{"id":5291,"date":"2025-04-25T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/?p=5291"},"modified":"2025-04-25T15:43:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:43:53","slug":"st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\/","title":{"rendered":"St Mark&#8217;s Day &amp; the History of Pens April 25th"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"851\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Evangelist-with-lion.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Evangelist-with-lion.jpg 800w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Evangelist-with-lion-282x300.jpg 282w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Evangelist-with-lion-768x817.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">St Mark with a Quill Pen (and lion which is his symbol) By Unknown author &#8211; Tory, Geoffroy: \u201cBook of Hours, Ms. Library of Congress. Rosenwald ms. 10\u201d (1533), Public Domain, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=1232793<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is St Mark&#8217;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&#8217;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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reed Pens<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The history of Pens arguably begins with the Reed pen. These were used from 3000BC by the Egyptians.&nbsp; They were made from sea rushes and were ideal for writing on papyrus.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a replica Roman reed pen you can buy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1002\" height=\"662\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-12.42.55.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-12.42.55.png 1002w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-12.42.55-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-12.42.55-768x507.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Advert for a replica Roman calamus writing pen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.celticwebmerchant.com\/en\/roman-calamus-writing-pen.html\">click here to buy<\/a> the pen (no cut to the author!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Metal Stylus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The metal stylus was invented around 1300 BC and used by the Romans to write on wax Tablets.&nbsp; These had a point at one end and a flat triangle at the other to erase any mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"323\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/styluspen_inscription-1024x323.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/styluspen_inscription-1024x323.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/styluspen_inscription-300x95.jpg 300w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/styluspen_inscription-768x242.jpg 768w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/styluspen_inscription-1536x485.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/styluspen_inscription-2048x646.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sketch of the novelty Stylus found on the Bloomberg Site in London.  Note the inscription in Latin (translated below)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>From Rome,&nbsp; a keepsake to bring you pleasure \u2013<br>a pointed gift so you will always remember;<br>I wish I could have given you so much more<br>but the journey is long and funds are short.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To see a photo of it look at this <a href=\"https:\/\/thepathsofsurvival.co.uk\/2020\/06\/24\/keepsake-an-inscribed-stylus-from-roman-london\/\">web site<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wax Tablets<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2277\" height=\"3677\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/BLOOMBERG_june_2016.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7224\" style=\"width:394px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sketch of wooden writing tablet for writing on black wax with the stylus. From Bloomberg Site City of London<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Here are some examples of Roman wax tablets that have been deciphered from London. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>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<br>carefully so that you turn the girl into cash.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing Tablet, \u2018Museum of London (now called the London Museum!)<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><br>\u2018Vegetus, assistant slave of Montanus the slave of the August Emperor, has brought the girl Fontunata, by nationality a Diablintian\u2026 \u2026 for 600 denarii. She is warranted healthy<br>and not liable to run awa<\/em>y&#8217;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8216;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 <br>things that are concealed nor be able-<\/em>&#8216;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Their-Own-Words-Kevin-Flude\/dp\/190510877X\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QWOM7wwCABMzhjQEl1roZoNjfV34pDT_KovKl74LUVGR2nRNQGo5-6sAbWsd9MOARWBkXQLCizw-Ct-STzWrwg.ZUzx_OvgKwpjJiKidRElfmZUGn9UiNi89GSRLCuWqrw&amp;qid=1733560752&amp;sr=8-1\">here<\/a>&nbsp;).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Birch Bark and Vindolanda<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>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&#8217;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: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britishmuseum.org\/collection\/galleries\/roman-britain\/vindolanda-tablets\">https:\/\/www.britishmuseum.org\/collection\/galleries\/roman-britain\/vindolanda-tablets<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Romans made little inkwells out of Samian ware &#8211; 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.  <a href=\"https:\/\/the-past.com\/feature\/age-of-ink-inkwells-and-writing-in-roman-britain\/\">Read this excellent piece on Roman writing<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more on Roman London read my post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/roman-mosaic-is-biggest-found-in-london-for-50-years-in-roman-britain\/\">roman-mosaic-is-biggest-found-in-london-for-50-years-in-roman-britain\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Quill Pens<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"668\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2021-01-27-12.04.33-668x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2021-01-27-12.04.33-668x1024.jpg 668w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2021-01-27-12.04.33-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2021-01-27-12.04.33-768x1178.jpg 768w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2021-01-27-12.04.33-1002x1536.jpg 1002w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2021-01-27-12.04.33.jpg 1252w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Around Chaucer&#8217;s Neck is a portable quill pen. It has a small quill and a reservoir for ink in it!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fountain Pens<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"447\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-25-14.28.01-1024x447.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-25-14.28.01-1024x447.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-25-14.28.01-300x131.jpg 300w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-25-14.28.01-768x335.jpg 768w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-25-14.28.01-1536x671.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2025-04-25-14.28.01-2048x894.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fountain Pens the author is currently using. Two Parkers liberated from a dusty drawer in my father&#8217;s desk. and a ebay purchased chinese pen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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 &#8216; all of these early efforts were failures. None of them led to any revolution in pen technology.&#8217; The problem was flow control and the &#8216;lack of recognition of the importance of air exchange in the ink delivery system&#8217;. The first successful fountain pens were by Waterman of New York and Parker of Janesville Wisconsin 1884 and 1894 respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This information, which sparked this post, came from the website below which has much of interest on fountain pens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"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\">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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m working on pencils for St Luke&#8217;s Feast Day!  Then to finish the history of pens with biros on St Matthew&#8217;s Day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First Published on April 25th 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is St Mark&#8217;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 &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;St Mark&#8217;s Day &amp; the History of Pens April 25th&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-almanac-of-the-past"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>St Mark&#039;s Day &amp; the History of Pens April 25th - And Did Those Feet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The History of Pens on St Mark&#039;s Day. All about reed pens, quills, Roman Stylus, inkwells, writing tablets, metal pens, fountain pens.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"St Mark&#039;s Day &amp; the History of Pens April 25th - And Did Those Feet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The History of Pens on St Mark&#039;s Day. All about reed pens, quills, Roman Stylus, inkwells, writing tablets, metal pens, fountain pens.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"And Did Those Feet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-25T14:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-25T14:43:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.chr.org.uk\/anddidthosefeet\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Evangelist-with-lion.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin Flude\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin Flude\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin Flude\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f\"},\"headline\":\"St Mark&#8217;s Day &amp; the History of Pens April 25th\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-25T14:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-25T14:43:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1026,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cb27a3e695fa933f259306aab8fab59f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Evangelist-with-lion.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Almanac of the Past\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/\",\"name\":\"St Mark's Day &amp; the History of Pens April 25th - And Did Those Feet\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/st-marks-day-the-history-of-pens-april-25th\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.chr.org.uk\\\/anddidthosefeet\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/Evangelist-with-lion.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-25T14:30:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-25T14:43:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"The History of Pens on St Mark's Day. 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