2. Page Marker
4. Seals
5. Rowels
8. Tweezers
9. Pricker
10. Leads
11. Quill Pens
12. Four-flanged Pen
13. Stylus
14. Penners
15. Firelighter Iron
16. Tooth Burnisher
17. Medieval Inks
18. Lead Inkwell
19. Inkhorn
Title Four-flanged Pen
Brief description During the Medieval period, there was a search for a writing implement that could effectively hold ink, so that scribes could spend more time writing and less time dipping their instruments in ink. This bronze writing instrument may also be seen as a forerunner of the modern fountain pen, with the four flanges, or fins, acting as a reservoir for ink. This instrument was found in the River Thames and was most likely originally straight; the handle bent due to the pressure of the subsequent building above it. While the fins do indeed act as a reservoir for ink, it has been noted that the flow of the ink was difficult to control with this type of instrument, in contrast with the feather quill pens, and increased blotting and made for inconsistent script, which is perhaps why so few are to be found, in that it failed to catch on. [Paraphrased from Alan Cole’s notes.]
Contributor: Mitchell Erzinger from notes by Alan Cole
Contribution date: Winter 2014