Variant of Normal

07/09/2023

Transcription (Google Lens):
منسوب نحل
ای سرد سهی خاک رست وقت خرام کی صورت مه بود چو حسن تو نام مرکس که ترا بنده بود یا د شته است در بند کی تو یا د شاست غلام

Translation (Google Translate):
attributed to Nahl
O cold, dry soil, who was the face of the fog at the time of the storm, how good is your name Marks, who was a slave to you, or is he in a slave, or is he a slave?

Translation (ChatGPT):
Attributed to Saturn
Oh, cold breeze of the earth, it's time to hasten! When was the moon's face as beautiful as your name? Are you the master, or the servant in bo***ge? Are you the ruler, or the slave?

Commentary (Me):
I think the title is meant to be 'Saturn-like', which is to say 'King-like'. I checked some references and Saturn was equated with Kings and was a way of referencing Kings without using the explicit term which might be taken as referring to an actual King and, therefore, be taken as a personal insult which might get the poet killed.

07/06/2023

Testing my ability to share these. This is the preamble to the 15th Century Rubiyat i Ganjifa by the Persian poet Ahli Shirazi. A transcription of the text (courtesy of Google Lens):
کرده که که در مجلی بعضی عزیزان را میل کنه بازی باشد و کنجه یافت نشود مرا با بر قطعه کاغذ نویسند و طریقی که بنده را امت میکنند آنها هم بخش کند که در اصل
مد
میشود و احتاج تنجه است زیرا که تمام صورت پادشاه و وزیر مرینی
سر
رباعی درآمده با عده اجناسن این ها می در رباعیات بسرخی در قم شد تا نمایان باشد، ایند که مقبول ماجدالان، و منظور متقبلان با دو مینی و آرایه

ChatGPT translates this as:
"He has devised a game in which certain dear ones send me a letter in a magazine,
So that the thrill of playing cannot be discovered.
They write to me on a piece of paper, outlining the way they engage me,
And they, too, partake in the original fashion.

This game requires skill, for it resembles the face of the king and the minister of Marina,
A quartet that has come into being through various elements.
These elements have turned red in the quatrains of Qom,
So as to become apparent to the discerning.

Indeed, it has gained the approval of the Majdalans,
And the recipients, with two miniatures and an array, have grasped the intended meaning."

Google Translate gives us:
"He has devised a game in which certain dear ones send me a letter in a magazine,
So that the thrill of playing cannot be discovered.
They write to me on a piece of paper, outlining the way they engage me,
And they, too, participate in the original fashion.

This game requires skill, for it resembles the face of the king and the minister of Marina,
A quartet that has come into being through various elements.
These elements have turned red in the quatrains of Qom,
So as to become apparent to the discerning.

Indeed, it has gained the approval of the Majdalans,
And the recipients, with two miniatures and an array, have grasped the intended meaning."

03/12/2023

Google Lens is good enough to confirm that this is the poem I was looking for (Ali Shirazi's poem on ganjifa). The structure is for a King and Minister (composing the courts) and 'pip' cards numbering from 10-1. Each suit is in descending order in the poem (starting with the king and finishing with the ace/1). There are 8 distinct sets/suits which makes for a total of 96 cards. Consistent with later sources and examples. I can't identify any of the suits with any certainty but I think they are, in order:
-Slaves
-Crowns
-Swords
-Gold Coins/Rings
-??? Soldiers?
-??? Dancing Girls? Cloth?
-???
-???

I think the next step is to get a transliteration and translation completed. I'm going to have to pay to have that done professionally.

06/07/2022

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/The_Garden_of_Love_MET_DP260286.jpg

Early 16th Century tapestry depicting card players. Looks like Swiss/German suits (I see flowers and bells). Note how large the cards are and how lavishly illustrated. These are *not* mass-produced playing cards.

01/17/2022

Showing how to modify a spoon design to customize it and generally playing around.

01/13/2022

Spork.

01/13/2022

Sporks were invented in the 19th Century, according to Wikipedia, and I've found no evidence that suggests otherwise. So when I say I made a 15th Century European spork I'm referring to design style elements, not a reproduction of any actual artifact. Why did I make this? Because it's a combination of low brow and high brow that I find hilarious. There just needs to be 15th Century European sporks in the world.

11/30/2021

I really dislike translators who take liberties. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier traveled in Persia and India in the 17th Century. Of the Persians he either said: "The Persians are not much addicted to play: for besides, that the Law forbids it; the Meshaldar-Bashi has a power to fine and punish Gamesters, as I have said already. For which reason he has spies, to which the meaner sort of people dare not refuse entrance into their Houses: but the richer sort laugh at 'em; and will give 'em nothing. Among the Persian Games, there is one game at Cards which the Persians call Gengefé. We have but four distinct marks upon ours, but they have eight. " OR he said "Ceux qui sont moins scrupuleux passent leur tems a un jeu de cartes appelle gengefe, auquel ils risquent cependant peu d'argent. Leurs cartes on huit sortes de couleurs." So much information lost in translation and editing.
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A63414.0001.001/1:13?rgn=div1;view=fulltext

https://books.google.com/books?id=e3WgoNK4x8YC&pg=PA226&lpg=PA226&dq=Gengef%C3%A9&source=bl&ots=iVv2LQGR6H&sig=ACfU3U1YfoyRkzh8aLG6nZcJLjZMIuNVAA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjyrMHS58D0AhUUrHIEHee9BdMQ6AF6BAgIEAM =onepage&q=Gengef%C3%A9&f=false

04/20/2021

https://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40494-016-0103-4

Parking this here for later reading. 18th Century and later, but still interesting.

In contrast to scientific research focussing on European paper, there is a significant gap in our knowledge of Islamic papermaking. This research surveys the evidence of techniques and materials typically used in Islamic papermaking, to deduce what might be considered as the most significant charact...

04/10/2021

I think that was the perfect way to close out my SCA career: Four people showed up for the class, one left half-way through, the other three tuned out (I probably put them to sleep). :)

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made. Copy of a 15th century button.

3D design Medieval Button 2 created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made. A creative anachronism; I am unaware of any actual badges that look like this.

3D design Vulgar Medieval Gauntlet Badge created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made. Very basic template. Apply your own designs.

3D design Thor's Hammer 2 created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made.

3D design Medieval Harp Badge created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made. As always, based on a surviving example.

3D design Medieval gaming badge created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made.

3D design Simple medieval crowned-heart badge created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made.

3D design Solar badge master created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad

03/20/2021

Clearing out a few things. This design is now public on TinkerCAD. That means you can print your own in metal, or in wax. You can also modify it or just take it apart to see how it was made. This is very basic and should be a starting point for your own work.

3D design Thor's Hammer 1 created by tjordan_12 with Tinkercad