Quill pen
Pluma de ave para escribir
- Date
- c. century VI-VII · confidence low
- Place
- Seville, Andalusia, Spain
- Credited to
- Scribes of Visigothic Hispania and early medieval Europe
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A goose, swan or crow feather with the shaft cut to a point and split. It replaced the reed pen in Europe for its flexibility on parchment.
Isidore of Seville (Etymologies, c. 620) mentions feathers and reeds; it is debated whether the quill was already in general use in the 6th century or later.
What it led to
- round and cursive hands of medieval scriptoria
- universal use in Europe until the 19th century
- the metal nib that replaced it