretion is advised when recommending one have permission to begin the Master requirements. All recommendations for Master entrance must be approved by a majority of Guild Master Scribes. In the event of rejection or a tie, more work may be requested of the Journeyman to make a new determination.