Pen and Ink

In what might be the project with the greatest potential for mess, our Latin III students explore the world of Medieval calligraphy and text production as they learn to write in Carolingian Minuscule.  As I have described in another post, our Latin students are not strangers to working with ancient writing materials, and with this project they move from antiquity to the era of Charlemagne (747-814).  After spending much of the year reading the oratory and philosophy of Cicero, the philosophy of Seneca, and parts of the Bible, including the full Epistle to Titus, the students take a break from strictly linguistic work and enter the artistic aspect of presenting words in writing.

They begin by learning to dip pens in ink and write with metal nibs.  To be sure, the scribes in Charlemagne's time cut their pens from quills and made their own ink, but we can take advantage of a few modern conveniences!  I pour the ink into small, plastic cups, and the first step is for the students to become familiar writing a Speedball C-3 nib.

There is, of course, the challenge of learning to write with a square nib as opposed to the round point of the typical ballpoint or gel pen of today.  In addition, the students have to become comfortable with how much pressure to use.  Too much produces a blob or river of ink on the paper, but too little leaves a thin, scratchy trail.  There is also the issue of how often to dip the pen into ink.  Depending on how the nib is formed or has changed with use, some students can write a line or two before needing to dip again, yet others must get more ink after just a word or two.  For this reason, they first just doodle.  They write their names or draw shapes and lines to get the feel of the pens.

From there they begin to learn how to form the letters in what we know as Carolingian Minuscule.  This is a relatively simple script to learn, and once the students have broken down the basic strokes needed to make the letters, they practice by writing the alphabet multiple times.  The next level of practice comes from copying a simple and familiar Latin text, perhaps something from their first year of study that they remember fondly.  Once they have achieved a reasonable level of comfort, it is time for the real project to begin.

They are invited to choose a passage from Cicero, Seneca, or the Bible that we have read and that has particular meaning for them and then copy it in Carolingian Minuscule.  To add a bit of ambiance, we listen to the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos and their ethereal, Gregorian chant along the way.  Using markers, colored pencils, or even crayons, the students decorate the page in the style of the illuminated manuscripts that we have examined and submit a short paper that explores why they chose the text they did, what challenges they faced in learning to write in this style of Medieval calligraphy, and what insights they have gained into the production of texts in the Middle Ages.  It is no surprise that what they produce, both in the art of their manuscripts and in their written reflections, is quite beautiful.  Take a moment and enjoy this short video of their work and excerpts of what they shared.

Monks spent their whole lives copying the Bible letter by letter in painstaking detail so that the word of God could be read to people around the world.  I also never realized how much each page and really each letter is like its own little work of art.  -- Sophia

I've seen some illuminated texts in person, and the pages were massive.  I can't imagine how long it would take to fill one of those pages with text and images when even the small page that I did, with markers instead of paint to boot, took me hours to complete.  I wonder whether they felt the need to get every page exactly perfect, in which case they must have done many drafts and sketches of pages to ensure that they were achieving exactly the images they wanted, or whether they painted spontaneously without any guides or detailed planning, which sounds terrifying.  -- Marian

I struggled to keep the pen at the 45-degree angle that would lead to writing perfection, and when I did get back on track with the pen, my pen would run out of ink and the loop would start all over again.  Another minor problem I faced was with letter similarity, as I would often begin a letter, and my brain would make it a different letter, as the case with c and e.  -- Nathan

This whole experience left me with a much larger appreciation for the monks, or anyone, who copied and produced these manuscripts.  It took me about two class periods, almost three hours, to write four sentences.  I cannot imagine how long it would take to write even one book of the Bible. -- Sophie

While I was learning to write in Carolingian Minuscule, I found myself getting frustrated because of how long it would take me to write just one word.  After practicing the alphabet, I did find it a bit easier and I noticed I was writing faster.  After completing the calligraphy portion of this project, I was very glad I took as much time as I did and I was impressed with how good my writing looked.  -- Heidi

It took me around 60 minutes just to write less than two sentences, as compared to completing most of this paper in minutes.  From that difficulty I can also see that someone would have really cared about what they are copying compared to how people can copy something down on a computer without even thinking about it.  -- Otto

After a couple of sentences my hand was hurting.  I cannot imagine having to do this all day.  It was a cool experience and I had never tried calligraphy before or used real ink when writing.  I enjoyed it a lot and I have a much greater appreciation for scribes and monks.  -- Erin