Calligraphy
The Calligraphy stall demonstrates how the members of the church used to write in Viking and Saxon England. The monks and nuns of the local chapel and their young apprentices run the stall.
At this stall you will see them writing the Pater Noster (The Lord's Prayer), the Latin alphabet and also filling out Charters for those who wish to purchase them. Charters are an official document stamped with the King's seal giving the named person on the certificate free and safe passage through the village and the right to trade. Very handy if a grumpy guard confronts you!
You can also have a go at illuminating a letter or writing a charter to take away with you.
It was the job of the monks and nuns to write all the legal documents of the land, make copies of the bible and do anything else that needed an educated hand. They were among the relatively few people who could read and write.
But it was a daunting and laborious task. Every word had to be hand written, and if they made a single mistake, the whole page would be ruined and would have to be started again, which is annoying when you have the entire bible to handwrite - it makes you glad they invented corrector fluid!
The scribe members of the monasteries would spend from dawn 'till dusk writing and drawing, only stopping to eat, pray and sleep. Many of them ended up with crippled and crooked backs from bending over to write and with very poor eyesight as they were often forced to work in candlelight.
What did they write on?
Paper (or what was used as such) was then made from Vellum.
Vellum is a semi-transparent material made from Calfskin. The hair is removed and the hide cleaned before it is soaked with lime (or quick lime) to neutralize excess acids in the skin and to help bleach it. It is then attached to a wooden frame (imagine a large wooden picture frame) and stretched. The hide is then left to dry. Once drying is completed, it is cut into pieces and used to write or draw on.
Vellum, in its true form is rarely used today but other products are used under the same term, such as thick parchment paper with quite a rough texture and high quality, cotton-based papers.
What did they use for ink?
Inks were made from all sorts of natural sources.
Yellow was made from urine (or very occasionally an arsenic derivative)
Blue from Woad (a plant the Celts often used to paint themselves with)
Green from nettles and other green plants
Red from berries and suchlike
Brown from Oak galls (or oak apples)
Black ink only stayed black very short period because soon after being used, it would dry and fade to brown!
The most common way to produce ink was that of grinding or boiling down the chosen source, adding gum Arabic (an orangey-yellow coloured gum or sap from the Acacia tree which is soluble in water), which serves to bind the ink together (similar to how egg is used in baking) and mixing them together, then boiling again to produce a more concentrated colour.
What did they write with?
Quills are the wing or tail feathers from large birds, namely geese and swans. These feathers are collected, cleaned if necessary, baked at a low heat (to dry and harden the feather), then soaked in hot water for a short time (so as to not split the feather shaft) and cut with a razor sharp knife downwards along the back of the shaft into a flat-ended point. The feather shaft is hollowed out (to act as a reservoir for the ink) approximately and inch or so up. Then two smaller slices are cut, one off either side so they meet at a point (or flat edge). If desired by the calligrapher, a small slit is cut into the end of the nib to help prevent blotting; though depending on the width of the nib, this technique is not always required.
The Brother and Sister who run Calligraphy will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have following your visit to our stall and we hope to see you soon.