Writing with Quills

Using quill pens on different writing surfaces highlighted for me the affordances of various materials, the practicality of certain handwriting scripts, and the difficulties of the scribal profession. While it was relatively simple to make a functional quill, it was very challenging to refine the nib. Thus, I was able to write, but it was difficult to form letters with single, fluid movements and my ink strokes were very wide, demonstrating how the bold and uniform Textura script of the Middle Ages was well suited to the use of quills. Furthermore, parchment was frustrating to work with because it absorbed little ink and took a long time to dry. Paper was much easier to write on with a quill and was also easy to fold. Papyrus was surprisingly easy to write on, if bumpy, but it could only be rolled, not folded. Clearly, the materials available to medieval scribes (and others at different times in history) had certain properties which determined the possibilities for their use, which are called affordances. The ways in which these materials could be used were further influenced by the cultures, societies, and economies in which books were produced. The expertise of scribes led to book production, but primarily as objects of wealth and status for those who could afford to pay for the materials and the scribe.