St Mark’s Day & the History of Pens April 25th

This is St Mark’s Feast Day. There is a lot of discussion about who he was. So, various Marks might be St. Mark the Evangelist but there is no consensus. Modern scholars tend to think none of the Gospel writers were contemporary witnesses. So, Mark, whoever he was, is a convenient label for the person who wrote St Mark’s Gospel. I will let you use Google to follow the discussion. My interest was to find a home for a little research on the history of Pens!

Reed Pens

The history of Pens arguably begins with the Reed pen. These were used from 3000BC by the Egyptians.  They were made from sea rushes and were ideal for writing on papyrus. 

Here is a replica Roman reed pen you can buy:

Metal Stylus

The metal stylus was invented around 1300 BC and used by the Romans to write on wax Tablets.  These had a point at one end and a flat triangle at the other to erase any mistakes.

At the Blomberg Site in the Walbrook Valley in London a small metal stylus was found with this inscription on its four faces, showing it was a novelty pen!

From Rome,  a keepsake to bring you pleasure –
a pointed gift so you will always remember;
I wish I could have given you so much more
but the journey is long and funds are short.

To see a photo of it look at this web site.

Wax Tablets

Here are some examples of Roman wax tablets that have been deciphered from London.

Rufus, son of Callisunus, sends greeting to Epillicus, and all his fellows. I believe you know that I am very well. If you have made the list, please send it. Do look after everything
carefully so that you turn the girl into cash.

Writing Tablet, ‘Museum of London (now called the London Museum!)

The most important information from this find is that the son (Rufus) has been given a Latin name by his father (Callisunus) whose name seems to be of Celtic origin; the girl referred to could be a slave.

Another tablet found at No. 1 Poultry (the Bloomberg site) dates to the early 2nd Century and reveals the astonishing fact that slaves could own other slaves.

‘Vegetus, assistant slave of Montanus the slave of the August Emperor, has brought the girl Fontunata, by nationality a Diablintian… … for 600 denarii. She is warranted healthy
and not liable to run away’

Montanus is himself the slave of another slave called Secundus. So we have a slave owning a slave who owns a slave who is selling a slave!

These were all written in Latin on a wooden wax writing table. The next one was scratched onto a scrap of lead before consigning it to the River Walbrook:

‘I curse Tretia Maria and her life and mind and memory and liver and lungs mixed up together, and her words, thoughts and memory; thus may she be unable to speak
things that are concealed nor be able-‘

The rest of it is missing. This is a curse from the Museum of London. It was probably written by a Priest for the sad supplicant who wanted Maria to keep schtum. The above example are from my book on the origins of London. (To buy click here ).

Birch Bark and Vindolanda

The Romans also wrote on papyrus and on birch bark. The British Museum has a marvellous collection of birch bark pads which were written on in Vindolanda (near Hadrian’s Wall) and using ink. My favourite tells the recipient they are to recieve underwear, socks and sandals in the post. To find out more follow this link: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/roman-britain/vindolanda-tablets

Romans made little inkwells out of Samian ware – you can see one in the small picture above. The stylus is the most popular artefact found in Roman London. So it was a pen-pushers City. Read this excellent piece on Roman writing.

For more on Roman London read my post roman-mosaic-is-biggest-found-in-london-for-50-years-in-roman-britain/

Quill Pens

The history of pens then is in the hands of the Quill. They took over from the Egyptian Reed pen and in Europe from the 6th Century onwards. They remained the most common type of pen until the mass production of steel nibs. This was pioneered in Birmingham in the 19th century. These made the previously ubiquitous hand made quills and reed pens redundant.

Fountain Pens

At end of the 19th Century, the first reliable fountain pens were introduced. Many authors date the invention of fountain pens to the early 17th century or even earlier. But ‘ all of these early efforts were failures. None of them led to any revolution in pen technology.’ The problem was flow control and the ‘lack of recognition of the importance of air exchange in the ink delivery system’. The first successful fountain pens were by Waterman of New York and Parker of Janesville Wisconsin 1884 and 1894 respectively.

This information, which sparked this post, came from the website below which has much of interest on fountain pens.

https://www.quora.com/When-did-writing-pens-such-as-fountain-pens-come-into-common-usage-That-is-to-say-did-people-use-writing-quills-and-ink-until-the-20th-century

I’m working on pencils for St Luke’s Feast Day! Then to finish the history of pens with biros on St Matthew’s Day?

First Published on April 25th 2025