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 Stylus
Brief description Many people think that wax tablets began with the Greeks and Etruscans and finished with the Romans. However, they continued to a greater or lesser extent well into the medieval period. There are few outside museums, such as the Museum of London, but these are the only ones I have seen for sale. The example here are in bronze, iron and bone, the latter with a distinct disadvantage. For writing, the stylus held upright, a little like writing with a Chinese brush, If it is held at angle, as with a modern fountain pen, the line inscribed is very feint. Also it is better to write in capitals as the lines are straighter. If you try to write in miniscules where the letters are more rounded, the surface is rucked up and the stylus can jam. I have written with many original Roman styli and this seems a common problem. The most asked question is. ‘How were errors erased?’ It is generally thought that one simply rubs out the offending mistakes with the flat end of the stylus. Not so! If you do that, the surface is again rucked up or removed and it is almost impossible to write over it. After many months experimenting with Roman styli on modern-made wax tablets, I reckon I have found the solution. If one holds the stylus about 2 to 2.5cm from the erasing end and put the tip of that end in the flame of a Roman oil lamp, it is at just the correct temperature as soon as you feel the heat reach your fingers. Having the wax tablet ready beside you, gently pull the erasing end over the error, just enough to smooth out the wax. If you press to hard, then the wax melts too much and can burn, which defeats the object. The wax cools quickly and you can continue writing. The problem with the bone stylus is that it writes well, but you have to hold the wax tablet some distance above a flame to melt the wax. For comparison, see the two Roman styli, one of silver, again not so easy to erase with, and a superior one of bronze with gold bands.
Contributor: Alan Cole
Contribution date: Winter 2014