Yesterday, I was doing some research on the internet about different forms of writing. I realized that everyone seems to have their own sort of writing utensil that they like to use. Personally if it is not a Cristal Bic* (preferably black) or at least Bic* mechanical pencil, I am just not going to be a happy writer. Well this got me thinking about how much we've seen about writing character systems and what we write on, but we hadn't looked a lot into what we write with. So I decided to compile a short history of writing utensils leading up to the renaissance.
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| Cuneiform tablet and wedge stylus. |
The stylus is a pointed or wedged shape stick. It was one of the first writing instruments. Cuneiform was a writing system that used a wedge shaped stick to press marks into clay tablets as early as the 30th century BC.
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| Egyptian reed styli. |
The Egyptians also developed their own writing utensil around the same time as cuneiform. The reed pen was a stiff reed carved at one end into a point. Sometimes it even might have had the split point like you can see in more modern calligraphy pens. These were used to write hieroglyphs on papyrus.
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| Chinese brush pen. |
Brush Pen
Brush pens were developed because they were able to write more clearly than styli and because they changed the medium upon which one could write. Inks were used to write on papyrus and other surfaces. These brushes are still used today, for example to write chinese calligraphy.
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| Stylus and wax tablet found in Egypt with Greek writing from 600 AD. |
Stylus and Wax Tablet
The Romans used a pointed metal stylus to write into sheets of wax on clay tablets. The flat part of the stylus was included as a sort of eraser to rub away markings after they were no longer needed. A bronze stylus was also used in parts of Asia for writing.
Quill Pens
The quill pen was developed in order to have a longer lasting nib tip. The quill was made from the flight feathers of large birds. The point had to be dipped into ink frequently and had to be sharpened occasionally. The tool they used to sharpen the quill's point came to be known as a "pen-knife".
Pencils
Dip pens came about in the 17th century and are also called nib pens. The removable metal nib is useful because it does not go dull and was manufacturable.
After the dip pen came the fountain pen, the ballpoint pen, the felt pen, the gel pen, the roller-ball pen, and the mechanical pencil among many others, but those are all modern developments. I think it is interesting how the different writing instruments are so closely connected to the material you write on. You just cant us a wedge stylus on parchment. It is also interesting to note that each instrument had it's own style of writing that it could do. Just as I learned when I tried my hand at calligraphy, it is not as simple as you'd think. More on this to come soon. . .
For some similar histories and information on writing utensils check out these sites:
Quill Pens, History of Writing Instruments, Another History, A History of Pens, and One last History
I loved looking at your example of calligraphy that you tried on your own. Are you right-handed or left-handed? I imagine it would be harder for someone who is left-handed to write with ink back then. I also found it interesting that as civilizations became more industrious, the materials used changed to whatever was now available.
ReplyDeleteTwo small things I would like to add. The split in the middle of nibs and quills is to help with ink flow and they often have a little hole that makes a reservoir to hold ink. This way you don't have to redip every letter, which gets exceptionally annoying.
ReplyDeletePoint two, adding to Misa's thoughts, when space travel became possible the space pen was developed (http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp). We continue to develop so that we can write everywhere and on everything.
I think this is a really cool idea. I like how with all our group collaboration, we have covered and learned about a much wider range of topics than I ever would have thought of exploring before. I mean, who cares what they wrote with? A stick? I don't know. Well, now I care, and I guess I DIDN'T know that they used such specialized tools, the best they could get their hands on. We have really covered all our bases and learned all about the mechanics and the physical symbols of writing. Maybe as a group we should start moving into the more philosophical aspect of writing, how it has changed our ways of thinking and what not. I think that is probably our next step. I look forward to where we go next and what i get to learn about. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow I really enjoyed this post. And I am not just saying that because everyone says that at the beginning of their comment, I really do mean it. Anyway something that you said in the very beginning jumped out to me. It was that you wouldn't be a happy writer without your bic crystal pen. I think that it is interesting that we all have our preferred writing utensil. This shows the importance we attach to writing. I mean I don't care about what spoon I use to eat my cereal with every morning but I do enjoy my zebra or staedtler. It almost seems like pens are an extension of our arms. They voice our thoughts and innermost feelings, why shouldn't we use anything but the best??
ReplyDeletesorry i totally thought that had already posted, but no it was just sitting in the box obediently waiting to be posted when I woke up this morning!
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