Quill making

For this exercise we used goose feathers and Xacto knives to make our own usable quills, based on this tutorial from The British Library. It was difficult to fashion the quill exactly how I wanted it, and the end result left much to be desired in terms of writing ability. Still, it was very gratifying to have produced a (mostly) functional writing implement and to know I had done it almost exactly how medieval and early modern quill users would have. 

My reflections on the skill required for this exercise led me down a similar path of reflection as the paleography exercises. Was I having a difficult time making and using quills because they are an inferior technology to today’s writing implements? Or was it difficult just because I was unaccustomed to quills? While I settled on the latter for the paleography exercises, this case seems less black and white. While I’m sure a learning curve inhibited my quill abilities, today’s pens and pencils are undeniably more portable, erasable, and durable than quills. So, perhaps my subconscious reaction to medieval handwriting–that it is inherently more difficult to read than modern typography–may bear some truth. It seems most logical that both a learning curve and inherent properties of the technology contribute to its difficulty of use today. 

See below for an image gallery of making and using the quills