Andrew Stewart Jamieson, SHA

Artistic Director and principal artist, designer and illuminator of the Saint Peter Codex

Andrew Jamieson was born in 1961 in an area of London known as Elephant and Castle, south of the river Thames. Later growing up in east London, and a fairly hard environment, his parents’ home became an oasis of culture. Surrounded by his parents’ books and with their encouragement he developed a passion for history and art. He remembers his first encounter with a medieval book:

‘My first ‘mystical’ experience was looking at a medieval illuminated book. I was at the British museum with my parents, a man opened a display case to turn the  page of a book, as the page turned, the rich jewel like decoration caught the light and the gold reflected its brilliance. A transitional moment in my life, I was nine years old and I knew what I wanted to do when I grew up!

'After that I was always around the library looking at a book with pictures of manuscripts in it, I would spend hours tracing and drawing the designs in a quiet sunlit corner of the reference section it became my second home.’

In 1978 he studied at Salisbury College of Art after being accepted on the Pre BA Foundation course, a course that grounded him in the techniques not only of drawing, but sculpture, portraiture and illustration techniques. In 1979 he wrote to Heather Child at that time considered to be the doyen of calligraphers who suggested he contact Donald Jackson or Anthony Wood both Masters in their field with respect to further training. In the event he attended Reigate School of Art to study calligraphy, manuscript illumination and heraldic painting under Anthony Wood. In 1983 he graduated with Honours having gained one of the highest grades in the history of the course. In 1996 an opportunity arose to work with the master scribe Donald Jackson on an informal basis helping illuminate peerage patents for the House of Lords and as an illuminator on the Saint John's Bible Project.  Andrew is Chairman of the Society of Heraldic Arts and a Brother of the Artworkers Guild.

Now living in Somerset in England’s West Country a county steeped in the myths and legends of King Arthur and chivalry from which he draws endless inspiration he works to commission producing fine calligraphic, illuminated and heraldic manuscripts for private collections.

The Saint Peter Codex will be the largest work he has undertaken.

Father Guy Selvester, MDiv, MA

Catholic Heraldic Consultant for the Saint Peter Codex

The Reverend Father Guy W. Selvester is active in several heraldic organizations worldwide and sits on the Board of Governors of the American Heraldry Society. He also serves on the Heraldry Committee of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society. Beginning in 1988 until today he has undertaken to design personal and corporate coats of arms for many archbishops and bishops, abbots, institutions and other prelates and clergy in the Catholic Church.