Writing has been used as a means of communicating everything in human life from emotions and ideas to stories of hunts and great battles. To understand where the quill pen and parchment came from, it is necessary to examine the history of writing. From early humans’ use of sharpened stones and even fingers to the use of reed pens and feathers, people have had a need to record their experiences.
Early Pens
The pens that preceded the quill pen were developed by the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, who used a stylus to record events and ideas. A stylus is a long tubular shaped instrument, often made of bone, clay, reeds, bamboo or wood; it was initially used for carving into wax or soft clay.
Quill Pens
The quill pen has been used as a writing instrument for hundreds of years. Quill pens are made from bird feathers. Different birds yield different types of writing instruments and are used for different writing styles. For example, chicken and turkey feathers were the most common types of birds, so their quills were frequently plucked and used for everyday writing. Swan feathers were prized for their beauty and rarity. The quills of crows and owls were also used. Quills had to be cleaned, shaped and sharpened before use, and they required regular maintenance. A quill pen did not last long-usually, only a few days to a week-before it had to be replaced.
Early Paper
The most well-known example of the earliest forms of paper comes from the Egyptians and their use of papyrus, the use of which dates back thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans also used papyrus. Papyrus "paper" was made from the papyrus plant; the fiber was divided into very thin strips, dried and woven together into forms that resembled small mats.
Parchment
Parchment was not, in fact, paper; it was created from animal skins that were treated to form a thick, hard surface that was light enough to carry, easy to see through (but not transparent) and able to hold ink without running or smearing.
Significance of Ink
Ink has been used for writing since ancient times and is evident in the histories of the Chinese, Indian, Egyptian and Greek cultures. Ancient versions of ink were created by combining soot and oil; later inks were developed from natural dyes extracted from flowers and plants, as well as the fats and bones of different animals.
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