The Secret Language of a Page of Chivalry Part I
From Quill to Quill
hello! I just purchased Chivalry and I just wanted to gush over how gorgeous the art was. I loved your take on it and thought it was very suited to the story (one of my faves). The illuminated pages in particular were my favorite. I loved going over all the details.
I do have one complete random question, hope you don't mind - there was a panel where Mrs Whitaker was in the bus next to a punk stranger with black hair, and then later on, on your final Fin page there was another black haired stranger in a monk robe. Any chance these were Endless cameos? Or was I just projecting? lol
How lovely to get your note! I am absolutely delighted you enjoyed the book!
That's not a random question at all. I've been asked many times.
The punk stranger next to Mrs. Whitaker: is he one of the Endless? Â DC Comics owns that character.
So in the interests of not violating trademark, I leave that to interpretation.
But on the page with the monk?
The monk is Neil. The nun is me.
The monk holds a white quill. His work is done and the ink has run out. He holds his hand up in farewell. He is ready to move on to his next work with a clean pen.
Fini means End.
The C letter symbolizes Chivalry and makes a beeline down to the monk’s head and forms a halo, indicating that the point of origin of the story is here.
The halo is not just the symbol of holiness but the symbol of creativity.
The quill in the center is dipped in red ink. That is the quill of the editor.
The nun's quill is black. It has picked up the task from the monk and taken the responsibility of making marks on paper from his quill. Her job cannot begin until the monk has completed his words.
The nun holds a white lily. This is purity of purpose.
Two angels between the monk and the nun symbolize the creative spirit balance between. The wings of their feathers are woven together.
The island is the Isle of Skye.
The angel on the book with multiple wings is a cherubim. They are guardians of God and they sing "Holy Holy Holy" all the time.
I was singing "Holy Holy Holy thank God I'm finished," when I got to the end of this project.
This post was originally sponsored by my Patreon.
A fine example of all the thought that goes into your work.
That's exactly what I was talking about in Chivalry's post!!
Everything is so well thought out, I admit that as soon as I looked at this illustration, I realized that it was Neil Gaiman (I love him!) and you, and that it was the union of two powerful minds to bring something to life, which in this case is this masterpiece that we can now always read.
I'm glad you took some of your time to explain such precious details^^.