Medieval Scribes, Tools, & Practices A collection of authentic medieval tools used in all aspects of the scribe's work. This collection, originally organized by Alan Cole, belongs to the Museum of Writing Research Collection, Institute of English Studies, University of London, and is housed in the Senate House Library.

Title Reading Pointer

Image

Large image

Image

Large image

Brief description This item is an iron reading pointer, gilded in silver, dating from the 16th century. The gilding is worn, but traces remain. This reading pointer was a “mudlark” find—in other words, raking through the shore of river mud—from the River Fleet, which is a subterranean river flowing through London that gives Fleet Street its name. The reading pointer’s primary use would have been for following text while reading. It was authenticated by the Museum of London prior to purchase. Reading pointers are still used today, primarily as literacy tools for those learning to read or who have difficulty reading (for example: people with dyslexia, the elderly, very young children, etc.). There are also special reading pointers, called “ad” (literally “hand”) or “Torah pointers” used in Judaism for the reading of the Torah scroll, which is still written by hand on parchment. Yad are used to aid the readers, who are not allowed to touch the Torah with their bare skin for a number of reasons: because the Torah is too holy to be touched by bare skin; because the parchment “is a source of ritual defilement;” or because using the finger would smudge the writing and sweat can damage the parchment over time. Historically, in Europe, the earliest evidence of reading pointers goes back to the 9th century. King Alfred of England distributed translations of Pope Gregory’s Cura Pastoralis throughout his kingdom, attaching to each an object referred to as an “æstel.” We know this because the object is referred to in the preface he wrote for each copy of the translation. Besides preventing fingers from soiling the pages of the book, the pointers would have been particularly useful for inexpert scribes laboriously copying out a text. Use of the terms indicatorium [indicators] (in the Early Middle Ages) and festuca [stem/stalk] (in the later Middle Ages) tell us that these objects were known throughout the Middle Ages. Wear marks in hornbooks of the 15th and 16th century are indicators that the practice of following the text with a finger or tool have medieval roots. This idea is echoed in medieval art, where “[in] teaching and school scenes, pointing the text with a small rod-like tool seems to be very common indeed.” [This whole paragraph paraphrased from: Harjula, Janne. “Glimpses of the writing and reading culture of the medieval Cathedral School of Turku based on archaeological observations and historical documents.” ZAM Zeitschrift für Archäologie des Mittelalters 40 (2013): 151—184. Available online: http://www.academia.edu/4194692/Glimpses_of_the_writing_and_reading_culture_of_the_medieval_Cathedral_School_of_Turku_based_on_archaeological_observations_and_historical_documents ] Comments in first paragraph draw on Alan Cole’s notes.

Contributor: Courtney Killian

Contribution date: Winter 2014