The World of Richard Cullinan

The Art of Documentation - Part 2

This article was first published in Dies Mali Dragoman, October 1998. Dies Mali Dragoman is the local newsletter for the SCA Shire of Dismal Fogs (Blue Mountains, NSW Australia)

Last issue I discussed documentation sources. I didn't receive any counter-correspondence so what I wrote must correlate to what most people think regarding that issue. This issue I'll be looking at how we utilise our documentation.

There are two philosophical approaches to using documentation - the School of Item Replication, and the School of Style Reproduction. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and they both rely on good quality research.

The School of Item Replication is a term I use to describe the process of replicating exactly a period item held in a museum or collection, and possibly shown in a period picture. There is a great deal of art and skill that goes into this pursuit, which is very heavily reliant on accurate quality research. An example is if you make an exact copy of the Coppergate Helmet (with a slight size adjustment), or a piece of jewellery etc. This involves getting accurate research with quality photos / depictions of the item in question. This research should detail things like the method of construction, materials used, accurate measurements of the original etc. This is a very detailed and narrowly focused research effort that can produce exceptionally exquisite items. Some of the work done by scribes replicating pages from a Book of Hours comes to mind. Working to this method is what I consider a two edged proposition, the detail of the research will always validate the authenticity of a particular item, however poor execution can lead to effectively negating the quality of the research. It also precludes the opportunity for individual artistic expression and interpretation.

The School of Style Reproduction is much more wide ranging in its research efforts. If you are like me, and prefer to have the scope to make your own artistic interpretation, then this research style may be for you. The backbone to this method involves collecting as much documentation as you can find that covers the area you are interested in, and then collating it to develop a picture of the overall trends or common themes for that item in question. The art here is in developing a coherent interpretation of what constitutes the generic style for the item in question, from the collective research you have at that time. This is also a 'living' research effort, as the model you develop will be enhanced or modified by any new research you turn up. For example, say I was researching Byzantine clothing (OK, so I'm working from my specialty!), I would collect as many examples and descriptions etc of Byzantine clothing I could find. I would then start to look at my material collectively, looking for common items, such as the sleeve types shown ie tight or loose, the common tunic length, usual decoration styling etc. All the items that I would need to develop a model for what would constitute typical Byzantine clothing. With more research you can also start to develop an understanding of how the style changed over time, basically build up a progressive picture of your subject. Once you are confident of your model's reliability, you can then design your item within the constraints of that model, and still have opportunity to insert or develop some of your own artistic ideas when you make the item. It also means that your item will be artistically different to other peoples work, whilst retaining the period accuracy incorporated into your research model. This means that you won't go to an event and see someone with exactly the same helmet, dress etc as can occasionally happen with the previous method. However it also opens you up to interesting questions regarding the validity of your model, if someone else has knowledge of an area you neglected in your research.

As you can see, documentation is an art as suggested in the title for this series of articles. As always, I welcome discussion, so if anyone else has ideas or questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, or write me (I'll do anything to get someone else to write material!). Right, now that we've discussed sources of documentation and how to use the documentation, I think next issue we'll look at locating documentation, or the big question of where do I find all the really neat stuff other people find?

Back to top

visitors since the last revision. Last Revised: 9th May 2003

© Richard Cullinan Designed and maintained by Richard Cullinan (rcull@ozemail.com.au)