Honestly, I was reading a library copy of 'The Book' by Keith Houston and it said a medieval scribe could make about 100 quills from a single goose wing. That's a lot of pens.

3 comments

3 Comments

That reminds me of a calligraphy class where the teacher made us sharpen our own nibs. You really start to feel the history in your fingers when the tool itself needs constant care. Makes you wonder what else we've lost by making everything so easy to use now.

the_jana24d ago

I saw a documentary that claimed a skilled scribe needed a fresh quill every few hours because the tip wore down so fast. That goose wing fact suddenly makes a lot more sense when you realize they were basically disposable tools. It really puts into perspective how much labor went into just the writing part before you even got to the ink and parchment. Makes my hand cramp just thinking about it.

michaeld4824d ago

My handwriting is so bad, a fresh quill would probably just give up and snap in half after a single sentence. The scribes were dealing with feather wear, I'm out here causing tool despair. At least their goose had a purpose, mine would just be wasted on grocery lists that even I can't read later.